https://www.scmp.com/rss/502707/feed A journalist with a strong interest in mental well-being and fitness, Yasmin Hingun started professionally writing as a teenager. She spends her free time on performing arts projects and water sports en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Priya Menon was on holiday in Bangalore, India, when she first noticed a lump on her right breast. Initially she ignored it, but by the time she returned to Hong Kong, the intensifying pain pushed her to see a doctor. A biopsy revealed the cause: at 42, Menon had tested positive for breast cancer. “I’ve seen many cancer patients, so at that time I was thinking, oh god, cancer is like a death sentence, it’s the end of the world,” she says. But two years later, having undergone eight rounds of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3092598/how-emdr-got-cancer-patient-through-chemotherapy-worry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3092598/how-emdr-got-cancer-patient-through-chemotherapy-worry?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 21:00:17 +0000 One seemingly ordinary morning, Carl Fernando was leaving his gym when he started to feel a strange sensation. The tightness in his chest grew with each step, spreading to his neck and jaw. Labouring into his flat where his wife, Alisha, was doing yoga, he told her something was very wrong. They called an ambulance and he was whisked to hospital. Fernando, aged 39, fitter and healthier than he had ever been, was having a heart attack. Now recovering, the Hong Kong-based compliance professional... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3085889/surgery-recovery-young-heart-attack-survivor-mental-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3085889/surgery-recovery-young-heart-attack-survivor-mental-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 May 2020 11:00:11 +0000 Yasmin Hingun Yasmin Hingun Every year, secondary school hopefuls flood universities with their applications, and spend the next few months in suspense over what offers they may receive – but what if you don’t get any? While this sounds like a worst-case scenario in cultures where academia is highly valued, there are students who find themselves in this predicament every year. Abby Yuen, a City University media student by day and one of Hong Kong’s rare female DJs by night, found herself in that situation in 2013. While... https://www.scmp.com/yp/learn/college-uni-life/gap-year/article/3078551/how-unplanned-gap-year-helped-one-student?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/yp/learn/college-uni-life/gap-year/article/3078551/how-unplanned-gap-year-helped-one-student?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2020 09:54:20 +0000 In the second deepest marine cavern, William Trubridge was 100 metres (328 feet) underwater on a single breath, steadily diving ever further. That day in the Bahamas, the New Zealand freediver hit 124 metres, breaking the world record. Occasionally, we hear of tales of extraordinary achievements, but are major feats only possible for the select few? Not necessarily, says Olivier Courret, a Hong Kong resident and three-time champion for his age category in the Asia Triathlon. When Courret... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3074391/mma-mind-six-steps-leverage-your-subconscious-and-make?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3074391/mma-mind-six-steps-leverage-your-subconscious-and-make?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2020 21:00:13 +0000 “I’m going to surf until I’m 100.” Wanda Kennedy would repeat this to her schoolmates when she started surfing as a teenager in Australia. More than 50 years later, the 68-year-old Hongkonger and retired English teacher, nicknamed “Tai-san” or Tarzan for her athleticism, is still at the physically demanding sport, catching the waves at Sai Kung’s Tai Long Wan (“Big Wave Bay”) every weekend. Kennedy is among a handful of Hong Kong’s surf stalwarts above the age of 60, including fellow Big Wave... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3052460/how-surfing-keeps-you-healthy-and-young-heart-silver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3052460/how-surfing-keeps-you-healthy-and-young-heart-silver?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Feb 2020 01:15:04 +0000 Seated in flowing robes, beaming through a snowy beard and circled by a gaggle of children attempting to pile onto his lap, Reverend Father Davis Chiramel exuded a remarkably Santa-like aura while waiting to give his speech. The Indian clergyman’s physical similarities to Father Christmas may end there, given his lanky frame and South Asian heritage, but the “Kidney Priest” is considered just as much a symbol of giving. Chiramel, who is from the Indian state of Kerala, made headlines in 2009... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3043273/kidney-priest-how-clerics-organ-donation-sparked-global?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3043273/kidney-priest-how-clerics-organ-donation-sparked-global?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 04:15:14 +0000 A group of people crawl on all fours, juggling tennis balls or curling their bodies as they perform spinal waves on a Hong Kong beach. The Saturday morning group at Repulse Bay are practising movement culture, an emerging style of physical training and one to consider if you are seeking a fresh experience for the new year or wish to regain fitness in this era of pandemic sedentariness. “We work all day on computers. Then you see people staring at phones while they’re doing sit-ups in the gym or... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3041934/movement-culture-used-ufc-legend-conor-mcgregor-fitness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3041934/movement-culture-used-ufc-legend-conor-mcgregor-fitness?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Dec 2019 06:00:10 +0000 Thomas Edmunds, who works in the technology sector, was leaving a physiotherapy appointment during his lunch break in Hong Kong’s Central district when he was caught up in a tear-gas attack during anti-government protests on November 11. “Tear gas was everywhere and there was nowhere to go,” he recalls. “I had to get home, so I just ran through it. I literally had to step over a canister. My throat was sore and my eyes were killing me – it’s like when you get soap in your eyes in the shower,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3038714/first-aid-tips-passers-exposed-tear-gas-petrol-bombs-or?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3038714/first-aid-tips-passers-exposed-tear-gas-petrol-bombs-or?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2019 23:45:07 +0000 With cooler weather and high-profile races coming up in Hong Kong – including this month’s Oxfam Trailwalker and the Hong Kong 100 in January – it is the perfect time for city residents to take up long-distance running. Beginners, however, may be unsure of where to start and how to avoid injury. That is why professional Kenyan marathon runner Lukas Wambua Muteti addresses both concerns in the coaching sessions he holds for would-be marathon runners in Hong Kong. Muteti, who comes from a family... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3036889/running-tips-marathon-hopefuls-kenyan-champion-motivation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3036889/running-tips-marathon-hopefuls-kenyan-champion-motivation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2019 07:00:07 +0000 If psychedelic rock and mental health awareness seem an odd combination, Hong Kong-based tribute band Pink Phloyd might change your mind. The band will recreate rock group Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon – one of the bestselling albums of all time – in a concert this weekend. All proceeds from ticket sales for the November 9 show will go to local NGO The Kely Support Group, shining a spotlight on mental health, a particularly hot topic with the months of social unrest that Hong Kong has been... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3036179/mental-health-hong-kong-pink-floyd-tribute-band-teams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3036179/mental-health-hong-kong-pink-floyd-tribute-band-teams?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2019 10:00:06 +0000