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Friday, 25 July 2008 12:05 |
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For the 33rd year the wellness faithful and wellness newbies alike did the pilgrimage to Central Wisconsins Mecca of health and well-being. 167 presentations, daily keynotes, pre-conference certification programs abounded. Everything from hardcore research to Tai Chi and line dancing packed a week of professional and personal exploration. About a thousand participants flocked to the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point from all the states and many countries around the globe. The turnout this year was down just a little despite major cutbacks on travel by many companies and individuals.
For the first time in many years the conference theme returned to embracing planetary wellness. The concept that we are all in this together, not only geo-politically, but as a species and as fellow travelers on what we used to call Spaceship Earth with all other life forms was driven home in many ways. The keynote by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., founder of Riverkeepers and now the chief attorney for The Natural Resources Defense Fund, drove it home forcefully with a powerful no-punches-pulled, overview of the environmental degradation seen in the last seven years. His inspiring speech, like all the major programs and many of the regular presentations are available through IntelliQuest Media (1-866-651-2586). 
The theme was also delivered more gently through programs on how to make your company greener (Ilan Shamir, www.yourtruenature.com , and others), and how to re-connect with the natural world. The Well Earth Well People theme inspired me personally to submit a program on this near-and-dear topic as well. I presented a breakout entitled Wellness: Awareness As Tool, Nature As Teacher and got back to some roots of my own. Despite being forced to do the program indoors by a tornado-watch storm that blew through town, the turnout was extraordinary, bolstering hope that people everywhere are waking up to the importance of being at one with the natural world and acting to protect it.
http://www.robertfkennedyjr.com
Our Wellness Mapping 360° Certificate Training two-day pre-conference
was very well attended and drew interest from the health promotion
faculty at UWSP with three professors participating. Their department
is interested in wellness coaching because their graduates are telling
them that they are continuously encountering jobs that require them to
do wellness coaching. Wellness coaching programs were very well
represented throughout the conference and showed even more evidence of
the vigorous growth in this field.
For me the conference is also a time to branch out and learn more about
wellness in all of its myriad forms. Mondays keynote by food
activist/scientist Marion Nestle was very enlightening. Her book Food
Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health formed
much of the basis for her talk. I came away with the perspective that
individual choice of what we eat is only part of the solution to
healthy nutrition. (Check her out at www.whattoeatbook.com.)
Joan Borysenkos keynote was also good. Straight from the heart, it
was refreshing to see an icon in the health field be so genuine. She
is one of the mind/body pioneers and her 1987 book Minding the Body,
Mending the Mind is a true classic.
Heart-Centered Leadership was a title that grabbed me quickly and the
breakout I attended by Joel Bennett opened up an approach to leadership
work very similar to my own. The Institute for Heart-Centered
Leadership website (http://www.instituteofhcl.com/) is a great resource
also with free articles and more.
Roger Janke has been a wellness conference friend of mine for many
years, but this year we connected even deeper. He was very active at
the conference offering trainings in an easy and very learnable
approach to Tai Chi. I bought his excellent book The Healing Promise
of Qi: Creating Extraordinary Wellness Through Qigong and Tai Chi, and
am looking forward to learning even more about our vital energy system
and health.
Another dimension of the conference that has gone through a bit of a
re-birth in the last few years is on the international front. A very
concerted effort, and lots of hard work, by many has brought forth an international wellness community. Participation and presentations
by wellness folks from around the globe enhanced the conference
and provided a way for those of us involved in global wellness
development to share ideas and strategies. I connected personally with
people from Australia, Brazil, Denmark and Saudi Arabia.
This year I was honored in a special way at the conference. Seven
others and myself were inducted into the National Wellness Service and
Leadership Circle. The Service and Leadership Circle provides the
National Wellness Institute and parternering organizations a forum for
recognizing outstanding people for their contributions to the field of
wellness. Inductees are chosen for exhibiting the following qualities:
- A history of service and leadership in health and wellness promotion
Have made a significant positive impact on the National Wellness
Institute and the National Wellness Conference Continued
contributions and engagement in the practices that advance and promote
health and wellness.
Well, it all happens again next year at Stevens Point, the middle of
July. Check out www.nationalwellness.org and make your 2009 Summer
travel plans now and be well!
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Last Updated on Saturday, 26 July 2008 00:19 |
