A month without drinking alcohol – that’s the challenge set by the Belgian Foundation Against Cancer for their “Tournée Minérale”. Starting on February 1st, 100,000 people committed themselves to giving up alcohol for one month, and to making a donation for research. Live well without alcohol Last year, the first such event attracted 120,000 participants. By combining activism with fun, it showed many of them that they can survive without…
Over the centuries, and still today, we’ve tended to see personal energy as having two forms. Masculine energy, which is often centre-stage, relates to the outer world. It’s about organising, planning and managing. It’s logical, it’s literal. Feminine energy, by contrast, is linked to the inner world – to feelings, to emotions, to the heart, to the very essence of what women traditionally are. Of course, we have to be…
Everybody knows about the benefits of meditation. You may already have tried it out on your own by following instructions from one of the many advisers. You may well have experienced the big problem for beginners – how do you go about it, and above all, how do you concentrate. How do you prevent your brain from kicking in, so that your thoughts go off in all directions? To help…
If you’re looking for the exotic and a complete change of pace and scene, Cuba will not disappoint. But don’t leave it too long before you go. I spent 10 days there, and the island still has its “picture postcard” allure. Cuba the magical, Cuba the enchanting – the words may be a cliché, but they’re a perfect definition for this big island with its tormented history. Staying with the…
Of all the consequences of re-starting a sport or physical activity after a break, muscular aches are probably the least fun. How can we reduce them so they don’t spoil our next sports session? Treatment with cold or heat Using cold or heat to relieve pain is a very ancient technique. If you can’t give yourself a session of cryotherapy, you can always speed your recovery with a hot bath….
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a novel psychotherapeutic approach to the treatment of, amongst other things, phobias, addictions and depression. The method was developed in the USA at the end of the 1980s, by psychologist Francine Shapiro, and it was first used to treat post-traumatic syndromes. For victims of rape, accidents, bereavement or conflict, it’s now the best documented method in the English-speaking world, and the most…
More and more people are turning away from milks of animal origin, with their high levels of lactose and casein, containing fats and antibiotic residues, either because of allergies or just from feeling queasy after consuming it. However another question immediately presents itself – what to replace them with? The answer is not far to seek when you remember there are various vegetable- based milks that are an excellent replacement…
At the risk of disappointing anybody who believes in miracle diets, we have to look at the facts. No drink can miraculously make you lose weight. However, there are drinks that, as part of a balanced diet and with a healthy lifestyle, make a contribution to slimming. Coffee When drunk before a sports session, caffeine can extend your stamina and increase the calories burnt. Please note, obviously we’re talking about…
Mindfulness – a slimming technique which gives results without starving yourself Doctors and psychologists agree that paying full attention to the present moment and the pleasure of eating will let you get back to a healthy and straightforward relationship with food. It’s an internal “mindfulness” experiment that we will now describe. Re-establish contact with your senses The practice of mindfulness is about using a set of mental exercises to be…
Procrastination! A long word for a very common thing, which consists of putting off until tomorrow something we could do today. People who are blamed for this behaviour are often more its misunderstood victims. When somebody procrastinates a lot, it can handicap their life in general. Why do people put things off until tomorrow? There are several reasons why we put off doing things when they can, or ought to,…