Healthy Living

This time of year is rich in transitions: the kids go back to school, temperatures fluctuate between hot and chilly, easy summer livin’ gives way to more structured schedules. Change can be hard and stressful, and leave our immune systems vulnerable. Taking a moment to review the basics of health will help you stay strong and resilient.

I love the image of health as a table. The four legs of the table are the four pillars of health, and if any of them are too short, too long, or missing, the table—your health—gets wobbly. No single pillar takes priority over another; all the legs of the table are equally important. It’s all about balance. 🌊🏄 Read More

How can we live most appropriately to optimize our bodies and daily living? A simple way of answering that is to incorporate Yin and Yang Theory into our daily structure. First we should define what Yin and Yang represent.

Yin and Yang are concepts and they are functions. They are the duality we constantly find ourselves in. Theory teaches us that we can find all things divisible into Yin and Yang. Yin, in this duality, is the polar opposite of yang, yet it is inseparable from it. They are in a dynamic relationship with one another. Yin and Yang can be transmuted into one another. Yin of course, are things like; female, dark, rest, nourishment, and quiet. Yang corresponds with things like; male, light, action, energy, movement, and loud. Neither can exist without the other. 

As a human-being, we are more often consuming our Yin and Yang energy than building it. That is why, eventually, we all die! But don’t despair, while we are here, Ying Yang Theory teaches us that the more we live in balance with these forces the better and possibly the longer our lives will be. 

While this principle of duality is as simple as it Read More

When was the last time you really just took in the textures, smells, and sounds of the forest? If you’re like the majority of Americans, your access to the forest may be limited. According to census data, 80% of the US population lives in urban areas. On top of that factor, most people find themselves living in multiple boxes (whether that is a car, house, or office) enclosed from the outside environment. Our senses are meant to pick up more than just the sound of the A/C and hum of the computer.

“Forest bathing” is directly translated from the Japanese word shinrin-yoku. Skinrin means forest and yoku means bath. To bathe in the forest is to be completely saturated in the details one’s senses can pick up within it. During forest bathing there is no goal other than to sense what is around you in the forest amongst the trees. Shinrin-yoku is to be submerged in the sounds of the wind rustling the leaves of the forest canopy while you feel the wind through your own fingertips outstretched. To bathe in the forest is to slowly walk and to notice each fallen leaf alongside the trail as you gently pass. Read More