Giving your attendees the opportunity to maintain the healthy habits they practice at home while traveling for business is not just a nice-to-have, but an expected part of planning a meeting these days. Yet even if your budget doesn’t permit a fancy celery-juice bar, a CBD sampling or Pelotons scattered around your venue’s pre-function space, you can still incorporate elements of wellness. Healthy activities don’t need to break the bank, and little details can add up to a lot in the big picture. Here are five simple ideas to try.
Chair Yoga
All of your meeting participants may not have the ability to do back bends and hold a tree pose, but everyone can participate in a gentle session of chair yoga. Not only does this level the playing field when it comes to skill and flexibility, it doesn’t require any outside props, and it can be an excellent tool for helping attendees get refocused and reenergized after lunch.
Meditation Room
This doesn’t need to be anything fancy except for a quiet space, perhaps with calming music playing, dimmed lights and comfortable seating. Wellness is as much about mental health as it is about physical health, so providing a safe area for any participants—but especially, introverts—to decompress, reflect and contemplate the happenings of the day will be a welcome addition to your meeting.
Walking Meetings
Education sessions often feature mini breakouts, where you’re asked to turn to your neighbor or get together with your tablemates to discuss the topic at hand. Instead of doing this from a chair, why not walk and talk? Have small groups take 10 minutes to walk around the block, or even just up and down the hall while they converse. Studies show that getting your blood flowing through physical activity helps with mental clarity and information retention, so it’s a win-win.
Fun Runs
Even if you don’t have the budget for fancy timing mechanisms, bibs and matching shirts, you can still host a race that’s exactly that—a fun run. Instead of doing a full-blown road event, simply get a group of interested participants together in the morning or evening post-meeting to go on a run together. It’s a great way to see the destination you’re meeting in while squeezing in exercise at the same time, and many hotels have run concierges now who are glad to lead such activities.
Fitness Tracker Challenge
While there is technology out there to help you do this in a sophisticated way, you can also do an analog version of a fitness tracker challenge. Pick one day to hold a contest for the highest number of steps, and let your attendees know in advance. You can even make it more fun by recommending everyone ditch the professional shoes and wear sneakers that day, too. Then, have a white board in the cocktail reception area at the end of the day, and have everyone who participated come up to write their steps on the board. Award simple prizes to first, second and third place winners, such as gift certificates to a local smoothie shop or a pair of bright shoelaces.
