21 Ways to Incorporate Wellness in Your Business Event
As we incorporate wellness more and more into our lives and business objectives, so too is the call to add wellness activities into business events such as conferences. The opportunities to add wellness-focused activities into your Sydney conference are abundant. We have light-filled meeting spaces with outdoor access, are spoiled for choice with green outdoor spaces and we have a strong wellness and meetings industry to assist with your planning. Here are 21 ideas to help you incorporate wellness activities into your business meetings and conferences.
1. Set wellness goals
Let your delegates know that you are incorporating wellness goals and activities into your conference program in the pre-registration communications. When you create your conference app, consider incorporating wellness goals into the content and set up notifications to remind delegates to book their place in wellness sessions, move through the day, get some fresh air, drink water and to use the wellness focused facilities you have created.
2. Add a wellness speaker to your program
Consider a wellness speaker in your agenda. Conferences encourage the people in your industry to network, collaborate and build partnerships for good business. Care is an underlying theme in many events, so why not bring it to the surface with a wellness focused speaker. There are a range of topics that are relevant to all conferences such as wellness in workplaces, self-care in leadership, managing mental health issues and creating work-life balance.
3. Start with guided Meditation
Incorporate a daily guided meditation into the conference program. A short, guided meditation at the start of the day’s session can help delegates focus on the objective of the conference and the outcomes of the session, creating a mindful mindset for their involvement in your program.
4. Create a yarning circle
Bring in Aboriginal elders to establish a yarning circle. A yarning circle is a place where everyone has the opportunity to speak and stories are shared. Create an opportunity for your delegates to connect with first nation Australians and immerse in cultural awareness and stories. Share yarns about ancient traditions and modern-day protocols and learn about the world's oldest living culture in an authentic way.
5. Gift Bags filled with relaxation
If you include a gift bag at your conference, consider a wellness themed bag. Help your delegates unwind at the end of each day of the conference with some wellness gifts. A journal and pens, some comforting or relaxing tea, an eye mask and bed socks, a voucher for a massage with a local spa or soothing bath salts.
6. Offer guided runs, city walks, yoga and harbour swims
Sydney has a plethora of running and walking tracks, usually alongside stellar scenery. Invite delegates to book their place on guided runs (or walks) to explore the city. Arrange a yoga class in a green space or perhaps a swim in a harbour pool or beach. Plan outdoor activities and breakfast for all levels of fitness for early morning before the conference sessions begin so delegates can get into their activewear and have time to shower and change before they attend the conference. Or, in the long summer days, at the end of the day before the social events kick in.
7. Choose light-filled spaces
Choose venues where the meeting rooms and event spaces bring the light inside. Meeting rooms with floor to ceiling windows add natural light to your space. Natural light is a mood enhancer, keeping your delegates feeling relaxed and revived through the sessions. Even more, if there is green space or water views outside those windows this will also enhance the way delegates feel.
8. Access to the outdoors
A venue where people can easily get outside into the fresh air between sessions is a no-brainer when it comes to thinking about your delegates’ wellness needs. Fresh air revives, as does a 10-minute dose of sunshine to boost Vitamin D and emotional wellbeing, to keep your delegates feeling alert. Venues with balconies, adjacent to green spaces or close to pedestrian precincts for a quick walk allow your delegates to recharge between sessions and during the longer meal breaks. Sydney’s climate offers year-round access to fresh air outside.
9. Movement in your seat
An actively involved MC can introduce movement activities such as simple chair yoga movements at the beginning or midway in sessions so that people are encouraged to be mindful about movement in their seats. As simple as getting people to wiggle their toes, lift their knees, stretch upward, stand and sit to encourage circulation, invigoration and to ‘burn while you learn’. Chair yoga is an accessible option that has moves for people who use wheelchairs.
10. Quiet rooms
A key element of inclusion in conference planning is thinking about people’s differing needs. Create a room and spaces for neurodivergent delegates who may need to remove themselves from noise and group situations to recharge. Soft seating and soft lighting will create a soothing ambience to allow them to relax, calm and revive. These quiet rooms are also important for people who may be triggered by sensitive topics and need a space in which they can feel secure to recover privately.
11. Prayer and meditation rooms
Factor in a diversity of religious needs and practices among your local and global delegations. Create a space that can be used for prayer for people of any religion, for whom prayer is essential in their day. Making space for people to observe their faith or observe stillness shows delegates they are wholly respected in the conference environment.
12. Mothers’ rooms
While babies and toddlers may not be a part of the conference audience, lactating mothers may need privacy to express milk during the day. A private room with a comfortable chair and a place to store expressed milk is one way to ensure mothers who are attending your conference can have their maternal needs met.
13. Add a breathwork session
Another activity that can be performed in theatres or with smaller groups is a breathwork session. Everybody can take part in breathing exercises and the changing patterns of intaking and expelling air in a transformative guided breathwork session. An accompaniment to mindfulness, visualisation and relaxation, a breathwork session with your delegates will help them ease into the day’s sessions.
14. Create technology-free zones
We are all subject to digital and tech-overload daily. Creating designated spaces in your conference environment where technology use is not allowed encourages delegates to unplug, unwind and relax between sessions without digital distraction. You want your delegates to be focused on your program and to tune out from their day job. Technology free zones promote a mental break allowing delegates to restore without distraction and pressures from the office.
15. Meet outside
Traditionally settings and conferences use indoor spaces for meetings and sessions. But why not use outdoor spaces for speeches, break-out sessions or group work? Sydney has green spaces and the climate for outdoor meetings. Take the inside outside for meetings in the fresh air, where you can still connect to Wi-Fi, set up speaker systems, and have all manner of furnishings and canopies for shade. For planners, outdoor spaces call for creativity, while for delegates they inspire creativity.
16. Set up water stations
Hydration is an important consideration in our day and particularly in air-conditioned environments where dry air impacts our skin and eyes. Setting up water stations gives delegates access to replenish their water bottles as needed. It also fosters sustainability, another element that drives wellness and makes people feel good about their actions.
17. Plan nutritional catering
It goes without saying that we are nurtured and sated by the food that we eat. In a conference setting, serving fresh local produce helps to keep your delegates feeling good. A menu of healthy options in appropriately sized portions means that delegates are eating food that satisfies their hunger during the day but doesn’t leave them feeling sluggish or sleepy during the after-lunch sessions, particularly if they are sitting for most of the day.
Ensure there is something fresh and nutritious for every dietary requirement to keep your delegates engaged throughout the day.
18. Offer alcohol-free options
Traditionally events are big on celebration and social networking, cocktail functions and food and wine events. With the rise in alcoholic-free drinking options, it’s time to extend the beverage list to incorporate organic and alcohol-free beverages into event planning. Ensure your social events include alcohol-free beers, wines and spirits on the beverage lists. Give your delegates the choice to be clear headed for the next day’s sessions.
19. Give delegates a massage
Massage chairs are a great addition to a conference setting or engage local massage therapists to help people relax with tension-reducing sessions. Set up across the open areas of a conference venue, massage chairs to stimulate the muscles and circulation, keeping delegates feeling relaxed and supple throughout the day.
21. Create mixed seating
Consider a range of options for delegates throughout the venue. While theatres might be fixed seating, breakout rooms, smaller meeting rooms and outside meeting spaces could provide options for delegates to sit in bean bags or on lounges, changing up their mode of sitting as they move from session to session where possible.
21. Hold your social events under the Sydney sky
If people have been inside all day, why not make the evening event venue outdoor, in nature. A dinner on a beach at Bondi or in the Domain at the Calyx or take in views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the harbour at Observatory Hill. Cross the Harbour for an event on the expansive lawns with Harbour and city views at Taronga Zoo.
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