5 Ways to Add Wellness To Your Event (That People Will Actually Enjoy)

As the importance of wellness continues to rise, an increasing number of event planners are incorporating wellness elements into their events.

A pilates activation for 1Hotel Nashville followed by a sound bath expereince .

From fitness and mindfulness breaks to healthy food options, there are many ways to promote wellness at an event, but not all wellness is the same–attendees must be able to participate in a realistic way for it to be effective. In this blog, we'll explore five ways to add wellness to your event that people will actually enjoy. These suggestions range from physical activities to calming environments and resources, and they all aim to make wellness a fun and engaging part of your event. 

Our top advice for adding wellness is this: Offer a range of wellness activities such as massage, acupuncture, mindfulness meditation, or aromatherapy. This will allow attendees to explore different types of wellness and find what works best for them. Plus, it adds a fun and interesting element to the event. By implementing this strategy your event will not only be a success, but attendees will leave feeling happier, healthier, and more connected. 

Here are five ways we love to add wellness for deeper connection, well-being, and retention of information:

An attendee shows off her Polaroid and impact mission at an entrepreneurial event.

1. Start Strong, Build Community: The relationships attendees build at an event are often the most memorable takeaway. By creating space for attendees to build connections you create shared experiences that paint your event and/or brand in a positive light. By creating opportunities for intentional engagement right from the beginning you set the tone for your event. One of our favorite ways to do is with an interactive intention board where you can tie the purpose of the event to your audience. This activity allows guests to learn more about each other and find potential connections. 

2. Add Opportunities for Movement: Encourage attendees to get up and move by offering fitness breaks or hosting classes such as yoga, Pilates, or even a dance party. This will not only break up the day but give them an opportunity to digest all the information they are taking in. If you don’t want attendees to have to change clothes you can do a short walk around the block (or hotel or conference center). Aside from physical benefits movement like this can benefit mental well-being by reducing stress and increasing endorphins.

3. Offer Healthy Food Options: One of the most important things you can do for an event is to have a variety of food options for people. The more fun you can make these foods the better! Consider offering juice cocktails or mocktails. Herbal tea blending table, a fresh coffee pop-up, or even a smoothie bar where attendees can build their own smoothie, sundae style, by choosing their own toppings. If your guests are hungry you risk them not retaining anything and feeling negatively about the event. Having nutrient-dense food options easily accessible will not only make attendees feel better physically but also increase their energy and mental focus.

4. Create a Calming Environment For Brain Breaks: Consider a break-out room with soft lighting, calming music, and greenery to create a peaceful and soothing atmosphere. We often add massage, snacks, and even soothing activities like floral bouquet-making or DIY bath salt bars to these rooms. Rooms like this allow your attendees to recharge and reset, prepping them to engage more deeply afterward. This is also where we mention having prayer rooms to accommodate religious participants and nursing rooms for mothers that have taken time from their children and may need to pump. 

5. Provide Wellness Resources: Offer attendees resources such as self-care tips, meditation guides, or information on local wellness providers. This will empower them to continue their wellness journey even after the event has ended or at their own pace during the event. To learn more about TRILUNA conference series and how it can be added to guest hotel rooms email us at Hello@TRILUNAwellness.com.

Behind the scenes of a virtual cooking class added to a fully virtual conference for GoTo Meeting.

The way we gather matters and the old way of gathering is no longer adequate. Attention spans are down, overwhelm is up, and small talk needs to be more intentional. Incorporating a variety of wellness activations is an excellent way to enhance your event's overall wellness focus. By offering a range of activities and resources, attendees will have the opportunity to try new things and find what works best for them, ultimately leaving them feeling happier, healthier, and more aligned with your brand or mission.

5 Reasons Why You Should Add Wellness To Your Next Event

As we increasingly work in remote or hybrid environments, events have become an even more integral part of our social and professional lives. From conferences to summits, these events bring people together to connect, learn, and grow. But not all events are the same. Without careful consideration and planning these events can be physically and mentally taxing leading to lower engagement and retention. That's where wellness and mindfulness come in. By incorporating wellness activities into events, organizers can provide attendees with an opportunity to unwind, recharge, and take care of themselves. From yoga classes to meditation sessions, wellness activities can have a profound impact on attendees' mental and physical health, ultimately enhancing their experience at the event. In this article, we'll explore our top five reasons to add wellness to your next event and why it's becoming increasingly important:

1. Boost attendee engagement and retention: Integrating wellness activities into your event can help attendees feel more engaged and even help with the retention of the content. The increase in digital communication and screen time during the pandemic left many of us with increased mental fatigue and decreased attention spans. By providing opportunities for relaxation and mindfulness, attendees will be more likely to remember key information from your event and have more mental capacity for socializing and building community.

2. Promote mental and physical health: Wellness activities can help attendees reduce stress, improve their mental and physical health, and boost their energy levels. This can lead to improved productivity, creativity, mood, and overall well-being.

3. Foster community and networking: Whether it’s an all-level yoga class or a floral bouquet-making class these experiences can foster a sense of community among attendees and provide opportunities for networking and relationship-building in a relaxed setting. We often find that the connections formed between coworkers or attendees in the intimate environment of an event are deeper and more meaningful than the hosts expect.

4. Get the most for your money: Events are by no means cheap to pull off. They require effort and money to do well. By incorporating wellness you can ensure that your attendees are taking home more of the experience and information you’re sharing. If it’s a corporate retreat attendees have more opportunities to build relationships. If it’s a leadership conference they will be able to retain more and have more energy for learning and collaboration. Wellness activities like meditation have even been shown to increase creativity and output so if results are what you’re after, wellness will help you get the most out of every dollar.

5. Stand out from the competition: Wellness is on the rise and including it in your event means you have your finger on the pulse of what attendees are looking for. Activities like boot camp, community impact boards, and even sound baths will set you apart from other events in your industry. Attendees are becoming increasingly interested in wellness, and by catering to this trend, you can attract a wider audience and prove your willingness to invest in innovative trends for the health and happiness of your audience.

In today's fast-paced and ever-changing world, wellness and mindfulness have become increasingly important while events have become an even more integral part of our social and professional lives. Incorporating these two things–wellness and events–can have a profound impact on the attendees’ experience long after the event has ended. By incorporating wellness into your events, you not only show your willingness to invest in innovation but also help attendees take care of themselves and create a memorable experience.

To learn more about how we add wellness to events at TRILUNA shoot us an email at Hello@TRILUNAwellness.com or check out our work page. We’re dedicated to making wellness more accessible and enjoyable for all your attendees while making your job as an event coordinator or planner easier.

The Best Group Yoga Poses For All Levels!

Work looks a lot different than it did two years ago, and we are all just trying to manage it the best we can. At TRILUNA, we always want to ensure we provide you with the resources to make your work life less stressful.

Here are a couple chair yoga poses that can be done in the office or the comfort of your home office if you’re looking for some mid-day movement and mindfulness. Each pose is designed to be beginner friendly but also great for those who have been practicing for a long time. We recommend doing a few rounds of each of these either at the start of the day or after sitting for a while.

• Side Body Stretches and Twist: great for stretching the ribs, shoulders, and arms. Engage your core to keep from putting too much emphasis on your low back and lean to one side, stretching your arm as far to the opposite side as you can (without pain, discomfort is likely but if it feels sharp or painful back off).

• Forward Fold (with an added twist in the lower back and wrist rolls): a simple forward fold is one of our favorite ways to get inverted. Taking a few deep breaths here can help decrease blood pressure and promote relaxation.

Bonus move - Child’s Pose. Great for opening the hips and relaxing the body. If this feels too intense you can sit on top of a pile of pillows. Work your way back slowly, ALWAYS avoiding pain but embracing discomfort.

Productivity Paranoia As A Poison

I have not been able to stop thinking about this article from Morning Brew. In particular this part:

"In a survey released by Microsoft yesterday, only 12% of business leaders said they are fully confident that their hybrid employees are productive at work, compared to 87% of employees who say they are productive."

87% of employees feel they are productive. Only 12% of their bosses think that's true. 12%?!

We've been doing corporate wellness and stress management for four years now and time and time again we're asked to bring in our stress management workshops. Demand INCREASED for these services as more employees moved to remote work. The number one question we're asked: "How do we create on and off time with work? How do we set boundaries?"

In most cases, people are working MORE at home both to prove that they're working and because, without commutes, they have more time to do so.

According to this article, this discrepancy between leadership and employees is leading to productivity paranoia which "can result in intense virtual tracking."

I once worked a marketing job where our boss put cameras behind our backs and pointed at the computer screen to ensure we were never, ever not working. It was a fear-mongering tactic and what it managed to do was scare me half to death, dramatically increase my stress, and eventually caused me to leave the company altogether. My work quality decreased because I wasn't taking the downtime to regroup, focus, and strategize. The increased tracking didn't make me better at my job. It made me worse.

Micromanaging rarely works. If leadership is setting strategic goals, planning with their teams, and setting regular check-ins against those goals there should be zero confusion about productivity. The purpose of productivity is to PRODUCE something. Not just to keep everyone busy.

Have any of you had this experience? We want to hear from both employees and employers. Does this article resonate?

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[Picture of a very young marketing version of me.]