Cities, Tourism Boards & Hotels in 100 Countries to Celebrate w Free Wellness Activities

Theme in third intl year: Encourage Kindness, Gratitude, Mindfulness and Happiness!

Los Angeles, CA – Saturday, June 10, 2017 will mark the sixth annual Global Wellness Day (GWD) celebration and the third time the special day is being celebrated around the world.  With a mantra of “One Day Can Change Your Whole Life,” Turkish founder and cancer survivor, Belgin Aksoy Berkin, has inspired an international network of over 85 Global Wellness Day Ambassadors, 3 Advisors & 21 Key Supports to organize complimentary wellness events in over 4,000 locations in 100 countries this year.  Berkin’s idea from the beginning was that wellness is not a luxury but the inherit right of every individual and she works hard to ensure that GWD events will never be commercial and are free and open to public.

Global Wellness Day’s simple but effective pink paddles saying “I SAY YES TO WELLNESS” have become synonymous with the day and GWD’s manifesto is simple and clear:  1. Walk for an hour. 2. Drink more water. 3. Don’t use plastic bottles. 4. Eat healthy food. 5. Do a good deed. 6. Have a family dinner with your loved ones. 7. Sleep at 10:00 pm. In addition, a special focus for this year’s celebrations will be to encourage kindness, gratitude and mindfulness and happiness!  To that end, locations will be encouraging their attendees to try for a technology detox on that day, setting aside at least two hours to be electronics free.

Complimentary wellness activities — like Zumba, yoga, Pilates, dance, ballet, hiking, workshops related to nutrition, diet, healthy eating and happiness, therapies such as breathing, laughter, art & mindfulness and beauty classes — will be organized across the globe  to help millions realize the difference one day can make to inspire healthy change in the world.  Look for the hashtag #GlobalWellnessDay to follow what happens from one end of the world to the other on June 10.

International governmental institutions, mayors and associations are rallying to support GWD in places like India, the U.S., Canada, India, Ireland, Nigeria, Mexico, Costa Rica, Aruba, Turkey, Serbia and Brazil.  Cyprus is a standout in this arena with GWD organizing joint projects with the Cyprus Tourist Organization as well as the Governor’s Offices of five different towns.

GWD 2016/2017 Awards:

• The International Spa Association this year awarded GWD with the Innovate Award in the Philanthropic Initiatives category.
• The Global Wellness Summit this year awarded GWD founder, Belgin Aksoy, with the Leading Woman in Wellness Award.
• American Spa Magazine presented Aksoy with an Influential Spa Leader Award.
• Mandarin Oriental Atlanta has received the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association Award for their GWD 2016 “Mindfulness in the Garden” event held on June 11 2016 with a yoga class and a guided meditation with one of Atlanta’s top Yoga instructors, Elizabeth Rowan, in our tranquil, private garden.

 “As GWD Family, we are thrilled that Global Wellness Day is garnering such support worldwide,” says Berkin. “Our ambassadors have done such an amazing job that this year we are able to expand our focus to include the goals of spreading a message of happiness, kindness, gratitude and mindfulness, which I believe can be seen in our wide range of inclusive events, many of which are meant to help underserved communities.  We are also seeing an emphasis on the happiness and health of children, which continues to give me hope for the future.”

Aksoy illustrates with example of GWD outreach in places to orphanages and senior centers in places like Thailand, the Netherlands and Brazil.  She also explains that her long term goal is to have Global Wellness Day included on the official calendar of United Nations, since that would be a real catalyst for international awareness.  A few examples of GWD events planned around the world in 2017:

Thailand– Chiva-Som International Health Resort will once again take their wellness services into the remote jungle communities of the Karen tribes living along the Thai and Myanmar border. They will partner with a group called Jungle Aid who provide tropical medicine doctors and take their own team of health advisors, acupuncturist, nurses, physiotherapists, and more who will take food, medicines, mosquito nets, clothing, school supplies, linens and soap etc. to the nomadic tribes. They will arrange educational games for the children whilst they teach the village women the basics of first aid, natural birth control and hold a free clinic for all who need care in the village.

Turkey-– Kucukciftlik Park in Istanbul is getting ready for another massive all-day celebration event with yoga, Pilates, Zumba, workshops and seminars of best-selling authors. The GWD event hosted 7000 people last year with more planning to attend this year.

USA 

California —  Imperial Beach — Mayor Serge Dedina will join the management of the Silver Leed-Certified Pier South Resort, a member of Marriot’s Autograph Collection, to organize a family friendly  5K Bike Ride to the new Bayshore Bikeway Village, kicking off with Yoga-inspired stretch, instructor-led fitness activities and delicious & health food options from the local farmer’s market.

Los Angeles — Wellness Expert and the writer, Nikki Sharp, will be teaching the helipad yoga class at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder will be leading a healthy breakfast event, and Four Seasons will be leading a number of other events throughout the day with Wellness Experts Kathy Freston, John Salley, Susan Miller, Tata Harper, The Detox Market and Todd Savvas.

Florida – Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Springs will join with TEchnoGym to offer free classes in their 18,000 sq. ft. fitness center.

Ohio – Beautiful public spaces are reserved in downtown Cleveland for free fitness classes and the event is being promoted via a chain of local grocery stores and the YMCA

Israel — The main event will take place with a wide range of wellness activities in “Gordon Swimming Pool”, which is located on Tel Aviv’s renovated and beautiful promenade, surrounded by tall palm trees and overlooks the yachts and waves of the Mediterranean Sea.

France — International brands — such as French luxury cosmetics company Clarins, Canadian based sportswear company LOLË, Atout France (France Tourism Development Agency), PHYTOMER Spa & Wellness, Sense of WELLNESS Magazine, Cinq Mondes Spa, French Spa Association Spa-A, Thalazur, Thalazur Thalassothérapie & Spa, 9 spa/thalassothérapy, Thalassa sea & Spa, Spa de Beauté Mag, Émotion Spa Mag, Code Beauté Magazine, @bc Spa Gestion, Ahimsa le Spa, Ecole Catherine Sertin, Omnisens Spa, RKF Luxury Linen, Gharieni France, Laboratoires Camylle, Spa La vie est belle, Les Nouvelles Esthétiques – Spa de Beauté, Deep Nature Spa and Wellness,ROSE & PEPPER, Trend Sourcing – are each organizing GWD events for June 10.

Hungary — In a multi-tiered effort by different groups,  several baths in the Hungarian Thermal Bath Association will offer ocmplimenteray events; day-long and week-long events – especially in nature — will be organized by the spas of HunguestHotels and Danubius Hotels with participation health/fitness clubs and ttrainers belonging to the International Wellness Institute and communications support from the Hungarian Tourism Agency and Wellness Magazine.  Interestingly, the Hungarian Association of Dietitians will promote the Smart Plate initiative which parallels GWD’s manifesto.  And finally, the Madach Musical School has its Gala Exhibition dedicated to GWD during that weekend.

Netherlands — A number of health and wellness professionals will organize massage and meditation sessions, yoga, dance and fitness workouts, workshops in the field of healthy food. Looking to the future,  4500 students of the HZ University of Applied Sciences’ Vitality and Tourism Management school said YES to Global Wellness Day by  organizing a range of wellness activities both on and off campus.

Brazil — Kurotel spa – located in the city of Gramado, one of the country’s favorite mountain destinations that welcomes 6 million visitors each year – has been sending it’s professional medical personnel to speak about GWD’s 7 Step Manifesto in public schools, children associations and city hall of Gramado  With the full support of the local mayor and the city’s  Education, Health, Tourism Offices, the spa is inviting local visitors and residents to enjoy a wide range of complimentary wellness sessions the entire week of June 3 to 10

Italy – The Italian skincare company Comfort Zone has encouraged 50 of the Italian spas that carry their products to create local events and many other independent wellness centers.  The company is also launching an “I Sustain Beauty” campaign that day to motivate partner spas and hair salons to commit to projects supporting a positive impact on social, artistic and natural beauty.

Japan — The country’s GWD ambassador has garnered the support of CIDESCO Nippon as well as Nihon Esthetic Association to approach the schools and to spread GWD in Japan.

Hospitality & spa industry leaders that have committed to often company-wide participation include: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts,  Fairmont Hotels, Constance Hotels and Resorts, ROYAT, Talise Spa (group of Jumeriah Hotels & Resorts), LUX Hotels & Resorts Group, GRACE Hotels of America, GOCO Spas & GOCO Retreats, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Fairmont, Raffles, SIX SENSES, Marriott Spas, Thalasso & Spa Serge Blanco, Richmond International, St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, SENSE SPA, Kurotel, Divani Apollon Palace, Best Alpine Wellness Hotels, Accor Hotels, WTS International, HILTON, Red Door Spas, OBEROI Spas, Chuan Spas, Shangri-la Bosphorus Istanbul and Swiss Hotel.

GWD is also getting the support of schools and institutions worldwide such as; CIDESCO Schools, Thuya Escuela School in Spain, Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Exercise is Medicine, Day Spa Association, SpaFinder Wellness 365, Treatwell, Global Wellness Institute, Global Wellness Summit, Arizona Spa & Wellness Association, Florida Spa Association, International Spa Association (ISPA), Nihon Esthetic Association in Japan, Turkish Heart Foundation, South African Spa Association, Spa – A (Fédération des professionnels du bien-être) and S.P.A.S (Syndicat Professionnel des Activités de SPA), ATOUT France (France Tourism Development Agency).

Global Wellness Day Ambassadors organizing activities for June 10 in 100 countries all around the world. For more information please contact:  info@globalwellnessday.org