Ways to enhance self-care, personal health and wellness were explored during a six-day, two-part immersion course hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Institute for Population Health (IPH).
Source: Peninsula Qatar
WCM-Q invited The Wellness Enhancement Learning Course (TheWEL), a health and wellness organization based in Glasgow, Scotland, to Doha to help participants manage stress, nurture their own happiness and wellbeing, practice self-compassion, and promote good physical health.
Designed and delivered by Dr David Reilly, an internationally recognised physician, academic and teacher, the course helps participants to understand and overcome the personal challenges they face in their day-to-day lives, helping them to cope more effectively and then flourish.
The course, which takes a holistic view of wellness, also aims to empower people to make healthy lifestyle choices in terms of food, exercise and sleep, to manage their social relationships, and to find peace of mind through meditation and mindfulness practices.
A total of 14 people took part in the course, which was held at Doha’s Hilton Hotel. The course will enable the participants to embark on a wellness enhancement journey to see how they can begin to make meaningful change in their lives. After the conclusion of the two-part course, the hope is that participants will be able to make sustained change for the betterment of their physical and emotional well being.
Dr David Reilly said: “TheWEL is predicated on the acknowledgment that the current model of healthcare, while it has made incredible advances over the years, is not proving sufficient in the face of the rising modern epidemic of non-communicable diseases, such as chronic stress, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”
“TheWEL aims to address this gap by empowering people with the ability to create self-sustaining growth in compassion-based self-care. These are very powerful attributes which, if developed, provide a strong foundation upon which we can all build our own health and wellness, giving us the opportunity to flourish and experience joy in our lives.”
Dr. Sohaila Cheema, Director of the IPH, was influential in bringing the program to Doha. She also completed the course herself. Dr. Cheema said: “This IPH initiative provides participants with an opportunity to stop and examine some of the emotional and lifestyle related factors in their lives which might be leading to poor health and wellness. The course material and the exercises practised are extremely effective at encouraging participants to think clearly about the changes they can make to bring about positive changes and to then act upon those ideas in their day-to-day lives.”
Research carried out by TheWEL indicates that 88 percent of participants report long-term benefits in the five years after the course. Participants also report enhanced ability to deal with health problems, improved capacity to cope with challenges, and improved self-compassion.
Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, Senior Associate Dean for Population Health and Capacity Building, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been able to welcome Dr. Reilly to Doha to deliver this extremely beneficial course to our participants, all of whom have given us very positive feedback. This innovative course encourages participants to unlock their own potential to make healthy choices in the long-term, giving each of us the best possible chance of avoiding conditions like obesity, diabetes, stress and heart disease.”
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