Portugal
I write about wellness, travel, food and the environment. I also like writing about people's life stories. Visit my website for collaboration.
Mental health is everybody's business. Feeling mentally well is as important as being physically healthy and it benefits everyone and every aspect of our human experience. That's why many people and organizations have taken mental health as one of their priorities, especially during these times of crises.
Being outside and spending time in nature, whether walking in a forest, by the coast or even just sitting in a garden, can really help us feel mentally and physically refreshed. By now, you probably have heard of the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, which is summed up as spending time in nature, and the belief that doing so is beneficial to one's health.
Dancing could be the most unique form of exercise. An energetic social activity, that occupies the space somewhere between a night on the town and team sports. It has held various important social functions in societies around the world, so there must be as many different dances as there are cultures.
Many of us can relate to the word "hangry" (hungry and angry) because it's a known fact that when we're hungry, it can be a struggle to be nice. It's easy to catch ourselves being "hangry" in the moment, but it's difficult to change our reaction to a grumbling stomach.
A scientific journal published a couple of months ago proposes that the antiviral properties of various seaweeds may help us find the solutions for the coronavirus pandemic Seaweeds are also "a promising bioresource for the future," said a report funded by the European Union called PEGASUS, citing that the demand for seaweed is growing in Europe.
Unwanted noise and activity in our brain can make us feel anxious or depressed, and unable to concentrate. Just as clutter in our homes can affect our mood and outlook, clutter in our minds can do the same thing. So, we can associate the process of achieving mental clarity as a form of spring-cleaning for the mind and senses.
Entheogen plant medicine has been used for the purpose of spiritual development for thousands of years in indigenous ceremonies all around the world. Increasing amounts of scientific studies are giving weight to the positive effects of entheogens on patients with depression and anxiety, especially in the case of the terminally ill.
Every cell in our body vibrates. As humans, we are incredibly sensitive to vibration, from the rapid movement of an insect's wing to the seismic effect of earthquakes. Our ears have evolved over millions of years to convert vibrations from our environment into audible information for our brain.
Few of us are conscious about how often we really breathe deeply and how we manage to sustain our energy with only short breaths. What we don't always realize is that how we breathe influences our day and what we get out of it.