Yoga science
Exercise brings body positivity – this includes yoga, ballroom dancing and sports. There was no difference between the types of physical activity, but this overall underlines that exercise of any description just makes us happier. So remember that next time you put off doing your practice or going to a fitness class or simply going for a walk.
Some evidence that a yoga practice could be beneficial as a complementary therapy in type 2 diabetes.
Same for arrythmias and arrythmia-related problems, although as ever, the evidence isn’t great because the studies are not well designed (small sample size, different protocols).
A small study finds that yoga could work well alongside CBT for patients with anxiety or depression.
Cheeky extra sciency bits
Obviously the COVID vaccines is all we are talking about these days. The Wellcome trust has a great collection of video explainers that are worth a look if you have any questions.
Of particular interest right now is the adverse event (or in plain English, side effects) video – in case you need some reassurance.
Digital wellness
I love the idea of a Slack integration for wellbeing (was kind of gutted I didn’t think about it first). Cuely can be added to your Slack and encourages you to take microbreaks while working, including a breathing exercise and an eye break.
It’s a little clunky (probably a work in progress), but the idea is genius. I also sent it to my team as a little nudge (it didn’t quite work but they liked the idea). The website is really cute too.
Wellbeing reads
Even if you don’t think you are a people pleaser, it’s worth reading “Please Yourself” book by Emma Reed Turrell. Because you probably are.
She’s devised four different types of people pleaser and looked at their behaviours in different circumstances.
It gave me a lot of food for thought about some of my people-pleasing behaviours, including how I never actually say what I want for dinner when we order (and end up being unhappy because M doesn’t pick what I actually wanted), and my ridiculous people-pleasing behaviours at work.
Wellbeing podcast
I discovered “Is this working?” last week – it’s a podcast about, you guessed, working life. This episode on burnout gave me a lot of food for thought. Worth a listen, regardless of whether you think you have burnout.
Yoga practice
Find somewhere quiet, lie down and allow yourself 20 min of self-care through a yoga nidra practice. This one by my lovely teacher, Melanie Cooper, is spring–inspired.
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