Amy Cuddy
Points on Posture and
Presence from
the opening general session was powerful, to say the least. before our keynote speaker
took the stage, Chairman Todd Shaw asked for a moment of silence to pay respects for
those affected by recent tragedies around the world. ISPA was honored to welcome the
Mandalay bay staff to join us in saying prayers and intentions for those loved and lost.
UNITE to IGNITE!
left: cuddy captivating the audience
with her keynote presentation.
rIgHt: striking a power pose at her
meet-and-greet following the general
session.
After our moment of silence,
singer Star Swain took the stage to
perform her original song, Together as
One. Her powerful voice and message had
a profound effect on members of the
audience. It was amazing to see the faces
of both ISPA members and Mandalay Bay
staff as she sang about bringing us all
together. We still get goosebumps thinking
about it!
Swain was followed by Richard Blanco,
the fifth inaugural poet for the U.S.
Blanco’s original poem, written specifically
for the ISPA community, encouraged
members to remember to take care of
themselves.
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PULSE
■
December 2017
The first General Session also gave
ISPA the opportunity to present the 2017
Visionary Award to Susan Harmsworth, a
woman who has spent decades innovating
and bringing our industry to new heights.
Her entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge of
spa was awe-inspiring.
Finally, keynote speaker Amy Cuddy
took the stage for an intriguing presen-
tation on the effect our body language can
have on our mood, mind and state of
wellbeing. Her approach was both scien-
tific and relatable, which made her ideas
easy to follow and her points hit home for
many of us in the audience. Here are a few
takeaways from her captivating keynote:
“your authentic self is the
person you are in the best
moments of your life.” Cuddy’s
point about being our authentic selves felt
like something clicked in our collective
brains. We always hear how important it
is to be our authentic selves, but did we
ever really know what that meant? It
always seemed like some unattainable
goal when, in reality, our authentic selves
are really just the people we are when we
are the most joyous. What a simple
concept for such a complex idea. It’s easy
to conjure up our most authentic selves
now that we have a marker with which to
1.