BC Brain Wellness Program 5th Year Anniversary Celebration

This is a HYBRID event on Zoom and at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health.

Since its inception in October 2019, the BC Brain Wellness Program has provided lifestyle programming and presentations, at no or low cost, to individuals with chronic brain conditions, their care partners, and healthy agers. Join us for a day of reflection, celebration, and inspiration as we honour the past and embrace new possibilities to make even bigger impacts through the BC Brain Wellness Program.

The anniversary event will be a half-day hybrid event featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Dean Ornish, interactive workshops, a creative gallery, booths, door prizes, light catering and a reception-style networking session.

Schedule of Events (subject to change):

12:30 - 1:00 —— Doors open, arrival and check-in
1:00 - 1:10 —— Opening welcome
1:10 - 2:10 —— Keynote presentation by Dr. Ornish
2:10 – 2:15 —— Stretch break
2:15 – 2:35—— Anniversary presentation by Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell
2:35 – 3:00 —— Panel with Special Guests
3:00 – 3:30 —— Networking break
(For in-person attendees, this break is a chance to mingle with other attendees, check out the service booths and our Creative Collective exhibition, and enjoy some light refreshments.)
3:30 – 4:25 —— Workshops
(There will be two 20-minute workshops during this time. In-person attendees will indicate which 2 workshops they wish to attend in the RSVP form. Online attendees will attend a nutrition workshop and an exercise workshop.)
4:25 - 4:30 —— Closing remarks


In-Person Workshops:
Exercise
A combination of strength, balance and aerobic exercises. Both standing and seated options will be available.
Instructor: Sally Stelling

Yoga
This 20 minute standing yoga sampler class session offers gentle guidance through a series of standing poses, allowing you to tailor the practice to your comfort and experience. Embrace the opportunity to build awareness of your posture, movement and breath.
Instructor: Vanessa Barron

Music
We will be intentional about breath and posture as we prepare to sing a lyrical phrase in the round (canon). Be inspired to raise our voice together!
Instructor: Cynthia Friesen

Improv
Celebrate the BC Brain Wellness Program's 5th anniversary with laughter, and give improv a try! Learn more about improv and its application for wellness, and try some improv exercises geared towards cognitive health and creating connections!
Instructor: Improv for Work and Wellness

Nutrition
Join us for a “Food is Medicine, Lifestyle Matters” workshop, which will consist of a trivia to debunk common nutrition and food myths, a presentation on current evidence on culinary nutrition and medicine, and a "what I eat in a day" activity where we will build our own 1-day meal plan using example ingredients provided.
Instructor: Yolanda Wang

About the Keynote Speaker

Dr. Dean Ornish
Dr. Dean Ornish is an American physician, researcher, and author, who is president and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ornish will discuss his newly published randomized control trial research showing that intensive lifestyle changes improve cognition and function in many patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
More info