Connecticut Green Living

Rest is starting to seem like another task. I often feel like the sole window gazer on my train, with everyone under 50 joined to their iPhone by the, ur, retina. The gaze is starting to remind me of a horror film: a sea of suckered-in young people who forget to eat, forget to change their clothes, forget to mate, but gosh darnit they are up on the latest apps! Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) and its "Whole Health" approach is highlighting an antidote to scrolling on our phones to "relax": intentional stillness as a simple holistic practice that gives the body and mind space to recover. In a recently published article, "The Science of Doing Nothing: How Stillness Supports Whole Health," SCU explores how stepping away from constant stimulation can create space for rest and reflection. "The topic comes at a time when stress and emotional strain remain part of daily life for many people," according to a press release is...

I just had one of the most jarring experiences I've ever had on a steaming hot day. I was so sick from heat I needed to take refuge at 1 Financial Plaza here in Hartford, as I awaited the bus to the library. It would take about 5 to 10 minutes for said bus. But as I waited, suddenly the elderly female guard cried out, "Hey! Can I help you? "Oh, I just need to stand here five minutes until my bus comes," I told her. She shook her head without emotion. "You can't do that." "But I am getting sick outside !!" I even explained that I had been to the cafeteria downstairs many times in the past, but there wasn't even enough time to run down there now. She did not care. She is 75 and works for Allied Universal in Hartford, which I know because she told me her age after I told her mine, 64. But I had said mine as proof that extreme heat was especially dangerous. When she told me her age I said I would never expect her to stand outside in this. She ...