Wellness center takes a holistic approach
Wellness center takes a holistic approach
Retreats help both attendees and colleagues
While most corporate wellness programs take place at the work site, there is another option available for smaller groups of employees: a wellness retreat, where they can "get away from it all" while learning lifestyle habits that will not only improve their own health, but enable them to help improve morale and productivity in the workplace after they return.
That’s the goal of the wellness retreats offered by The Wholistic Life Center, in Washburn, MO. And as its name applies, the staff at this 900-acre facility in the Ozark Mountains target the mind, body, spirit, and emotions of employees who attend their programs.
"Basically, when we are created we are really created in balance; we are given everything we need to be healthy, happy, and fulfilled, and to live a long life," explains Collette Bizal, SD, director of education. "Over time, people are bombarded with a lot of resistances, and often these become memories within the individual, causing imbalance. These can be emotional or physiological insults. Over a long period of time, that lack of balance causes the body to physiologically break down — through diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and so forth. This doesn’t happen overnight, but eventually the disease process overrides our natural state of health."
When employees come to the center, the staff helps them rediscover that state of balance for themselves — a balance of mind, body, spirit, and emotion. "How people feel about their life impacts them at work; how they feel about themselves — positively or negatively — impacts on how well they do what they were hired to do," Bizal notes.
Touching all the bases
The five-day retreat is very comprehensive. A typical day includes three or four class discussions, an exercise class, hydrotherapy, juicing (raw fruit and vegetables), and three meals a day consisting entirely of whole foods. In addition, attendees are offered relaxation and meditation instruction, classes on basic physiology, how to detoxify your body, and how to boost your immune system.
Other classes, which can be directly applicable to workplace productivity, include discussions on communication and responsibility, and dealing with critical issues, such as personal definitions of success.
Although the center has created a "basic" program for corporate retreats, each retreat is tailored to the specific group. "Once the group arrives [typically 10-20 individuals], there is an initial consultation so that we can gain a sense of their specific needs," Bizal explains.
Some of the key issues corporate attendees have focused on include: Self-esteem; the concept of success and abundance (how do we know when we’ve achieved it?); and stress and communication. "The thing we never want to lose sight of is the individual and what motivates him," says Bizal. "After all, it is individuals who ultimately make up the company — without taking care of their needs at the individual level, we can’t make changes in the well-being of the entire population."
Making a difference at work
The behaviors and skills the attendees learn will make a big difference in the workplace, asserts Denise Natishan, MA, director of corporate wellness at the center. "For example, communication is critical in how employees do and do not work together. Unless there is healthy communication, unless people know how to employ conflict resolution among themselves, they will not flourish as a group.
"We really get to the core issues," she continues. "What is work? What is success? If an employee is off’ in any way, or not feeling successful, they will feel they’re failing. Being able to sit in a group and talk about those things is extremely beneficial."
In other words, one of the important by-products of those retreats for the company is team-building, says Natishan. "After these group discussions, working toward a common goal becomes a much more profound goal."
Bizal agrees. "Past attendees report to us that their ability to work with members in their staff has improved greatly," she says. "Physically, they start to feel better even before they leave. Whatever they learn, they will put it into practice at work, and everyone around them will see the difference."
The center does not look at those retreats as isolated events, Natishan emphasizes. "We see ourselves as the corporation’s partner, a resource on an ongoing basis, particularly if additional groups from the company are able to come here."
[For more information, contact: Denise Natishan, The Wholistic Life Center, Route 1, Box 1873, Washburn, MO 65772. Telephone: (417) 435-2212. E-mail: [email protected].]
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.