Oct 11

Oct 11 My Three Favorite Wellness Resources That You’ve Likely Never Heard Of

Community, Health, Hospitality, Leadership, Mental Health, Wellness, Resources

There’s no shortage of information, insights and advice on navigating the world of wellness. But how do you sort the real data from the witchcraft, snake oil and uninformed opinions?

As someone whose kitchen table is piled with research papers, and who devoured the red issues of Encyclopedia Britannica as a young adult, I’d like to share these three online resources where you can find credible, timely and reliable data. If you’re looking to go deeper into the wellness world, these are solid places to start.

1. Greater Good Science Center
Founded in 2001 and based at the University of California at Berkeley, the Center’s charter is to “study the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, teaching skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.” The website has a wealth of science-backed research and knowledge to support educators, consumers and interested community groups in developing their wellbeing.

2. Global Wellness Institute
Based in Miami, Florida, GWI is a must-read for anyone interested in the current and future state of the wellness industry globally. From reports on the positive economic impact of wellness in the community, to the global growth of wellness-associated industries, such as hospitality, travel and real estate, the GWI is an aggregator of wellness industry data, future thinking and economic opportunities.

3. The Benevolent
Of all the bev alcohol-focused industry resources, The Benevolent is the most robust of online sites. The charity was founded in 1886 in London, as a means to support drinks professionals facing hardship, and has evolved into Europe’s largest and most active support group for UK wine professionals. For non-EU readers, the site offers a variety of excellent tools for supporting your own mental health and the health of others with materials from qualified health-care professionals. All designed with the drinks professional in mind.

Bookmark these sites and bookworm away! And as always, let us know if you have resources that we need to know about - either put in the comments, or post to the FaceBook Group.

Namaste,
Beck

What We're Reading:

There's no shortage of wine stories and media inundating our IN Boxes. Here's what has piqued our interest this week.

Every week, I was downing seven bottles of wine – Sydney Morning Herald
“My "rock bottom" moment was not dramatic. It didn't involve a trip to casualty or a court appearance, but it was enough to make me hate myself.”

The Painful Truth About What Having a Hangover Really Does to Your Body – The GuardianUK
"If alcohol was invented today – and treated like a new food additive coming to the market – the recommended safe dose would be about a glass of wine per year. We're very harsh on new food and drink meeting certain criteria, but we have a blind spot towards alcohol because it's so embedded into our culture.

Meet the Community!

Our community is only as strong as the company we keep, and here we meet some of the folks who make our profession so dynamic.

Yannick Benjamin, Head Sommelier at The University Club, Proprietor of Contento and co-founder of Wheeling Forward NYC (USA)

Years in the Industry:
I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years. I’ve been the Head Sommelier at the University Club since 2013, and am an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. I am a proud New Yorker born into a family of French restaurateurs, and I knew that hospitality was my calling from a young age. I worked at Le Cirque, Oceana, Jean-Georges, and Atlas before becoming a sommelier at Felidia and Atelier at the Ritz-Carlton.

In 2003, a car accident left me paralyzed from the waist down and I quickly adapted, outfitting my wheelchair with a table that allows me to work the floor as a sommelier. I’ve been recognized among Wine Enthusiast’s Top 40 under 40 and was named Person of the Year by New Mobility Magazine in 2017.

In 2015, I starred in “Uncorked,” a documentary series about sommeliers on Esquire TV. I also created Wine on Wheels and, as a para-athlete, I compete in marathons to raise money for Wheeling Forward. My new passion project is opening Contento restaurant, which is scheduled to open in the winter of 2020 in East Harlem.

My Biggest Challenge to Wellness:
I’m now in my sixteenth year of living with paralysis. I have no motor or sensory, so it can be challenging as far as maintaining a healthy lifestyle. One of the hardest aspects of living with SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) is the maintenance that it requires; since I have no sensation below the waist I have to be acutely aware of the condition of my skin since I am sitting down all day and bedsores are an epidemic in our community.

Taking care of my bladder is also a challenge and I must be very diligent about it. One of the biggest issues with individuals living with SCI is the potential of getting a UTI (urinary tract infection), which is one of the worst feelings in the world and can really set you back as far as having a good quality of life. After keeping track of my diet, I realized that caffeine and red meat were making me feeling and I found that both were an irritant and so I completely cut them out of my diet.

How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
I work out a minimum of 5-6 days a week and I try to do at least one major marathon a year. I do at least 10 miles on my cardio machine every day when I am at the gym and I lift weights twice a week. I want to incorporate more stretching into my lifestyle; my wife who is a former professional dancer is actively making sure that I do more of it. I am a true believer in Intermittent Fasting; I do the 16/8 method which involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between. However, I allow myself to cheat on weekends and when I am traveling.

I don’t eat red meat and my goal is to eventually become a full-time vegan. I also try to stay away from sugars and despite the fact that I am in the wine and hospitality industry, I try to almost never drink during the week but I will taste and smell as it is still part of my job. I only surround myself with highly motivated and supportive individuals, and I am very sensitive to toxic environments. Finally getting up early is very important to me, and just reminding myself every single time I open my eyes that I am blessed to be given a chance to live in this incredible world.

You can connect with Yannick on Instagram and Twitter and at www.wineonwheels.org.

Let's Meet Up!

As work life has it, we are traveling over the next few months and would love to see you.

Attendee at Wine Spectator New York Wine Experience in New York, Oct. 17 to 19 (Beck)
Attendee at ProWine China in Shanghai, November 12 to 14 (Cathy)
Presenter at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, February 25 to 29 (Cathy)
Presenter at the Future Wine Expo in Santa Rosa, May 12 and 13 (Cathy)

Drop a line to rebecca@abalancedglass.com or cathy@enolytics.com if you are interested in getting together for practice, a chat or a great glass together.