Insights and Highlights

From Your Five Summit Co-Hosts

Day 1: Mental Health & Wellness
Hosted by Cassandra Vieten, Executive Director of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation, and the former President and CEO of the Institute of Noetic Sciences

I’m guided by the notion that fostering mental and emotional health and wellness requires a whole ecosystem of interlocking factors. When we face mental health challenges — and most of us do at some point in our lives — ranging from stress and anxiety to depression, grief, and post-trauma, we need a well-rounded approach encompassing body, mind, and spirit.

From Dr. Shamini Jain ’s focus on energy approaches to mental health... to pioneering mindfulness researcher Amishi Jha... to the interpersonal neurobiology approach of Dr. Dan Siegel... we see how a whole-systems approach to psychological wellbeing can be employed for better outcomes.

The day also includes a look at the mental health benefits of nature from Silivia Vasquez-Lavado, a climber of the Seven Summits whose life story is being made into a film starring Selena Gomez. A powerful session on the intersection between mindfulness and racial justice by Rhonda Magee reminds us that societal health is part of mental health.

You’ll hear from Chopra Foundation CEO Poonacha Machaiah and Michiel Rauws about leading-edge advances in technology (AI, XR) to support mental health. And powerful stories of novel approaches to youth mental health are highlighted by Azim Khamisa, Katia Petersen, and brothers Ali and Atman Smith, founders of a program replacing detention and suspension in schools with meditation, yoga, and support.

Day 2: Ayurveda, Nutrition, and Adaptogens
Hosted by Nick Mattos, Faculty Recruitment and Engagement Manager for The Shift Network

The frame of wellness as an ecosystem of interlocking factors balancing and informing one another continued strongly through our sessions focused on Ayurveda, nutrition, and adaptogens. I selected a cadre of speakers whose work emphasized a systems-level engagement with the health of our bodies, relationships, and society.

Through the lens of Ayurveda, renowned family physician and Chopra medical director Dr. Sheila Patel explored how the “six tastes” of Ayurvedic medicine serve like musical notes for the composition of our food, and how the interplay of these notes help create emotional and physical balance in our lives.

Dr. Natasha Fallahi, The Sensitive Doctor, illuminated the ways that empaths and highly sensitive people have distinctive nutritional needs that mirror their distinctive relational needs — and how and why what gets termed “alternative medicine” is enriched and grounded by an integrative approach that incorporates the best elements of mainstream allopathic medicine.

Dayna Macy, the critically-acclaimed author of Ravenous: A Food Lover’s Journey from Obsession to Freedom, went deep exploring the relationship between our quality of presence with ourselves and the choices we make for feeding our bodies and hearts. And, in a not-to-be-missed session with inspirational food artist and justice advocate Shannon Sims, we examine how food serves as a nexus of beauty, pleasure, justice, and health — and glean practical lessons on what it means to eat, and live, in a way that maximizes the health of our bodies and environment.

Day 3: Movement for Life
Hosted by Bernadette Pleasant, founder of Femme! and The Emotional Institute

This year’s Transform Your Health Summit was perfectly aligned to our times, and it was a joy to host such a rich and diverse group of leaders centering movement as an aspect of their work. I’ve found that when it comes to healing, there are depths that can be achieved when we not only process emotions through the mind, but also explore the inner wisdom of the body. It’s not about dancing. It’s about somatic healing practices that engage the body as an instrument to go beyond the head and into the heart and soul. Each of our speakers beautifully demonstrated their take on movement as a pathway to growth and healing.

Among the experiences, Jennifer Aks-Neuman, a movement coach, story producer, and founder of Dance HerStory, took me on such an all-out fun and sexy journey that I proclaimed that I would either wind up fired or promoted for how I showed up in our session! She evokes and artfully captures the act of living out loud.

In her session, “Blessings Aren’t Always in Disguise,” Chocolako Agburu, the founder of Yoga Innergy, shared a practice of meditation and movement as a way to quiet the spirit. Her mission is to unify hearts with less force and more love flow.

Denise Medved, the creator of Ageless Grace, offered us a beautiful reminder that aging is what we make of it. Her work speaks to the sustainability of our mind-body connection. At every age, our bodies are ready to express themselves in new ways that invite greater health and increased vitality!

Each and every presenter contributed such timely wisdom. I enjoyed speaking to them, learning from them, and moving with them all. What resonated most throughout each session was that no matter what skin we’re in  — at every age, every ethnicity, and every stage — movement is a celebration of the journey of life!

Day 4: Resiliency
Hosted by Dondi Dahlin, energy medicine consultant and bestselling author of The Five Elements

The word “resilience” has become a buzzword for good reason. Resilience is so important that the World Health Organization has included it as a key pillar of health. Most people think that resilience is “white-knuckling” through a difficult situation. But this is a misunderstanding. Resilience is the ability to stay calm under distress, to find a place of equilibrium even when it feels like the world is falling apart, to bounce back in a healthy and positive way, and to return to a pre-crises status quickly and without long-term consequences or trauma.

And that is exactly what nine speakers on Day 4 — the day of RESILIENCE — are going to teach you. I'll chat with experts about resilience who will share hands-on techniques to foster and grow a resilient mind and body. Donna Eden shares her wisdom about the lymphatic system, and Cyndi Dale describes the wonders of forest bathing, while Dr. Marc Grossman and Daniel Orlansky teach easy-to-do eye exercises for the resilience of sight. Running coach Kriste Peoples takes you through a mindfulness/meditation exercise, and Masami Covey reveals the connection between resilience and sleep, the sinuses, and feeling safe.

Day 5: Spirit & Soul
Hosted by Abiola Abrams, author, spiritual teacher, and global retreat leader

Hosting the Day of Spirit & Soul in the Transforming Your Health Summit was a powerful experience. My objective was to create a day focused on healing our emotional, mental, and spiritual blocks, fears, and challenges. Of course, this begins with acknowledging our challenges. I truly believe that there is a spiritual solution for every problem. It was an honor to be given this powerful platform by The Shift Network, as most summits and conferences that focus on health omit our spiritual health.

The experts I chose reflect a range of healing modalities. They all were excited to bring their gifts to Shift. Dr. Damon Silas, a licensed therapist, brought the gift of Emotional Freedom Techniques and Tapping. Dr. Jeanine Staples shared her Supreme Love initiative. Damali Abrams, my sister, spoke about using her gifts as a healing artist, particularly as a Black woman and a daughter of immigrants. Leora Edut shared her therapies around healing the family. Summer McStravick shared her Flowdreaming process, and Jeralyn Glass, our resident sound healer, gave us a grief-healing sound bath that was transformational. I also gave a talk and workshop on that magical day. What an incredible event!

Register here for free for the Transform Your Health Summit.