Hagegården — a past with a future!
This summer, LifeStyleTV moved its operations and studio from Skåne to Värmland with a vision to expand its reach and impact of inspiring people to a more active and healthy lifestyle, full of meaning and purpose.
TEXT CLAUS NYBO
For 13 years LifeStyleTV has been on satellite, broadcasting a message of hope and inspiration to help viewers find meaning and joy in life through a balanced lifestyle of physical, mental and spiritual activity. Plans were being finalized to build a brand-new studio at its previous location in Skåne, but it seemed that a divine Hand had different and greater plans. Through a series of providences, a property for sale in Värmland was discovered, with a building which perfectly fit the expanding needs of LifeStyleTV. The studio facility at Hagegården is in itself amazing, and combined with its beautiful surroundings would have been reason enough to justify a move, but when you look at the history and original purpose for which Hagegården was built, you realize a greater plan.
In the mid-1980’s, Håkan Hagegård, a famous Swedish opera singer, had an idea that would form the basis of Hagegården Music Center, which he built and opened in 1992. “My idea is to help keep artists healthy, so artists can help keep the world healthy.” That idea was so unique that The New York Times published an article in 1997 featuring Hagegård’s idea. “As his career flourished, he saw all around him the hazards of his profession: commercialism, loneliness and, ultimately, burnout. During the mid-1980’s, he was inspired by the American psychiatrist Peter Ostwald, who had spearheaded a holistic medical support program for performing artists. ‘He said it was actually physically necessary to slow down,’ Mr. Hagegard said. ‘Your body and brain demand rest in order to produce the chemicals you need to think new thoughts. Otherwise, all you’re doing is rearranging and recycling the same old thoughts.’”1
LifeStyleTV’s acquisition of Hagegården provides a unique opportunity to realize a greater plan by taking the vision and media-expertise of LifeStyleTV, and the history of Hagegården, to create a powerful combination of a LifeStyle Retreat and a Media and Music Center. This will be a place where guests can experience the power of a balanced lifestyle, and where the creativity and ideas for lifestyle TV-programs can be given free rein.
For the last ten years, Carl-Axel and Siv Engstad ran the place as a hotel and conference center under the name ENGgården. During this time, they did a great job of freshening up the interior and giving it a more modern Scandinavian look, yet tactfully keeping it in line with the original design. Carl-Axel, a painter and musician himself, kept the artistic profile alive through many art exhibitions and music events.
It is with a certain humbleness that we step into this magnificent facility with so much history. We wish to build on the past as we look towards the future, envisioning what this place can become. So, with the blessing of Håkan Hagegård, we have decided to go back and use the original name, Hagegården, as the location name for LifeStyleTV’s new venture.
One of the bigger productions planned for next year is a reality-style TV-series which will follow about 12 people for 10 days as they go through a radical lifestyle change at Hagegården. This live-in lifestyle session will be filled with activities, learning and time to relax and recuperate from the stress of the world. The participants, or guests as we like to think of them, will come with various lifestyle-related challenges or conditions – like diabetes, overweight, high blood pressure or stress. We want to see what can be done to improve their health when we bring them together with some of the best and most experienced doctors and medical professionals, for a drastic lifestyle change in the beautiful natural setting of Hagegården. In this reality-style TV-series we will follow their challenges and successes, and hope to discover some practical clues that we can all implement in our own lives to feel better and to avoid many of the lifestyle-related diseases that plague our modern western society.
Follow us on LifeStyleTV and in LifeStyleVIEW as we embark on this new and exciting venture at Hagegården!
Reference: 1) The New York Times: A Swedish Opera Star Who Is Serious About the Health of Burned-Out Artists, by Cori Ellison – Dec. 14, 1997. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/14/arts/a-swedish-opera-star-who-is-serious-about-the-health-of-burned-out-artists.html
Unique Opportunity!
We are looking for people with a story to be part of the new reality-style TV-series. Interested in being one of the 12 participants? Write us and tell us a bit about yourself and why you should be selected for this special series.
