LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Maria Shriver and Equinox Sports Clubs, the high performance lifestyle leaders in health and wellness today announced the inaugural MOVE FOR MINDS™ Experience launching on Saturday, May 21. This groundbreaking event takes place at Equinox Sports Clubs in New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C.  Participants will engage their brains and bodies in physical fitness challenges including Equinox's "The Cut," a unique, cardio forward boxing class, yoga and guided meditation, while also have the chance to explore a first-of-its-kind marketplace where they will meet and hear from the superstars of brain research, fitness, food, nutrition, stress/sleep and caregiving. MOVE FOR MINDS is an unprecedented gathering of empowered women, men and leading experts who believe funding women's brain research will help us solve the Alzheimer's epidemic and answer the question: Why are so many people getting Alzheimer's and why are the majority of them women? 

Joining Shriver across the six cities is a powerful collective of superstars from the areas of physical fitness, brain fitness, nutrition, food, meditation, sleep, caregiving and brain research:

Daniel Amen,M.D.,Psychiatrist and Founder of Amen Clinics, Author
Marcus Antebi, Founder, Juice Press
Carol Ash, D.O., Director of Sleep Medicine at Meridian Health
Dale Bredesen, M.D., Director of Neurodegenerative Disease Research, UCLA
Roberta Brinton, Ph.D., Expert in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Pamela Brown, CNN Correspondent
Jenna Bush Hager, NBC News Correspondent 
Mallika Chopra, Businesswoman and Author Living with Intent
Anna Chung, Equinox Sports Clubs' Star Yoga Instructor
Cat Cora, Chef, Author and Television Personality
Patti Davis, Author and Daughter of President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan
C.C. Donelan, M.A., Director of Education for Brain Health & Wellness Center
Keith N. Fargo, Ph.D., Alzheimer's Association, Director of Scientific Programs and Outreach, Medical and Scientific Relations
Molly Fox, Renowned Yoga Guru and Fitness Expert
Patrick M. Fuller, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neurology, Sleep Medicine, Harvard University
Leeza Gibbons, Television and Radio Personality and Alzheimer's Advocate
Joshua Grill, Ph.D., Associate Director, UC Irvine Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
Risa Groux, Holistic Nutritionist
David Harris, V.P. Health and Human Performance, Equinox Sports Clubs
Liz Hernandez, "Access Hollywood" Correspondent
Cheryl Hines, Actress, Producer, Director
Gail Huff, Broadcast Journalist
Mark Hyman, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine
Richard Isaacson, M.D., Director, Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian
Rebecca Katz, M.S., Educator, Chef and Author The Healthy Mind Cookbook
Hoda Kotb, NBC Today Show Co-Anchor
Jill Lesser, President, Women Against Alzheimer's
Jana Lewison, Equinox Sports Clubs' Star Yoga Instructor
Lisa Ling, Journalist and Host of CNN's "This is Life with Lisa Ling"
Max Lugavere, Filmmaker, Media Personality, Science Vlogger 
Maeve McCaffery, Equinox Sports Clubs' Star Yoga Instructor
Zachary Miller, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology, UCSF Memory and Aging Center
Natalie Morales, NBC Today Show News Anchor
Soledad O'Brien, Broadcast Journalist
Norah O'Donnell, CBS This Morning Co-Anchor
Rebecca Pacheco, Top Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Author of Do Your Om Thing
Lu Parker, KTLA Correspondent and Former Miss USA
Pam Peeke, M.D., Host of HER radio, Author of New York Times bestsellers Body for Life for Women and The Hunger Fix
Jasmin Rahim, Nutrition Expert and Wellness Coach, Founder of Moving Nutrition
Mimi Rieger, Equinox Sports Clubs' Star Yoga Instructor
Ann Romney, Former Massachusetts First Lady, Author and Global Ambassador, Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Woman's Hospital
Lily Sarafan, CEO, Home Care Assistance
B. Smith and Dan Gasby, authors Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's
Anne Sweeney, Entertainment Executive
Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D., Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard; New York Times Bestselling Author Super Brain and Super Genes
Anne Tumlinson, Founder of Daughterhood
Joshua Wesson, Renowned Sommelier, Restaurateur and Television Personality
Tracy Young-Pearse, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital 
Josh Zabar, Owner, Immortal Herbs

Additional MOVE FOR MINDS champions include:

Willow Bay, Director of USC Annenberg School of Journalism
Jeffrey L. Cummings, M.D., Sc.D, Director of Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
Giada De Laurentis, Chef, Author and Television Personality
Nelson Dellis, World Memory Champion 
Lisa Genova, Ph.D., Neuroscientist and Author "Still Alice"
Arianna Huffington, Co-Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post Media
Billie Jean King, Founder Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, Co-Founder World TeamTennis
Gayle King, CBS This Morning Co-Anchor
Nancy Emerson Lombardo, Ph.D., Author Memory Preservation Nutrition, Brain Healthy Foods; Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center faculty; Co-Founder Alzheimer's Association
Glennon Doyle Melton, Author Carry On Warrior and upcoming Love Warrior
Lauren Miller Rogen, Actress, Screenwriter and Founder of Hilarity For Charity
Julianne Moore, Actress and Activist
Ai-Jen Poo, Founder of Caring Across Generations
Andy Puddicombe, Meditation and Mindfulness Expert, Co-Founder of Headspace
Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D., Psychiatrist and Author Super Mind
Bob Roth, Executive Director David Lynch Foundation
Brooke Shields, Actress, Author, Mental Health Advocate
Rita Wilson, Actress, Singer, Producer

"Women are at the epicenter of the Alzheimer's crisis which is why we must be at the heart of the solution," said Shriver, a journalist, advocate and founder of MOVE FOR MINDS. "We can no longer afford to walk with this disease, we need to move.  We need to be moving on all fronts—in laboratories, through the halls of Congress, on Main Streets in cities across the country.  We need to move from questions to answers. I am proud to stand with Equinox Sports Clubs and the empowered collective of movers and shakers in creating a movement.  MOVE FOR MINDS, I hope, will bring into the light a disease that is bankrupting our families and our nation and will take a page from the successful cancer and AIDS movements that have gone before it." 

"Our members live a high performance lifestyle where they want to keep both their bodies and their minds in the best shape possible," said Scott Rosen, Chief Operating Officer, Equinox. "Equinox is committed to bringing Alzheimer's and brain science out of research labs and hospitals into the clubs.  As leaders in health and wellness, we are honored to partner with Maria Shriver, the premier advocate in Alzheimer's advocacy and women's empowerment, on the MOVE FOR MINDS experience."

"As a researcher, I find this movement incredibly exciting," said Dr. Roberta Brinton. "MOVE FOR MINDS is providing necessary funding for critical gender-based brain research, while at the same time bringing together women from all backgrounds to learn about the mind-body connection, and how to take good care of both."

As reported in the Alzheimer's Association's Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures Report:

• Every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's and two thirds of them are women
• A woman in her early sixties is about two times as likely to develop Alzheimer's than breast cancer over the remainder of her life
• By 2050, 16 million brains will have fallen victim to Alzheimer's and a majority of them will belong to our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends
• Alzheimer's is the only disease among the top ten causes of death in America that cannot be slowed, prevented or cured
• Per a recent WebMD and Shriver Report Snapshot: Insight into Alzheimer's Attitudes and Behaviors, while 96% of survey respondents have heard of Alzheimer's, nearly half aren't concerned with getting the disease and only 11% have asked their doctors about preventing it

One hundred percent of the proceeds from MOVE FOR MINDS will fund cutting-edge women's brain research initiatives at partner organizations of The Women's Alzheimer's Challenge, an initiative of A Woman's Nation, including the Alzheimer's Association, Cure Alzheimer's Fund, The Lou Ruvo Center at the Cleveland Clinic, The Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the research of Dr. Brinton.

"What Maria and the Move for Minds team are building with this initiative is unprecedented," said Dr. Isaacson.  "Bringing together internationally recognized experts in brain science, nutrition and fitness, caregiving, stress and sleep, to help women of all ages understand the mind and body connection, is a revolutionary step in bringing Alzheimer's and brain-health to the forefront of our national consciousness."   

MOVE FOR MINDS will highlight the undeniable connection between brain health and physical health and educate, engage and empower a new generation of advocates.  To be part of the experience or donate to an individual participant, please go to www.Crowdrise.com/MoveForMinds.  If you want to learn more, please go to www.TheWomensAlzheimersChallenge.org.  Home Care Assistance is the exclusive caregiving partner of MOVE FOR MINDS.  MOVE FOR MINDS is generously sponsored in part by Aquafina(R) and active wear company Vimmia.

Equinox Sports Clubs Contacts:

Rachel Blitz
Rachel.Blitz@Equinox.com

MOVE FOR MINDS Contacts:

Cassandra Vargas
Cassandra.Vargas@PMKBNC.com
310-854-4808

Caitlin Scott
Caitlin.Scott@PMKBNC.com
310-854-4807

About Equinox Sports Clubs

Equinox Sport Clubs operates 6 upscale, full-service clubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, and Washington, DC. The company offers an integrated selection of Equinox-branded programs, services, and products, including strength and cardio training, group fitness classes, personal training, spa services and products, apparel, and food/juice bars.  Equinox Sports Clubs have developed a lifestyle brand that represents service, value, quality, expertise, innovation, attention to detail, market leadership and results. 

About Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver is a mother of four, a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer, a six-time New York Times best-selling author and an NBC News Special Anchor covering the shifting roles, emerging power and evolving needs of women in modern life. She is the founder of A Woman's Nation, which has produced a series of award-winning Shriver Reports that chronicle and explore seismic shifts in American culture and society affecting women today including The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's. Shriver has been a leading Alzheimer's advocate for over a decade, testified in front of Congress, Executive Produced the HBO Alzheimer's Project and the Emmy-nominated Paycheck to Paycheck and authored the bestselling children's book What's Happening to Grandpa?. She is an Executive Producer of The Mask You Live In, and also an Executive Producer of the Academy Award-winning film Still Alice, which tells the tale of a woman affected by early onset Alzheimer's disease.

About The Women's Alzheimer's Challenge

The Women's Alzheimer's Challenge recognizes that women are at the epicenter of the global Alzheimer's epidemic, as brought to light in The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's, and challenges the scientific community to do cutting edge research on women's brains to defeat this mind-blowing disease. The initiative fosters partnerships with leading researchers and major non profit organizations to create landmark Alzheimer's research funds to finance gender based research on women's brains. The initiative also challenges women and men to harness their power to get Educated, get Engaged, and get Empowered to ensure a day without Alzheimer's. The Women's Alzheimer's Challenge is an initiative of A Woman's Nation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that focuses on the needs and wellbeing of women and their families living paycheck to paycheck.  For more information on The Women's Alzheimer's Challenge visit http://thewomensalzheimerschallenge.org/ and A Woman's Nations visit http://awomansnation.org.

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SOURCE Equinox Sports Clubs