There was a time when massage chairs were considered the gold standard for adding wellness to meetings. Comfy as they are—and many an attendee no doubt nodded off while seated there—they can’t really be called a source of education and inspiration. In short, massage chairs or even massages themselves aren’t something that attendees will take to heart, remember in the months to come and incorporate into their own lives.
But wellness training can do all that, and more. In a sense, wellness is like driving a car. It’s something you learn by doing. And to extend the metaphor, wellness keeps your engine functioning properly.
Planners have been mindful of wellness at meetings for years—adding healthy menu choices and activities like morning yoga, for example—but the push for healthier practices at conferences and conventions really picked up after the pandemic brought the relationship between work and well-being into clearer focus.
A recent New York Times study finding little benefit to workplace wellness programs only underscores the need for purposeful and results-oriented programming, and a good place to introduce the concepts might be your next meeting. Dedicated well-being experts can assist in incorporating the principles of wellness and well-being into your itinerary in engaging, low-pressure ways that leave everyone refreshed and ready to carry on as well as carry the practices into their personal lives.
One such expert is Dami Kim, director of Body & Brain Wellness—a corporate offshoot of Arizona-based Body & Brain—which brings wellness education and practices to meetings and conventions, implementing the principles of yoga and tai chi. She will be appearing at Prevue’s own Next-Gen Engagement Strategies at Harrah’s Las Vegas & Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, May 8-10.
“Why do corporations need Body & Brain?” Kim recently asked a group of professionals at B&B’s wellness partner, Sedona Mago Center of Wellbeing and Retreat, set in the mountains of northern Arizona. “Because education is not enough. You need engagement and activity… so that people can apply what they learn.”
Among the activities Kim and her team can arrange during a meeting are teambuilding exercises and stress-relieving techniques.
“Whatever topic the group is looking for, we can create,” Kim says.
Also introducing Body & Brain—and Dami Kim—at an upcoming conference will be Caesars Entertainment, which has already rolled out a wellness menu as part of its ongoing Caesars Means Wellness initiative. Caesars will introduce meeting professionals to the concept, hosting the second annual Caesars Entertainment Wellness Challenge, scheduled for June 7-8 in conjunction with the Heka Well app, available on Google Play and the App Store.
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