Should I make a career as a university teacher or a hearing specialist? That’s the question that faced Herman Li when he neared the end of his PhD in Linguistics specializing in speech and hearing sciences at Simon Fraser University.

Back pain is problematic for many people, and it may be especially cumbersome for individuals who work from home on their computers all day. Fortunately, there are certain back stretches that can offer relief and help loosen stiff and sore muscles. By performing one or more of these five stretches, you can relieve your back pain and may even improve your mobility.

The Government of Canada advises anyone with COVID-19 to stay at home unless absolutely necessary and to stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom from others in your home, if possible.

Social distancing is one of the most effective ways to contain the spread of COVID-19. While specific restrictions on what Canadians can do vary from province to province, here are the basic Dos and Donts of social distancing, as advised by the Public Health Agency of Canada and chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam:

Sleep apnea is a common breathing disorder that, when untreated, can have severe health and safety consequences for you and people around you. Marina Abramskey, a Registered Respiratory Therapist at CanSleep Services, says that sleep apnea can go undetected for many years. “People adapt to their symptoms of feeling tired and fatigued during the day and often attribute it to other events going on in their lives,” Abramskey said.

We do many things out of habit (because that’s the way we’ve always done it) or convention (because that’s what everyone else does): how we relate to family and friends, our routines at school or work, where we shop, what we eat, what we do for exercise, and how we travel from place to place. We get into a groove and it becomes our norm.

If you’ve ever suffered from a condition like depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you know that it can influence more than just the way you think. You can get physical symptoms like headaches, chest pain or skin disorders too, your appetite can change, and your relationships with other people are affected too. More than that, the way you and your body respond to mental-health issues or trauma will be unique, so the treatment that worked for your mum or best friend might do nothing for you. That’s where integrative and holistic counselling practices come in. “These approaches deal with the whole self, rather than typical counselling, which might focus on just the mind, or a specific event,” explains North Shore native and counsellor Brooke Evans of BE Integrative Counselling. “I’m really passionate about holistic practices that are individual-based and client centred. I might use cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), mindfulness and expressive therapy (for example, using art, or if it’s a child, play). Painful memories or trauma can manifest as physical pain.”

Whether its a week or weekend, HB is an easy vacay from Vancouver. The best of Huntington Beach in 36 hours Photo Sandra Thomas.

Paradise doesnt always look the way you expect it to. My husband Harvey and I were just looking for sun, sand and lots of RR. What we got instead was IV antibiotics, nebulizers and anti-inflammatory drugs at a very efficient private hospital in Cancun, Mexico. All I can say is thank God we have travel medical insurance! My beloved Harvey started getting a nagging dry cough and a tight chest five days into our two-week vacation. The morning of day six, he said Maybe we should go to the resort doctor about my cough.

Over the course of their lifetimes, people will be wedding guests on several occasions. During the height of wedding season, weddings can run into one another, as the format and the festivities are similar at various ceremonies. Couples interested in setting their nuptials apart may want to enhance the wedding reception with a few unique ideas.

As a retiree who’s no longer perpetually exhausted from working full time, I now have the pleasure of taking courses at will. My husband Harvey, 10 other couples and I just started a six-week course called “The Art of Marriage” and I’m hoping to pick up some valuable pointers. The course is offered from a religious perspective, which presumably will align with our mixed secular/religious lifestyle. I’m just relieved to hear that marriage is an art, not a science. I was never good at science. Next week it will be Harvey’s and my ninth wedding anniversary (and 12th year together), and while there are still plenty of stars in my eyes, there are also some spots. Detached retina, maybe? Floaters? No, just some blind spots I need to fill in with a good dose of patience, compassion, and acceptance. Having married at age 53 for the first (and hopefully only) time, I had no experience with serious long-term relationships. My longest relationship prior to Harvey lasted three years, and I’d never lived with anybody before. So, getting married was like a crash course in Relationships 101. Testing the waters constantly on all sorts of issues, we’ve come to a mostly peaceful place of understanding. Like most couples, we don’t always see eye to eye. And there’s the challenge.

When Jiang Cheng first tried a bit of concealer during his first year of university in China it gave him self-confidence and he was instantly hooked.

The Christmas holidays can be a stressful time when it comes to finding the right gift for that special someone. Will you get the right size, colour, or style?