Call up for Global Wellness Day

The Grande Coloane Resort

Drawing on the unbalanced lifestyle commonly seen among local workers, a group of exercise enthusiasts have decided to celebrate Global Wellness Day with a series of activities to be held on June 13, aiming to motivate citizens to consider and improve their well-being.
With the slogan “One day can change your whole life,” Global Wellness Day was initiated in Turkey in 2012 and has since been marked on the second Saturday of June every year as the official international day dedicated to wholesome living.
The initiative will be extended to Macau for the first time this year, as its local ambassador Ms Corinne Mackay is planning an event at the Grande Coloane Resort, which is set to include an outdoor sunrise beach bootcamp, a family fun run, meditation and yoga sessions, as well as nutritional and diet-oriented talks.
The ambassador, an Australian native and fitness trainer, who has been residing in Macau for the past nine years, recognized that wellness in the city has “taken a leap forward” in responding to the growing trend of healthy living.
From the increase in trainers, improved variety of training facilities and nutritional choices in local markets, to her highly popular training sessions held at sunrise, Ms Mackay believes that the changes over the years “definitely indicate that the Macau people do care about the physical aspect of their lives.”
However, many citizens still lack the knowledge or opportunity to make a change, while many lack a work-life balance. “These common lifestyle habits in Macau result in a lack of exercise, poor food choices and no time for rest and recovery,” she said.
In order to make a change, Ms Mackay stressed that self-
awareness is the first step. “A journey starts with a single step. Global Wellness Day is a day to pause and reflect; pause from our busy schedules and reflect on the value we put on our lives. With 365 days in a year, this one day can be the first step in a journey of self discovery and self awareness to live a healthier and happier life,” she expressed.
“There are seven manifestos to follow: walk one hour, drink more water, don’t use plastic bottles, eat organic and local produce, do a good deed, eat a family dinner, and go to bed at 10pm,” suggested the ambassador, who further explained that the concept of “wellness” is connected to wellbeing in various aspects, namely spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, cultural, occupational, social and environmental wellness.
“Global Wellness Day is a non-profit platform about raising awareness, inspiring and motivating others to try and experience health and wellbeing in a way that may not have been experienced before. We need to stress the importance of wellness with the global increase of preventable diseases such as obesity and diabetes especially in the younger generation,” she stated.
“Teaching our children to be active, to make healthy choices and to get outdoors where possible is so important with the growing number of children being indoors, using electronic devices, and the Internet,” Ms Mackay added, encouraging citizens to step out more often into the greenery maintained on Coloane island.