ArcaMax

There's a short chapter in "All Is Well: The Art {and Science} of Personal Well-Being" about how to raise an active kid, and here's how it begins:

"I grew up loving sports. I wish I could say the same for French or algebra. Early on, my folks stepped up to the plate and made sure my sister and I knew how to ride a bike, hit a ball, swim, bowl, ...Read more

Disaster distress is all around us, and of course it takes a toll on our personal well-being. You probably escaped the high-water horrors of Hurricane Harvey and the massive monster that is Irma, but there's no getting away from the images and reports of death and destruction in Texas, in the Caribbean, in Mexico and Florida, devastation on such...Read more

It's one thing to lose your keys, your phone, a wallet filled with credit cards. It's wildly upsetting, but it's all stuff you can get back. But losing your mind? Losing your memory? Your thoughts, in mid-stride, so you have to double back and ask yourself where was I going with that story about the guy I met in yoga class who has the apricot-...Read more

Who isn't angry about something these days?

Take my friend Sam: a sweet husband and docile dad, but put him in heavy traffic and he starts foaming at the ears. He's angry at stopped cars, passive drivers, even angry at himself for choosing the slowest lane.

Lisa has a hair trigger, too. She can go from friendly to furious in a single breath. (...Read more

The run-up to Labor Day is always a bit of a letdown. I feel like summer fun is over and done -- where did July go? -- and it's time to sharpen my pencils and head back to school.

Who uses pencils? And what school? I haven't returned to the classroom since computers were the size of cruise ships, but when Labor Day comes around I still can't ...Read more

Of all the things America worships -- the Tesla, the Google, the sour- cream-and-onion potato chip -- the flat stomach is one of the hardest to achieve. Photoshop is a big help, as are simpler airbrushing techniques, but for most people, looking down, belly fat is as normal as cotton socks on little kids. It's just how it is.

Maybe not. Let's ...Read more

"Personal well-being is very, very personal," I declared to a packed room of smart, successful women who gathered last week for a lively conversation between me and Christie Hefner, hosted by the Chicago Network.

Full disclosure: I'm a member of this group. I'm the one who insisted on a large bowl of organic, non-GMO potato chips to sit ...Read more

I've been perched on a remote lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin these past few weeks, consorting with two adorable loons named Lorna and Claire D, three flighty eagles named Nelson and a few too many biting flies.

Forget the flies. It's been bliss, a state of mind that surfaces easily in summer when you're out in a kayak, or a canoe, or ...Read more

Too much technology takes a toll on our personal well-being -- so much distraction, so little time -- which is only one of 50 reasons why summer getaways are so important.

"There's this magical sense of possibility that stretches like a bridge between June and August," writes Aimee Friedman. "A sense that anything can happen."

Anything can ...Read more

Summer's here. Time to kick back, take a deep breath... and focus. Slowly inhale through your nose; hold it for a couple of seconds; then exhale, also through your nose.

Then do it again.

Why? Because whatever your favorite summertime sport -- running, swimming, biking or daydreaming on a sun-dappled porch -- you'll do it better and spark more...Read more

I'm going to skip over the obesity statistics for the moment. Let's just sum it up by saying that every third person in the country is trying to lose weight. It's not on everyone's mind -- some folks are joyfully roasting chocolate-covered marshmallows over campfires -- but with so many millions of American's dieting, you get tons of people who ...Read more

Summer is the perfect time to practice de-aging, a wonderful thing I discovered years ago on this tiny island in Southeastern Greece where I'm grateful to live, work and overdo it on fresh feta several months a year.

De-aging -- a smart practice for all ages -- is to personal well-being what snapping photos is to a great vacation. And it's ...Read more

After 40 years on the fitness beat, something new to consider. A health care bill that is sickening. A pending health care bill that does nothing meaningful to prevent rising rates of chronic disease, assist citizens who aspire to wellness, encourage children to grow up to be strong and fit adults.

A health care bill that punishes the elderly, ...Read more