For centuries, humans have flocked to mineral baths and hot springs, sweat lodges and saunas for their healing properties. Long before any scientific data could validate their benefits, human instincts prevailed anecdotally.

A recent Wall Street Journal article questioning whether clothes were better 50 years ago inspired me to reflect on fashion, which I have always loved. No question, most modern clothes have become less expensive (fast fashion) and more comfortable, but at what price?

For this holiday issue, I had originally planned to share some of my favorite health gadgets that would be good stocking stuffers. (Okay, they might not exactly fit into your stocking.) But thinking about the holidays more gave me pause to reconsider something less commercial and much more important, the subject of generosity, especially as we enter one of the most social times of the year, for some, and for others, the loneliest.

We hear more and more about the adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle. For decades, the desk was the center of work culture, and it still is to some extent. Computers and mobile phones keep us glued to large and small screens alike, and with the wide array of entertainment content options available these days, it is easy to become that quintessential “couch potato” without even realizing it.