By Sean Meyer
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Conversations around wellness are becoming more common as people realize they deserve what some might call the indulgence of self-care and reflection.
That shift if certainly clear in the schedule of events planned for Wellness Day, an event organized by Wellness Works, a collective of cotenants at Innovation Works. The showcase of wellness activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — including, yoga meditation and even financial training — is set for Innovation Works on Saturday, May 5.
Last year’s inaugural Wellness Day event was launched to bring together the many of the facilitators of the wellness-related activities that are featured during Innovation Works’ regular Wellness Thursday program.
At the last minute, according to Wellness Day organizing committee member Daniel Kharlas, the decision was made to open up the event to all the cotenants of Innovation Works.
This year, however, the decision was made early on to open the Wellness Day schedule to the entire community.
“We understood we could do these weekly Wellness Thursdays, which are open to the community, but to really get the people thinking about wellness, to be trying out things like yoga and meditation, takes a lot of effort,” Daniel said. “We wanted to do a larger event . . . that would bring people together to start thinking about wellness in a really easy way. We have a lot of different people offering a lot of different things.”
Local facilitators will guide participants through workshops focused on a variety of topics, including yoga, meditation, reiki, various forms of self-care, money sense, dance and music, as well as an empathy walk.
Each 45-minute interval has three, which means participants will, in theory at least, be able to find something they will be interested in. That programming plan, Daniel said, allows participants to explore all the different categories that might interests them.
In the Innovation Works commons space, there will also be music, poetry, art collaborations and what Daniel describes as, “a few surprises as well.”
Tea will be provided for everyone by The Tea Lounge and for those who sign up in advance, lunch will be included.
Registration is $10 and can be done online through Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/wellness-day-tickets-44802183537).
Daniel acknowledges the topic of wellness can be difficult for some people to wrap their minds around.
“These can be difficult conversations if you have a lot of things on your shoulder to think you will take the time to indulge yourself in wellness. That’s how it can come off,” he said. “Things like meditation, yoga, might not be for you. Part of dropping that barrier is putting them all together in one space. Mix in some music, some art, things people are more comfortable with and they start to open up a little.”
Daniel said there is a lot of excitement around Wellness Day, particular through social media.
People are looking for opportunities to try out a yoga class, a meditation session, and this is a chance for them to try everything at once.
That does open up the question of how Wellness Works plans to measure the success of its event.
“The way we think about it is the fact we’re coming together in this space for this event, it’s a success already,” he said. “A lot of the success will come from it actually happening on the day of. We’ll all be smiling that day. The fact that people will be having conversations around wellness is the really big success.”