Many people have this idea that meditation involves sitting down and doing nothing. But this is a misconception. Meditation is an active process, an exercise for the brain. The aim of the exercise is to become consciously aware of your thoughts and feelings without judging them. Meditation is not about trying to turn off your thoughts and feelings, but instead allowing them to come and go without resistance. Meditation is a skill; similar to any skill, it takes practice to get comfortable with.…

Have you ever heard a TV or radio program informing you of the importance of sleep for health, happiness, and productivity? That would be great if you could get to sleep, right?  Sleeping problems are indicated even with such things as lying in bed for more than 30 minutes without being able to fall asleep; trouble staying asleep: waking up frequently during the night and waking in the early hours of the morning before you need to get up but not being able to fall back asleep. Yet these…

We all know that exercise is good for our mental health, but did you know that exercising in “green spaces” and in fact, just looking at nature has also been proven to benefit mental health and wellness?  It’s true.  A few years ago, the Canadian Mental Health Association published the article, “The Nurture of Nature:  Natural Settings and Their Mental Health Benefit” (2013).  This article offers a review of numerous research studies that point toward a strong connection between our exposure to…