Blog

By: Dr. Melanie DeCunha, Naturopathic Doctor

Yup, that's right I like kicking it old school with a jigsaw puzzle. I love puzzles of all types (one of my faves is Sudoku) and find them very relaxing. Jigsaw puzzles in particular are great for stimulating both the right (emotions, creativity) and left (logical, systematic) sides of the brain. They are also helpful for improving memory, problem solving, visual perception and coordination skills. And my favourite benefit? You are spending time NOT looking at a screen, giving your eyes a break in this tech-based world we live in!

By: Dr. Melanie DeCunha, Naturopathic Doctor

Have you heard of HIIT (high intensity interval training)? To put it briefly, you alternate very high intensity bursts of activity (e.g. sprinting full out) with short rest periods. This kind of training has shown to improve endurance greater than steady submaximal workouts (e.g. jogging for 60 minutes at the same pace). I love this workout because you can accomplish this in even just 10 minutes! I have never been a great endurance athlete, likely because my training as a dancer was essentially interval training (you do a dance full-out for 3-4 minutes then you rest before doing it all over again). Next time you head to gym swap your usual routine with a HIIT workout and see the world of a difference that occurs!

By: Dr. Melanie DeCunha, Naturopathic Doctor

While the word "journaling" may be intimidating for a lot of people, writing is a very therapeutic process. For people who are new to the practice, I often recommend starting with just writing a to-do list or jotting down in point form the things that have been bothering them lately. Usually when I haven't journaled in while I ease back in starting with just a list of what I did that day, a high point and low point of the day. As people become more comfortable, I usually challenge them to write letters to people in their past or present or even to a past or future self. Letter writing is a great tool to help people with forgiveness (of themselves or others) or even just to help them with their future goals. You of course do not have to share the letter with the person to whom you are addressing, but often just the act of letting your thoughts flow onto paper and reading it back is a very healing process.