A new year dawns, and with it, comes hope. Not hope that things will magically change at the stroke of midnight, but hope that we will be better able to handle what comes our way in 2021. Independent fitness startup Workout.lk is kicking off 2021 with an informative Zoom webinar on health, vitality, and immunity.
Workout.lk Founder Teesha Wickramatunga shared with The Morning Brunch that “Health, Vitality, and Immunity for 2021” is a webinar that is relevant for anyone from corporate professionals, to parents working at home mid-pandemic, to even health professionals looking to widen their knowledge on a variety of topics like physiotherapy, mindfulness, general health and fitness, the health of our gut microbiome, and how all these factors come together to affect our physical health, our mental health, and our immunity.
“This is a timely topic,” Wickramatunga shared, adding: “This new year is different from other new years. There is a lot of interest in health and wellness because of the pandemic and this has prompted us to look at health interventions where we’re looking at immunity-boosting solutions. We realise the impact and link that obesity and other chronic conditions have with Covid-19. Through this webinar, Workout.lk wants to share credible and ethical information on how best to approach fitness and health during the new year.”
Wickramatunga also shared that in this challenging time, there is a lot of misinformation regarding health and fitness, as well as lots of people looking for shortcuts and hacks. “Health, Vitality, and Immunity for 2021” is an opportunity for people to gain access to credible information from people who are experienced specialists in their respective fields.
“Health, Vitality, and Immunity for 2021” will feature national bodybuilding champion and Crossfit Head Coach Mothilal Jayathilake; US-certified natural health professional and biological medicine practitioner Shanez Gunatilaka; yoga therapist, mindfulness-based life skills coach, and author of The Vedic Science of Personal Advancement Angelica Chandrasekeran; and physiotherapist and Physio Medicare Founder Nilakshi Kasilingam.
Topics covered during the webinar will include how to become more productive and avoid pain and repetitive stress injuries at work from home; the role of diet and lifestyle choices in modulating immunity; psychoneuroimmunology and microbiome health; motivating yourself towards a healthy commitment to fitness; tips and techniques for de-stressing from our daily work lives; insight into the best practices and current state of the local fitness and food industry; understanding how best to incorporate corporate wellness programmes into workplaces and gain ideas for implementation.
The panel will also discuss burning questions on how to improve immune resilience, how to approach mindfulness, and the best ways to lose weight safely, among many other questions.
A special topic covered during the webinar will include the gut microbiome and how our gut microbiome affects physical health, mental health, and immunity. The gut microbiome is the collection of micro-organisms in our gut, and the biodiversity and harmony of the gut microbiome can have a great impact on immunity and general health.
“Workout.lk is the only platform introducing the gut microbiome as a topic to Sri Lanka,” Wickramatunga said, adding: “It’s not very well known and we want to highlight this. It’s a growing field in integrative medicine but is not really spoken about here. The gut microbiome is something that is very vital to our overall health and immunity, from reducing inflammation, to boosting immunity, to our overall physical and mental health.”
As an independent startup, Workout.lk has been spearheading health advocacy events since 2018, looking to inspire active living and make it easy for consumers in Sri Lanka to lead healthy lives and ultimately reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.
Looking to 2021, Wickramatunga shared that Workout.lk will be working hard to inspire people and share credible, ethical information on health and fitness throughout the year. “People are demotivated,” Wickramtunga said, adding: “We want to give them hope and show them that there are things they can control, like their diets, their lifestyles, movements, and their mental health, that can help them get through this pandemic.”
Workout.lk will be working towards providing tools on how to approach health and fitness and bridging the gap between stakeholders and the general public with regular panels featuring specialists on different topics as well as physical workshops once the time is right. “Information on health is something that is generally hidden,” Wickratunga shared, adding: “We want to democratise this information because health is something that should be available to everyone.”
“Health, Vitality, and Immunity for 2021” takes place on 2 January 2021 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. For more information and to register, please visit the “Health, Vitality, and Immunity for 2021” event page on Facebook. You may also register at the following link https://forms.gle/MdxgD9SH66T2V2oh6.
