There might be something wrong with your inner tube, and it could be making you sick and overweight. You may not even realize you have a problem … But if you have health concerns of any kind, or you are overweight, your inner tube could be the root cause. Of course, I’m not talking about a beach toy. I mean the inner tube of life — your digestive system.

Coral reefs around the world are in trouble. According to the World Wildlife Fund, about one-quarter of coral reefs are considered damaged beyond repair, with another two-thirds under serious threat. Some suffer from heavy fishing pressures, while others are succumbing to pollution or careless tourism. Climate change, with its attendant rising sea temperatures, is exacerbating the problem, speeding coral deaths.

More than half a billion people live near corals, relying on them for food, shelter from storm surges and the income that tourism brings. With natural reefs diminishing, artificial reefs are increasingly gaining favor. These structures usually take the form of sunken ships, decrepit oil platforms or other human trash.

But is depositing more human refuse in the oceans in order to create artificial reefs healthy for the environment — and for us?

Humans are inherently social creatures. Most of us enjoy the company of others and spend much of our waking time engaging in social interactions with friends and family.

Interestingly, people who spend a lot of time together often adopt one another’s eating and exercise habits, sometimes for the better, but often for the worse. Remember the old saying ‘birds of a feather, flock together’?

But there’s a positive side to our desire to conform socially. Find the right circle of friends — your own personal support group — and sticking to an exercise schedule or diet becomes easier. Hence the popularity of organized weight-loss groups and exercise classes.

Furthermore, research demonstrates that just having a weight-loss or fitness support system in place results in better adherence to diet and exercise and more pounds shed and kept off over the long term.

Don’t have access to a local support group? Make your own via one of the following social media platforms:

It’s hard to believe that it was only a few weeks ago that we were contemplating the end of the world. Not only did we survive the apocalypse, we survived the holidays!

Now the conversation is all about ‘New Year = New You!’ and making huge life changes now!

I prefer to work with the earth’s gentle cycles as my guide. For me, the winter season is for hibernation and quiet contemplation … a time to go deep ‘inside.’ It is a time for rest (with so many hours of darkness) and for reflection, a perfect time to tap into dreams and journal.

When we attune ourselves with the seasons, we allow our inherent natural rhythms to flow, which are easy to follow and feel good about.

You are a perfect person for who you need to be, right here and right now. The person that you are, currently, is the product of all of the choices and experiences you have had previous to this moment. There is no possible way for you to not be the person you are, right now. No doubt, some of the choices you have made led to unintended consequences. You may have regretted the outcome of those choices.

This is perfectly natural and normal. It is these very experiences that caused you to make more choices about your life and the world you now live in. No matter what, you were always a perfect person in those moments; just as you are perfect, now.

One of humanity’s most mysterious and pondered questions is, “What happens when we die?”

Astral City on GaiamTV.com poses the answer to this question in an extremely unique and bold way, using the notion of spiritualism. With spiritualism, spirits of the dead have the ability and inclination to communicate with the living. Anyone may receive spirit messages, but formal communication sessions are held by mediums, who provide information about the afterlife.

If you’re ready for a wild, mind-opening and thought-provoking ride that’s based on a true story, Astral City is your ticket. Here are the highlights:

This month, Spiritual Cinema Circle highlights films about love in all its many forms.

A Bird of the Air is our February feature. Filmed in New Mexico, it tells the story of a solitary man (Jackson Hurst) whose life is altered by both a stray parrot and a woman (Rachel Nichols) who inspire him to ask questions about his past — and his future. A Bird of the Air was directed by Margaret Whitton and written by Roger Towne, best known as the writer of The Natural, which starred Robert Redford.

By The FIRM Master Instructor Melissa Hurst

You’ve made it through the holidays! Your weekly schedule, while still hectic, is becoming more routine and you have even found time to fit in your workouts (hopefully). There’s only one problem: Instead of your workouts re-energizing you, they are wearing you down.

If you are facing this dilemma, you are not alone. There are many reasons why you may feel as though your workouts are not giving you the results (emotionally or physically) you expect.

Did you know that the brain has the same chemical reaction to sugary and fatty foods as it does to cocaine or nicotine? According to Dr. Pam Peeke, author of The Hunger Fix, the chemical reaction happens before you even eat the food — all you have to do is think about it!

Dr. Peeke recently appeared on GaiamTV.com’s Gaiam Inspirations to talk about America’s food addiction and how to retrain your brain to make healthier choices. Dr. Peeke’s interest in the topic of food addiction started because of the way her patients talked about food. “I can’t get off this stuff.” “The withdrawal is killing me.” They sounded like drug addicts, and she started to wonder if there was a connection between food and addiction.

She found that there’s a very striking connection — and the same centers of the brain are involved that regulate drug addiction. And, she says, don’t think for a second the food industry hasn’t figured this out.

Despite your stance on the ethics of radio-collaring wild animals, it can’t be denied that such endeavors provide scientists with reams of valuable data, such as information on where and how animals move and migrate, the nuisance activity they engage in, their reproduction and mortality rates, and how to establish wise management practices regarding them.

That’s why when a collared research animal is lost, it’s not just a detriment to that animal’s social group or species but to our understanding of nature, as well.

Usually, the death of a collared animal goes unnoticed, except within a few scientific circles. But when Wolf No. 754, a popular Yellowstone National Park research animal, was recently shot by a hunter in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest, a few miles outside the national park boundary, reverberations and outrage were felt around the world.

It’s causing some to ask: Should research animals be given full, legal protection?