“Health span” is a relatively new idea. Related to the concept of “life span”, health span is not as easy to define, not so concrete and final; less measurable. Health span can be simply defined as the length of a life that is “healthy” or that one is in “good health”. But what is that? Well it does NOT just mean the absence of disease or chronic dysfunction in your life!…
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This preconception of balance, not wavering, staying in the middle, not being moved off centre, is a common Western view of the word. I suggest here another more meaningful and pragmatic definition.
CBC tapestry Sunday radio show this last week featured a story about Bruce Sweet, a retired United Church minister, who inadvertently became a certified “forest therapist”. He later realized this was a formalized practice from Japan called “shinrin-yoku”, translated as “to take in the forest atmosphere”. It was developed in the 1980s and has been linked to benefits such as reduced stress, improved mood, increased ability to focus, increased energy levels and…
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Beekeeping is hot, heavy, and sticky… and yes, stingy. It is much more than the honey itself that keeps me coming back each year to the bees. Actually, I don’t eat as much honey as you may expect a beekeeper would – I mostly savour it in small amounts as a fine sweet flavour that can complement the taste of other foods. I am drawn to the less tangible rewards…
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I am not sure exactly when I really started to notice and become interested in the passage of time, but I think it was as a child of around 9 or 10. I would lie awake at night, trying to go back to my earliest memory, and then letting my mind flow forward naturally, without effort, one memory connected to the next, until I came up to that current moment….
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Hidden from view until now – fluid filled spaces everywhere! By Gord Grant PhD, RAc and Alina Tousseeva, RAc A medical group from New York City recently discovered something very new and interesting about connective tissue. Connective tissue (or fascia as it is also known) is the tough, gooey, elastic filler stuff between cells in and around tissues, sinews, organs and muscles of the body. It is simply everywhere! On…
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Here is a guest blog from Klaudia Sapieja, a Mental Health Training Coach at the University of Alberta (see her bio at the end of the blog below). She offers us here some thoughts to provoke us to examine the idea of failure as it applies to sports….but I think the message can be applied to both health and life in general! Enjoy! “Most people dislike making mistakes. Mistakes, setbacks,…
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by Gord Grant, PhD., RAc. Wikipedia says: “Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, domestic chores, and education.” It goes on to qualify it – “The distinction between leisure and unavoidable activities is not a rigidly defined one” and then further; “Certainly most people’s leisure activities are not a completely free choice, and may be constrained by social pressures, e.g. people may be coerced into spending…
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Many people who want to start getting more active feel overwhelmed by the idea because they do not feel they have enough time, do not know where to start, or have really high expectations for themselves. Unfortunately, this often results in their good intentions never materializing into any action or changed behaviour. I always encourage people to take it slow at first and to remember that something is better than…
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What to do when you’re stressed to the max….? I’m glad you’ve found me today, I’ve got something I’d like to share with you. It’s Greg here to let you know that even though you might be stressed to the max right now, there are still small, practical steps you can take to cope with that stress and stay healthy. But first, why am I talking about stress? Like it’s…
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