WellBeing

inner stability

Slow down, remember to breathe; feel your feet on the floor as you walk mindfully into this new year. Be grounded. If this past year has taught us anything, it is that we can’t control what is happening around us or the actions of those sharing this earth, no matter how much we may want to. However, the one thing that truly and solely depends upon us is our trust and dependability on ourselves, our inner stability. When you hear the word stability you may think of financial abundance, a perfect relationship, maybe even holding a steady tree-pose in your morning yoga practice, but stability — and in particular inner stability — doesn’t start with physical things; it starts with a pause, a breath, focusing inwards, engaging your senses and…

joy

Many of us treat joy like our mothers treat “the good silverware” — only brought out for special occasions. We “live for the weekend” and count down to special celebrations. But true, ongoing happiness is not found in these Hollywood moments, but rather in celebrating the everyday and the habitual. There is no big secret to happiness, no perplexing formula that only a select few are in on. It really is the little things that make the difference between a good day and the sort that leaves you feeling disconnected, fed up or just a bit blue. This message is particularly pertinent right now, as we remain in the throes of a global pandemic, worrying for the health of our loved ones and the murkiness of a future full of…

from the editor-in-chief

We all adopt roles depending on whom we are with. In my family I have a few roles: breakfast wrangler, poor joke purveyor (it’s a father’s responsibility), and IT guru (provided the technical insight required is no more than turning the device off and then on again) are among them. Probably because I spend a lot of my time writing one thing or another, I also style myself the family wordsmith and when linguistic questions come up they’re often thrown my way, even in preference to spellcheck I’m happy to say. That was why, when my daughter was pondering the big questions recently, she asked me, “What’s a word for a good smell?” I began my answer confidently enough with a learned, “Well, there’s fragrant, there’s perfumed …”, but at that…

from the editor

I was born on Latji Latji Country near the then-flowing waters of the Murray River in Victoria. As a child, when I wasn’t fishing for Murray River cod or dangling off rope swings, I roamed the bush out the back of our house, digging up oddly shaped glass bottles that I’d clean and fill with flowers for my tree house. To me, they were treasures from the land, but now I’m sure they were just empty beer bottles. Layers of rich red soil regularly covered my skin, nails and hair, along with mum’s clean washing and dad’s ute. I was no stranger to dust storms or the suffocating heat of a 45-degree day. My earliest memories are coloured by a deep crimson red. There, my appreciation for the earth and…

it's in the doing

What comforts do you turn to in moments of upheaval? Upheaval was the theme of 2020, but as we head into a new year, we’re wondering: what kept you afloat last year? What comforts and constants did you turn to in a moment of crisis? Photo walks Regular photo walks have kept me grounded this year. When I have my camera I can focus on the present environment, the present moment, the present beauty in front of me. I’m feeling through my senses, caught up in small visual wonders. I move in a state of awe and gratitude. It’s a state of flow that recharges my enthusiasm and resets my emotional systems. @jennifer.wannen Connection with family Cultivating connection with family, friends and our tribe online and in person. Social wellbeing has become my focus this year…

recent medical findings for a healthier body

Mindfulness for pain In a study conducted in semi-rural Oregon, an area where limited access to healthcare is a common problem, subjects with chronic pain and depression received intensive instruction in mindfulness meditation and mindful hatha yoga over an eight-week period. These mindfulness practices help people have an awareness of self in the present moment and in a non-judgemental fashion. The mindfulness practices led to significant improvements in subjects’ perceptions of pain, depression and disability. After the mindfulness course, scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire (a standard measure of depression) dropped by an average of 3.7 points on a 27-point scale. According to the researchers, chronic pain often accompanies depression, and mindfulness can restore both physical and mental health. They recommend meditation and yoga alone, or as an adjunct treatment, for…