WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It was 6:30 on a Friday morning, and I was lying on the floor in a meeting room at the Park Hyatt Washington D.C.
With my eyes closed, I listened to soothing music and breathed in and out to counts of four and eight, respectively -- what Canyon Ranch Lenox fitness manager Melissa Cantillo called "whiskey breath."
"If you do have some kind of libation, they tend to make you fall asleep, right?" Cantillo said to me and the handful of women in the darkened room. "So, whiskey breath is more of a sleeping breath to prep you for rest, to prep you for calmness, to get into the parasympathetic nerve."
And so I practiced not only whiskey breath but "water breath" and "coffee breath," and Cantillo guided us in meditation. I left feeling energized.
It felt as if I were at a wellness retreat. But I wasn't; I was at a conference for travel agents -- Montecito Village Travel's Advisors in Bloom.
Advisors in Bloom offered plenty of networking opportunities and educational offerings on everything from social media marketing to effective AI use to building a business with sub-agents. But it also offered courses in wellness, like Canyon Ranch's programs, and balancing work and life with Michelle Rashid, Virtuoso's senior vice president of culture and human resources.
It was part of Montecito's concerted effort to offer the kind of content advisors and their clients are asking for, said Montecito president Robin Sanchez.
"The advisors are talking about it," Sanchez said. "I mean, you can work 24 hours a day. They are busy enough to do that most days, and it's not healthy."
The morning before my breathing and meditation session, I sat in classes with Canyon Ranch's Dan Marko, a spiritual wellness expert, who spoke on topics like spiritual growth and creative practices.
"If you do not have a creative outlet outside of work, what would be the easiest doorway for you to step into one?" Marko asked. He noted that creativity and artistry can come in many forms -- and yes, even something analytical like the creation of spreadsheets can be counted as artistic and creative.
Sanchez said she finds balance by working out five or six days a week, first thing in the morning. If it means showing up on a video call with her team while dressed in workout clothes, so be it, she said. That is an attitude she passes on to Montecito's employees.
"I encourage our staff to take the time to do something," she said.
Virtuoso's Rashid told advisors that the phrase "work-life balance" has been around for a long time, but it simplifies a complex issue.
"It kind of implies that there's actually a balance -- that it's equal, that there's some kind of 50/50 solution," she said on stage. "But I think there's a lot more to it."
Between individual needs, unique lives and changes that ebb and flow, Rashid said balance does not come from managing time well. Instead, she encouraged advisors to think about "work-life blend." That, she said, is "how we blend all aspects of our lives: our relationships, our health, our personal growth and the things that bring us joy."
During a class for advisors, Rashid offered some tips for finding that blend.
At work, she suggested employing time-blocking and prioritization to identify what needs to be done when. For some, that might look like scheduling meeting and non-meeting days each week. Technology-free time is also important, she said, but Rashid recognized that can be a difficult hurdle for advisors who need to serve clients traveling at all hours. Still, she encouraged carving out some tech-free hours each week.
Rashid also spoke about how important it is to take time for self-care and recharging, but said that "self-care can turn into self-pressure sometimes."
Advisors should practice mindfulness and stress reduction, which might come in the form of creative or physical pursuits, she said.
"Nobody else is prioritizing us but ourselves, and to be there for everyone else, we do have to take care of ourselves," Rashid said. She said she loves it when the flight attendant instructs passengers to put the mask on yourself before you put it on someone else. However, she said, "We are the worst at that in this industry. We're so hospitable, but we don't take care of ourselves -- so just acknowledge that."