Yesterday the Swan Mead Zumba Group set out to show the world that you can even do Zumba! sitting down. Here they are in action in East Grinstead, outside Peter Andre's coffee shop, the New York Coffee Club, as part of a day of activity by organised by the Alzheimer's Society to raise awareness of their support network. ...

Our latest fashion advice is based on scientific evidence! A study has shown that the more decisions we make in a day, the worse those decisions are likely to get. So your decision making powers are at their peak for the first decision of the day, and the choice of what to wear is normally the first item on the day’s agenda. So we are focussing our prime mental energies on basic stuff to do with how to keep ...

Laughter, long rumoured to be the best medicine for life's aches and pains, is now being dispensed at Laughter Yoga clubs which are springing up all over the country as this health-promoting phenomenon gains momentum. As well as releasing endorphins which give us the 'feel good factor', laughter can act as aerobic exercise, increasing the oxygen uptake in the body with multiple benefits. It’s a bit like jog ...

I suppose everyone longs for a silver bullet. The idea that there is something that you can do or say that will instantly solve a huge problem. Thus was I tempted to attend the Siblings Connect conference, designed for people who have siblings with mental illness. My hope was to come away better equipped and able to help my nearest and dearest. But as it turned out, I was about to meet a whole new family I ...

The British Plus Size Fashion Weekend 2013 took place in East London this weekend where a full house packed Shoreditch Town Hall to see curvy models with hips and tummies sashay down the catwalk. They glowed with health and happiness, wearing gorgeous clothes for all occasions: prints for summer parties, monochrome mini-skirts for business meetings, little black dresses and floaty chiffon for the evening an ...

Resilience is a virtue according to Alain De Botton, the self-styled moralality guru, who has announced 10 commandments for virtuous non-believers on the anniversary of the publication of his book Religion for Atheists.  [caption id="attachment_5809" align="alignleft" width="180"] Alain de Botton[/caption] His short manifesto and list of 10 commandments are aimed at anyone and everyone who seeks some sort o ...

Have you ever wondered what's really important to you? Many of us have vague notions but we rarely pause for long enough to think it through. Does it matter after all? In many ways it might seem relatively low down on our list of priorities, but last week a lecture organised by Action for Happiness made the audience see things in a completely different light. Whether it's done on a personal level or on a na ...

People who see themselves as being happy often also see Meaning in their life and this has led experts to conclude that  if you want to be Happy you need to find some Meaning! Not afraid of a challenge, the Happiness Club in Glasgow tackled this thorny problem at last week’s meet-up in Sloans Pub, the oldest in the city, where they hold their monthly meetings. ‘But we don’t  just talk about Happiness and Me ...

Question: What do you get if you cross a clown with a white coat? Answer: A Giggle Doctor. No it's true!  These funny people in white coats visit the wards of childrens hospitals for one purpose - to make the children laugh. And they usually succeed, for very few   visitors wearing white coats then proceed to blow bubbles and make lights come out of their ears. Laughter has a positive impact on everyone's h ...

Christmas is supposed to be happy, and that’s the whole problem. Expectations are so high! Here are a few ideas to stop downtime becoming frown-time. The first tip is to take notice of yourself. You may know how to manage your mood-swings on a day-to-day basis, but Christmas is a whole new challenge. Stress is not just caused by the people around you, or lack of them, it’s also the situation. At Christmas, ...