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.”

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.

Eating ants and other insects could soon be recommended to protect against cancer, and it is believed that us Westerners will be eating them very soon. Experiments have shown that many insects including grasshoppers and crickets – contain high concentrations of antioxidants, found in orange juice or olive oil. Extracts of grasshoppers, silkworm and crickets have the highest amounts of antioxidants – some five times more than orange juice. These antioxidants help reduce chemical reactions in the body that produce cancer causing free radicals also linked to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Grasshoppers, ants and mealworms contain the highest levels of total polyphenols: micronutrients packed with antioxidants that help treat digestion issues, weight management difficulties, diabetes, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Beetles are the most commonly consumed insect, followed by caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets.

Many homes do not have space for guest rooms, play areas and home theatres that are possible in homes with substantial square footage, but they may not be missing out at all. While large homes remain popular, many people are embracing the benefits of smaller residences. Small homes help homeowners save money, require less maintenance, have smaller environmental impact and reduce the temptation to accumulate “stuff.”

Looking for a dessert that is lactose-free and gluten-free? Try this delicious mango coconut mousse! This is a really easy dessert to make that is perfectly presentable on its own, or it can be used as a filling in other recipes, like a gluten-free and lactose-free Pavlova. You just need to keep one thing in mind: use only the solid coconut cream or fat component of the coconut milk for this recipe. Place the entire unopened can of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours to help the coconut cream solidify. This will make it easy to separate the coconut cream you need, from the liquid that you can use for some other recipe. In terms of managing time, place the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator just before you start making the mango curd. That way, while your mango curd is setting in the refrigerator, so will the coconut cream!

A sweeping trend in health and wellness has recently set up shop in South Delta. Spa Bleu opened its doors last fall on 56th Street to offer flotation therapy – a treatment to relax, de-stress and feel free from pain.

For a business owner, collecting and remitting sales tax, both GST and PST, is annoying enough without discovering that you may have been inadvertently overpaying the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

While tree sellers conveniently stationed in store parking lots and artificial trees displayed in retailers have led fewer people to venture into the wilderness, the Christmas tree is still an important component of holiday celebrations. Germans who decorated trees inside of their homes are credited with starting Christian Christmas tree traditions during the 16th century. It took the popularity of England’s Queen Victoria and her German Prince Albert appearing around a decorated Christmas tree to eventually win over much of Europe, Canada and the United States.