A Grid team, 21.10.2019

A Grid hosted Modern Wellness Day as part of Aalto University Wellness Week

On October 1, 2019, A Grid hosted a day full of wellness activities as part of the annual Aalto University Wellness Week. The event gathered together Aalto personnel, faculty, teachers and students but also entrepreneurs and other parties interested in wellness.

With the fall season in full swing and increasing pace in work and studies, we start having to find ways to take care of ourselves. In the Finnish conditions, it is a biological fact that we do not get the same level of light, vitamins, and in some cases physical or mental stimulation as we do in the summer months.

These reasons are exactly why it was such a thrill to have a day full of wellness activities at A Grid at Modern Wellness Day. The day offered several varying activities, sessions and classes to highlight some of the options that are available to us over these wintry months.

The day started with a group jog along the seaside, where brave runners got together to run to Villa Elfvik and back. Heikki Karjalainen from Aalto University Campus & Real Estate was kind enough to lead the run, and slow it down too – he is an avid trail runner with quite a pace!

After the run, there was a breath work session led by Leigh Ewin, head of A Grid Ecosystem and Community. In the workshop, participants were invited to explore increased level of breathing and different breath holding exercises to trigger a calm and relaxed state within. With a simple tool like breathing, energy and focus can be improved and increased – and we carry the ability to do this with us at any moment.

During the Health Talks part of the day, it was time to hear from experts on the role of technology in our health and overall performance. Tiina Hoffman from Firstbeat Technologies shared her experience and insights in how to make lifestyle changes to reduce stress and anxiety and increase performance and overall quality of life. She highlighted the importance of nightly sleep and recovery moments, such as meditation, during the day.

Wellmo, an A Grid startup and member of Aalto University Startup Center, shared how they approach health solutions for large groups of people mainly in the corporate world and help roll out all-inclusive health plans on a combined platform. We also saw data collection in the world of martial arts with KickAI. They have a smart sensor that measures the athlete’s performance while training or competing.

The rest of the day focused on physical training with a core body workout by researcher Karoliina Hakkarainen and a yoga class led by Maija Vahteristo, also from the Aalto University Health faculty.

It was a great pleasure to see the level of eagerness from participants of each activity, and notice how interested people were to not only look after their own health, but to connect with others and share best practices in the wellness area. A Grid looks forward to hosting more events focusing on wellness in the future.