Tag: Better Living

Strategies for Child and Family Mental Health

The past two years have been far from normal for children and families. As households prepare for back-to-school, there can be some apprehension about what the year will bring. Our research has shown that children, teens, and parents have struggled in regard to mental health during the pandemic, where higher levels of pandemic-related stress corresponded…


The Way of Water

It falls from the sky, flows all around us, and is essential to our existence. It purifies, cleanses, nourishes, and gives life. Water. It doesn’t just surround us, it’s within us. In fact, scientists estimate that water comprises 65 percent to 75 percent of the adult human body, while for infants, it’s even higher at…


Moving Lightly Through the World

You might know that I’m a fan of simplicity and minimalism, but for me, it’s not just about having less stuff or even doing less. For me, it’s a way of moving through the world with lightness. Not lightly tiptoeing around trying not to make an impact, but with lightness in my heart. Moving lightly…


Using Meditation in Pediatric Medicine

Children actively meditating experience lower activity in parts of the brain involved in rumination, mind-wandering, and depression, our team found in the first brain-imaging study of people younger than 18 years old. Over-activity in this collection of brain regions, known as the default mode network, is thought to be involved in the generation of negative…


Dance Has Positive Effects on Depression: Study

Did you know that dancing has positive effects on depression? Studies have found that dancing can help improve mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote a positive self-image. So if you’re feeling down, why not give dancing a try? There are plenty of different types of dances to choose from, so you’re sure to find…


Can’t Get Your Teen Off the Couch?

Many parents understand the frustration of coming home from work to find their teens slumped on the couch with their eyes glued to their phones or the TV. This isn’t unusual, and dozens of studies have shown that physical activity levels decline during the teenage years. In Australia, less than 10 percent of older adolescents…


Gratitude: The Key to Being Satisfied

“The grass is always greener on the other side,” we’re told when a situation or season of life leaves us feeling discontent. Believing that someone else has it better or that better days are ahead of us, we strive to pursue greater opportunities or nicer things. If our circumstances were different, we would be happier….


Cancer: Treating Illness by Generating Health

Readers of my Empowered Patient blog may recall my straightforward explanation for the cause of cancer—carcinogens. Whether the culprits are chemicals such as glyphosate, non-native electromagnetic fields such as radio frequency radiation, or lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, the initiation of the cancer process is an epigenetic damaging of cells creating a “wound that doesn’t…


On the Shortness of Life

“You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some…


What Could a ‘Sound Bath’ Do for You?

Sound baths are an easy-to-do form of therapy that’s been found to offer emotional, spiritual, and physical benefits. Picture a scene of elephants hearing sounds from Himalayan singing bowls played near them and becoming more relaxed during medical procedures and operations such as foot care, eye checks, skin care, and even blood draws. As amazing…