I recently wrote an article about an inspiring talk titled “Well-being is a Skill” by well-known neuroscientist Richard Davidson. In this talk, Davidson summarizes the latest research on what he calls the Four Constituents of Well-being: resilience, positive outlook, attention, and generosity. There were several things about this talk that resonated with me, including the refreshing emphasis on mental, emotional, and spiritual components of well-being instead of just the physical. If you’re interested in neuroscience, mindfulness, or what makes people “well”, this 13-minute talk will be well worth your time. As you might guess from the title, the main point of Davidson’s talk is that well-being is a skill. Or maybe, more accurately, a set of skills. Like all skills, the components…

I’m preparing for a 2-day workshop at the Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference this April where I’ll have the opportunity to introduce health and wellness professionals to the Am I Hungry? concepts. Specifically, we’ll be focusing on the Mindful Eating Cycle which, as you may already know from personal experience, is a practical and powerful model for recognizing and resolving the drivers of problematic eating and sedentary lifestyles. I’m particularly excited about this workshop because we’ll have time together to explore the application of this model not only to eating, but to other aspects of our lives as well, such as work and relationships. One example of the wide application of mindfulness-based strategies occurred to me recently as I was feeling fragmented and stressed …