Health and Wellness Forum Strong Process Aims to Separate Fact from Fiction

A health and wellness forum aims to help people distinguish between helpful fitness trends and wishful thinking.


Rachele Pojednic

Image provided.

There are often many differing points of view in the health and fitness world, making it hard to decipher fact from fiction and to decide what’s best for your individual needs. In an effort to bridge the gap between misinformation and the truth, Dr. Rachele Pojednic will be hosting an all-day forum on Sunday April 8 called Strong Process.

The forum will include three curated panels based off three pillars of wellness: Move, Eat, and Rest. The panels focus on the subject matter they suggest: Move will endeavor to give meaningful advice about the importance of exercise beyond burning calories, Eat will focus on foods that nourish your body, and Rest will focus on practices to help you recover. Pojednic, an Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Simmons College and a former research fellow at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, Harvard Medical School is no stranger to the wellness scene. She has been an active member of the fitness community for the past 15 years as a Specialized Women’s Ambassador and indoor cycling instructor at Flywheel Sports. She also serves as co-chair of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Exercise Is Medicine education committee, The American Council on Exercise (ACE) Industry Advisory Panel, and is the Interim Executive Director for the Prescription for Activity Task Force.

Speakers on the Move panel include:

  • Bojan Mandaric, moderator, co-founder of November Project
  • Ame Wren, MA, founder and director of the Boston Yoga School
  • Brandon Yates, MS, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator for Harvard Medical School’s Football Players Health Study
  • Rachel Millstein, PhD, MHS, clinical health psychologist at the MGH Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program

Speakers on the Eat panel include:

  • Julie Starr, moderator, nutrition expert and owner of Starr Yoga
  • Michelle Miller, aka “The Farm Babe
  • Jenny Splitter, science, food, and health writer
  • Tim Griffin, PhD, Associate Professor & Director of Agriculture, Food and Environment program at Tufts University
  • Karen Fabian, MS, founder of Bare Bones Yoga

Speakers on the Rest panel include:

  • Melinda Davala Sarkis, moderator, one of Boston’s renowned fitness celebrities
  • Dr. TJ Hagan, chiropractic consultant to the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and Harvard University Sports Medicine
  • Christine Spadola, PhD, research fellow with Harvard Medical School/Brigham & Women’s Hospital
  • Hassan Dashti, PhD, RD at the Center for Genomic Medicine’s sleep & circadian lab

And it’s not just the panels that encourage good wellness behaviors. The morning will begin with yoga from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., followed by breakfast by Lifeway Kefir. Lunch will be provided by Dig Inn and each participant will go home with a swag bag filled with goodies from participating sponsors (some of which include Redd, Fre, and Jugs). To close out the day, mocktails will be provided and participants will have the chance to ask panelists their burning questions.

Sunday, April 8, 50 Milk St., $279, Starts at 8 a.m., strongprocess.com/tickets