What’s a wellness lady to do? What’s anyone to do? To further emphasize my point, two days ago one our beloved coordinators told us she is joining a much revered program called VTrim (a highly researched and successful lifestyle and weight management program). Her doctor told her, “You shouldn’t do that program. You just need […]
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Shhh, Here Come The Wellness Police
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Lately I’ve taken on this weird habit of eating high fat, high calorie foods in order to “fit in” and help people feel comfortable around me when attending professional events. This comes after many years of comments such as, “Ooo, you wellness freaks aren’t gonna make us eat rabbit food are you?” Or, “quick, hide […]
Read moreWinning Health is What We Do
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Last week, in Vermont, we went on our annual prize patrol. This is one of my favorite days! We gather up awesome party fixin’s and a hefty gift certificate for outdoor gear. One lucky school employee out of 17,000 in this particular PATH group will win that certificate and we must move fast to surprise […]
Read moreA Pocket Full of Anxiety
By Gillian Pieper | Published:All wound up? Is stress making you anxious or down in the dumpy? Mean and slumpy? Take time to make time and lighten your mood by being mindful. No joke. The anxieties of today are very different from primitive times. From the saber tooth tiger to the black plague, worry was overt and right in […]
Read moreHappiness and Mildred’s Mistep
By Gillian Pieper | Published:“In here is the sitting room. I do all my sitting here. I’m becoming quite an expert here… at sitting.” A favorite line from the 1945 movie version of Mildred Pierce with Joan Crawford. Her trust-fund boyfriend tells her this once he’s become the ultimate procrastinator and mooch, and is being forced to sell his grand mansion. […]
Read moreSmartest Brain Around
By Gillian Pieper | Published:“The brain is wider than the sky.” By poet Emily Dickinson. Beautifully said. Neuroscience tells us Emily is right and yet all I can think of is how little brain I must actually be using! Since that’s a terribly negative angle on things, I’ve decided to re-frame my point of view… Just in case I happen […]
Read moreMusic To My Brains
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Do you ever wonder why music is such a big part of the exercise world? No, okay well I do. Olga and I wonder about stuff like that all the time. So there I was reading health news when… This just in… A study in Nature Neuroscience done by the Neuro lab at McGill University […]
Read moreExcuses, Mexspuses…
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Mad Hatter to Alice: “You’re not the same as you were last time. You’re much less muchier. You’ve lost your muchness.” (Lewis Carol, Alice in Wonderland; screenplay adaptation by Tim Burton). What was that guy smoking? Actually, silly as he was, he does hit a nerve. We all lose our much-ness now and again. As […]
Read moreSmall Wins add up to BIG Success!
By Gillian Pieper | Published:We’re here at the American Journal of Health Promotion’s annual conference getting recharged by friends, peers, and thought leaders in worksite wellness. The word on the street here confirms what we say time and again: Build energy and vitality in “small wins.” On my way here I had a small win worth sharing. To get from […]
Read moreHow to become a Wellness Puzzle Master
By Gillian Pieper | Published:“Let’s do the sky first. The sky is often the least fun; a bit overwhelming.” ~ Said by a character in a novel when sitting down to do a puzzle (Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show, by Frank Delaney). The hardest part of going for a goal is going for it! I always do the sky first […]
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