It had been 20 minutes of mental agony and as my meditation practice came to an end on the third day of what was supposed to be a year-long commitment to meditate every day, there was only one thought on my mind… it’s going to be a long year.Was I missing something? Far from being “like a bubble bath” for my mind in order to “fight stress,” “think better” and “feel happier,” I was finding mindfulness training really difficult and rather unpleasant. No sooner did I follow the teacher’s instructions to direct my awareness to a point of focus (be it... Read full article »

I was inspired to write this week’s blog after I had an email from a regular reader who is a physiotherapist-turned yoga instructor, and who wanted to know how I’m finding time to take care of my physical body whilst juggling full-time work, parenting, wife-ing, whole-food cooking, and all the mindfulness meditating that I’m committed to as part of my new film project. As a health journalist who lives with an autoimmune disease (the most recent diagnosis is Sjogren’s disease) I’m all-too aware of the importance of moving my body regularly. I’ve interviewed leading experts, written a ton of blogs,... Read full article »

A leading health researcher recently told me a provocative definition of the word “addiction.” He defined it as “continued use, despite adverse consequences.” In other words, you’re addicted to something if you keep doing it, despite the fact that it’s bad for you. If he’s right, then I may be in trouble. It means that, among other things, I’m possibly addicted to… filmmaking.Ever since my husband (and co producer), Jules, and I decided to make another film, life has been mad. Despite the glamorous reputation that the movie industry has, the reality is far from it. We’re independent filmmakers, which... Read full article »

In the last five years, in my work as a health journalist, I estimate that I’ve read at least 2000 scientific studies. In all that time, with all that reading, there is one study that has left me utterly gobsmacked. The study involved more than 3000 people and looked at how they used their smartphones. It found that if partipcants didn’t have a wrist watch or an alarm clock, they had significantly less time in their lives to spend on non-smartphone leisure activities. In the study, people who reported using both a wristwatch and an alarm clock had an average... Read full article »

Where I live in Sydney, Australia there is a sense of franticness in the air. Traffic has come to a standstill as people add various silly season shenanigans to their already overloaded schedules in the extreme heat of the Australian summer. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy this time of year and I’m especially looking forward to our Harvey family Christmas Eve where we celebrate Danish style and come together for important Christmas rituals like almond rice pudding and rum balls. But I know I won’t be alone in allowing the holiday season to get the better of me... Read full article »