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Latest posts from Shannon's blog

Flipping the Switch on Genes Affecting Disease

When my doctor first told me that he thought I had Lupus, he couldn’t offer me a cure or a cause. By way of explanation for why my immune system had turned on my normal healthy tissue, he said that the disease was probably genetic. The implication was that I got dealt an unlucky hand … Read full article »

A Letter to Skeptics of Mind Body Medicine

Dear Skeptic,   On my recent holiday in the US, I met a father of three young kids who has a chronic illness which conventional medicine says is likely to slowly progress until he is disabled. He has Multiple Sclerosis. I asked him if he was familiar with the work of Professor George Jelinek who … Read full article »

Recovering From A Health Setback

A few weeks ago something happened that knocked me for six. For the non-Aussie person reading this blog it’s the best expression I can find to describe an event triggering feelings of sudden unexpected grief that brought everything to a stop. It’s a phrase that refers to the game of cricket where the ball is … Read full article »

How To Use Your Mind To Control Your Heart Rate

You may be familiar with research showing that highly trained Tibetan monks are able to control their body temperature by using the power of their mind, even to the point they are able to dry wet blankets with their body heat. This was first recorded by Dr. Herbert Benson, one of the world’s leading scientists … Read full article »

Angry Outbursts And Their Deadly Consequences: New Study

Dr. Craig Duncan was not supposed to have a heart attack. The 43-year-old leading sports scientist was as fit as the elite Australian athletes he trained. He ran every day. He was vegetarian. He had no sign of heart disease – not high blood pressure or high cholesterol. In fact he’d recently had an ECG … Read full article »

How to change your brain’s stress response

I’d like to tell you the story of an apprehensive pack of lab rodents that have been able to teach us something profound about stress. If you’ve seen my film The Connection you will have heard a little about these animals, which were studied by scientists at the National Centre for Biological Sciences.   In … Read full article »

The Second Brain In Your Gut

Some people call it the hangries. Others call it food fury. In my house it’s called the Shan Monster and my husband generally gets a fifteen-minute warning before she starts spitting venom. The only way to fend her off is to feed her. Fast.   I know I’m not alone when I confess to being … Read full article »

Why Google is Giving Me Hope

You would expect the business card of a man who was one of the first people to be employed by Google to read Head Programmer or Manager of Digital Innovation, but when Chade-Meng Tan handed me his card, it gave him the title of ‘Jolly Good Fellow’ with a subtitle ‘Which nobody can deny.’   … Read full article »

The Health Benefits of Holiday Rituals

In just seven days I will be competing for a coveted prize. Like many challenges worth setting one’s mind to, the actual winnings are not as valuable as the prestige of triumph. The competition will be fierce and although to a certain extent the outcome will be out of my control (I have my suspicions … Read full article »

Are The Holidays Bad For Our Health?

There is one sentence in the English language guaranteed to trigger a stress response in my body and a friend said it to me the other day.  ‘There are just four weeks until Christmas.’  I instantly felt panic rising in my body with thoughts like ‘I haven’t bought any presents,’ ‘There goes my diet,’ and … Read full article »

Why Mondays Might Just Kill You

It was Monday morning. I was stuck in a hot car park with my husband and 18-month-old son. We were an hour out of Sydney. Our car was broken down. My email inbox was chock-a-block, there were a bunch of voicemails on my phone and I had a ‘To Do’ list as long as my … Read full article »

Your Health Is An Evolution Not A Revolution

A few months ago my life was getting hectic.   I was juggling the demands of my small business, the pressure of trying to finish the film, childcare and the usual weight that comes with surviving every day modern life.  My regular yoga practice was compromised and I wasn’t meditating enough. My self-care rhythm was … Read full article »
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SHIPS IN AUSTRALIA IN 1-2 DAYS. SHIPS INTERNATIONALLY IN 5-7 DAYS. From the director of the internationally acclaimed documentary of the same name, MY YEAR OF LIVING MINDFULLY is a book filled with compelling stories, groundbreaking science, and unexpected insights that go to the heart of what it me Read full article »
Download 'The Connection' to keep forever. WHAT YOU GET DRM free MP4 download of ‘The Connection’ (73 Mins) Free access to stream of 'The Connection' for 14 days via your downloads page. Please use this option for watching the film on any iOS devices. Subtitles: French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Read full article »
Download My Year of Living Mindfully to keep forever. WHAT YOU GET: • A DRM free MP4 download of My Year of Living Mindfully (98 Mins). • Free access to stream My Year of Living Mindfully for 14 days via your downloads page. Please use this option for watching the film on any iOS devices • Subtitles Read full article »
Get a 14 day pass to stream My Year of Living Mindfully to your computer or smart device. Available in HD. WHAT YOU GET A 14 day pass to stream My Year of Living Mindfully (98 Mins) English Closed Captions are available with streaming Subtitles available in Italian / Portuguese / Spanish / Malay / H Read full article »