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A healthy return from IMEX America
THE RECENT THREE-DAY TRADE SHOW IN LAS VEGAS RAMPED UP THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING CONTENT ON THE SHOW FLOOR
C omplementing more traditional wellness elements such as yoga and stretching , IMEX America in Las Vegas this year introduced a slew of new health-related sessions , including around Ayurveda , mental health and breathing techniques .
IMEX head of programming , Tahira Endean created a wellbeing track featuring 50 sessions , which ran from Smart Monday , 7 October , through all three days on the show floor .
Sessions ranged from ‘ How to use your breath to shift your mental state ’ with Mallory Combemale , to one-to-one
Cption in here coaching and self-care practices pleas with ojod Ayurvedic coach , Carmen Boscolo osdjosd . josdjosd
Paul Griggs shared stress management techniques and Vimari Roman and Rachalle Stone discussed the benefits of ‘ work-life integration ’.
Nutrition was the topic of Pete Ghione , director of culinary innovation at Canyon Ranch ’ s session , while , after two days of hectic meetings at the biggest IMEX America yet , I found an oasis of calm on Day 3 at founder of Dawn of the Earth Sepi Eivasi ’ s session on somatic breathwork ( see feature on p30 ). After 15 minutes of guidance on the technique , backed up with a relaxing soundtrack piped through the headphones , I , for one , felt ready to take on the meetings world once again !
‘ Our tough talks ’ provided supportive spaces where important life events , such as the menopause at work and mental health could be addressed . Ciara Feely and Deana Brown Mitchell , respectively , addressed those topics , while Dahlia El Gazzar tackled the topic of ‘ anticipatory
grief ’.
The Google Experience Institute ( Xi ) offered morning ‘ energiser ’ sessions throughout the show .
Social fitness Those keen to keep up their physical fitness were able to connect with others during Go ! Running Tours ’ walking tour of the city on the 7 October and the 5km IMEXrun was again popular .
Near to the CMW stand , the sport of pickleball popped up for the first time on the show floor – sponsored by Visit Seattle . And the popular IMEX Wellbeing Challenge , sponsored by Caesars Entertainment and powered by Heka Health , returned with prizes for those completing their challenges .
Places to rest and reset In other aspects of the show design , there were many opportunities to find quiet spaces to rest and reset .
The Neu Project Resilience Space , powered by Google Xi and Hello ! Destination Management , just outside the show floor , was designed to calm the senses and provide a space for people to
Wellness
decompress . There was also a Quiet Lounge area where attendees could find both the Zen Work Lounge with workstations and the AFR Lounge on the show floor .
Oli Bailey , who leads the IMEX show experience team , explained : “ Designing events with wellbeing at the forefront is no longer a nice to have , it ’ s a must-have . We integrated more water stations , healthier menus and rest areas into the show this year and we ’ ve also noticed an increase in exhibitor wellbeing activations .”
IMEX Group CEO , Carina Bauer said : “ There ’ s no need to leave your eating habits and wellbeing practices behind . We know ‘ real life ’ keeps going when we ’ re at an event – we ’ re still caring for dependents and thinking about our endless to-do lists , especially when travelling .”
Clearly , in the context of the events industry , such attention to wellness is needed : 41 % of respondents in the 2024 Freeman trends report cited burnout and fatigue as a significant professional challenge – an increase on the previous year ’ s figures . n
The IMEXrun was again popular in Las Vegas
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