With the summer holidays upon us, now may be the ideal time to explore different sports and physical activities to reduce pent-up stress and increase mental wellbeing. IMI Osteopath Jonathan Vallade shares the hard challenges that impacted his mental health and the strategies that turned his life around.
Mind, mood and brain power
How osteopathy strengthens your respiratory system and boosts your immunity
For people with respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia or reduced breathing from old injuries, the COVID-19 outbreak is understandably a big cause for concern. Having a respiratory condition does not mean a person is more likely to catch the virus. However, research shows that patients with breathing challenges are...
How to pause and focus on deep breathing
When you feel anxious or your mind spirals into thoughts about the future or the past, your body automatically activates your sympathetic nervous system to prepare you to fight or flee. In short bursts and where warranted (if you’re facing an impending deadline, for example) your fight-or-flight response serves a...
Depression: it’s not all in your head
Many people believe that depression is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, and in particular, a deficiency in serotonin – our ‘feel good hormone’. The textbook medicine approach is to prescribe anti-depressants to increase brain serotonin. This works for some people; but it does nothing for others. Why? Because...
Nutrients to nurture your mind and decrease depression
Food is more than sustenance. Eating well feeds your body, soul, and brain. In fact, what you eat can significantly affect your mental health, and even decrease depression, researchers advise. The reality is though, no matter how clean you eat, nutrient deficient soil, pollution and imported food have resulted in...
Blue Monday: a starting point for year-round conversations
December and January can be hard. Really hard. The third Monday of January marks Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year. Though these months are supposed to be a time of festivities, there are a number of factors that can contribute to this wintry sadness. Christmas puts everything...
Attune to your natural rhythm of rest
Are you one of the millions whose worries seem to have worries of their own? Thanks to the pressures of living in a highly competitive and unpredictable world, many of us are trapped in a cycle of chronic anxiety from which there seems to be no relief. But does constant...
How to silence your inner critic
“I should’ve done this!”, “What’s wrong with me?”, “I’m a fraud – I don’t deserve to do well,” “It’s my fault – I deserve this!”.There it goes again. Your judgmental and disapproving inner critic prodding at you, putting you down, and sometimes paralyzing you, telling you time and time again...
What’s behind your anxiety? Discover sources and solutions with naturopathy and psychotherapy
Your health and happiness are dependent on seven factors: mind, body, emotions, spirit, energy, community and environment. Seemingly unrelated, these interconnected factors all play a significant role in how you feel and how you are every single day. Take Jane, a thirty-year old first-time mum who was unwell and unhappy....
How Osteopathy and Kinesiology overcame one man’s battle with anxiety
Anxiety had become George’s way of life for over five years, but it was his rising blood pressure and heart palpitations that brought the 46 year old to IMI. Recognising George’s health issues were interconnected, our naturopath identified and treated the various lifestyle factors that were affecting George’s health. She...