Hundreds of students and graduates rocked it out this past weekend at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City for Rock the Ripple Effect! During this fantastic one-day conference, we heard from several inspiring speakers and discussed how the Integrative Nutrition community is helping others transform their lives. Many conference attendees connected and made new friends, while others picked up great tips for their business and felt a new sense of empowerment!

Andrew Weil, MD, the Founder and Director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, gave the keynote address. Dr. Weil is a best-selling author and a world-renowned expert on mind-body interactions and healing systems. He spoke about the dangers of fructose, his anti-inflammatory pyramid, and demonstrated a breathing exercise to help manage stress.

Many attendees were very inspired by Dr. Weil, and expressed their appreciation for his wisdom and teachings on Twitter throughout the day:

Hakikah Shamsiden (@Garden_Wellness)
@DrWeil is a wise shaman. Love listening to him teach. #IINRocks

Randi Dukoff (@Randibeth)
We dont have a healthcare system in USA We have a disease management - @DrWeil #IINRocks Let's change focus to prevention

Jenny Sansouci (@jennysansouci)
"What you feed your mind has a profound effect on your well-being." -@drweil #IINRocks

We also heard from Founder and Director of Integrative Nutrition Joshua Rosenthal, who discussed the importance of the work our students and grads are doing and marveled at the enormous growth he has witnessed since founding the school almost 20 years ago.

Michael Jacobson, PhD, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) spoke about food policy and the success of Food Day back in October, when people across the country pushed for healthy, local food produced in a sustainable way.

Eric Barron, the Founder of N2K.TV had the crowd laughing while thinking about their personal branding and marketing initiatives for their health coaching practices.

We got a chance to catch up with several attendees to hear what they thought about the conference and were thrilled with the feedback: 

"Amazing community, outrageous marketing education, incredible inspiration and down right powerful! I love this school and all the people that it touches. IIN consistently empowers our community with amazing tools to spread health and happiness. These free conferences are just a small example of that ongoing commitment. Love it!" – Taraleigh Weathers, 2006 graduate

"Another incredible, inspiring conference with the IIN community. Just gives me that much more motivation to continue spreading the word about health and wellness because ‘knowledge is not powerful, unless it's knowledge shared.’ Thank you IIN!" – Irina Kachalenko, 2010 graduate

"Absolutely love being around people who are so positive and focused on being their best and inspiring to enhance everyone around them too." – Sharon Koldena, 2011 graduate

"It ROCKED! My love for IIN deepens every time I am with this group. Kudos on another fabulous event." – Maureen Wheeler, 2009 graduate

"I am just starting on this personal and professional journey at IIN, but to learn of all the ways to network, connect with people, and refer friends has been amazing. The energy is here infectious and pushes me forward to accomplish all the things I have for my personal life and my future profession! Thank you, IIN!" – Brandy Kiser, current student

We also managed to catch some of our lovely students and grads on camera! From an intense group workout with Violet Zaki, to students who were anxiously awaiting the start of the day, we certainly felt the energy and IINspiration on Sunday! Check out this tout video of marketing coach Robert Notter, sharing his excitement to be part of the ripple effect! View all of our touts from the conference here!

For more on Rock the Ripple Effect and updates about future events, head to our IIN Live Events page on Facebook. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @NutritionSchool to join the conversation!

Did you attend the Rock the Ripple Effect Conference? What were some of your favorite moments?