OUR PHILOSOPHY
ALTERNATIVE ANSWERS FOR A MORE FULFILLED WORKLIFE
Founded on the principle that there are healthier, “alternative” ways to balance life and work, the Spanish words alterna (alternative) and vida (life) were combined to create our business name, Alternavida. The alternative is a practical and wise choice to stop the unconscious addiction to stress, overwhelm, struggle and constant hard work to instead focus on a healthy, balanced lifestyle that yields better results. We like to get deep into the science behind what stimulates great collaboration, innovation, purpose, and productivity.
Headquartered on the US island of Puerto Rico, we enjoy using our local rainforest, beaches and great climate to create transformational experiences with individuals and teams. We also travel to support our great clients in international locations.
Old corporate culture
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Hard work and struggle is the only way to get anywhere
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Blame and gossip are commonplace
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Work and life are kept separate (employees show one personality at work and another in life)
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Stress is a sign of poor leadership, don't talk about it
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Workplace drama is considered normal and accepted
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Poor team dynamics create cut throat competition
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Leaders are more focused on being right instead of listening to what is best for the team/company
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Unhealthy environments are the norm (lack of healthy food, natural light, fresh air, regular movement)
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Seriousness of work leads to burnout
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Employee turnover, low productivity, and engagement blamed on a generation that doesn't want to work
New alternative culture
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Balance creates greater productivity in work and life
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Appreciation and communication are the norm
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Work and personal life are seen as integral with a focus on being authentic, enhancing optimal wellbeing
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Practices to manage stress are demonstrated daily
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Taking full responsibility for experiences eliminate drama
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Heart-based relationships create deeper collaboration
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Leaders are quick to create the outcomes they want from their teams without criticizing.
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We are part of nature and need access to it daily in our office, at home and time spent outside.
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Fun and play make joyful, healthier, productive employees
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People are the priority, employees are aligned with passion and purpose and the bottom line is successful
SOLAR ECLIPSE - CBRE LATIN AMERICA RETREAT, 2017
WHAT WE VALUE
The Alternavida method creates:
Change through practical approaches
Learn ways to engage employees that increases trust and loyalty.
Change through fun, adventure and play
Learn the art of balancing the seriousness of the corporate world with authentic joy.
Change through inspiring passion and purpose
Learn how to strengthen your culture with what matters most to your employees and partners.
Change through evidence based training
Learn how the latest scientific research is changing approaches to corporate wellness culture
A note from the founder
In my 12 year corporate career I worked hard to become a leader in the green building industry. I was accomplishing great things and making a difference in my field, but unfortunately, I sacrificed my own health in the process. In 2013, at age 37, I ended up in the ICU with a sudden heart condition caused by stress. I began to rethink my life and where I had been focusing my energy. I was under resourced personally, blaming those around me, and had lost my sense of my purpose to the point that my health suffered. After much deliberation, I departed my great career and after several years of deep personal growth work I started to see how much pressure I had been putting on myself to achieve. I learned about my unconscious commitments to struggle and work hard instead of prioritizing my own wellbeing in a balanced way. Most importantly, I began to envision an alternative path to building a great career and taking care of my health. The vision for an alternative lifestyle started to unfold and Alternavida was created. My realization that very few workplaces create a culture emphasizing optimal wellbeing inspired me to create a program that helps prevent other leaders from experiencing what I had gone through.
- Yancy Wright
WHO WE ARE
Professionals creating transformational team building experiences
As a group of creative, versatile, and diverse practitioners, we enjoy working with teams to inspire positive behavior change using magical settings in nature.
TEAM MEMBERS
Yancy Wright – Facilitator, Leadership Coach, Nature Adventure Guide
Yancy Wright takes teams into realms of creativity, collaboration, and well-being that they never thought were possible. For fifteen years he has been a corporate leader and behavioral-change facilitator. He is passionate about bridging the gap between corporate sustainability and people sustainability by focusing on what matters most: conscious leadership. Supporting healthy communication and well-being within corporate environments, he’s enabled teams to enter realms of creativity, collaboration, and well-being they never thought possible.
Holding a master’s degree in Architecture and certified as a Transformation & Leadership Coach through the Hendricks Institute and a Wellness coach through the HeartMath Institute, his retreats, keynote speeches and workshops have influenced thousands of people to make a big impact at work while taking ownership of their own wellbeing. His dedication to removing unhealthy stress, overwhelm, and anxiety from organizations has already transformed nearly 100 companies and thousands of their employees.
He’s supported clients like CBRE, Gensler, International Living Future Institute, Pravan Health, FSorb, Love Tito’s, Adobe, Shaw Industries, and others deepen their commitment to employee well-being.
Leah Lovelight Michael – Facilitator & Leadership Coach
Leah is extremely effective as an XCHANGE Guide facilitator and intenSati Leader. A soulFULL teacher for change makers and heart centered leaders her bright energy is inspiring and playful. Leah is the co-creator of the REVEAL Retreat, author of the book Modern Fear The Invisible Prison, and she has an in-depth understanding of sociology, reiki, craniosacral therapy and coaching.
Her journey of transformation began with knowing life was not meant to be lived in suffering. She found herself being held as prisoner of her own fears and past trauma drama. So as a life long student and a leader in self-discovery she now teaches others how to move beyond limiting beliefs supporting those that want to lead others, so that collectively we all rise together.
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Patrick Broom – Personal Coach
Patrick Broom is a personal coach and group instructor who brings a life-long passion for athletics and performance to his coaching. With clients he focuses on developing self-awareness and practicing easy-to-implement, practical habits that add up to big changes. When something feels "off" his moto is "Work what hurts worst first." He is a Hendricks Institute certified Big Leap Coach and a certified Foundation Training Instructor. He loves supporting people as they unlock and enhance their felt-sense of aliveness, happiness, and ability to be at their best in any situation.
Shems Heartwell - Life and Relationship Guide
Shems Heartwell is a relationship guide and facilitator specializing in personal, relational, and collective empowerment. His work goes to the core of what is needed for embodied transformation by working with and integrating the physical, mental, emotional, sexual and spiritual as the tapestry for evolution. Blending his 20 years of experience and knowledge he supports clients in reaching the leading edge of their human potential.
Shems is a Hendricks Institute Certified Leadership & Transformation Coach and Certified Relationship Coach as well as an Acupuncturist and Medical Qi Gong Instructor. He has mentored with some of the most influential teachers in the fields of conscious relationship, coaching, leadership, healing, and transformation from Robert Masters and Thomas Hubl to JoAnne Chartrand and Dyrian Benz.