Wellbeing for you
The Good team has loved putting this issue together for you because we’ve learned so much about how the body works as well as tips and exercises to help us be the healthiest version of ourselves. Wellbeing is a strong pillar of the magazine but at this time of year especially, we felt it was worth giving it an extra focus as we step into the year after the summer holiday break.
Dr Libby Weaver shares a delicious liver-loving recipe on page 24, and she imparts many “aha moment” insights into how our incredible body works as well as ways we can help it thrive.
I’ve been practicing Dr Libby’s diaphragmatic breathing exercise and it’s helped me to sleep and reground myself. I’ve realised that I mostly breathe from the upper part of my chest, which is driven by adrenaline and triggers the sympathetic nervous system. Most of us do this, according to Dr Libby! Diaphragmatic breathing lowers our stress hormones faster than anything else we’re currently aware of by activating the calm arm of the nervous system.
“Wellbeings” podcast founder Dominic Bowden also features in this issue and he finds ice baths are a great way for getting him out of his head. Ice baths also “chill out” the nervous system and are a great way to get men into having a wellness practice, he reckons. If you don’t have an ice bath, running cold water at the end of your shower for 15 seconds can have huge benefits, says Bowden. He’s also a fan of breathwork. You can read his story on page 26.
We also look at financial wellbeing. Turn to page 30 for advice from four leading women investors whose passion is to empower women to grow their money through investing.
The wellbeing of others is also a focus, and I say this with my Circuit International ambassador hat on. In 2019 I was lucky enough to visit Myanmar, and it was a life-changing experience. I feel so grateful to have been able to visit this extraordinarily beautiful and complex country just weeks before the pandemic. Since then, the country has also fallen back under military rule.
Circuit International is a Kiwi NGO empowering communities in Myanmar’s Shan State to be self-sufficient. One of the ways they do this is by providing low-interest loans, so people don’t fall prey to loan sharks, which can lead to human trafficking if they can’t repay their loans – a common fate for young Shan women especially. I’m proud to be an ambassador for Circuit International and endorse the sustainable and empowering work they do.
To find out more about Circuit International and how you can help, turn to page 108 or tune into the Circuit Conversations podcast series. Co-founder Stuart
Corlett and I have a great chat in episode one.
And, most importantly, the Good team wishes you and your loved ones the best of health for 2022 and beyond!