The Optimise Health Blog

Forest Sunrise ©Ben Sinclair 2012 I've been looking into the Japanese practise of  Forest Bathing  which is a fascinating therapeutic activity. This is when individuals spend deliberate mindful time in the forest while allowing the environment to have effects on the body and senses.  A session of forest bathing may be made up of:  - seeing green trees and plants, taking time to note natural activity around you - touching the plants and trees, connecting to the ground - hearing wildlife and listening to sounds of the environment - breathing the air and noting the aromas given off by the trees and plants. My personal journey into integrated well-being began with a stress related illness (shingles and post-viral fatigue) during my A-levels. Ever since then I have been aware of the need to build activities into my life to improve well-being and combat the negative effects of stress. See my theory of integrated health here . View of t...

© Topnews In I saw Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff on the BBC breakfast this morning ( I never watch TV over breakfast) but I am between jobs, doing some temporary work from home and enjoying my baby girl growing up. Flintoff revealed that even star sportsmen and hardmen like Vinnie Jones suffer from depression and mental health problems and around 1 in 10 admit to this. See his recent Sun article here In reality around 1 in 4 of the general population - myself included - suffer from some form of mental problems, ranging from mild seasonal depression to anxiety or more extreme psychoses and psychological phobias which can seriously affect performance. My family has a long history of bipolar disorder or manic depression/mania which is inherited through my Grandfathers line on my fathers side.  Everyone in subsequent generations after him have been affected to a greater or lesser extent and have both highs and lows but also moments of brilliance. In every generation since m...

Athletes have practised mindfulness for some time now in preparation for successful performance in the field. When I started running,  I happened to chat to a friend who had been a top class track athlete. I had been talking about running for some time and had longed to be free to take exercise whenever and wherever I wanted; but had not actually started running yet.  He asked me how much time I had spent thinking about running; I answered that I was not sure; but I had really only spent time practically preparing for it (new trainers, shorts etc). Funny then that one day when I was driving to the gym after this conversation I stopped the car and like Forrest Gump "I just started running"!  I had been looking at a map of our area. I knew that near my route was a moor that gave onto a racecourse with woods where I could run to my hearts content - away from the roads and in natural setting within the citty limits. I had been imagining running the...