The open spaces at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage will come in handy for the upcoming Wellness Weekend and Expo, Jan. 7-9, 2022.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY WESTIN MISSION HILLS GOLF RESORT & SPA
In this age of Covid, personal health has never been more important. That’s where the inaugural Westin Wellness Weekend and Expo can assist.
“I think right now, more than ever building our immunity and our health is of the utmost importance,” says Yvonne Kohsel, a health strategist and director of spa and wellness at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage.
“In the age category out here, I see a very slippery slope,” she adds. “I want to provide them with healthy alternatives and let them know that fitness can be fun, and healthy eating can be tasty. They don't have to restrict or give up anything. I want to educate people on a healthier option and break down the barriers. How do you see the next 10 years of your life, how can I support you?”
Kohsel will team at the Westin Wellness Weekend with Doris Thews, an international fitness educator, Jan. 7-9, 2022. The expo is open and free to the public, while a program featuring talks on how to thrive and build resilience in life or how to have a sweet life without sugar, a yoga session for improved sleep, rest, and recovery, and a variety of guided pilates classes from sport recovery to meditation. Covid protocols will be followed and sessions will be held either outdoors or in ballrooms with appropriate spacing.
“It’s really an amazing time to have her co-present with me,” Kohsel says. “I think Doris and my focus is to reset, rejuvenate, and resurface the best version of you. The goal is to really raise the level of health and wellness in our community so people can live a healthier, fun life.”
To register for the Westin Wellness Weekend without staying at the hotel, click Here.
Palm Springs Life chats more with Kohsel about what visitors can expect when booking a session with one of the fitness experts.
How can yoga and pilates help people in their daily life?
Yoga and pilates helps improving flexibility, balance, and especially coordination. Those are important steps to prevent falls. Falls are a huge issue with the elderly. If they can recover from a fall or not even fall at all because of the muscles that we're restoring, then it is a great success. We are using non-traditional yoga poses and stretches that are designed to release the hips and restore flexibility. People store a lot of emotions and stress in their muscles. How can we release that? How can we focus on being mindful and grateful, especially during these times right now? Even though it’s hard there is always something to be grateful for. How can I show them to live at a very high vibration of what they eat and what they drink to have them live their best life? Mostly people spend the most amount of money staying alive in the last 10 years of their life, and I want to show them how they can avoid that.
Sleep is our No. 1 pillar of health. We focus a lot on sleep because it's our greatest health insurance policy, but it's the most underrated. I share with them how they can track their sleep, what they can do to get a better REM and deep sleep.
Have you presented previously on these topics? What are common questions you get from people that may have helped shape this weekend event?
Because sleep is our No. 1 pillar of help, I do sleep talks every weekend at the resort here, and it is amazing what feedback I receive. How I've changed their life and given them the rest that they've needed to perform for the next day. Even reducing the amount of sugar. Sugar is propagating and it decreases your immune system. Right now, the questions I get most are all about building immunity. The tips that I give my clients and the guests here, it lasts, they leave here healthier than when they arrive. That's my goal, educating how they can live healthier.
Will participants get a chance to learn about specific products or services – either at the Westin or other brands - that will assist them after they leave the weekend event?
Absolutely. We have the exhibition, which is 40 exhibitors and all things about wellness. With Doris and my talks, we're going to give them specific resources and tasting so that they have a hands-on experience on what to expect and how they can continue this. They also have the option to sign up for my newsletter.
This is a wellness spa resort, I send out an email every month with “All Things Wellness”with a workout video, cooking video and nutrition tips. They don't leave here without receiving a great massage, it's a learning experience that continues ongoing, because we want our guests to be as healthy as they can so they can come back and stay with us.
Given the current health climate, what Covid protocols will you have in place? Are you limiting the number of people in classes?
Everything's outside, the whole expo has been moved outside.
That leaves plenty of space for Doris and my sessions at the Oasis ballroom. It's the largest ballroom and we're going to be very spaced out. We're taking every precaution that we can to make people feel comfortable.
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