When magnolias, forsythias, and daffodils colour the landscape after a long winter, one can't help but feel a sense of hope. As birds migrate back up to their homes in North America and animals come out of hibernation, we see and hear a lot of busy creatures preparing their nests,...

February is American Heart Month. It provides a wonderful opportunity for us to focus on the organ that beats around three billion times, nonstop, in the average human lifetime. Your heart keeps you alive. It sends life-giving oxygen, nutrients, and natural medicine through your bloodstream to all parts of your...

We were excited when Mark, a six-time Hawaii Ironman World Champion, was recently named ESPN's "Greatest Endurance Athlete of All Time." But when the two of us first met, Mark was a triathlete who just couldn't win.

Mark began his career as a triathlete in 1982. By...

Once a person internalizes what it means to be grateful, fresh opportunities pop up, barriers to change disappear, and new relationships become possible. Here are five ways to learn and practice gratitude.

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Appreciate daily events.
Too often we...

If one parent is obese, there's a 50 percent chance that their children will also be obese, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. But when exercise is a regular part of the family's activities, everyone wins.

A few things to keep in mind when...

Watching the 2012 Summer Olympics, we got to thinking about what it takes to arrive at the pinnacle of one's sport. What is the competition mindset and how does one acquire it?

As an Ironman World Champion, Mark knows a lot about competing...

According to the Mayo Clinic, after some initial weight loss, most of us will hit a plateau unless we change a few behaviors -- for instance, by eating less and exercising more. This is because our metabolism -- the process of burning calories for energy -- slows as...

If winter is the time to hunker down and be meditative, spring is the time to spring into action. If you're ready to shake off the winter blahs and the extra padding you accumulated over the past few months, take a cue from nature.

Think about it:...

A question we are asked time and again by people who are trying to change their health and their physical appearance is this: How can I stay motivated?

Mark offers a great answer for this: create a structure. To be a six-time world champion triathlete requires systematic training--persistent, day-after-day, scheduled...

Many spiritual thinkers, including Don José Matsuwa, the 110-year-old Huichol shaman with whom Brant lived and studied for 12 years, believe that having too many possessions around us can detract from our inner peace and balance. When we learned about the work of thought leader Barry Dennis, who advocates simplifying...

A number of studies show that stress not only leads to weight gain, but it also inhibits weight loss in people who are seemingly doing everything right. For example, a recent study published in the journal Hormones found that chronic stress leads to overeating, co-elevation of cortisol and...

Was your 2011 a year characterized by stress, poor body image, too little exercise, overwork and worry? Well, it's time to sweep out your negative attitudes, emotions and behaviors and make room for positive ones. Get out of your funk and choose to ring in health and happiness in 2012.

Adapted from "Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You"

Whenever we teach seminars, a common theme among participants is their desire to find more balance in their lives. They work too much, eat too much, and spend too much time obsessing about things that aren't important....