Deltona, Fla. (June 18, 2022) – In the quest for personal harmony, Dr. Peggy Swarbrick developed The Wellness Model, a framework describing eight interdependent dimensions necessary for successful health and wellness, in the 1990s.
Over time the model has been adapted by professionals in the health and wellness industries, with the key components serving as a foundation for those seeking a well-rounded, balanced lifestyle.
Who, What & Why
Featuring representatives from all eight disciplines – emotional, occupational, intellectual, environmental, financial, physical, social, spiritual, wellness influencer Twinka Tison hosted the inaugural ‘8 Dimensions of Wellness Retreat’ on Saturday at The Center at Deltona.
Showcasing a variety of services, the retreat focused on connecting attendees to regional businesses, with business owners and staff on hand for consultations, demonstrations and special promotions as part of the daylong event.
Workshops and presenters ranged from Just Be, an alternative and holistic health service led by Melody Bradley, CECP, and InnerShe’s Cintia Mancuso, MSW, to Endless Possibilities, a life and business coaching service led by Jessica Coffield, and Sunsure Insurance’s Kayla Ferriero discussing finances from birth to end of life, all anchored in one of the 8 Dimensions’ key points.
“I was so moved by the 8 dimensions of wellness when I learned about it that I wanted to bring the awareness of this to the community,” said Tison, a professional wellness organizer of small group and corporate retreats who compares inner alignment to that of maintaining a vehicle.
“It really does help people to bring balance, knowing how to readjust as you feel yourself going out of alignment, and how the 8 dimensions work. It’s about being aware of them and who you need to help you balance a particular one.”
Retreat attendees were kept on their feet with a myriad of exercises and stretches courtesy of Impulse Chiropractic and Rehab’s Dr. Casey Attenberger and Hatha yogi Mark Dodds, founder of District Hot Yoga, and were intrigued to learn more about the health and fitness app Spot, presented by entrepreneur Adam Ben-Evi and his team.
“Me and the other founders want to help people get out, get active, and get healthy,” said Ben-Evi, set to launch the beta testing on July 15th.
Breaking down the silos of the fitness community based on focus group research, the app will help users do things like find a gym buddy or tennis partner, said Ben-Evi.
“We want help people in the community find places to go, things to do and people to meet within the social and fitness community.”
Healthy lunch options were provided by South Daytona meal prep professionals After Body Meals, and relaxing chair massages by Phoenix Body & Mind.
“This is the first one and there will be more,” said Tison.
“My vision for these is around the country. There’s no reason why this type of event couldn’t be done in other places. I’m already talking with someone in Chicago, who is partnered with a DNA Wellness Center. She has a lot of the providers already there, so we’re talking about doing this in the fall in Chicago. I just feel like the world needs to heal.”
The Bigger Picture
The retreat is one of the initiatives gaining traction among the 14 communities across West Volusia. Promoting the region as a wellness destination, West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority Executive Director Georgia Turner said the effort began in part, with the new Courtyard by Marriott noticing an interest in the area’s health and wellness assets by their guests.
“One of the partners originally was the new Courtyard by Marriott. They were having people say – where is the gym, where is the yoga studio, walk down the street, oh, we see reflexology, what is that,” shared Turner.
Always one to think outside of the box when attracting visitors, the West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority partnered with the DeLand Chamber of Commerce to create the Wellness Initiative Network (WIN).
“There’s just so much to do and we were looking at it as bringing people in to spend a weekend or a week with all the different things we have to do,” said Turner. “We partnered with the Chamber and they had the same kind of idea. Wellness is a multi-billion dollar industry right now.”
A number of the participating businesses and exhibitors on site for the 8 Dimensions of Wellness Retreat on Saturday are members of the DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce & Orange City Alliance.
With more than 160 members participating, response has been positive for the multi-pronged West Volusia Wellness Initiative that continued to build momentum during COVID after a soft launch in April 2020. Chamber executive director Janet Knauff anticipates a full launch of the program this fall.
“It’s a way of connecting,” she said. “We are working to create a complete network among the four major cities in West Volusia – Deltona, DeBary, Orange City and DeLand, so that we’ll have providers and dimensions of wellness within all of those cities.”
“Today was super exciting because it was really the first of our wellness initiative network providers that has had a major event that we’ve been able to promote,” said Knauff of the Wellness Initiative Network.
“We hope that if we do this with excellence, it will become a community model for other communities to look to us and say they would like to do this in theirs as well.”
