What comes to your mind when you think of a South Asian “Super Woman” ? Do you picture her in a saree, salvaar kameez or in that red & blue onesy? How you answer this question may give you an idea of the challenges that each of us women are facing in balancing our versions of the East and West… Continue reading

Have you ever wondered why you even need to change or redefine what you consider to be “beautiful”?

I recently went away for my holidays to Mexico and decided to get my hair braided into “corn rows” or “dreads” because of the extreme heat and humidity as I was unable to manage my curly and unruly hair. It was… Continue reading

Since ancient times, many wars have been fought battling the ‘good’ armies versus the ‘bad’ armies. But what does this mean to us in our modern day lives? Perhaps we can extend this ancient good versus evil concept towards developing ourselves. In today’s world, each of us has personal battles between the good and evil forces within us. Evil aspects… Continue reading

Newcomers can take several months, years and even generations to successfully accept and integrate into their new identity. Many struggle with the need to live their life according to the rules and values they left behind in their home country, and, as a result, will find themselves living as if they are in a cultural time warp.

Change, after… Continue reading

Parenting can be a hugely stressful yet rewarding experience.  For most parents, the ultimate goal is to raise children who are healthy, happy, well-behaved, well-adjusted and resilient as adults.  However, the means to achieve this goal for kids through ‘good parenting’ has been debated for centuries.  For example, punishment has been a type of discipline used to curb ‘bad’ behaviour… Continue reading

Food is intrinsically connected to all cultures around the world.  Some say that you are what you eat and others use the experience of food to taste, touch, smell, feel and enjoy life’s experiences.  Across all rituals and traditions however, eating together gives us a chance to connect, re-connect and spend quality time with our family and loved ones… Continue reading

Canadian Immigrant Magazine’s Health Section of the Mind, Body, Soul Column

Nothing to fear …
The ‘frightening’ trap that newcomers face

I recently had the honour of leading a roundtable discussion with the wonderful students of Ed Denison’s Adult English as a Second Language class. Although these awe-inspiring students spoke of many positive experiences since immigrating, a common… Continue reading

Newcomers have to overcome marginalization and ethnocentrism to successfully integrate.

Every immigrant no doubt hopes to live a long life of emotional and psychological health. Generally a newcomer has to completely grieve, feel loss and transition before they can fully adapt to their new worlds, but sometimes they get “stuck” somewhere along the way.

Many are often trapped… Continue reading

Marriage is one of the most significant events that each of us has or ever will experience in our lives. When focusing our lens even closer onto South Asian families, such a life-changing event can have a noticeable impact not only on each family, but also on the bride and groom. A tremendous amount of transitioning is inevitable for the… Continue reading

Perhaps some immigrants have a unique mix of courage, naivety and resilience that enables their smooth transition to a new homeland. But it’s not easy for everyone to integrate into a new culture.
What makes one newcomer’s integration more successful than another? Shifting one’s cultural identity with new roles, values and beliefs in the new society is a start. Also… Continue reading