Eudemonia Summit: Optimizing Inaugural Wellness Conference

Does your session include cryotherapy, neurological resets, intravenous drips, toilet stall stool identification charts, celebrity neuroscientist podcasts, fitness stars from The Biggest Loser, and lots of heavy breathing? OK.

To get a sense of what this might look like from a corporate meeting professional’s perspective, I spent the weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, attending the inaugural Eudemonia Summit at the West Palm Beach Hilton Hotel and Palm Beach County Convention Center.

First, a little background on founder Sean Hoess, one of the masterminds behind the Wanderlust music festival movement. The conference’s name is derived from the Greek word meaning “human flourishing.” Hawes believes that health is a basic human right best pursued in real life with others. His goal is to bring together top health thinkers (or, as he puts it, “the best interpreters of biological science”) to fight misinformation and apathy.

Read more: Why meeting planners should make health a priority

The list includes renowned Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientist and host of the “Huberman Lab” podcast Andrew Huberman; oncologist Siddhartha, a Pulitzer Prize-winning professor of medicine at Columbia University and medical artificial intelligence visionary Mukherjee; and influencer and yoga instructor Adriene Mishler.

Healthy mind and body activation

The result is an interactive trade show filled with demos driven by in-app registration, mini panels, and healthy food options. At The Treatment Village, Therasage offers cold water soaks with ozone bursts. The treatment is promoted as a way to shock attendees out of their comfort zones into a near-psychedelic state so they can achieve a breakthrough in perspective.

Outside, a fleet of SoulCycles spins in the tented Sky Room. Breakout sessions include “The Dancer’s Blueprint” with Kiari “Kiki” Kirk; “Unlocking Longevity” with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, author of “Forever Strong”; and “Better in Bed: How to Gain Lifetime” with clinical sleep expert Michael Breus “The Best Sleep Ever”; and Paul Austin’s “Microdosing of Psychedelics”. Many onstage and hallway conversations focus on biohacking and performance optimization.

Helpfully, restrooms at the Palm Beach County Convention Center are equipped with bathroom classroom charts from probiotic company Seed.com to help visitors self-diagnose their poop. Just a wink and a product discount code to activate.

The day begins with yoga, meditation, stand-up paddleboarding, breathing and high-intensity internal training (HIIT) classes taught by renowned instructors. Schuyler Grant, founder of the Kula Yoga Project, a yoga video subscription service called Finding Feeling Good, which she co-founded with Mishler, conducted a series on trauma-related Dialogue session for yoga practice. “If you do yoga correctly, it doesn’t just stop on the mat. It affects all of your interactions,” she says.

healthy debate

The main attraction upstairs on the first day was “a no-frills debate: Ozempic, Mounjaro and other GLPs”.

Controversy over drugs has sparked heated debate from all sides, including fitness celebrity Jillian Michaelshe believes people should eat less and exercise more; Zachary Knight, professor of physiology, University of California, San Franciscowho provides evidence that it is an essential tool in the fight against obesity; Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and nutrition expert at Tufts University, who advocates combining medications with lifestyle therapies; and certified nutritionist JJ Virginwho recommend microdosing. Plenaries are asked to consider future implications for individuals and health policy.

Read more: Mental health in meetings

“The Whole Health Cure” podcast host Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist explains that nutrition is about more than just health. “Our gut microbiome affects inflammation, cognition and mood. We have to think about what we eat, who we eat with, how we eat and when we eat.”

Dan Harris, meditation advocate and author of 10% Happy, brings a realistic perspective to the discussion about using anxiety to relieve anxiety. He sees meditation as a more holistic pursuit that goes beyond mindfulness to cultivate a warmer connection with the world.

“The goal is not to achieve a Buddha-level state of thoughtlessness, but to understand and accept our thoughts so that we don’t do unhealthy things. When you treat yourself more compassionately, that’s when you start to spiral,” he said. “The first variable of health is the quality of relationships.”

What meeting professionals can learn from Eudemonia

These health-promoting theories are all well and good for those hoping to live to 200, but for event caterers tasked with negotiating contracts and managing AV teams, this first-ever three-day weekend explores the challenges of mind and body. What wisdom is there in all this? This is my gain.

Read more: The convergence of the events and wellness industries: Why event planners should care

1. Focus on doing, not saying. From therapy villages to HIIT classes, people are moving and experiencing their own attempts. Even expert meetings include interaction and dialogue rather than lectures. The theme is “Engage & Emerge” and the goal is to become an “architect of personal health.”

2. Cooperation. An event of this magnitude affected a village. Even though it’s a first, the conference has attracted partners like Rivian, which offers free rides around town. VoLoFoundation provides data on biomarkers and offers scholarships to students who participate in experiences valued at $1,499 (enhanced access costs $4,499 per person and includes concierge services, headliner meet-and-greets, reserved preferred seating, and access to organizers dinner).

3. Highlight the benefits to your target role. It’s right on the homepage and on signage around West Palm Beach. Eudemonia is for “positive change seekers.” There are options to explore in exercise, nutrition, mental optimization, recovery and connection.

Even keynote speaker neuroscientist Andrew Huberman shared more general advice about getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods and introducing more exercise as part of a healthy living framework.

“You need enough resources to live with a small buffer to calm your anxiety: a healthy, energetic body; a calm mind; and a loving home.”