Category: wellness

What I Learned Running a 100k Marathon

I usually save stories of my endurance-running exploits for my running buddies, but my most recent race experience, Leona Divide 100k, is different. The race in remote Green Valley, California, was the first ultra marathon I’ve successfully completed in almost three years, the pandemic having put the kibosh on such social events for a spell….


Music Therapy, More Powerful Than You Might Expect

An elderly woman was admitted to a medical facility in southern California, but nobody knew what to do for her. She was clearly angry, but she couldn’t communicate, and was impossible to console. After three days, she still did not speak, and would throw punches at anyone who came too close. That’s when staff called…


Are You Yin or Yang?

Some of us have probably known this person. He’s the one whose charisma draws people to him like a magnet. His enthusiasm is infectious and his entrepreneurial spirit means that he’s always working on some new, exciting business venture. He seems to constantly be pushing boundaries, exploring new things, and living a life that appears…


Manage Emotions Through Savoring Life

Allyson Pimentel in a recent meditation podcast reminds us to savour life and the opportunities it presents to experience positive emotions such as joy, appreciation and love. Allyson describes “savoring” as a form of mindfulness with a specific focus and purpose—in savoring we pay attention to the things that we enjoy and relish, lingering on the positive…


Advice for Men With Underactive Thyroid

When it comes to hypothyroidism—an underactive thyroid—we usually think of women. Women, after all, are at least eight times more likely than men to develop thyroid problems. This explains why so much of the information, advocacy, websites, and research are focused on thyroid problems in women versus men. But that doesn’t mean that men can’t…


Pesticides (DDT) and Alzheimer’s Disease

Although there is a growing list of Alzheimer’s disease susceptibility genes, even if you put them all altogether, they account for less than half of all Alzheimer’s cases. The single most compelling piece of data on the potential control we have over the disease is the fact that if you have identical twins, with the…


How Your Sense of Free Will Affects Your Health

Do you feel that you have control over the events in your life? Or do you feel that you’re buffeted by forces beyond your control? If you believe that your choices, actions, and behaviors are the deciding factor in how your life unfolds, you’re said to have an “internal locus of control.” But if you…


Good Neighbors Found to Be Important for Good Mental Health

Researchers from Australia have discovered through a nationally-representative survey that living in community-minded neighbourhoods can have a major impact on a person’s mental health. A survey undertaken by Australian National University (ANU) which monitored over 3000 people during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, showed that the social relationships provided within good neighbourhoods protect residents against anxiety,…


Your Chance to Shape Up Before Summer

When someone mentions weight-loss options, Chinese herbs probably aren’t top of mind. But if you see someone full of energy, with glowing skin and a fit body, they probably have a balanced lifestyle—and Chinese herbs are a great way to support that. Knowing Yin and Yang The ancient idea of yin and yang refers to…


Effortless Effort: Relaxing While Trying Hard

I’ve noticed that a lot of us will be pretty wiped out at the end of a long day of work or social activity, to the point where we need time to recuperate from exhaustion. There’s nothing wrong with that, but let’s talk about the possibility of doing hard things without exhausting ourselves. We might…