Yoga is a wonderful all-encompassing exercise for staying healthy. Yoga’s origins hail from ancient India enhancing both physical and mental well being. In the West, the most commonly practiced branch of yoga is Hatha Yoga. This uses postures, breathing techniques, conscious relaxation and meditation. By turning, twisting and stretching in proper manner, will certainly make the body muscles more flexible. One can get flexibility in hamstrings, back, hips and shoulders.

Traditionally there are four paths of yoga. Jnana, Bhakti, Karma and Raja. These paths are not separate; they all work together in forming the art of yoga. Only a Yogi or Yogini will concentrate on perfecting the art of one of these paths only. Most commonly all four paths are blended together to balance out yoga practices.

Yoga Benefits:

Yoga also seems to have psychological benefits as well. practitioners and those who study them report that it helps you become more aware of your body, accept yourself more readily, improve your concentration, memory, learning and mood.

Yoga is good for relieving mental or physical stress.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-03 01:35:12.

allysonk posted a photo:

Dog costume contest at Tompkins Square Park in NYC on 10/25/09.

By nobody@flickr.com (allysonk)

The causes of tiredness and fatigue can often be linked to the kind of lifestyle you have. Are you a workaholic dad or a housewife with four hyperactive kids? Do you drink a lot of coffee or smoke like a chimney? You may not think that these things have any sort of impact on your life, but think again!

By examining your daily routine, you’ll be able to pinpoint the exact causes of your tiredness and fatigue. Below are some of the common culprits that get in the way of living a dynamic life.

1) Stress

Stress is one of the common causes of tiredness and fatigue. It chooses no age or gender. Valerie, a senior officer at a successful accounting firm, is only twenty-four and yet her stress levels are very high. As a result, she doesn’t have enough energy to even go out and have fun with her friends during weekends.

But stress doesn’t only manifest from spending too many hours in the office. A mom who stays at home all day looking after her kids is very likely to feel stressed out. After all, she has to feed the children, play with them, cook and clean, etc.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-28 23:50:24.

allysonk posted a photo:

We waited for about an hour to catch a glimpse of the President deplaning in the NYC harbor. Kinda exciting to be around. And just moments after seeing Prince Harry play polo!

Better pics: www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/30/obamas-date-night-photo…

By nobody@flickr.com (allysonk)

Originally posted 2009-06-02 09:25:00.

To achieve physical fitness and mental peace throughout one’s life, yoga is the only alternative to live a healthy and happy life. Most of the people may feel apprehensive to take the plunge into this activity fearing age problems, past medical history etc, but 10 to 20 minutes of time devoted to this yoga exercise cum fitness regime can do wonders for the rest of the life.

Video yoga’s are relaxing, easy and simple way to stay fit and healthy without stepping out of your respective homes, if you are unsure about it you can procure a video or a DVD from the library, search the net, opt for some fitness magazines from the library or the last and best way out is to consult yoga practitioner who would guide you to different flow (vinayasa) of yoga as per your need for the ailments and also according to the flexibility of the body.

There are online yoga videos available which would help you to keep in sync with your busy schedules, or make certain adjustments with the hectic part of your routine lifestyle.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-29 13:28:29.

Emotion = energy in motion. Each emotion has a frequency and a wavelength.emotions

This is why dogs can sense your fear and growl at you or can sense your sadness and nuzzle you to make you feel better.

Like anything that emits a frequency, emotions require energy.

That valuable energy is coming from your energy reserves. Some unpleasant emotions (sadness, anger and rage) can actually help us grow and teach us a lot as long as we know how to harness them.

Lets look at some common negative emotions in turn:

Sadness can be a therapeutic emotion if we allow ourselves to express it. Crying can be very cleansing; it removes old painful emotions and memories.

Here is what Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote about tears and crying in her beautiful book: Women who run with the wolves:

Tears are rivers that take you somewhere. Weeping creates a river around the boat that carries your soul life. Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it downriver to someplace new, someplace better.(C. Pinkola Estes)

Anger and rage are very powerful emotions.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-26 02:00:44.

IBS is not a disease — it’s a syndrome or group of symptoms that occur together which doesn’t damage the intestine. To diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), the doctor will ask questions about symptoms and examine the child to rule out more serious problems or diseases. So if the physical exam and other tests show no sign of disease or damage, the doctor may diagnose IBS. In children, IBS is treated mainly through changing in diet — eating more fiber and less fat to help prevent spasms, or bowel training to teach the children to empty the bowels at regular, specific times during the day. Medications like laxatives are rarely prescribed because children are more susceptible to addiction than adults. Once laxatives are necessary, parents must follow the doctor’s instructions carefully. Learning stress management techniques may also help some children.
Three main factors are significant in the pathogenesis of IBS:
Colonic motor activity — this is abnormally high in patients with colonic pain, particularly after meals or emotional stress.
Psychological stress — Many with IBS exhibit symptoms of colonic imbalance at times of stress. It is commonly associated with a nervous disorder and anxiety.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-23 01:59:44.

Recently a member of my family fell off their horse while riding. The hard impact with the ground caused rib, artery and blood flow damage in her arm that required vascular surgery later that week. Otherwise her arm may have required amputation. They would also have to remove one rib during this procedure.

Keep in mind that this person has been a diet health expert and yoga instructor for over twenty years. And in the past fifteen years, she has never even needed to see a doctor for anything.

When she met with the doctor four days before the surgery he did not instruct her on any special way to prepare her 63 year old body for the surgery. She expected that, but new better.

Because of her own diet health experience and extensive knowledge she knew she needed to go on a 3-day juice fast diet before the surgery. She was already very healthy and slim, but surgery and all that pain can take quite a toll on a body that age.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-04-15 09:18:56.

More often than not, how to get better sleep is among the common questions that working people think about. This is because they rarely experience it because of too much stress or being too busy in their work. If you are one of those who are having problems when it comes to sleeping, here are some of the ways that can help you get better easier:

1. Develop better sleeping habits. Like everything else, developing good habits helps a person accomplish a certain task at hand. For those who are prone to not sleeping well at night, it would be best to start developing good habits that would help him or her get better sleep. Good sleeping habits might include daytime routines such as eating the right foods, exercise, and enough napping in the afternoon. Experts say that eating the right foods would help a person be lulled into sleep without so much hustle.

If one wants to get better sleep, he or she must avoid eating foods that contain ingredients that stimulate the nerves and the senses such as those with caffeine content.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-20 14:37:47.

If you are struggling for a new twist on this year’s vacation, a fitness getaway might be right up your alley. So you are asking yourself, what is a fitness getaway? Fitness getaways, alternately called fitness vacations or fitness retreats, are the latest trend in vacations.

Tired of lazing around a pool or on the beach, eating and drinking yourself into a place where you all you can think about is hitting the gym after your vacation is over? Many vacationers are opting instead for a healthier getaway that will truly renew them and leave them feeling invigorated at the end of their travels.

Held at varying destinations, fitness getaways offer vacationers a program of fitness activities combined with healthy nutritionally balanced meals all set in a luxury environment with all the amenities of a regular vacation. After all, who says a booty-kicking, get in shape, weight loss fitness camp can’t also be luxurious?

What makes fitness getaways so appealing is that they are a pleasant blending of all things wonderful that make us not only feed good, but feel good about ourselves.
By articlesnatch.com

Originally posted 2009-06-22 19:20:21.