Lidl’s fourth Wellness Camp: living mindfully means living better

Lidl Cyprus recently organised a weekend dedicated to health, wellness and sustainability. The event featured lectures and experiential workshops with leading scientists and experts. Lidl’s fourth Wellness Camp raised public awareness about a more mindful lifestyle.

Sometimes it does feel like we’re captives to habit…we eat without thinking about what we eat, we lack the energy to set goals for ourselves, letting work-related stress get to us, procrastinating on exercising. The idea of changing our lives sounds too tedious, like another big ‘You’ve got to’ hanging over our heads. But in reality, big changes begin with small steps, which slowly become part of our lifestyle – as long as we have the right guidance.

Those attending Lidl Wellness Camp at the ‘Rodon’ hotel in Agros over September 16-17, 2023 had the chance to gain valuable insights, as well as receive practical tips on how to achieve long-term change and how to develop beneficial habits relating to health and quality of life. Through a series of talks, experiential workshops, cooking lessons and physical exercises, a ‘dream team’ of scientists and experts gave pointers as to what goals to achieve – and how to go about it.

Lidl holds its annual Wellness Camp on the occasion of World Food Day – celebrated each year on October 16, 2023. It’s a hands-on event seeking to raise awareness and train people on important issues in a pleasant and experiential way. Participation and accommodation are entirely free, as Lidl’s goal is to spread as far as possible the idea of a mindful lifestyle and responsibility toward the environment.

Georgios Dimitroulakis, Communications and Corporate Responsibility Manager of Lidl Cyprus, and dietitian- nutrionist Nicoleta Michaelidou, a professional associate of the Lidl Food Academy, were the presenters of the programme. In his welcoming address, Regional Managing Director Vasilis Lagogiannis emphasised the theme of this year’s World Food Day – conservation of water resources. As he stated, “Lidl supports conscious nutrition, reducing food waste, and sustainable water management.” He added that the company goes by the slogan of “Good for the Planet, Good for People, Good for You”.

Inspiring a new way of life

For her part, Maria Markou, also known as “Pikkoua”, a Paralympian in weight-lifting, spoke on how standing on the “feet of our souls” to achieve our goals – no matter how high we set the bar. “Whenever I hear the words ‘I can’t’, my response is that what one really means is ‘I don’t want to’. My own example should serve as proof of that.”

The Paralympian advised people to be more conscientious toward the disabled, for example by not occupying parking spaces designated for such persons. “There are both visible and non-visible disabilities,” she added. “Let us be patient and understanding of everyone, because we never know what someone may be going through.”

Meanwhile four leading clinicians-dieticians delivered lectures on three important issues related to diet. Eleni Andreou and clinical psychologist Maria Karekla gave useful information and advice on ’emotional eating’ – the tendency to resort to food when seeking relief from negative feelings. They also analysed the importance of ‘mindful eating’ – the whole point of the exercise. Nicoleta Michaelidou explained that we gain weight without realising it when we don’t correctly calculate the quantity of food we consume. Christina Aristotelous analysed three famous types of diets – intermittent fasting, keto and detox – as chef Giorgos Georgiou prepared recipes on site.

Dr Nicos Constantinou, Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Cyprus University of Technology (TEPAK), spoke about the importance of getting enough sleep as well as the consequences of lack of sleep, particularly on teenagers. The issue of longevity was presented by Dr Myrtani Pieri, Associate Professor at the University of Nicosia. Work-related stress, and how we can deal with it effectively in the long term, was the subject of a talk given by clinical psychologist Eleni Karayianni.

Clinical psychologist Anthi Loutsiou and professor of paediatrics Adamos Hadjipanayi discussed with attendees issues relating to contemporary challenges in parent-children relationships, the need to cultivate mental resilience in children, and empowering parents. Two interesting issues relating to public health were presented by Dr Xenia Loizidou – a civil engineer and chairman of the ‘Akti’ research centre – and Koulla Kika, a chemist at the State Lab. The former spoke on the problem of microplastics and how widespread they are in the environment, while the latter gave useful information on pesticides and ways in which we can protect our health from them.

On the first day of the Wellness Camp, attendees had the opportunity to try out yoga exercises with Christi Louka; on Day Two they were introduced to the art of Capoeira from Mestre Casquinha. Kids had fun participating in activities based on forest paedagogy, organised by the Forest School for Children. On Saturday evening, a documentary was shown in a makeshift outdoor cinema.

Closing the two-day event, Georgios Dimitroulakis recapped the activities undertaken by Lidl Cyprus as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. Among these are the long-term partnership and financial support to the Anti-Cancer Society and the Red Cross, the ‘Mind Reset’ educational programme in schools in collaboration with the Junior Achievement Cyprus non-profit, the collaboration with the ‘Akti’ research centre in the cleaning of beaches, related field investigations, and scholarships given to talented children at Anatolia College.

Lidl Cyprus is committed to keep on striving, so that every action has a positive imprint. Part of this objective is to spread knowledge and to foster a consumer mindset that prioritises health and sustainability.

Check out the highlights from Lidl’s fourth Wellness Camp in the video below:

Follow Lidl Cyprus at the following links:

• corporate.lidl.com.cy
• www.lidl.com.cy
• www.lidlfoodacademy.com.cy/
• www.facebook.com/lidlcy
• www.instagram.com/lidl_cyprus
• www.twitter.com/Lidl_Cyprus_
• www.linkedin.com/company/lidl-cyprus