Well Being

Excerpted from Isa Acebal’s article in "A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment" With the influx of recent meditation research, we are better understanding of the measurable mental and physical health benefits of meditation. Decrease blood pressure Meditation has been proven to decrease blood pressure, reduce inflammation, regularize circadian rhythms, and stabilize glucose metabolism. This benefit of meditation is potentially life-saving, because high blood pressure is a leading c

By Dr. Michele Poff Physical. Emotional. Spiritual. Psychological. Relational. Financial. Intellectual. Professional. Which of your major life areas could use a boost? For a lot of people, a new calendar year offers a prime opportunity to make some changes toward a healthier you. What’s your pleasure? Taking a small step toward self-improvement every day means large gains over time. You don’t have to do it all at once, nor should you.   Physical. This involves diet, rest, exe

Antes de pedirles que sigan leyendo, tengo dos preguntas: 1. ¿Fue 2025 un año difícil para ustedes? 2. ¿Se han sentido con poca energía estos últimos meses? Si sus respuestas son afirmativas, este artículo es para ustedes. Nunca creí mucho en el horóscopo chino. El Año de la rata, del caballo, del dragón… qué bien. En diciembre, me encontré sintiéndome como si me hubieran dejado caer de golpe en la siguiente década, con ganas de acurrucarme en un rincón y lamerme las heridas

Before asking you to read further, two questions: 1. Was 2025 a difficult year for you? 2. [Did] you feel low energy the last couple of months of 2025?  If your answers are yes, this article is for you. I didn’t give a lot of credence to the Chinese zodiac. Year of the rat, horse, dragon… that’s nice. Then I found myself in December feeling like I’d been kicked into the next decade, just wanting to curl up in the corner and lick my wounds from the brutal year I’d just lived t

Por la Dra. Michele Poff Física. Emocional. Espiritual. Psicológica. Relacional. Financiera. Intelectual. Profesional. ¿Cuáles de tus principales áreas de la vida podrían necesitar un impulso? Para muchas personas, un nuevo año ofrece una excelente oportunidad para hacer cambios hacia una vida más saludable. ¿Cuál es tu placer? Dar pequeños pasos cada día hacia la superación personal significa grandes avances con el tiempo. No hay que hacerlo todo de una vez, tampoco deberías

Por Michele Poff, PhD ¡ Las fiestas! ¡Las fiestas! Ha llegado esa época del año en la que el mundo se llena de celebración. ¡Hay festividades por doquier! Fiestas públicas, fiestas privadas, fiestas en el bar, fiestas en la playa… ¡Es tiempo de fiesta! ¿Qué hace que una fiesta sea especial? ¡La gente! Si quieres unirte a la fiesta, es bueno mostrar tu mejor cara. Aquí tienes algunos consejos científicos para caerle bien a todo el mundo estas fiestas. 1. Practica la paciencia.

By Michele Poff, PhD Las fiestas! The parties! It’s that time of year once again when the world kicks into celebration mode. Festivities abound! Public fiestas, private fiestas, fiestas at the bar, fiestas at the beach! It is party time! What makes a party? People! When you want to join the party, it’s good to put on your best people-person face. Here are some tips from the science of winning-with-everyone this holiday season. 1.  Practice patience. This is not the time for a

Día de acción de Gracias El día de acción de Gracias o “ Thanksgiving Day ” es una bella celebración de países como Estados Unidos, Canadá o Brasil. Aunque no es una festividad Costarricense , me resulta interesante la motivación: dar gracias por las cosechas, la comida, la libertad y otros privilegios que la vida nos regala; lo cual me parece fantástico, pues muchas veces nos enfocamos tanto en lo que no hemos logrado alcanzar, que dejamos de lado lo que sí tenemos, lo marav

by Dr. Heidi Villalá Thanksgiving Day is a beautiful celebration in countries like the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Although it is not a Costa Rican holiday, I find its motivation interesting: giving thanks for the harvests, the food, the freedom, and other privileges that life gives us. I think it’s fantastic, because we often focus so much on what we haven’t been able to achieve that we forget what we do have: how wonderful life is and how abundant our country is. Tha

One of my favorite Italian expressions, always useful to keep in mind particularly in Latin America, is “fra dire e fare c’é un mezzo mare”: “between saying and doing there’s half a sea.”

Gratitude rarely announces it-self. It does not come trumpeting down the stairs like joy, nor does it crash against the chest like grief. It is quieter than that.

En Español Abajo As you enter a party your gaze scans the room looking for a friendly face. You spot someone you like and bee line over to say hello. They are chatting in group, a couple people whose names you know, a couple people you don’t. How long do you think it takes you to categorize the people in that group? Well, you might be surprised to learn we not only do we pass judgment all the time, and sometimes we don’t realize we’ve done it. Research suggests that when peop

Nothing impacts well being more negatively than being cyber scammed. While recently visiting my Canadian bank site, I came across this amazing set of guidelines for protecting yourself from cyber attacks.

As part of human life on Earth, we’re all accustomed to joining forces to celebrate a nation’s freedom from oppressive forces. Yay Country! Let’s also take a moment to shine a light on personal independence.

Como seres humanos en nuestro paso por la Tierra estamos acostumbrados a unir fuerzas para celebrar la libertad de una nación de cualesquiera fuerzas opresoras. ¡Viva nuestro país!

El 15 de septiembre se conmemora en Costa Rica, la firma del Acta de Independencia de España en 1821. Hoy, 204 años después, malgastamos ese privilegio, atándonos voluntariamente a prácticas poco sanas como el uso de aparatos electrónicos durante horas, sin caer en cuenta de la dependencia que estamos creando.

The story of Casa de Amor By Harry Padilla Chinchilla Casa de Amor is a shelter for homeless people with various substance abuse...

La historia de Casa Amor por Harry Padilla Chinchilla Casa de Amor es un albergue para personas de la calle con diversos problemas de...

Barefoot and Healthy By Anna Lovelace For those  who live far from beaches, walking barefoot on sun-kissed sand in the tropics is one of...

Para quienes viven lejos de la playa, caminar descalzo sobre la arena bañada por el sol en los trópicos es una de las fantasías que nos fortalece durante los fríos inviernos y las largas jornadas laborales. Ya sea parte de la rutina diaria o parte imprescindible de las  vacaciones, caminar descalzo sobre la arena es placentero y tiene una explicación científica. Caminar descalzo estimula las miles de terminaciones nerviosas de los pies ...

by Michele Poff, PhD There’s something irresistible about the sea. From the moment our toes touch the water, we begin to feel transported...

A time honoured tradition practised among female friends. If you don’t already know it, here’s the Friend Code. It is this code that us “old school ladies” followed when no one else was watching our backs and we want to share with you now. The advent of female empowerment – which is a great thing – doesn’t keep danger at bay unfortunately. And it’s still unclear who’s out there watching our backs. The Friend Code is how your moms and aunties would always roll when they were y

Let’s be honest: rejecting someone kindly, clearly, and respectfully is rare. And rare is memorable. When you take the 30 seconds to say, “Hey, I really enjoyed meeting you, but I don’t feel this is the right fit,” or you have the courage to have the difficult conversation, you stand out. You gain respect. You leave a positive impression—even in a ‘no.’ And you do the right thing. The proper thing. The civil thing. That speaks volumes about your character right there.

Considering what we encountered during the pandemic, the push towards healthy lifestyles makes sense. Amidst that crisis, we witnessed the importance of health, exploring and expanding upon the very definition of wellness. The pre-pandemic understanding of health was simpler, more superficial. If you look good, then you feel good. Easy as that.