Global Wellness Conversations

Aradhana Khowala is CEO of Aptamind Partners, a consultancy focused on regenerative tourism, travel and hospitality. She is a recognized leader in the industry, named an "Inspirational Game Changer" by the 21st Century Icon Awards from CNBC and the London School of Economics and recognized as one of the 100 most powerful executives in hospitality. A dynamic and engaging thought leader, Aradhana al...

What is the true meaning of wellness? And what are the paths to attain it? The BBC set out to answer those questions. Leveraging the research and network of the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), BBC StoryWorks just produced a digital series for GWI that delves into the topic of wellness and the art and science of living well. On this episode of the Global Wellness Summit’s podcast Global Wellness C...

Have you ever wondered what the secret to a long and healthy life is? Could it be the food we eat? Studying the areas of the world where people live exceptionally long lives, known as the Blue Zones, Dan Buettner may have found the answer. Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow and best-selling author who recently gave a keynote at the Global Wellness Summit in Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel....

Exercise is everywhere today. It seems that most people have a gym membership, go for a daily run, or do some bodyweight exercises around the house. There are VR apps, video games, and at-home on-demand video courses to help people sweat at home and stay active. That’s the role exercise plays in the present — but what was it like in the past? Bill Hayes is the author of seven books, with his most...

While taking a proactive approach to wellness is always preferred, not everyone has that luxury. For some, taking control of your own well-being is a matter of life or death—as it is for the millions of people suffering from type 1 diabetes (T1D). No matter what their lifestyle, the body of a type 1 diabetic will never naturally produce insulin. In 2021 alone, 6.7 million people died from diabetes...

What does the Global Wellness Summit have in common with one of the biggest music stars in history? Colombian Reggaeton Superstar J Balvin has been very open and honest about his struggles with anxiety and depression — as well as the wellness practices he uses to find relief. To that end, he’s co-founded the development of OYE, an app designed to help everyone live better, happier lives. And, like...

Everyone wants to feel healthy, but none of us want to be duped—and many prefer not to be  goop-ed, for that matter. How can we navigate the world of wellness as savvy consumers and avoid the “well-washing” so often used to sell us on the next expensive fad? We know just the expert to help us navigate this increasingly complex space. Meet Rina Raphael, one of the leading wellness journalists...

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has had many guests across various fields in the wellness industry on Global Wellness Conversations, but our guest today is a first: A visual artist who uses his talent to help people fall in love with nature and be motivated to protect it. We’re talking to the famed cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg. Louie’s visuals—which you may be familiar with from the likes o...

When we’re talking about wellness, it makes sense to start the discussion where we spend most of our time: indoors. Despite how our modern society is structured, it’s important to remember that until recent history, humankind spent most of its time outside—not contained within four walls and a roof. Today humans spend roughly 90% of their time indoors and the pandemic has been a harsh reminder of...

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) was launched in 2007 and modeled after the World Economic Forum. Since then it has grown to be the most influential meeting between titans of the wellness industry. Its non-profit research arm, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) was launched in 2015. Neither organization would exist without the dedication and vision of this week’s guest. Today we’re talking to the...

Nothing stops you in your tracks and brings you back to reality faster than some startling facts, such as 66% of Alzheimer's patients are women, but only 12% of the National Institute of Health Alzheimer's research budget went to women-focused research; Or how women are 50% more likely to die in the year following a heart attack than men, but only 4.5% of the NIH coronary artery disease budget wen...

How does one woman surviving an illness result in an annual event celebrated across over seven thousand locations in more than 150 countries on five continents? It starts with dreaming big—but that’s only the beginning. Belgin Aksoy is a dreamer. She’s the founder of Global Wellness Day, which was unveiled in 2014 at the Global Wellness Summit in Morocco. Two years later, the momentous progress of...

Dr. Michael Roizen is the Cleveland Clinic’s first Chief Wellness Officer, and the author of four New York Times best-sellers.  He’s won several awards in the medical community, given over 1200 lectures, and made appearances on Oprah, The Today Show, CNN, CBS, Good Morning America, and more, he writes a daily newspaper column and has run a radio show known as Y OU The Owner’s Manual for over...

Women’s health is one of the most underserved areas of wellness – specifically menopause. Our guests today, Dr. Sharon Malone and Monica Molenaar, founded a telehealth platform designed to democratize related information and resources so all women can access the guidance they need. Dr. Sharon Malone is the youngest of eight children, born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, who later became an Ivy Leag...

Dr. Howard Murad is a true wellness trailblazer. One of the first doctors to open a day spa, and the owner of nineteen patents in the field, Dr. Murad popularized the idea that skincare goes further than skin deep. He was one of the first people to identify skin care as health care, and now he champions the best ways to maintain healthy skin for the sake of your entire body.  Howard’s story i...

Abby is the founder and CEO of MYX, “remyxing” the higher education landscape to combine online and experimental learning to meet the needs of the future. Wellness is so often about the here and now that it’s easy to forget about how much our formative years play into our health and wellbeing. That’s why keeping a focus on the education system is so important – it’s going to have such a huge impac...

Joanna is President & CEO of the Center for Active Design in New York. They’re a non-profit on a mission to promote health through design in the real estate and landscape we inhabit. Now, they’re the licensed operators of Fitwel, the world’s leading certification system for optimizing buildings for health. The movement started in the late 1800s when disease was rife, and cities started to impl...

Dr. Jeffrey Rediger is a Harvard professor, medical doctor, psychiatrist, and the author of “Cured: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing.” His pioneering work studying recovery from terminal illness has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Dr. Oz Show.  In this episode, he lays out his pillars of wellness and invites us to get to grips with just how much control we have...

Kicking off the fifth season of the Global Wellness Summit podcast is an illuminating discussion of all things design with pioneering design icon, Clodagh. Turns out, open space, objects, sounds, people, materials, smells and energy -- or the lack thereof - has a deeply profound impact on our wellbeing.  Also joining us is guest co-host, Veronica Schreibeis Smith, who you’ll remember from epi...

Breathing can be considered the original medicine. It’s historically been a spiritual practice and taking charge of how we breathe carries an almost endless list of health benefits – both mental and physical. First off, James Nestor joins us for a discussion on the amazing ways that breathing, and the way we breathe, can affect our health (both negatively and positively). James is a journalist who...

We’re getting to grips with one of the world’s original wellness destinations: the birthplace of The Human Potential Movement, Gestalt therapy, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and hot tub diplomacy. It’s the iconic Esalen Institute, the nonprofit retreat center and community housed in Big Sur, California and, some would argue, the origins of the modern California lifestyle.  Joining us to get de...

Elaine Glusac is a freelance travel writer of 26 years who is part of the New York Times travel team. She’s written for numerous publications including, but not limited to, The Chicago Tribune, Virtuoso Life, and National Geographic Traveller. Jennifer Kester is the Vice President and Executive Editor of Forbes Travel Guide and she’s been writing about travel with them since 2008. Her past credits...

Dr. Ken Pelletier is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and he’s on a mission to debunk the notion of immune boosting. He tells us why we should all be striving for immune balance instead.  We get into all things immunity, from our metabolic health, to our epigenetic profiles and gut microbiomes. We even touch on how immune balancing can impact our telomer...

Sallie Fraenkel is the founder of Mind Body Spirit Network (MBSN), Dr. Dan Diamond is the founder of NogginStorms, and Jon Berghoff is the Co-Founder and CEO of XCHANGE. Obviously, they’re all running organizations created to push positive change into the world, but there’s a clearer link: all three of them are members of the Living Well From Within initiative.  Living Well From Within is the...

Money is one of the biggest stressors in the world — and one that we don’t talk about nearly as much as we should in the wellness space. The conversation is about so much more than money, savings and spending rates. It hinges on, not just about how much you make, but how your approach to personal finance impacts your mental wellness. Skyler Hubler and Cecelia Girr are both dynamic researchers from...