Community is how we survived and thrived as a species for millennia, and it remains the bedrock of what makes life worth living. Connectedness to other human beings isn’t just crucial to mental health; it’s crucial to physical health as well.

If, like me, your 80/ 20 ratio of good living to ahem, very good living has been on a slippery slope, it may be time for an autumn reset. Summer rules are just that. As we approach the end of a season of very good living indeed, my body starts to give me clues (and sometimes sledgehammers) that it’s high time to turn the page.

One of the most positive outcomes of recent months has been the fact that we’ve had time to get off the hamster wheel and re-assess what really matters. If, like me, you’re undertaking a big rethink of well, everything, that reinvention can seem equal parts thrilling and daunting.

We have an innate need to be with others. It’s baked into our very DNA, and throughout human history it has meant survival. As our social limitations turn from weeks to months, this is worth paying attention to.

We’re careful about so much these days - social distancing, hand washing, staying home, staying safe. Yet we don’t tend to be overly careful about the endless stream of information that permeates our current reality.

The times they are a’ changing. And guess what? It’s completely normal to feel anxious about what’s going on. Anxiety is a normal human response to change, to threat, and to crisis. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t feel some sense of unease in our current climate. Try these simple steps to shift your energy from anxiety to serenity. Dare I say, even to possibility….

As COVID-19 is declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, as markets crash, as just about everyone wonders whether to quarantine themselves and their families, let’s all take a moment…. to just breathe.

Our gut flora is a complex combination of our DNA, how we were born, where we were born, lifestyle, the foods we’ve eaten throughout our lives, and the circumstances we’ve eaten them in. If no two of us are alike, why are we all following the same dietary advice?