Studies show that most people think they smile more than they actually do. If you feel exhausted or burned out often, maybe you need to smile more. Why? Smiling reduces stress that your body and mind feel and helps to generate more positive emotions within you. So the simple act of learning to smile more […]

Sending thoughts and prayers out to Canada’s NDP leader, 61-year-old Jack Layton, who is now taking a leave of absence to receive treatment for the new cancer his doctor’s found in him last week. “I will beat this new cancer and I will be back …” he said today. Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed […]

“Worry and stress affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects heart action.” ~Charles W. Mayo, M.D. Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend Read an excerpt now TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries. ~Astrid Alauda Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend Read an excerpt now TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Having gone through this experience yourself, many of you truly understand what it is like…how tough it is to lose a parent…no matter what the circumstances and personal history. And when you have been the caretaker and have seen your parent find peace, there is a wide array of feelings—sadness mixed with relief (which, if […]

I have been battling cancer for several months. The support of friends and family is key to keeping morale up, but I feel more alone than ever. I hardly hear from my friends. When I pick up the phone to say, “Hello,” they say they haven’t called because they don’t want to disturb me. Or […]

Stress and the immune system are integrated—they are tied into your mood and what you are thinking. So the trauma of experiencing grief with a death and its associated stress, can really affect you physically. That’s why it is so important to pay attention to your body when you grieve!  There can be tension created […]

“I remember taking my Dad to the seniors’ center to pick up his lunch. (This was the week my mother had died, and this was three weeks after he came home from his 2nd brain tumor operation.) He saw a male friend, in a wheelchair, and I remember him grasping his hand, up high like […]

Last night as I watched my eleven-year-old son going through the fluid moves of the basic techniques in Butokukan karate, a sport he recently adopted (with an “I love it Mom!” enthusiasm), I was pleased to see the class finish (and start) with a short meditation—as far as I could tell, his eyes were closed […]

The ability to “breathe with awareness” is a great tool to have on your healing journey—it helps relax your mind and body. Set aside five minutes at the end of your day, for the practice of breathing. Begin by repeating the following phrase silently, five times, slowly: “In every breath, there is life; in every […]