Silence

From the calm of a village after a snowstorm to the suffocating quiet of a secret, silence can be stressful or soothing. At the seaside, we readily appreciate it, but in a house on the edge of a dark forest, we dread it. In these five suggested books, silence exerts pressure on the protagonists by forcing introspection or confronting them with their inner demons, which the chaos of everyday life camouflages.

Toxic positivity: Avoiding unpleasant emotions at all cost

Practiced for thousands of years, Thermotherapy is a wellness ritual based on the external use of water for therapeutic purposes. Alternating between hot and cold temperatures followed by a period of deep relaxation, the thermal experience has many benefits. Feasible twelve months a year, rain or shine, it helps to reduce stress and revive the body and mind. […]

Disconnection Day

Disconnection Day is a Strøm Nordic Spa initiative designed to promote balance between professional life and personal well-being. Enjoy a well-deserved break with this extra day off each year. Offered by your employer, it will allow you to recharge your batteries in one of Strøm’s Nordic spas, exceptional havens combining nature and urbanity.

A beautiful place for nothing

Curious, energetic, and “chill” by his own admission, Pierre-Yves Lord is a host, producer, and DJ. With more than twenty years of experience in his field, he always has a thousand and one projects on the go, taking advantage of the quieter moments of the year to travel. Recently returned from a stay in the sun, he opened up to us with generosity, truth, and wisdom during an almost contemplative telephone conversation.

Slow working: The cure for professional burn-out?

“I’m doing OK, I just have a lot going on right now.” 

“All my projects are going so well that I don’t have time for myself!” 

“I love my job so much it’s hard to mentally check out.” 

Many of us have probably heard similar responses to “How are you?” Isn’t our vision of success influenced by this ideal of being a super-performer? Endless to-do lists, agendas booked to the max and concurrent projects have, for way too long, been glorified. Being constantly busy has become an indicator of social status. Unfortunately, it often leads to generalized exhaustion.  

Isn’t slowing down the logical solution in this situation? 

Cooking for Better Treatment

In North America, nutrition often represents only a small fraction of the training for future doctors. However, this trend is about to change with the emergence of projects such as the one launched by the faculty of medicine at the Université Laval, which has become the first French-speaking university in the Americas to offer a culinary medicine course1. This course integrates all aspects of nutrition, not just the usual notions about the role of nutrients for our health. It there- fore allows the subject to be approached from several angles; the theoretical and practical aspects of nutrition are discovered there, but also its social dimension.