LIFE

Inaugural “Day of Gratitude” coming to Parsippany on Sunday

SUSAN BLOOM

Correspondent

Parsippany-based gym Heroes Journey CrossFit and the Wellness Gala organization will host “Day of Gratitude,” a community-based event about holistic health and alternative healing modalities.

The inaugural event will take place 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday with a keynote speech by medical doctor and spiritual and holistic health advocate Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of New York Times best-selling book “The Art of Healing” and a recently released book, “ Love, Animals & Miracles.”

A special guest appearance by Jay Jacobs, a recent final four contestant on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, is scheduled.

“We’ve selected the top people in the health, beauty, and wellness arena to participate in this event,” said Deb Peterson, founder and CEO of Wellness Gala, which has organized wellness-themed events throughout Morris County since 2008. “Attendees will have access to several dozen local providers of everything from massage, reiki, energy work, nutritional counseling and acupuncture to hormone replacement, stress management, intuitive counseling, reflexology, aromatherapy, healthy aging and more, with complementary mini-sessions available..., along with food, live music and wine tasting.

With such a large variety of spiritual and integrative modalities onsite, Peterson said there will be many things for attendees to learn and try.

Warriors of love

“My message will be about human potential, self-induced healing, and the importance of loving your life and your body,” said Siegel of his upcoming keynote presentation. “We hope to help people restore balance in their lives, get in touch with their feelings, and increasingly let their heart decide their path so that their body then becomes part of the decision-making process. It’s about each person finding peace and calm and choosing what’s life-enhancing for them, the by-product of which is a longer life,” he said. “I’ll be at the Wellness Gala as a life coach and hope to turn attendees into love warriors.”

Dr. Chris Stepien, chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, owner of Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Parsippany and co-owner of host facility Heroes Journey CrossFit, agreed.

“Despite the wealth of health information available and the prevalence of fitness studios nationwide, people in the U.S. are still suffering from depression and struggling with health issues,” said the self-described ‘health and happiness advocate.’

“The Day of Gratitude will provide a truly holistic look at health and happiness and will show attendees that there’s a community of people out there who are pursuing their healthiest and happiest selves and sharing the joy of being alive with anyone who needs it,” said Stepien.

Living with a miracle

“I live with a miracle every day,” said Peterson, who shared her personal story with the Daily Record.

After experiencing unsuccessful results from a series of different medications, she said holistic therapy involving energy work/healing completely cured her son of the debilitating Tourette Syndrome that plagued him in his younger years.

Since witnessing his transformation, “it became my mission to promote awareness and educate others on the benefits of holistic, integrative approaches in conjunction with conventional medicine,” she said, an endeavor which led to her creation of the first Wellness Gala in Morristown seven years ago.

“I love to educate people and help make holistic approaches more accessible,” said Peterson. “For me, it’s incredibly rewarding to expose people to these beneficial therapies and hear them share that they never knew these options existed.”

“The Day of Gratitude doesn’t just highlight one outlet, but rather addresses all aspects of holistic health and happiness, including the physical, spiritual, and mental elements,” Stepien said. “We’ll be providing many tools for people to choose from and we hope they’ll pick them up and use them. We hope that by coming to our event, attendees will recognize what was missing in their lives and learn ways of addressing it so they can live the life of their dreams.”

A portion of all proceeds will benefit the Tourette Syndrome Association of New Jersey.

For more information, visit www.wellnessgala.com/events or call 973-713-6811.

Share your community events; email eabreu@gannettnj.com.

If you go:

Event: “Day of Gratitude”

Time: 12:30–5:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 15

Location: Heroes Journey Crossfit, 5 Eastmans Rd., Parsippany

Cost: General admission, $20 in advance ($25 at the door). Fee for attending Dr. Bernie Siegel’s keynote speech, additional $20 in advance ($25 at the door).