The importance of controlled breathing cannot be overemphasized and is an immediate way to help calm the nervous system. Regardless of what's going on in one's surrounding environment, practicing controlled breathing is a great way to relieve stress and feel more centered in one's body. Whatever the feeling in the current moment, whether depression, anxiety, grief, fear, stress, or any other emotion, a few controlled breaths can have an instantaneous effect on one's ability t

Interesting study written up in the New York Times found that being in nature or even looking at pictures of nature can increase our happiness! Looking at green pictures was found to help people recover from stress, however did not inoculate from experiencing future stressors. Magdalena van den Berg, who led the study at the VU University Medical Center, predicted that actually being in nature, or looking out a window would create an even more significant impact than viewing

An interesting article in the New York Times highlights a study that potentially answers the question of why some people are more resilient than others. The study found that it may be due to how an individual listens to his or her body. It is important to define resiliency. The article states, "In scientific terms, resilience is the ability to rapidly return to normal, both physically and emotionally, after a stressful event." For the study, 48 people who self-identified as h