Ingredients of Wellness

Teenagers 12 and up are welcome to join our new Mindful Mondays drop in Mindfulness group. Beginners and past students are welcome Reserve your place The teenage years are filled with ups and downs, and life can seem like a roll-a-coaster. In these weekly group practice sessions we will introduce participants to various mindfulness practices and activities, […]

The summer holidays are over and the new school year begins. Teenagers are fast becoming acquainted with what is in store for them at school. They are returning to friendships that may have been on-hold as they separated over the holidays, or they may be starting new ones. Changes are happening internally as well. Their brains are […]

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 […]

There is no doubt that when you take it to the next level, the mind and the body are connected, and that when those connections are intact and in balance you have health and when they’re broken you have disease.” Esther Sternberg MD The connection of our mind-body is an important part of how we […]

We all spend a lot of time thinking about something other than what is going on right now. Our minds wander, they wander to the past and contemplate what could have been, or what might happen in the future, and then there is the thoughts about things that may never happen at all. Apparently we […]

Mindfulness Matters! and it’s mascot, The Little Green Frog, is now available in Hong Kong. Mindfulness paves the way to be alert and make kind, conscious choices in the present moment. Janet Etty-Leal Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment, without judgment. More simply, it is purposefully bringing attention to what is being experienced. […]

The noisy world in which many of us live today doesn’t easily allow room for silence.  On the outside, the pounding sounds of the city; babbling people in public spaces; even the sounds of nature can be disruptive, and on the inside, the chatter and busyness of our thinking minds.  And then there is the […]

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 […]

We would all like to think that we are compassionate beings.  Most likely compassion extends towards friends, family, co-workers, the people we come across daily and even with strangers.  Does this same level of compassion extend to animals and the natural world and do we extend compassion toward ourselves? In this short video, Shauna Shapiro […]

Why do we meditate, practice mindfulness, or other mindbody therapies?  Perhaps you’ve tried it for relaxation, or to ease the mind, or perhaps because you’ve heard it helps with stress and anxiety.  Perhaps you are looking for some way to relieve pain when the drugs are just not working.  Or you may be thinking of […]

    As part of my work at RMIT I am conducting research into teaching mindfulness in schools.  My research considers teachers perceptions of the experience of teaching mindfulness meditation for the first time.  I have been impressed by the rich descriptions and impressions of the teachers I have interviewed.  Their reflections of the benefits […]

Wellness at work, what does that mean? As this is a blog about wellness I do have a definition: Wellness is taking control of self and learning to make choices towards a more balanced and healthy existence, towards a more fulfilling life physically, psychologically, spiritually, socially, environmentally, intellectually and occupationally to create the best chance […]

Mind-body wellness is the use of therapies that change thought patterns, emotions, behaviors and attitudes to improve health, support healing and promote wellness. I recently talked about mind-body wellness and the role of mind-body therapies play as we attempt to take control of our own wellness and healing, and how the research is supporting the […]

As the name suggests Mind-Body Wellness considers the effect of the mind and emotions on the physical body.  A definition I relate to is this: how mental activities (like beliefs), influence health and how using mental interventions (like meditation or hypnosis), can change the content of these mental activities by either reducing stress or affecting […]

Recently I asked a business owner friend if they have implemented any wellness practices for staff in their office. She thought for a while and then reflected her frustration that the staff did not utilize the wellness benefit.  I was intrigued at this response.  Through my work in researching workplace wellness, I’d suggest that most […]