Articles

The psychology of making and maintaining lifestyle changes
Lifestyle change, Psychology Jonquil Westwood Pinto Lifestyle change, Psychology Jonquil Westwood Pinto

The psychology of making and maintaining lifestyle changes

I have been working as a researcher in the field of behaviour change for several years now. I wish I could call you over and quietly whisper into your ear the secret of keeping up positive changes in your lifestyle. Of course, there isn’t a magical secret, but there are a few things that can help, whether you are giving up smoking, trying to eat a healthier diet, starting regular exercise or any other positive (and often difficult) change in your daily life.

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The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing
Meditation Peter Deadman Meditation Peter Deadman

The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing

Slow, deep, lower abdominal breathing – for millennia a mainstay of Asian internal cultivation practices – is a powerful tool for healing and transformation. A wide range of emotional and physical problems can be helped by slow breathing and in the clinic it can be easily taught to patients - both while lying on the couch and as home practice.

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A beginner’s guide to using acupressure
Acupressure Tom Kennedy Acupressure Tom Kennedy

A beginner’s guide to using acupressure

Acupressure is based on the same principles as acupuncture - it's a way of stimulating specific points on the body in order to benefit health and wellbeing. The effects of these points have been carefully observed in China for nearly two thousand years by many generations of physicians,

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The healing power of nature
Peter Deadman Peter Deadman

The healing power of nature

When we want to improve our health, we usually think of things like increasing the amount of exercise we take or changing our diet. But there are several other important ways we can build physical and mental wellbeing, and one of these is spending more time in nature.

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A beginner’s guide to the benefits of qigong
Qigong Peter Deadman Qigong Peter Deadman

A beginner’s guide to the benefits of qigong

I would say that qigong is made up of three ‘cultivations’ – body, breath and mind. Some qigong traditions focus on one or two of these only but it is my belief that the highest form of qigong practice cultivates all three equally. When body, breath and mind are wrapped up together in a seamless whole, we enter the ‘qigong state’ – the optimum condition for becoming an integrated and healthy human being…

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5 Guidelines on How to Eat
Diet Peter Deadman Diet Peter Deadman

5 Guidelines on How to Eat

According to a Chinese proverb, ‘Taking medicine but neglecting diet wastes the skills of the doctor’.

This ancient saying reminds us how important what we eat is to our health and wellbeing.

But although millions of words have been written and spoken about what we should or should not be eating, much less attention is given to how we eat – our daily eating habits.

This is a shame because the how of eating is just as important as the what.

So here are five guidelines to make sure that how we eat contributes to our health, wellbeing and recovery from disease.

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The Ancient Art of Tui Na Self-Massage: Putting the Power to Heal Back in Your Own Hands
Self-massage, Acupressure Sarah Pritchard Self-massage, Acupressure Sarah Pritchard

The Ancient Art of Tui Na Self-Massage: Putting the Power to Heal Back in Your Own Hands

Ancient practices like self-massage and Qi gong that cultivate health, self-care and vitality are being rediscovered and embraced with enthusiasm by a growing number of people throughout the Western world. I’ve worked as a practitioner of acupuncture and Tui na (Chinese massage therapy) for 25 years. It’s a very different world now than it was back in 1994 when I started my practice. For me, this is the age for empowering and inspiring people to recognise that healing comes from within. That with the support of a skilled practitioner we connect and resonate with, we have the innate ability to heal ourselves.

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Looking after our digestion
Diet Daverick Leggett Diet Daverick Leggett

Looking after our digestion

We may be eating all the “right” foods but as well as considering the foods we put into our bodies any holistic approach to nutrition must also consider the body’s ability to digest and assimilate all the goodness that passes through our mouths. Our digestive system tends to be overlooked as we fixate on the quest for health through nutrition. The positive impact of our food choices can be enhanced if we also give some attention to supporting our digestion. This article looks at how we can do this.

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