MARK HUGHES hasn’t had a hot shower in three years. Don’t worry, he doesn’t stink, and has been taking daily cold showers and weekly ice baths instead. It’s all part of his self-confessed “nerdy” obsession with cold water immersion, which is apparently beneficial for your physical and mental health. A White Gum Valley resident, Hughes…

WHILE some people were saying hail marys in Church on Sunday morning, a motley crew were wildly dancing and rejoicing on the lawns beside the Round House in Fremantle.  They weren’t stragglers from an all-night rave or beach bums having a breakfast party, but folk taking part in the first ever Ecstatic Dance Church, a…

Fremantle “reality teacher” Shree Prem Vishrant has extended his popular Meetings in Truth and is now holding satsang twice per week in South Fremantle.  The free public meetings at The Meeting Place on South Terrace on Wednesday and Thursday nights start at 7.20pm every week, with entry by donation.   Vishrant is WA’s only enlightened…

FOR many parents, broaching the “birds and the bees” with their children has always been a very awkward conversation. But now with more and more kids identifying as gender neutral or LGBTQI+ the playing field just got a lot bigger and more complex, especially for parents of an older generation or with certain religious beliefs…

HAVING grown up in Switzerland, you wouldn’t think Simone Blaser would be a natural in the ocean. But since immigrating to Australia and settling in Hamilton Hill, she can’t get enough of open water swimming. “In 2000 my boyfriend and I traveled around Australia in an old ambulance and fell in love with the country,”…

COME rain, hail or shine, you’ll find them sitting in a tub of ice every weekend at South Beach in Fremantle. Some might call them masochists, others just plain crazy, but they are part of the “Breath and Ice” group, formed two years ago by Fremantle local Florian Obst. The group start with a 30…

LOCAL psychotherapist Phil Gatt is pioneering a ground-breaking new therapy program to treat stress, chronic pain and addiction in WA. An evidence-based mental training program developed by American professor Eric Garland, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) has undergone more than 12 clinical trials and received $40m (USD) in federal research grants.  Mr Gatt will be the…

Special event to mark World AIDS Day  THERE is still a lot of stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, warns the WA AIDS Council ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1. This year’s theme is ‘Boldly Positive’ and it’s hoped the day will help raise awareness of people living with HIV and AIDS. “Unfortunately,…

ARE Melanie Gray’s origami birds a metaphor for breaking free from her traumatic past and soaring high again in life? Gray grew up in a small town in the Wheatbelt, where her life was going along nicely – she was a straight-A student, national basketball player and the owner of several beauty-related franchises. “But I…

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20) It’s a new Moon and life is handing out its next set of challenges. You have practical career matters to attend to, along with a loud callout to attend to all your familial relationships with great sensitivity. You don’t have a lot of room to whoop and holler. Full…