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Pranayam BREATHE AWAY Ageing
Breath as an indicator of your state of Health If you trace a person from being an infant to a full grown adult, you will notice, in most cases, a progressive decline in the skin texture and complexion. A baby is glowing pink whereas most adults, even in their prime youth, are plagued with a diseased skin and dull complexion. This is because, in the process of growing up, one is exposed to certain unnatural practices and stimuli from which it was kept protected in the womb. Take for example, the simple act of breathing. If you observe a baby breathing, you would notice a pronounced abdominal movement. The stomach inflates as it breathes in and deflates as it breathes out. If you observe your own breathing patterns, most likely,…
DAILY ayurvedic RITUALS
There’s no denying that routines and daily rituals bring a sense of grounding and cadence to our lives. They take us away from the grind and toil of everyday life, and offer us precious moments with our inner self that allow us to show up more for ourselves and thus our life as a whole. Without our daily rituals, many of us would start prioritising everything outside of us, and wouldn’t respect our own boundaries. The Role of Ayurvedic Ritual Ayurvedic rituals are more than just practices. They are designed to help you take advantage of the day’s rhythm and guide you toward a more desirable Inner Climate® - this is the ideal state inside the human body that allows life within us and thus our own life to thrive.…
Do your BODY a SERVICE
You service your car every 10,000 kilometres or so without batting an eyelid, but many of us pay attention to the needs of our body only when bits and pieces start breaking down. Preventive measures now will pay off with better living down the road, says orthopaedic surgeon Dr Matthew Motisi. The thing is, even if most of your organs, bones and systems are in top working order, if one or two have burgeoning issues, that can reverberate through the rest of your body and create additional problems. If you’ve got specific concerns about aches, pains or other symptoms, consult with your GP, and don’t skip your annual physical even if you feel fine. Meanwhile, try these simple at-home assessments over the page. After that, read on for expert advice…
Mental Health Care in YA
Chaos Theory. By Nic Stone. 2023. Crown. Gr. 8–12. New-ish student Shelbi has bipolar depression and a complicated past, both of which make her cautious about making new friends. Popular judo champion Andy turns to alcohol to avoid his grief. Positioning their healing journeys side by side allows readers to witness not only a variety of mental health issues addressed but also how progress can take many shapes, forms, and lengths of time. All this authentic representation is wrapped in a compelling plot with realistic characters, relatable conflicts, and delightful dialogue—an utterly unputdownable novel. Every Last Word. By Tamara Ireland Stone. 2015. Disney/Hyperion. Gr. 9–12. Sam’s popular friends would never expect her to be struggling with OCD. Yet Sam is plagued by dark thoughts and spirals she can’t escape. Then…
Your mental health masterclass
Despite a staggering one in four people in the UK experiencing a mental health problem each year, the invisible nature of it means there’s often a tendency to ignore problems and just get on with it. But, as Stephen Buckley, head of information at mental health charity Mind, says, “Mental health is just like our physical health: everybody has it and we need to take care of it.” He adds, “Thankfully, we’ve seen the national conversation on mental health move forward, but those with mental health problems still face barriers.” The topic remains taboo, especially for older generations – a YouGov survey revealed 25% of over-55s think it’s more difficult for them to discuss mental health than younger people. Some 71% felt this was because, in the past, anxiety and…
Grounding techniques to manage anxiety
Many studies over the years have proven what most of us predicted all along: anxiety rates are much higher among the neurodiverse than the neurotypical. Chronic anxiety is bad enough, but sometimes these thoughts and feelings can spiral out of control, leading to a full-on panic attack. Panic attacks are deeply scary. While gripped by one, it can feel as if you are about to die. So it is important to find techniques and exercises that can calm us down from a panic attack. There are many different techniques but they all work towards bringing us out of a panicked mental state and into the immediate present – where there is no danger. Different techniques work for different people so it might be necessary to try a few before you…
‘My friend’s death proves we need better maternal mental health support’
I was feeding my four-month-old son when my phone lit up with the life-shattering message: ‘I don’t know how to say this and I can’t believe I’m writing this, but Sophie died this morning.’ The message was from the husband of one of my best and most brilliant friends. When I called, he confirmed that Sophie had taken her own life. Her daughter was 10 weeks old. I’d first met my curious, smart friend 20 years earlier on a plane to Moscow. We were travelling as part of a programme to teach English abroad and from those early encounters, we were inseparable. Sophie had a sense of adventure I deeply respected; her drive to explore new ideas and places was an extension of her desire to learn. Not all friendships survive into…
How can I eat well on a budget?
First and foremost, what does ‘eating well’ actually mean? I’d define it as: a way of eating that avoids causing illness and disease while promoting good health and wellbeing. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that ‘eating well’ means, as often as practical, choosing whole foods that contain adequate calories to support our lifestyles, but don’t lead to excessive fat storage. Our diets should also provide a solid ratio of vitamins and minerals, ample protein and plenty of fibre. But, most importantly, it’s about enacting this in a way that causes the least amount of mental friction – eating well without it feeling like a constant psychological battle. Next up, what do we mean when we say ‘on a budget’? Government statistics from 2022 covering household shopping and eating habits estimate…
A PARISIAN SANCTUARY
On the edge of Paris, Marie Uzeel’s renovated family home has a soft, sun-kissed elegance. But this was far from the case when she and her husband first went to see it in 2020. ‘It felt cold and lacked character, but I could see its potential immediately,’ remembers Marie. ‘My husband and I were silent during the visit but once outside, we both said, “This is the one.”’ Marie, an interior designer, started her career in the luxury industry before following her true passion for design. After spending time working on her family estate in the Bordeaux region, the pull of interior decoration became irresistible, leading her to launch her own business, Maison Marie Uzeel. Her design philosophy, which draws on her love of colour, fabric and art, was shaped by…
Work in progress
Jaime Hayon The Spanish designer’s home office is a portal into his fantastical world, where play and pattern reign supreme ‘Where I work is an extension of my creative universe. I’m always surrounded by sketches, drawings, prototypes of my own work and experimental pieces from my trips around the world and from designers and artists I admire. Sometimes, revisiting an old idea can spark something new. I also find a lot of motivation in handcrafted objects and traditional techniques; ceramic sculptures and handwoven textiles that connect me to craftsmanship. They remind me why I do what I do. Music is also important; I often listen to a mix of classical, jazz and electronic music to create the right atmosphere. My home office is where I focus on conceptual work: sketching, brainstorming ideas and…
How to Navigate Conflict with a Coworker
EARLY IN MY CAREER I took a job reporting to someone who had a reputation for being difficult. I’ll call her Elise. Plenty of people warned me that she would be hard to work with, but I thought I could handle it. I prided myself on being able to get along with anyone. I didn’t let people get under my skin. I could see the best in everyone. Two months later I was ready to quit. Elise worked long days and on weekends and expected her team to do the same. Her assumptions about what could get done in a day were wildly unreasonable. She often followed up at 8:30 AM on a request she’d made at 6:00 the night before. She disparaged my teammates in front of me, questioning…
A massacre in Kashmir and fury on the streets of India
For Sunil Singh, there is only one way for India to respond to last week’s attack by militants in Kashmir. “Those terrorists and their supporters should be shot dead, and their houses should be blown up,” the shopkeeper said. “We should even use the air force and drop bombs on the residential areas where these terrorists find shelter. There should be a bloodbath in Pakistan to teach them a lesson.” Since 25 tourists and one local guide were killed by militants last Tuesday afternoon, as they strolled peacefully through Kashmir’s verdant Baisaran valley, much of the Indian public has been baying for vengeance. It was the deadliest attack on civilians in more than two decades in India’s restive region of Kashmir. The gruesome details of the attack from survivors –…