For many people new to the practice of yoga, the terms and language associated with it can seem a bit overwhelming. I also experienced this in the first class I took when I had just moved to Vancouver. It was fast-paced, and everyone seemed to follow along with many terms that were unfamiliar to me. No introduction, no cueing, and as I desperately tried to keep up with what my classmates were doing, it was clear that I had no clue! Needless to say, I didn’t continue with that class for very long. I did however keep coming back to the practice of yoga and tried different teachers and types of classes until I found what was right for me.

We discuss the Anniversary Effect, sometimes called the Anniversary Reaction, as we approach the year marker of the pandemic really reaching our lives

What makes love last?

Looking for something meaningful to do to combat the challenges of the winter months? Consider joining a group of likeminded people and craft for a cause! Members of the Brain Wellness Program Craft Circle are combining their efforts to make comfort mitts for people living with dementia.

Let’s gear up this month and fight the winter blues! It is important to keep moving and stay warm during the chilly holidays. Here are some ways to stay active…

10 Helpful Time for Self care during the holiday season

Excerpt of poetry from the Express Yourself: Writing as a tool to cope and thrive as a caregiver class

November is National Family Caregivers Month! It is a time to honor the millions of caregivers/care partners around the world who provide care to aging parents, ill spouses or other loved ones who are living life with a health condition.

Throughout the month of September, over 200 people joined together in a global virtual choir celebration marking the 15th anniversary of the Parkinson Voice Project (PVP).

Hi, I’m Dan Dumsha and I’m the director of Improv for Work & Wellness at Tightrope Theatre in Vancouver. Since the pandemic started, I’ve led more than 50 virtual improv workshops — for Public Speaking, Brain Health, Dementia & Alzheimer’s, and for Parkinson’s Disease. My biggest take away is that these workshops build CONNECTION. I believe meaningful connection is the central benefit of improv… for individuals, for teams, for everybody.

Since launching last year, we’ve provided over 200 hours of free classes involving over 450 participants in over 20 different types of activities!

Get down to some fall reading with a little help from our list!

A wrap up of the 2020 Brain Wellness Summer Challenge!

Vanessa Barron, yoga instructor with the BC Brain Wellness Program, shares her personal journey of why yoga has become so important to her.

We talk to Roberta Beiser, a BC Brain Wellness participant who will be matching funds raised for our Summer Challenge! To learn more about the challenge and to register, please click HERE.

The Summer Brain Wellness Challenge is here, so it’s time to make the summer of 2020 count for brain wellness! Participate in an activity from each category every week until September 6 to complete the challenge! Sign up here.

July 24th is International Self-Care Day, an annual opportunity to put a spotlight on self-care! This day was initiated back in 2011 and takes place every year on July 24th to demonstrate the importance of employing self-care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7).

An Open Talk Café is an open, judgement-free space intended to get people together to engage in friendly conversations and foster connections. The concept of an Open Talk Café was created by the wonderful organization, Beyond the Conversation. The ultimate goal of an Open Talk Café is to help lessen and ease the burden of social isolation and loneliness so many of us face by fostering quality connections and eventually developing friendships that can be taken beyond the Open Talk Café space. The BC Brain Wellness Program developed it’s very own (virtual) Open Talk Café that launched during the Spring Program.

Saying this pandemic has been full of challenges is like saying the desert is dry. But for many of us, whether we realized it or not, it’s also cultivated some positive lifestyle shifts born out of necessity and stillness.

The BC Brain Wellness Team has put their heads together to offer the wellness community our favorite books, talks, podcasts and wellness activities just in time for summer!