Chamber’s Rise and Thrive event encourages Caledon to Recentre and Recharge

May 14, 2026 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

May 12 marked the second annual Rise and Thrive Meditation and Wellness event held by the Caledon Chamber of Commerce, and the morning celebrated those who truly took the time for themselves and their mental health.

With May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Canada, Chamber President Marion Upshall says they really honed in on the mental health aspect at their Chamber event this year.

“The uncertainty, the frustration that we’re hearing from members, anxiety, which of course always results in a type of burnout or the effect of not being able to work at your top peak, we thought what better way to support our entrepreneurs and our members in this way, to give them give them a morning to recenter, to refocus and to calm down,” says Upshall.

She says that she turns to meditation herself to centre and refocus when working in high-stress situations, adding that when you take the time to clear your mind, your thoughts become more positive and creative.

“I think it’s so important for all entrepreneurs to find the time to take care of themselves and that allows them to be there for others, to be there for their business, to be there for their family, because when they are working from a very low cup, you can’t function properly,” says Upshall.

The event, hosted at Mount Alverno Luxury Resorts, had more than 30 attendees who had registered to take part in a morning of wellness that day, featuring breakout sessions in Qi Gong, meditation, and sound therapy.

Qi Gong practitioner Brigitte Li guided attendees in her breakout session that morning. She has been practicing for almost nine years.

“Qi Gong is slow-moving, stretching, breathing, and because it is so slow, it actually helps you to be mindful and aware,” explained Li. “Because it is combined with movement, you have to be present.”

Li also teaches Qi Gong for the Town of Caledon, which is how she was introduced to the Chamber event that morning.

Li added more and more companies are looking to incorporate Qi Gong to ease workplace stress and create a reset.

“Any company, no matter how big or small they are, their assets are people, and if they take care of the wellness of their people, I think that’s the foundation,” said Li.

“I’m delighted to be here and it’s great that the Chamber is open-minded like this and has this kind of event, a morning focused on wellness.”

Business Owner Danielle Gomes with Crown Commons Landscape Design said the event was about taking the time and making it a priority, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.

Even that morning, she noted it was challenging to make time for the event, but that’s why it’s important to make the time.

She also attended the event last year and enjoyed it, leading her to sign up for the second year.

Layla Roche, Meditation Practitioner, also led a breakout session and said her passion for yoga, meditation, wellness, fitness, and nutrition brought her to the event.

For more than five years, she has been teaching yoga, fitness coaching, sound healing, breathwork, and meditation, specifically for people who are in high-performing positions or entrepreneurs, who “have a lot on their shoulders and want to not only de-stress, but also potentially prevent things like Alzheimer’s, dementia, health issues, and health concerns.”

“That’s why I’m so passionate about it because I’ve seen my family members go through health conditions, and yoga, meditation, breathwork can be proven to reduce stress, cortisol, and regulate our nervous system, which helps with their health,” said Roche.

That day, she led breathwork and mindful meditation, which she said are accessible to everyone.

When looking at habits, health, and lifestyle, Roche said to think about whether it is optimal or short-term and will lead to burnout, cortisol, and fatigue in the future.

“A lot of business owners, they have the business covered, but they don’t have their mental health, their physical well-being, and even their emotional well-being covered,” she said.

“I am most looking forward to the conversations after our sessions, people bringing up what the key takeaways were from our sessions together, and how it’s impacted them, and how they feel afterwards,” she added. “Usually they feel blissful, just absolutely amazing after, so I’m excited to hear that.”

Dr. Rupa Salwan, Naturopathic Doctor, was the keynote speaker for the morning.

Salwan focused on talking to entrepreneurs and business owners about how they can support their mental health in their own capacity and in her capacity as a naturopathic doctor.

“Mental health is very personal to everyone,” says Salwan. “We’re all going to take away a little bit. What’s going to help one person might not help the other person.”

Salwan discussed the benefits of the Rise and Thrive event’s layout that morning.

“I like how it’s not just about a talk and gathering information, but it’s also a practice of what does it look like to actually do those things, and what does it feel like to actually experience those things? Hopefully something will resonate with people, and then we can spark a light when it comes to that,” said Salwan.

“Taking the time in the morning and giving a little piece of a slice of that cake for yourself can really set us up for the rest of the day,” she added. “I’ll be talking about the various physiological aspects of why that’s important. But even just human to human, we know that taking a little bit of time before our lives get busy and start dedicating that to business, family, kids, dogs, can really help to set us up in a more mindful state. It doesn’t change stress or change what’s going on, but it can help us to stay more present.”

The final breakout session leader was Sound Bath Practitioner Raizelle Aspilla, who received her certifications in Nepal.

All of her instruments were made locally in Nepal, and she shares that they hold important meaning for her and her values, both in supporting the community and in honouring the practice and its roots.

For Aspilla, events like the Rise and Thrive morning are important because “you’re the foundation of everything in your life.”

“Pouring into yourself, overfilling your own cup allows you to be there for your community, allows you to have enough energy for yourself and for others, and it’s just good for everybody and yourself,” said Aspilla. “It’s super important for these wellness pockets to be available and to finally have that conversation [that] it’s not feasible to go into burnout until it’s too late, and then you lose your passion, you lose your spark. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“Wellness, with my personal practices, with self-healing movement, that’s given me my vitality, my life force energy to be overflowing within myself to also flow into and give to other people.”