A habit is a “superhighway” neural path that your brain has built to hand over control of repetitive tasks to your body so that it doesn’t have to, freeing your conscious mind up for other things. Numerous cognitive neuroscientists have conducted studies that have revealed that only 5% of our cognitive activities (decisions, emotions, actions, behaviour) are conscious whereas the remaining 95% is generated in a non-conscious / subconscious manner.  (what’s the difference between subconscious and un/non-conscious I hear you ask…. spelling!) The conscious mind can think freely and create new ideas ‘out of the box’. The subconscious mind, which is basically a supercomputer loaded with a database of programmed behaviours, most of which we acquired before we reached the age of six. The subconscious mind cannot move outside of its fixed programs – it automatically reacts to situations using stored behaviour responses. It works without the knowledge or control of the conscious mind. Hence most of the time we are not aware of all the things our bodies are doing to make us breathe, pump the

Maybe you have come across breathing through yoga or pilates, but if like me until a few years ago,  you think of it as one of ‘those alternative’ type things and are a little sceptical, here is an article to change your mind.  When I was a child I was asthmatic. It wasn’t diagnosed until I was 16 and living in smog-filled Tokyo, but it most likely had been there all along. I  had been one of those kids who always had a winter cough that sounded like a dog barking and always seemed to struggle running or doing anything physical that lasted for more than a few minutes. When we moved to Tokyo my breathing noticeably became worse until one day on holiday in Australia after trying to get a medical certificate to go on a Padi diving course a local Doctor gave me a baffled look and said “hasn’t anyone told you you are asthmatic.” From then on for the next 10 years I would have noticeable bouts of feeling like someone

Happiness is no secret. Certain factors boost it while others reduce it. Most of these factors are under our control. Better yet, we can change many of them quickly and easily. In this article, we’ll look at 17 factors that may reduce your happiness. And we’ll discuss what you can do to correct hem. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why am I not happy?” this article will give you the answers. 1. You’re Lazy As explained in my previous article, happiness takes effort. Most activities known to boost happiness – e.g., exercising regularly, meditating, spending time in nature, finding a fulfilling job, experiencing flow, or planning a vacation – can be time-consuming and hard. Sitting on the couch all day long, playing video games, or eating junk food won’t make us happy. Neither will sucking it up at a job we don’t like. Neither will spending leisure time watching hours and hours of television. The remedy: Get serious about building self-discipline and work ethic. I know it’s not sexy. I know it’s hard. I know you don’t want to do it.