Cold and flu season has crept up again! It’s time we get back to the basics that support a healthy immune system. Most of us don’t have mom in tow to remind us of the essentials, and when life gets busy, it’s easy to forget just how important practical prevention is….until we’re lying in bed sniffling.

Enjoy this list of familiar favorites—with a mindful twist—for staving off the common cold. 

Are you snacking on the run, cramming lunch down during a ten-minute break or mindlessly munching in front of a screen? If so, you’re not alone. Speed eating is all too common in our society. But this habit has many unhealthy side affects: poor digestion, weight gain, discomfort after meals, fatigue.  If practiced over time, speed eating may lead to obesity and a severe disconnection with our food, which affects not only our physical but also our mental and emotion health.

Five reasons to slow down:

Are you feeling bored or stuck in your workout routine?

When we consider fitness options, the popular means of exercise come to mind: running, lifting weights, yoga… but what if none of these activities sounds like fun?

You may think - “fun? Exercise is not supposed to be fun." But visitors to the House of Air, the indoor trampoline park in San Francisco, beg to differ. They burn calories by jumping, taking aerial training classes, or playing trampoline dodge-ball.

Photo by Federico Stevani from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Regular physical exercise improves our health more than any other single factor, aside from the decision not to smoke. Exercise also has a profound impact on brain functioning.

There is a lot of hype about coconut water and health—search the web and you'll find claims that drinking coconut water boosts the immune system, helps with weight loss, prevents aging, or lowers the risk of cancer. The research is just not there to support these claims, and much more research is needed.

I love to walk and enjoy nature. A mindful connection between my feet and the earth reminds me that I am intertwined with an abundance of beauty- a mutually supportive world that I give to and receive from, with every breath.

Despite the knowledge that walking brings me joy, I often need a reminder to prioritize this activity and an incentive to get out the door.

Americans ingest too much salt and it’s threatening our health. So how do we cut down? Salt is ingrained in our habit energy around eating and we must consciously form new healthy patterns.