Category: Well-Being

The Third Metric: Beyond the Self

Posted on by Allison Heaps

In preparation for The Third Metric’s upcoming event Thrive in New York, D.C. and Los Angeles, industry leaders attended a special session at NYC Social Media Week. A diverse selection of startups, including GitaSutra, BRB, Casper, Greatest, Headspace, DonorsChoose.org, and Fueled, discussed the opportunities and challenges that exist for emerging technologies to improve individual growth.

Juice bars and gym memberships saturated the self-improvement movement of the past. The Third Metric’s mission to “redefine success beyond money and power” is rapidly rising in our culture. This month’s TIME magazine cover story even features The Mindful Revolution. Francis Pedraza, co-founder and CEO of Everest, observed in a Huffington Post article that human’s “social need” for connection, as described by psychologist Abraham Maslow in the 1940’s, has been satisfied by our hyper-connected lifestyles. Indeed, Facebook, Twitter, and texting, have created instantaneous human connections. Pedraza asserted, “with less of our time taken up by basic survival, our need to improve ourselves will move from the back-burner to the front.”

Self-actualization is at the top of Maslow’s needs hierarchy pyramid. Today, basic self-actualized peak experiences appear in many forms, whether it’s running marathons, pursuing advanced degrees, or achieving a “personal best” in a hobby. This intense focus on the self sometimes manifests as ego validation, so it is crucial to understand the distinction between the two. Whatever the case may be, the CEO’s from wellness startups who attended Social Media Week New York last week offered solutions to get you there.

While some are compelled to disconnect from their electronic devices, others prefer to remain firmly connected. CEO of HeadSpace, Rich Pierson, cleverly coined the phrase, “plugging in to unplug.”  

HeadSpace is a free guided-meditation app that contains bite-sited pieces to foster meditation, starting with 10-minute sessions. Derrick Flanzaich, CEO of Greatist.com, a fitness, health and happiness start-up commented, “I firmly believe that never has wellness been more important- I think there is a reason HeadSpace is catching on and picking up steam; we are truly changing in the way we prioritize how we spend our day and how we value success.”

Still can’t bear the thought of cutting the cord? BRB (Be Right Back) was conceived when the founders went to dinner and realized everyone was looking at their phones. BRB is a virtual secretary that will inform others that you are not available — but will Be Right Back, of course. “There is a constant social pressure to be on the devices all the time,” co-owner, Noah Levy added.

The expansion of Maslow’s self-actualization concept in 1971 emphasized a move beyond the self to achieve the highest level of self-actualization. For those who are “just too busy,” social media now facilitates such a pursuit. For example, Donorschoose.org is a non-profit organization that helps teachers acquire materials for their classrooms. By utilizing technology, we can create a culture of service and gratitude. Margie Cadet shared, “technology has made it easier for people to give and engage… 1.3 million people have given to the site Donerschoose.org, and “50% have given to schools in a 20-mile radius from their homes.”

For those who choose to “unplug,” Rasanath Das, an ex-Wall Street executive turned full-time Yogi, practices an in-person approach to wellness at GitaSutra using the Bhagvad-Gita and Enneagram as psycho-spritual development tools for executives. Classes are personalized and include, “Excavating your Ego Type” among others. Das very humbly prescribes an actionable daily program of service and gratitude, “At the end of the day, if you can spare fifteen minutes, and take of stock of one act of kindness that you did or one lesson that you learned, even by observing someone, and see how it has affected your life and store it inwards, keep it with you, and carry it with you for the next day. It’s those small things that make a big difference.”

Today, I challenge you live the mission of The Third Metric by redefining your success beyond money and power by embracing its mantras of Well-Being, Wonder, Wisdom and Giving.

Allison Heaps is corporate wellness advocate living in New York. In her spare time, she practices yoga, runs marathons, and sings jazz. She is a master’s candidate at NYU with a concentration is organizational effectiveness. Contact her here.

Tech Needs a Posture Check

Posted on by Deanna Utroske

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If you’re reading this on a mobile device or while sitting at your desk, I’ve got bad news: “The moment the spine collapses the brain collapses” (B. K. S. Iyengar).

We sit 9 1/2 hours each day. And though our minds accomplish feats of strength in front of the computer, our bodies and our brains suffer when we slouch at our desks and sag our heads forward over our phones.

Your Spine Online: The upstanding team of Breathe Repeat bloggers — Joyce Englander, Tracey Toomey and Jamie Lugo — led a masterclass on the hazards of tech neck and text head and how to remedy these nasty evolutionary adaptations of the digital age. “When you go online, your spine goes offline,” Toomey warned during Social Media Week 2014.

A better view: Your spinal alignment correlates directly to how others see you and how see yourself. Better posture makes you more confident, more memorable, and more likely to be viewed as a trustworthy leader.

Clever you: Good posture gives your lungs space to breathe fully and your brain nourishment to think clearly. Find your best alignment, and the creative solutions will flow.

In a slump?: Notice how you’re sitting. Yes, you. Now.

Being mindful of your alignment is the most important technique to improving it. Breathe Repeat recommends simply noticing your posture periodically, as well, as occasional field trips to the wall: with your heels, backside, shoulders, and back-of-the-head lined up, you’re standing tall!

Time is of the essence: You stay focused on your work; there’s an app for posture. Several, in fact. Posture Track monitors you through your computer’s camera and alerts you when things begin to collapse. StandApp reminds you to get up from your chair. And, Kripalu Yoga Break is a collection of 22, 5-minute yoga activities to keep you fit and refreshed throughout the day. And Perfect Posture is made for our Windows fans to mimic posture building exercises. Maybe tech is good for your posture after all.

Can I get that delivered?: Yoga’s more nourishing than the same old lunch from your local takeout joint, and it’s restorative too. You can get all the benefits of yoga from the comfort of your desk and share the goodness with your colleagues. The pros from Breathe Repeat will gladly drop by your office, and then you’ll be sitting upright, exuding creativity and productivity in no time.

Send them a quick note, and they’ll deliver yoga to you. It’s like Seamless for your spine!

Deanna Utroske is the Social Media Brand Director for New York Women in Communications, where membership includes a YogaWorks discount.  Deanna writes on women’s career issues, lifestyle topics and more. Follow her on Twitter @DeannaUtroske.

Put a Little East in Your West: Morning Yoga with Breathe Repeat

Posted on by Allison Heaps

Keeping up with the frenetic pace of New York City can be exhausting. It was 5:45AM and my mind immediately started to race in preparation for my twelve-hour day.

How much snow is on the ground? Will the A train be running on time? Don’t forget bring the snow boots AND the shoes for indoors! As I proceeded to shuffle my way through the newly fallen city sludge, my Costa Rican yoga retreat bliss from a mere four weeks ago, seemed like a distant memory.

This morning I practiced yoga at the Highline Stages campus of Social Media Week. Historically, my yoga practice has been reserved for the evening. However, last year, I decided to begin the day with yoga and what a difference it has made! The morning yoga was taught by the very patient Joyce Englander Levy, from Breathe Repeat, and made possible thanks to Under Armour.

For those of you who have compromised schedules due to work or children, Breathe Repeat is equally adept at offering convenient tips and using social media resources (Twitter, Facebook, website) for the modern yogi and on-site services for businesses. I was excited to learn that, ” BR@W’s mission is to enhance the lives and well-being of as many people as possible! We do this by bringing intelligent, well-practiced, fun and accessible yoga classes directly to corporate and entrepreneurial America.”

Founded in 2011 by Joyce Englander Levy and Tracey Toomey McQuade, BR@W brings yoga to your workplace in a smart, yet lighthearted way. I would encourage everyone to check the SMW yoga schedule this week.

Another fun bonus is the ARMOURGRIP HEADBAND gift provided by Under Armour, and protective lip balm courtesy of Breathe Repeat. Be sure to look for these ladies and Jamie Lugo, who will be teaching and presenting at Social Media Week.

Allison Heaps is corporate wellness advocate living in New York. In her spare time, she practices yoga, runs marathons, and sings jazz. She is a master’s candidate at NYU with a concentration is organizational effectiveness. Contact her here.

5 Questions with Aman Bhandari: Health & Data Strategy

Posted on by Nicky Yates

This is a guest post by Julia Wu of Luminary Labs

Aman Bhandari is U.S. Director, Health IT & Data Strategy at Merck, and previously served as a Senior Advisor to the White House. He moderated the Health: Big Innovation Playbook panel as part of the Future of Now: Health Innovation Track, Presented by Merck. The session was packed and full of great questions, which you can see:

Now, meet Aman:

  • Aman, what are you most looking forward to at Social Media Week?
    I’m always curious to learn more about how other industries are approaching digital and how these trends apply in a healthcare context. There are ton of great talks from across the spectrum, but I’m especially looking forward to hearing Anil Dash interview Steve Case, given the very different perspectives they bring.
  • Can you tell us more about social media’s role in healthcare innovation?
    While we’re just beginning to fully examine how social media can be used in health, we’ve long known that some of the most critical aspects of health and wellness lie in information exchange, connectedness and community. These themes are now being explored in entirely new ways through online platforms.
    This is an exciting time, and I see a tremendous opportunity for those who can figure out how to use social media to have an impact on health.
  • How does data fit into the picture?
    Right now, data is hot in healthcare both because of health reform and the potential for technological disruption. The healthcare industry is being incentivized by Obamacare to leverage data, and players across the industry understand that we need to measure what works because the old system is not sustainable. This massive policy shift along with increased data liquidity is creating new complexities, and as a society, we need to keep privacy considerations foremost in our minds as we explore this enormous opportunity.
  • You’ve been recently involved in some interesting partnerships across health IT/digital health and data/analytics, what’s the biggest learning or insight you can share from these collaborations?
    Because of the huge changes we are witnessing in the health, wellness and technology spaces, collaboration across the industry is no longer an option, it is a necessity. Yet, rather than finding opportunity in this demanding environment, many large organizations are still using a 20th century approach to business and partnerships.

    Collaborating outside of your organization has to be done with great care. It is hard work to be aligned, but when done right, partnerships can yield benefits greater than the sum of the parts and keep larger organizations at the forefront of innovation.

  • Do you have any advice for others looking to transform the healthcare space?
    Learn from the industry insiders, but also pay attention to the periphery, as the best ideas often come from those working outside the bounds of industry orthodoxies.

    One of my favorite quotes is from Steve Jobs who said: “I’ve always paid close attention to the whispers around me.” He understood the importance of listening to fresh perspectives when coming up with breakthrough products.

We are thrilled to have Aman and Merck join us at SMW NYC! Healthcare is hot — and it’s only getting hotter.

What’s In Store for Health? Merck Joins SMW NYC

Posted on by Nicky Yates

Technology and social innovations are revolutionizing the healthcare industry. While start-ups and consumer facing brands have been able to more quickly adapt to these changes in business, healthcare is just beginning to scrape the surface of bottom-up innovation. As these new ideas take hold, what’s exciting is the massive potential that exists to drive social change — not just in our everyday life but also in longevity, happiness, and with medical accuracy and efficiency.

Value creation in the healthcare arena is now inextricably connected to digital, data, and more recently, hardware technology. Through quantified-self innovations allowing users to take control of their own data, technology is now the fiber of the 21st century health care organization. It is this understanding of the challenges and potential that has prompted us to focus more deeply on this issue this SMW14. And we are honored to have Merck onboard as our City Supporting Sponsor as the creative force behind this.

Featuring a half day track at our new Campus this February, we will be diving deep into how healthcare is changing, innovating, and who is leading the charge in the industry.

merck

Using Social To Support The Human Dynamic: LiveWorld & SMW14

Posted on by Nicky Yates

For the past 18 years, LiveWorld has been helping corporations improve relationship marketing, customer support, and market learning through engagement, moderation, and insight. They provide a customizable platform with a range of social networking features, having worked with the world’s leading brands, like Pfizer, Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, Louis Vuitton, and Kimberly Clark, as well as the number one companies in the world in retail and consumer packaged goods.

We’re honored to have LiveWorld and Pfizer joining us again this SMW NYC, and we think it’s time you got to know more about them. We sat down with Peter Friedman CEO and Chairman of LiveWorld to learn a bit more about how they work.

Make sure you catch them in action this February at our new Campus for “Making Social More Social Within Regulated and Consumer Sensitive Industries” and their famous cocktail party. It’s an event you won’t want to miss — especially if your brand deals with regulations in any form.

  1. LiveWorld has been around since basically the beginning of social. Can you tell us more about how the vision that helped create LiveWorld and where you see social going in the next few years?

    Friedman: Our core team began work in social, or rather online community, all the way back in 1984 and 1985 at Apple, with products such as AppleLink, which today would be called an Apple industry social network. The entire industry side of the world of Apple — employees, dealers, developers, user group leaders, point people at K-12, universities and IS — were all in that community. Later, our work included AppleLink Personal Edition, which later became AOL, as well as, eWorld and Salon. Our core team left Apple in early 1996 to do for other F1000 companies what we had done for Apple — use online community/social media to help them deepen their customer relationships to improve marketing, customer support, and insight.

    Our vision for social has its roots at Apple. We fundamentally believe social is about the transformative power of online dialogue and relationships. That conviction underlies our major focus on the human element, enabled by technology. It’s similar to Apple’s core belief in the transformative power of personal technology with a major focus on the human experience. And just like at Apple, we focus on the brand’s presence in social as a deep cultural experience.

    Social has had explosive growth; but it’s only the beginning. While we have a massive number of people in the medium, the strength and richness of usage patterns still has a ways to go. Certainly we see a continued shift to mobile social, as well more visual social. That shift will definitely include more video and live camera — but we think photos will dominate. On the business side, we think social media marketing is still mostly traditional advertising, print, digital, and PR broadcast messaging being shoved at customers through social channels. This is beginning to change as brands realize they have to focus on engagement. But even that, for the most part today, is about interacting with broadcast content. Where it needs to go, and will go eventually, is to a focus on dialogue and relationships that truly involve customers — building their commitment to the brand and affecting sales.

  2. Many of the brands you work with have to address federal regulations. How has LiveWorld learned to navigate this area and still excel?

    Friedman: First it’s important to define goals and strategies that factor in the regulatory environment: understand the regulations, how they affect the business goals, and how to manage, mitigate, or eliminate the associated risks. The customers have moved to social, and so must the brands. The regulations are intended to protect consumers but haven’t necessarily kept pace with the media. Still, the brands can manage in a regulatory environment by having a systematic, organized model, plans, and process flow, with support from appropriate technology. Again and again, we have helped our clients’ legal and marketing departments partner together; the issues can be dealt with as long as they are thought out well. One legal counsel put it this way: “We know we need to go into social and we want to help marketing do it. We just want them to plan well and execute more with a thoughtfully aimed rifle shot, not shooting from the hip.”

  3. Our global theme this year is The Future of Now: Always On, Always Connected. We’ll be addressing how to use tech to be more human and connected. Recently, you expressed that living more balanced would be a focus for your organization. How do you see that playing out within the company and industry?

    Friedman: Social by definition is a medium about humans connecting, engaging, and being social with each other. We have to remember this at all junctures. Use technology to support the human dynamic, help customers get closer to each other, and the brand to get closer to customers. Rather than getting seduced into thinking technology can replace that human dynamic — or enable us to avoid it.

  4. What important trends are you seeing as important for marketers and brands to understand this next year?

    Friedman: As the market grows in size, users, usage, vendors, etc., it’s becoming more difficult to achieve true engagement that causes a customer to really think and feel about your brand on a sustained basis. Some brands will stick with prior strategies and find themselves slipping away from their customers. Others will develop longer form social storytelling and other models that will deepen customer involvement.

    Customers are going cross-channel and brands will need to do so as well — partly to follow the eyeballs, but also to provide richer experiences. However, brands need to be careful not to follow a “one-post-fits-all-channels” mentality. Each channel has its own unique character, and the brand-fostered experience is best tailored to fit that unique context.

    Increasingly the primary competitive dynamic will be how brands leverage social for real-time customer insight and then action it.

  5. This is your second year joining SMW NYC. Can you share more about why this partnership is exciting for your team and what attendees can expect from LiveWorld and Pfizer?

    Friedman: Pfizer is a great client and a great partner. They are a social media leader in the Pharma industry and currently support the corporate brand and many product brands across multiple social channels and community websites. We’ve worked with them to create engaging customer experiences, while managing within the regulatory boundaries. They are also committed to moving the entire industry forward (or rather industries, meaning both pharma and social), which leads us to Social Media Week last year and this. Our goal was to provide a focused series of sessions that would be informative with practical take-a-ways for the group — not generic “good social,” but experienced based insights. Our program last year included a panel on “Legal and Marketing in Social: Friends or Enemies,” and a keynote by the CMO of the Cleveland Clinic, with network cocktail hour. Feedback was great.

    This year we’re bringing a wider set of panelists together to discuss the challenges and approaches in regulated and consumer sensitive industries overall (not just healthcare). We’ll cover managing in a regulatory environment, achieving true engagement, and how to scale.

    And don’t forget the cocktail party. That is a returning favorite.

5 Minutes With Sara Holoubek

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood

Sara Holoubek is the CEO and founder of Luminary Labs, a consultancy focused on operationalizing innovation. We are pleased to have her as a member of this year’s Advisory Board and to hear her thoughts on this year’s SMW!

1. What is your or your organization’s greatest success with social media to date?
In late 2011, we published “The Innovation Myth,” to Slideshare. While it had great traction initially, we were quite surprised when in July of 2012 views skyrocketed. The right person had discovered and share our work and for two days our presentation was one of the most viewed on Slideshare. Unexpected, organic success is always the sweetest.

2. What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the emerging technology and/or new media space right now?
We are incredibly excited by the number of gurus from Web 1.0 and 2.0 days –  Tim O’Reilly to Esther Dyson to the founders of Invite Media – who are applying their experience and expertise to solve for healthcare. Health tech is hot.

3. What speaker or event are you most looking forward to at SMW NYC?
I’m particularly interested the experiential sessions, installations, and collaborative spaces at the Global HQ at the Metropolitan Pavilion.

4. What prompted you to join Social Media Week’s Advisory Board OR What do you think is SMW’s greatest value add to the tech/media space?
I love how SMW coalesces entire cities around a common theme that transcends any given industry. This idea of inclusion runs contrary to most gatherings, and therefore, yields greater outcomes.

5. What is the most creative way you’ve seen social media used? (This could be a meme, campaign, installation, etc.)
True story: I had been spending the holidays with my family in Wisconsin when the great blizzard of 2011 arrived. Once my flight was cancelled, I spent a few hours desperately trying to find another flight, a train, a car – anything – that would get me back to New York. After tweeting a few updates on the absolute lack of transportation for at least a week, a friend tweeted back that her partner happened to be in Chicago, with a rental car, and did I want to join her for the trip back? Of course I did.

5 Minutes With LiveWorld

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood


Photo: LiveWorld CEO, Peter Friedman

Our NYC Opening Party Supporting Sponsor and Event Host, we sat down with LiveWorld to talk all things social media. A user content management company, LiveWorld is a trusted partner to the world’s largest brands, including the number-one companies in retail, CPG, pharmaceutical, and financial/travel services.

1. What is LiveWorld’s greatest success with social media to date?

LiveWorld has hundreds of success stories from our stellar roster of Fortune 500 clients. To name just one story is tough, but to highlight our capabilities: we brought a Fortune 10 brand from an initial social media presence to being the #1 most engaged brand on Facebook worldwide, #1 brand for fans in the US and #1 share of Twitter voice in its category. We achieved this by deploying our proprietary user content management technology and working closely with the client on social strategy, insight analysis, engagement content and moderation.

2. What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the emerging technology and/or new media space right now, as it relates to the health and pharmaceutical sector?

Healthcare is undergoing significant change in this country. Everyone is feeling it, and consumers have more questions regarding their healthcare and an increasing need for emotional and content support from other consumers and brands. Healthcare and Pharma have an unprecedented opportunity to become trusted sources of information and support for consumers, but are constantly caught battling legal and regulatory stipulations that hinder their ability to engage in social media. At LiveWorld, working these issues is our core strength. Our solution ensures regulatory and legal considerations are met through careful content monitoring, moderation, engagement, and crisis management protocols.

3. Tell us about your goals for SMW? What do you hope attendees will take away from your installation and reception?

All brands, including those in healthcare, must be actively engaged in social media across all of their strategically important markets. This worldwide and highly targeted approach to social media can seem complicated and intimidating to many brands that lack the internal resources or knowledge to implement such a program.

Our goal is to impress upon our attendees the importance of a comprehensive social media strategy, integrated implementation approach, and keeping the human element at the forefront.

LiveWorld’s brand clients go beyond just being on social media – they achieve something. The programs we develop with our clients are world class. They protect the brand, obtain actionable insights, and true engagement.

4. What is the most creative way you’ve seen social media used? (This could be a meme, campaign, installation, etc.)

We highly recommend the Walmart Elves Twitter Program and Sprint/Unilever Suave Shampoo In the Motherhood Program. Through creating a dialogue and relationship with consumers, both social media programs have had a transformative power to positively affect the consumer experience and brand loyalty.

5. This year, our global theme is “Open & Connected: Principles for a Collaborative World.” How does LiveWorld support this idea overall?

“Open & Connected” is what we at LiveWorld have been evangelizing for over 28 years. User content moderation and true engagement is a challenging element of social media for many large brands, and we work hard to make sure that everyone’s voice is being heard. Sometimes, however, we encounter harassment, spam and other comments that do not contribute to the conversation. In fact, they detract from it. This is where LiveWorld steps in so that our clients’ fans have a safe and respectful atmosphere in which to interact.

We like to think of social media as the brand’s big, online party. You want to create an engaging memorable party that your customers will recommend and want to come back to. We always ask our clients to consider questions like: “What kind of party are you throwing?”, “Who is invited?”, “What is the topic of conversation?”, “How will your customers experience your brand, when the primary method is through conversations with other customers?”.

Social media is all about human beings connecting, dialoguing, and building relationships. Our approach from strategy, to moderation, to engagement, to actionable insight, keeps that human element at the forefront. If social media is a brand’s party, consider LiveWorld a brand’s party planner who brings the bouncers, ushers and DJ, all to create the best customer experience.

LiveWorld partners with Fortune 500 brands to develop social media strategies user content moderation, engagement, and insight that span across 70 different country-language combinations, over 4,000 social media properties and over 1 million pieces of user content/month. We leverage our backend social content management system technology for scale, quality, and flexibility.

Every piece of user content is seen by a real, human LiveWorld moderator. We create true relationships and understanding among consumers and with the brand.

Make sure you check out Liveworld during SMW NYC when they join up with Pfizer to talk How to Improve Social Media Engagement in Regulated Industries and Consumer Sensitive Markets. It’s bound to be a day full of knowledge and information.

Clear Your Cache

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood

(A Guest Blog by our friends at Breathe Repeat) We aren’t the most tech savvy women, but that didn’t hold us back from building BreatheRepeat.com. Handstands are a breeze compared to the challenges we faced starting this business. Terms like “coding” and “transferring to the live server” and “staging sites”… I mean, could you give it to us in Sanskrit please?

PHP, J Query, SRS, Cache? We didn’t even know we had a cache until our valiant coder, Bennett, asked us to clear it.

“The cache temporarily stores images, scripts, and other parts of websites while you’re browsing,” Bennett explained patiently. “When I make changes to the code you have to clear your cache, so that you can access the new, improved version of the site instead of getting the older version.”

Hmmm, clearing your cache… With a click of the mouse, we can clear away the old stuff that isn’t serving us and let the new, improved version come forward? We started wondering… if it’s a piece of cake to clear your cache in the virtual world, how do we clear our caches in the real, flesh-and-blood world?

The first step is to “build our new code”. Our mind-body-machinery is much more complex than a computer’s, because we are indeed living, breathing beings with many interrelated systems. So, what is the gateway in? Ahhhhh — through the breath. By using our breath and subtly manipulating the posture of our body, we begin to redirect the blood flow and neural impulses in our body which help to carry our biological code.

For updating your code in a flash, we here at Breathe Repeat are big fans of breathing and twisting! Anyone can do it, regardless of fitness level, it’s detoxifying, and it’s something you can do right in your desk chair. Alright… let’s get started.

The double-helix, clear your cache twist maneuver:

  • First things first, sit up so that your breath begins to come and go more easily.
  • Place your left foot firmly on the floor, turned a few degrees to the right.
  • Cross your right leg over your left, and allow your legs to fall to the right naturally – it won’t be much. This will begin to take your hips and torso to the right as well – like you are a winding strand of DNA being built from the ground up. Go with it!
  •  Now place your left hand on your knee and your right hand on the side or back of your chair. Notice if the breath is still coming and going easily – this is as important as keeping the power of your computer turned on.
  • The spine will have the greatest opportunity to twist if you start from the base. So let your pelvis turn, then swivel your low back, then start to engage the arms to wind the upper torso around and up. Still breathing easy?
  •  Now, you’re going to have to look away for a moment, but before you go, here are some tips: Allow the head and neck to follow the twist of the torso rather than lead it. You can even turn your eyes to gaze in the same direction as the twist. Stay as long as the breath remains easy or until your body naturally unwinds back to neutral.
  •  Don’t forget the other side… take your time… we’re in no hurry. Perhaps it’s this last part, this turning of the head for a minute to look away from your computer and gaining a new perspective that helps us wipe the slate clean.

Presto! Consider your cache cleared!

 

The Three Minute Reboot

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood

(A guest blog by our friends at Breathe Repeat)

You’ve been working your ass off, and now you’re heading into Social Media Week. It doesn’t look like you’ll be getting R and R anytime soon. Instead of heading out to Jack’s for your fourth latte of the day, why not try a little yoga instead? Don’t worry. We’re not talking about schlepping to a yoga studio and taking an hour-and-a-half class that will leave you sweaty and in desperate need of a shower. This is something that only takes three minutes, and can be done in the privacy of your own cubicle. It won’t hurt a bit. We promise.

First things first.

Uncross your legs and put your feet on the floor. Feels weird, right? Sit up a little taller. You know, like you’re proud of the work you’ve accomplished today. Take an easy breath. We here at Breathe Repeat never advocate taking “deep breaths” – no need to be an overachiever when it comes to breathing. You do enough overachieving in your morning meeting, spin class and in your efforts to take on the world. For the next few minutes, just let your belly be soft – don’t tighten it or try to suck it in – just let it be fluid and allow the breath to just come in. Then let it go. Feels good, right? Do it again. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Repeat.

Now it’s time to move your body! Place your left arm next to your desk and lean into it. Reach your right arm up in the air and as you press into your left arm, bend up and over to the left, stretching out the right side of your body. Press into your feet. Play around with it a little bit. Lean forward, lean back. Make more space for an easy breath. There is no right or wrong way! If you’re breathing mindfully, you’re doing yoga. It’s that simple!

Switch sides. Now your right arm is next to your desk and your leaning into it. Lift your left arm up and arc over to the right. Press into your feet. Inhale lean back a little. Exhale lean forward. Explore.

Notice a difference? Thought so.

Sometimes when everything goes haywire with your computer, you need to reboot, right? Consider this your own personal reset button. Sometimes you need to shut down your newsfeed for a minute, ground your feet on the floor, make some space in your body and breathe easy before revving up again.

Now, at the very least, no matter what else happens during the day, you’ll know you’ve done something for you. This will give you a great deal more patience when your computer freezes, your hotspot doesn’t work, your Friday meeting gets pushed back an hour, or no one likes your recent status update on Facebook.

You can do it.

Always,
Breathe Repeat

 

Keeping SMW Healthy: Whole Foods

Posted on by Nicky Yates

It’s the small things that sometimes help move something from ordinary into amazing. Someone giving you their seat on the train. Free movies on a flight. Power charging stations at events. Snacks and beverages at Social Media Week.

You’ve seen them around. You’ve taken some of the fruit- admit it. So, today we thank Whole Foods. Positioning Food Carts at our Advertising & Marketing Hub at JWT, Health & Wellness Hub at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and our Global Society Hub at Big Fuel, Whole Foods is keeping you energized with snacks on the go.

And that’s not all. They’re sharing their success stories. Be Global, Act Local at their Bowery location on Thursday, February 16, will provide accounts on how to have both a global and local presence to meet consumer needs. With Whole Foods’ online presence and incredible community engagement efforts, they tend to know this area pretty well. So, register today and chat with them about what you can do with your business.

But don’t forget to grab a snack after the session.

Five Reasons to Visit the Health & Wellness Hub

Posted on by Nicky Yates

In 2012, Social Media Week New York introduces the first Health & Wellness Hub to serve as a platform to empower change in health through collaboration. Hosted by Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and curated by Luminary Labs, the Health & Wellness Hub will take place at Saatchi & Saatchi’s ground floor auditorium, and offers seating for 400 guests as well as a livestream. The event runs from February 13-17, 2012.

We spoke to Luminary Labs CEO Sara Holoubek on what’s hot at the Health & Wellness Hub.

 
1. It’s about people.
Given the rate at which social technologies are changing the face of healthcare, it is quite easy to get caught up in the tech. And yet solving for health is about humanity. Or as keynote Michael Graves says “People first.” We’ll kick of the week with a human-centered approach to health, from a big data to hospital design to Regina Holliday’s personal story of how she became a patient advocate. Later in the day, participants will roll up their sleeves with Jessica Hammer to learn how to design for desire in health. Also in the spirit of humanity, Johnson & Johnson will close the day with a networking cocktail reception.
 

2. It’s about tech.
We’re going to explore, demystify, and even challenge the role of the technology that is changing the face of healthcare. Frank Moss kicks off the day with a lively discussion of the 2012 MIT Health and Wellness Innovation Hackathon. J.C. Herz will help us unpack the quantified self, followed by a panel on the role of sensors in health. We’ll also explore gaming in the panel, “This Game Will Make You Healthier.”
 

3. We’ll collaborate.
There is no silver bullet in health, and change requires partnership and collaboration. Michele Polz of Sanofi and Aman Bhandari of Health & Human Services will detail how their two organizations partnered to identify new innovations in diabetes. In the afternoon, well take a look at the role of collaboration in wellness, with a keynote from Dr. Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic and a panel on how our perception of beauty affects our behavior and purchase patterns. Last, but not least, participants will get a chance to crowdsource the ideal FDA social media guidelines, as well as comment for the Physician Payment Sunshine Act.
 

4. We’ll Accelerate.
Jay Walker, founder of Priceline and TEDMED chairman & curator will set the stage on Thursday as startups, investors, and strategic partners converge to make it happen. We’re putting the investors in the hot seat, asking them to “pitch” the startups. Later in the day we’ll connect strategic investors and startups via an interactive matchmaking session.
 

5. We’re going to change the game.
We’ll wrap up the week with the ideas and case studies. Participants will get the opportunity to take part in an socially-enabled feedback experiment, learning how little acts of willpower help train your willpower muscle. The week will wrap up with Feast on Health, hosted the fabulous Jerri Chou.