The World Wildlife Fund has come out with another fantastic design in there latest campaign that reminds us all to save resources and reduce our impact on the environment. This design points to the degredation of the Amazon Rainforest in South America.

If you missed my post on their ingenious billboard add here it is:

Doesn’t it make you think? LOVE IT!!

Reading through my monthly fitness mags I came across a great article in Shape featuring Heather Graham and her twice daily meditation practices. The blonde bombshell who is best known for her role in Austin Powers, attributes her state of tranquility to Tanscendental Meditation (TM).

“I’ve been doing it for over 15 years…basically it helps to clear my vision so I can see everything in my life more positively,” Graham tells Shape.

Though I am not a daily meditation practictioner, I do try to get a session in every week for relaxation and to clear my mind. Meditation is a great way to reduce stress, and gain self awareness and understanding. If you have tried meditation before and didn’t feel any benefits or got frustrated, try a different technique. There are literally thousands of ways to meditate. I personally like to meditate through out the day while I am riding the bus or train. Just taking 5-10 minutes to look inward, clear the mind and induce calm into your day makes a huge difference.

Heather Graham offers these six tips to help you achieve peace of mind:

1. Do It Regularly: Mediate for 20 minutes twice a day. The more you practice, the easier it gets.

2. Practice First Thing In The A.M: It’s a healthy way to start the day and will help you improve your focus.

3. Be in A Quiet, Comfortable Place: Sit up straight on a chair or cushion away from distractions.

4. Choose Your Own Secret Mantra: Try “I am at peace with myself.” Repeat this mentally during sessions.

5. Concentrate On Your Breath: Breathe in slowly and deeply, filling your lungs with air, and then exhale.

6. Meditate On An Empty Stomach: Eating beforehand can make you sleepy. If you’re starving have a little fruit.

For more information on the specific technique Ms. Graham uses, check out www.tm.org

I recently took a Yamuna Body Rolling class that was fantastic to say the least. If you haven’t heard of the Yamuna Body Rolling system you’ve got to check it out. It’s fitness and massage rolled into one!

Yamuna Body Rolling™ is a revolutionary approach to health and fitness using balls designed exclusively for this practice. It consists of a series of routines using 6 to 10-inch balls. Unlike other ball exercises, YBR goes far beyond random movement and stretch. It allows you to work specific muscles in detail, to create suppleness in tight areas and optimize range of motion.

One of my favorite parts of the class was standing on what are called foot wakers and savers. These half spheres actually re-educate feet. They improve gait, alignment, and muscle tone, stimulate reflexology points, strengthen arches, increase range of motion, and stimulate and elongate the muscles of the calves, thighs, hips, and lower back. Working intensively with Foot Savers, you can rehabilitate foot problems and literally work your body all the way to your head.

The idea is to start with the Foot Wakers and work up to the high intensity Foot Savers. After working this ball up and down my feet I felt like a whole new person. I felt more stable on my feet and walked with more ease and that was only after a half hour working with them!

I plan on buying a pair so I can write at my desk while simultaneously getting an awesome foot massage. The Foot Saver Kit comes with a DVD to show you all the wonderful things you can do with these little guys for only $36 bucks.

In today’s technology age we find ourselves hunched over laptops, slouched on the couch playing videogames and carrying heavier bags and backpacks to tote it all. Now more than ever we need to pay attention to our posture to prevent major spinal injuries and alignment issues.

Not only is slouching or over arching your low back (lordosis) ultimately painful and horrible for spinal longevity, it looks bad and will ruin that six pack you’ve been working on so diligently. How people perceive you has a lot to do with body language, and lets face the fact that poor posture suggests a person is timid and has low self-esteem.

When the spine is vertical the forces of gravity weigh down and compress the vertebrae that make up the spinal column, unless we actively oppose that force. In order to keep a supple, strong spine for life we must strengthen the muscles that support it. This includes all the “core” muscles meaning the abdominals, and back muscles.

Here are some quick tips to help us all stand a little taller and maintain a pain free, flexible, and properly aligned spine. Read the rest of this entry »

GlamSpirit: Feeling down in the dumps? It’s time to pull out that positivity and learn 4 ways to boost your self esteem. You have the power to control how you react to the world around you, let it be positive!

LifeOrganizers: When it’s that time of the month the last thing you want to do is exercise, but getting your blood pumping and muscles working is a great way to reduce cramps and bloating. Life Organizers helps us ladies out by offering a workout that will help with PMS.

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ZenHabits: Reduce stress and tension by decluttering. Everytime I walk in to find my apartment strewn with clothes, books, cups, etc. I feel closed in which automatically creates tension. To feel at ease in your home, also known as good Feng Shui, use these 15 great decluttering tips.