Women from all over Dayton attended Kettering Health Network’s Empower Your Soul: Healthy Women Conference.

The event spoke to the importance of looking at improving the health of the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—a message that is at the root of Kettering Health Network’s mission.

Keynote speaker and co-author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” Marci Shimoff highlighted the event with her talk on happiness, a taste of the seven steps to happiness that she highlights in her book “Happy for No Reason.”

“The only difference between people who are happy for no reason and the rest of us is that they have different habits,” Shimoff said.

Shimoff detailed ways in which conference attendees could make small changes in their lives to create more happiness, including showing appreciation for others, looking for the good in life, and making a list of 10 things that make you feel alive.

 “My goal is that is that each of us leaves here today inspired to make our lives better,” Shimoff said. “The only way today can make a difference in your life is if you make a decision to go home and do something differently.”

Surrounding Marci’s talk were multiple breakout sessions that provided education on women’s health topics from migraines to mammograms, and social issues that affect the Greater Dayton area, such as the opioid epidemic and Dayton’s food desert.

The women who attended had the chance to speak with several Kettering Health Network doctors about specific health issues and to have their questions answered by experts in the field.

The beginner-level yoga and fitness classes were highly attended, and women of all ages and activity levels worked on their balance and strength.

Ten Kettering Health Network tables and eight outside vendors made up the conference’s marketplace, which gave opportunities from purchasing from Bellbrook Chocolates to speaking with representatives from Kettering Health Network’s Emergency Departments.

Other vendors in attendance included Good Neighbor House, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Gem City Market, Institute of Holistic Leadership, LOGIK, Mugger Slugger Defense Concept, and Philly Pretzel Factory.

If you would like to be a member of Kettering Health Network’s Healthy Women program, visit our website to sign up today to receive quarterly perks, business discounts, and priority notifications for upcoming events.