Ingredients of Wellness

This week I want to share a bit about ‘flipping the lid’, the topic of the JusTme video in the last article. I think kids and teens will learn a lot from his lyrics – which you can find on the youtube page. This is brain development stuff, something parents should also know about. We’ve […]

We are well into the summer holidays in this part of the world. Because so many leave Hong Kong during the school holidays, it’s a virtual desert where I live. Although I often envy those who are able to take a month or more off at this time of year, keeping kids entertained for all […]

Are you up for a challenge? If you would like to know how much plastic you and your family use each day, then join the Plastic Footprint Challenge.  During this two week challenge the only thing you have to do is keep ALL the plastic waste you would otherwise put in the recycle bin or […]

Year end or mid-year exams, peer and parental pressures, and the anticipation of the long summer break ahead (for those in this part of the world) can be creating stresses and anxieties in teens everywhere. At times a mindful break can be the best thing for a busy and exhausted mind, a body overcome by […]

Earlier this month I wrote about the 2016 update on Pesticides in Produce  from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).  Just a few days later the new EWG Healthy Living app was launched.  In this post I’ll introduce this and other similar apps that help you make better choices as consumers. The EWG are an excellent […]

Are you passionate about life? Are you giving what you can? Are you living your life? Here are 3 videos that aim to inspire, engage and get you thinking if you are living the life you want! Isabel Allende: How to live passionately—no matter your age Isabel Allende, author of Aphrodite: The Love of Food & the […]

Mindbody wellness  mindfulness apps It’s truly mindboggling the number of mindfulness or meditation apps available.  Meditation apps can be helpful for those who are not yet able to meditate in silence or even if you need some help getting into that silent space.  Sometimes a guided meditation is what you need because the mind is […]

If you are a regular follower you may have noticed I have been away for a while.  Now that didn’t make me happy! but the reason for the absence certainly did.  I was engaging in passionate pursuits of the academic kind.  More on this another time but needless to say I was working in flow, […]

Many will remember Brené Brown’s TEDx talk on The Power of Vulnerability – it went viral (13.7 million views and counting) – and possibly her book: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.  Brown, research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, […]

Earlier in 2013 I wrote about the problems with sugar…or rather fructose, to be more specific.  Debate on this hot topic continued feverishly throughout 2013, so I  thought starting the year off with a summary of what the research says, may be helpful to those who are considering whether to, or not to, join the […]

Did you know October 4 was World Animal Day? There are some important reasons for highlighting this special day and they relate to the wellness of humans and animals. First we’ll start with some recent stories that highlight why we should be thinking about and doing more for animal wellbeing.  Then we move onto the […]

On average patients visiting their primary care physician will spend 50 minutes in the clinic and only 10 minutes with the physician. Does this sound familiar? How does that make you feel toward the health system? What about hospitals where medical staff don’t even introduce themselves to patients. This is the experience of Dr Graham […]

The 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) of the Amer Psychiatry Association has attracted a barrage of criticism from many sources.  From my research I see an overarching issue being over-diagnosis potentially leading to the over-medicalization of children, adolescence and adults. Particularly worrying is over-diagnosis of ADHD in kids.  Does your child […]

Touch is a basic biological need.  Touch is communication.  Touch is a therapy.  Touch heals. Touch is the first sense that we learn to use, sending information to the brain before any of our other senses. The Touch Research Institute has found significant evidence of the positive physical and emotional benefits of human touch for people […]

Let’s start this conversation about wellness and the marine environment with some examples of how the marine environment can impact our wellness.  Firstly let’s look again at what wellness is. As I’ve previously discussed, wellness can mean different things to different people in different contexts.  But regardless of the context, wellness is a conscious decision […]