I’ve written a lot about the links between kindness and ageing, and part of my focus has been that kindness is the opposite of stress, at least in terms of how it makes us feel and the physiological consequences of those feelings. Just as feelings of stress produce stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenalin), so […]
inflammation
Can kindness boost the immune system?
In other blogs, I’ve written how kindness is the opposite of stress in terms of its physiological effects. At first, one might imagine that peace is the opposite of stress, but peace is more the absence of stress than its opposite. In a number of different ways, kindness produces opposite effects from those that stress […]
The opposite of stress
Everybody knows what stress feels like. We also know what it feels like when we’re kind, when someone is kind to us, or even when we witness kindness. The feelings are opposite. Most of the effects inside the body are the opposite too. Feelings of stress generate ‘stress hormones’ in the brain and body, like […]
How Kindness Can Heal The Body
It’s been said that love or kindness can mend a broken heart. It’s true, and by this we generally mean emotionally. But there’s much more to it. Love and kindness also have a physical impact on the heart. Let me explain. Everyone knows that stress creates stress hormones, like cortisol, adrenalin, and norepinephrine. But, to […]
Can compassion beat botox in the anti ageing stakes?
‘Compassion is not religious business, it is human business. It is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability. It is essential for human survival.’ HH The Dalai Lama For centuries, learned people have searched for the mystical philosopher’s stone, believed to be the elixir of life and give immortality […]
So how DOES your mind affect your body?
Most people learn from an early age that the mind is just something that we use to think with and that it interprets life events. Any ideas that the mind could somehow affect the body have traditionally, in the West at least, been written off as fantasy or some mysterious and unexplained mind-over-matter effect. Actually, […]
How Dogs are Good for your Heart
I just had to write this blog because a little 8-week old Labrador puppy joined our family last week (that’s him in the photo). We’ve called him ‘Oscar’. He’s a bundle of cuteness, extremely playful, and also VERY fond of chewing his way through just about anything left lying on the floor. We all know […]
3 Reasons Why Gratitude is Good
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity… It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.” Melody Beattie So much of happiness is ‘all in the […]
It’s Quite Useful to Breathe
OK! Aside from the obvious – it keeps us alive – breathing actually has some hidden medical benefits that few people know about. I spoke at an event at the weekend called Tapping Into the Source of Wellbeing, organised by my friend Gosia Gorna. One of the speakers, Margaret Miller, is a Qigong master. She […]
Top 5 Mind-Body Tips for Healthy Living
1) Meditate to calm your mind and stay young Meditation helps calm the mind and reduce stress. Regular practice helps us meet many of the routinely challenging situations in our lives with less effort, and we achieve better results. Few people realize that meditation also slows the aging process. One study associated meditation with higher […]