https://www.scmp.com/rss/75955/feed Find your favourite puzzles, cartoon strips, horoscopes and Chinese zodiacs en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Benjamin Boster was driving in a car with his boss, trying to relay an exciting anecdote, when he discovered that his main talent as a storyteller lay elsewhere. “[My boss] was like, ‘Ben, I’m sorry, your voice is so soothing that I just kind of fell asleep,’” recalls Boster, a 42-year-old father of three. Rather than take it as an insult, Boster, a salesman for a tech company in Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah, sensed a market opportunity. So in 2019, he created the “I Can’t Sleep”... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3222281/how-sleep-better-podcasts-bore-you-dreamland-are-rising-popularity-their-creators-and-health-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3222281/how-sleep-better-podcasts-bore-you-dreamland-are-rising-popularity-their-creators-and-health-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:15:13 +0000 To the sound of calming piano music, you are transported to a wooden bench, overlooking the ocean and a deserted beach. You breathe deeply, taking in the surroundings and the calming rhythm of the waves – and focus on the present. This is an experience of VRM – or virtual reality meditation. Slip on a headset and choose to teleport yourself to a locale of your choice. Meditation has existed since ancient times to increase mindfulness and bring our focus to the present moment to help manage... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3198695/vr-meditation-how-it-can-help-you-battle-stress-anxiety-and-insomnia-and-focus-present-moment-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3198695/vr-meditation-how-it-can-help-you-battle-stress-anxiety-and-insomnia-and-focus-present-moment-better?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Nov 2022 10:15:09 +0000 Life during the pandemic has, for many of us, been stressful and full of uncertainty. Meditation can help to clear our minds, reduce stress and free up space in our heads for positivity and joy. The act of doing something mindfully, when all your attention is focused on performing one activity, can be one way to achieve this state. For Hongkonger Rebecca Wong Howe, this is done with the daily 10- to 15-minute ritual of making incense seals – a dying art that she is keen to revive. In this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3196576/meditative-and-mindful-lost-buddhist-art-incense-seal-making-makes-return-thanks-one-hongkonger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3196576/meditative-and-mindful-lost-buddhist-art-incense-seal-making-makes-return-thanks-one-hongkonger?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Oct 2022 04:45:07 +0000 On a Wednesday morning in Janda Baik, a lush, hilly area around 40 minutes from the Malaysian capital city, Kuala Lumpur, a group of women start unloading their bicycles from their cars. They check their tyres, chains, gears and lights and don their gloves and helmets. The sun is out and the jungle surrounding them is wide awake. As usual, this Wednesday’s route was announced in the Bike in Nature group chat the day before. “We meet at 8.15am sharp and we start rolling at 8.30,” the message... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3161952/women-malaysia-meet-group-bicycle-rides-connect-nature?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3161952/women-malaysia-meet-group-bicycle-rides-connect-nature?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jan 2022 23:15:21 +0000 Your travel plans may be mostly on ice during the pandemic, but there are lots of places and hobbies to explore even within the confines of your city. Enterprising people in Hong Kong are discovering many new ways to stay active and to learn, and reaping great physical and mental health benefits. “There are only so many staycations you can do,” says Kim Su-woon, who hasn’t travelled for two years. She recently got together with three friends, though, to take a weekly class at The Sewing Lounge... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3160540/if-covid-19-rules-prevent-travel-learn-something-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3160540/if-covid-19-rules-prevent-travel-learn-something-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Dec 2021 08:45:20 +0000 With Covid-19 throwing a spanner in travel plans, the idea of exploring one’s backyard has never been so appealing. And a community-driven mapping project is helping Hongkongers do just that.From December 2020 to January 2021, more than 200 teams took part in the Hong Kong Island Coastal Trail Mapping Event, with participants documenting their favourite places and stories along the 65km route around the island.The event was divided into eight stages, from steep climbs to flat urban harbourside... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3121482/hong-kong-island-coastal-trail-200-teams-map-favourite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3121482/hong-kong-island-coastal-trail-200-teams-map-favourite?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Feb 2021 01:45:09 +0000 Once grassy pastures that nurtured feral cows on an island in Hong Kong have been reduced to barren dirt by the feet of hordes of hikers and campers escaping coronavirus boredom, leaving the herd hungry. Volunteers have resorted to cutting fresh grass and shipping it to Tap Mun, or Grass Island, to stop the herd from starving in the Year of the Ox. The animals have made their home for generations alongside a few dozen fishing families on the island in northeast Hong Kong off Sai Kung. Until the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/3121398/covid-19-triggers-food-delivery-orders-hong-kongs-grass-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/3121398/covid-19-triggers-food-delivery-orders-hong-kongs-grass-island?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Feb 2021 03:15:09 +0000 Like Thanksgiving or Christmas in the US, the Lunar New Year holiday in China is a time for family reunions and catching up with far-flung relatives and friends. Hundreds of millions travel prodigious distances to get back home, so what do Chinese do during the five-day public holiday also known as the Spring Festival?  Messages and wefies Users of Tencent Holding’s ubiquitous WeChat service, a social media-to-gaming platform, sent a lot of messages, both text and voice, and posted a lot of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2134182/china-rest-what-lunar-new-year-looks-through-its-most-popular-social?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2134182/china-rest-what-lunar-new-year-looks-through-its-most-popular-social?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Feb 2018 02:30:15 +0000 Opening lead: 10 of hearts The best that can be said for reaching an anti-percentage contract is that it frequently presents declarer with a challenge during the play. That was the case in this deal where South stretched his values somewhat to reach a shaky slam. However, he then justified his rosy assessment by finding a way to bring in 12 tricks. When dummy came down, prospects were not too good. To begin with, there was at least one sure trump loser, and on top of that, there was either a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/diversions/article/1829412/bridge-puzzle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/diversions/article/1829412/bridge-puzzle?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Apr 2016 08:00:00 +0000