Wednesday Quick Tip: Don’t have ten minutes to meditate? When you want to recharge but don’t feel like you have the time, close your eyes and count for ten breath cycles (inhale and exhale is considered one cycle). You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can relax. Once you get practicing, you’ll find it won’t even take ten breaths to …

Ever been asked what’s the difference between empathy and sympathy? No? Well, we’re asking right now because a lot of times these words are used interchangeably. While they aren’t polar opposite in meaning, the subtle difference between these words matters enough to make a difference.   Very simply, sympathy is expressing care and concern for others. Empathy asks you to …

Have you heard the story of the Chinese Bamboo Tree? The remarkable thing about this tree is that it takes five years for it to emerge from the ground. But when it sprouts, it grows rapidly in five weeks to a height of over 80 feet – as long as the tree was well nurtured. Now look, I don’t know …

What is health? Allow me a moment to reminisce about an introductory public health class I took in grad school almost ten years ago. We examined this question in a comprehensive way. Is health merely the absence of illness? The presence of wellness? What about external factors that influence one’s health? Ultimately, health is all of the above and more. …

Consciousness. The state of being conscious. The kids these days are using the word “woke” (did you just groan at me? I just groaned for using that word) to describe consciousness and, it’s not a wrong way to look at it. To keep it simple, let’s think of consciousness as being aware of one’s surroundings – external and internal. Often, …

Did you know there are eight separate definitions for the word competence? I didn’t; until I looked up the definition on dictionary.com. In case you’re just beginning to read the blog, I like to introduce our values by defining them because it ensures we understand each other. Vocabulary is valuable and the words we choose to write or say matter, …

As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. Or in the case of this bizarre, extended winter we are experiencing, perhaps we should modify that to say April snow showers bring May flowers? No matter how slow or fast the weather evolves, spring is often a time of renewal and rebirth for many people after a winter of dormancy. …

“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” CS Lewis Do you agree with CS Lewis? Here at Greater Hartford Wellness, we strongly believe in maintaining ethics and integrity in all aspects of our lives. These concepts are closely related so let’s look at their individual definitions before diving into what they mean to us at Greater …