“I want to be more creative,” I thought to myself last fall. “It’s time I develop my right brain a little more.” Since quite a few of my family members are pretty decent painters, I thought this was a great place for me to start. But because I know nothing about painting, I decided to start with something easy: Snoopy, using paint-by-number.
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As everybody is busy getting ready for back-to school, I’d like to make sure that wellness is on your radar this school year. So let’s do a quick activity together. Think of your favorite piece of music. In fact, why don’t you play it in your head. If you have more than one, chose something upbeat. Got it?
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In our last post, we mentioned that being in a generally perkier mood can help you feel more energetic to exercise. But if you understand the SaS Compass, you know that improved exercise is not all that a better mood can do for you. It can also lessen food cravings, reduce insomnia and help you feel more collaborative and creative. Much better side effects than any sleep, energy or appetite-related “magic” pills! 
So – ready for a few mood boosting tips? Here are my favorite 4.
Ladies – are you overdue to give your body a little TLC? The Hope Lake Lodge at Greek Peak Mountain Resort in New York State is offering a Women’s Wellness Week May 13th-18th. A great Mother’s Day gift (wink-wink to guys reading this post!), the event will enable you to relax, recharge and rejuvenate. With daily physical activities, health workshops, healthy meals and good conversations, it will answer all your questions on how to be and stay healthy. I will be there on Wednesday May 16th in the evening to host a workshop on how to use the SaS Compass to manage your sleep, food, mood and exercise habits more effortlessly.
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Lynne, a coach who participated in our online wellness program, blogged today about some of her takeaways from learning how to use the SaS Compass: “…if you change a key habit even in a small way, other changes will tend to cascade from that. This dovetails nicely with something I discovered while exploring the health “compass” the Smarts and Stamina authors use as their guiding metaphor. It turns out that the most important change I made, the key habit that had the most repercussions, wasn’t even on my radar! Duh, as my kids would say.”
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Do you run from one activity to the next without much opportunity to recharge your brain and body’s batteries? If so, then I’m sure you wonder how to stop racing through what often turns out to be a second rate version of your own life. But how can you break the cycle, when there is so much to do, and so little time? This session will help you kickstart an upward spiral of healthy habits so you feel refreshed – at last!
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Jeremy McCarthy, Director of Global Spa Development and Operations at Starwoods Hotels and blogger extraordinaire, posted a very flattering article last week about the SaS model and philosophy. If you’ve never visited his blog, I encourage you to do so because you’re really missing out! Here’s an excerpt from his most recent article.
Read moreIf you know me, you know that my thing is connecting sleep, food, mood and exercise. I love to discuss how these four groups of habits are connected and make each other easier. But improving one habit is already a challenge, never mind improving habits in 4 categories! Agreed, doing so can sound daunting and effortful (if you don’t know my full process, that is ;0), so today I’d like to share ways that will improve your health and simultaneously save your energy.
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I will be revealing a few SaS secrets on one of Montreal’s largest TV network, TVA on November 30th at 9AM. I got the show hosts quite excited about the info I shared, so expect some ooohs and aaaahs!
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According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, nearly 1 in 5 test cases reached their highest stress level 15 or more days per month. That trickles down to half of a person’s life if you extend it out for the full year. With the Holidays a few weeks away (yet another stressor!), here’s some guidance on how to manage stress in your life.
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Marie-Josée Shaar received her undergrad at McGill University in Organizational Behavior, followed by a Master of Applied Positive Psychology at University of Pennsylvania. She's certified as a Wellness Culture Coach, a Personal Trainer, and a Nutrition and Wellness Consultant. She has spent the last 13 years studying, testing, coaching and teaching smart health habits, both nationally and internationally.
