This is a Feng Shui Tip for this Winter Solstice

This day is the Winter Solstice, the literal and actual first day of winter as well the longest night of the year. Once this solstice passes, the days begin to get longer while the nights shorten in both duration and length. This is the most powerful day of the season to create a bit of charming magic of your own, magic that will represent your dreams and desires to experience health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year.

In a small pouch pull together some dried fruits and nuts, representing a healthy harvest for you and yours in the coming weeks and months. You may also add some coins to bring easy abundance and some seeds to symbolize fertility. Lastly, add some mistletoe to add protection, healing as well as a splendid and sizzling love life. Then, you're all set to face the New Year with faith and hope and a hot little charm, very cool!

A Feng Shui Tip for your Christmas Tree (from Ellen Whitehurst)

Is it time to decorate the tree yet? If it is, then let's be sure that along with the family ornaments we add some of our more dearly desired hopes, wishes and big dreams! Whether you decide to adorn your tree today, or you celebrate this season is your own traditional fashion, you can create a Seinfeld-style Festivus simply by positioning bowls of fruit all around your house. Fruit stationed throughout your space or even hung on the tree invite abundance and joy and add juicy sweetness to your celebrations.

As well, using actual coins or symbols of coins in your decor is believed to bring fast but lasting money. Put the coins in the fruit bowls to double your pleasure, double your fun. And seeds of any sort when planted in your decorations will soon see fertility following closely behind.

All of this advice is simply ripe with opportunities for you to reach for the stars, just like the one you might be trying to put high atop the tree.

You can let here some messages with your special wishes and dreams for this Christmas and new Year 2010.

Have a Merry Christmas and very Wealthy 2010!

My Healthy Morning Routine (Recommended by Dr. Oz)

This is my healthy morning routine recommended by Dr. Oz, from the Oprah's website.

Ultimate Beauty Morning

6 a.m.
Wake up before your alarm clock after seven to eight hours of sleep. You may have to get up a little earlier (or later) than 6 a.m., depending on your particular schedule and lifestyle. Seven or eight hours is the amount of time your body needs to recharge; plus, sleep is the major stimulant for your natural growth hormone, which keeps skin taut and vibrant.

When you wake up, take a few minutes for an inventory of the way your body feels—specifically the minor aches and pains that may subconsciously distract you from the focus of your life. When you wake up, perform a few light stretches. Take just a few minutes to get your blood going, think about your breathing and prepare yourself for your day. While you meditate to the sensations of your body, dream about one big idea you want to pursue today.

6:20 a.m.
Perform your morning beauty routine. Here are some guidelines:
In the shower, rinse your hair (you can shampoo whenever you want, but don't feel compelled to shampoo more than three times weekly) and wash your body. Blot your hair dry or use the cool setting on your hair dryer—heat can damage the delicate cuticles of your hair. Use a brush with smooth or rounded teeth or bristles, which will massage the hair and scalp without damaging them. Remember, hair is most fragile when wet.

Wash your face and use a moisturizer that has vitamins B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin E and alpha-hydroxy acids. You can also include various small-molecule antioxidants such as ubiquinone and ferulic acid. Remember to read labels on everything. Use a moisturizer that has UV protection. You want to protect your face during the day and feed it with nutrients at night.

Use deodorant, not antiperspirant, usually. Some clothes that require dry cleaning can be ruined by sweat; women may want to use antiperspirants when wearing delicate clothes. You don't need to stop the natural bodily function of sweat, simply use a deodorant to mask any unpleasant smells.

7:10 a.m.
Take your vitamins, which should include: half of a multivitamin (with at least 500 IU of vitamin D, 600 mg of calcium and 200 mg of magnesium), 600 mg of DHA (omega-3 fatty acids, either by itself or in 2 grams of fish/cod liver oil) and 162 mg of aspirin (if you're over 40 years old and have checked with your doc). Take them with a full glass of water. These will help you with heart health, and keep this in mind as well: What's good for your heart and arteries is also good for your brain, sexual function and skin.

7:15 a.m.
Whether you're getting to work or getting your kids to school, use your travel time as an the opportunity to practice some stealth Kegel exercises (squeezing the muscles that control your urine flow; you can identify these muscles by starting and stopping urination midstream). The more they're developed, the better your sex life.

Or, if you're in line for your favorite morning caffeine-infused beverage, spend a minute focusing on proper posture. Back straight, butt in, chest out, shoulders back, head high, jaw aligned, making sure your top and bottom teeth aren't touching each other. Focus.

Practice good posture every day (sitting and standing), and you'll be amazed at the changes in how you look and feel. Slow, deep belly breaths go great with excellent posture. The air should move like a wave through the body, starting with the belly while you inhale and eventually puffing out your chest, reversing the actions when you exhale until you're pulling your belly button toward your spine.

8:30 a.m.
Attack your day, be it at home or at work. One of the most important things you can do: Create a clear game plan for what you want to (realistically) accomplish. Don't overwhelm yourself; just systematically tackle what you can today and save what you can't for tomorrow. The ubiquitous to-do list works because it takes the pressure off of you from forgetting the things you need to take care of but that may slip through the cracks. And be where you need to be on time so you can control the agenda. Maintaining the locus of control helps us cope with and reduce stress.

9 a.m.
Make a note to greet everyone you meet with or talk to with a hearty smile—a genuine one. Upbeat people excel. Upbeat people have good relationships. Upbeat people feel good.

10 a.m.
Take a quick audit of your environment, whether it's at home or work. The optimum work environment includes yellow light, lots of greenery, high air quality and a cubemate you get along with. While you're making a list of how you want to redecorate, you can fiddle with the thermostat. Research shows that optimal productivity occurs when the environment you're working in is 72 degrees.

10:45 a.m.
Take a five- to seven-minute walk, and clear your head. Remember, the key to successfully managing stress and accomplishing tasks isn't about time management as much as energy management; it's about having the vitality to move fast, move efficiently and move smartly.

10:50 a.m.
Have a midmorning snack of nuts or green tea (the polyphenols can help thicken the epidermis). Besides helping you stay satisfied, they contain biotin, which helps you metabolize fat and carbs. Add an apple or carrot—nature's teeth

Bond Shine (Instrumental)

A sort of cross between Sex and the City and the Kronos Quartet as they might be remixed by Paul Oakenfold (actually Orion and the Beatmasters do most of the producing), Bond is a string quartet of toothsome beauties at least as concerned with their hair and makeup as their playing whose work on Shine is heavily augmented with dance beats. It's a formula that sits them atop the classical crossover charts, up there with Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban, and why not? As with their peers, the music is only ersatz classical, containing classical tunes here and there mixed in with classical-sounding new compositions. And the elaborate dance programming makes the music highly, well, programmable. Leadoff track "Allegretto" was quickly tapped for an upscale television commercial, a mark of success in this market previously achieved by the likes of Moby. Here and there among the oddly familiar melodies are actually identifiable ones. "Strange Paradise" is a much modified version of the same theme from Borodin's "Polovetsian Dances" in his opera Prince Igor that became the show tune and pop hit "Stranger in Paradise" from the musical Kismet; "Kashmir" is the Led Zeppelin song; "Libertango" comes from Astor Piazzolla; the bonus track, "Bond on Bond," is, inevitably, Monty Norman's James Bond movie theme; and "Space" sounds like the theme from every movie ever set in a Middle Eastern desert (although here it sounds like it comes from a Middle Eastern disco). The CD booklet, full of fashion-style photography, outdoes anything from Britney Spears, and, of course, there's nary a musical instrument in sight. The music may be the least of it, but as marketing, Bond is hard to fault. (William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide)



TRACK LISTINGS
[01]. Allegretto
[02]. Shine
[03]. Fuego
[04]. Strange Paradise
[05]. Speed
[06]. Big Love Adagio
[07]. Kashmir
[08]. Gypsy Rhapsody
[09]. Libertango
[10]. Sahara
[11]. Ride
[12]. Space
BONUS TRACK
[13]. Bond on Bond (adapted from the James Bond Theme) - Adapted Wherry

Free download here (only for promotional use):
http://flameupload.com/files/HZAJUBYI/BonSHMP.part1.rar
http://flameupload.com/files/EJTX4ECE/BonSHMP.part2.rar

The Pomegranate, Feng Shui tip from Ellen Whitehurst

This is the perfect time of year to find the mystical pomegranate, long considered by Feng Shui and other cultures and traditions to be the fruit of fertility and prosperity. Pomegranates are considered to be one of the luckiest and most fortunate of all foodstuffs, and it has been said that if you make a wish before eating one that the wish simply has to come true. As well, lore tells us that eating its seeds will bring us creative and happy kids. It's also believed that carrying the dried skin will bring you money. Go ahead and hang pomegranate branches over the doorway and protect your inner space from anything negative that can come from the outside. And when hung at this special time of year, it makes for quite a pretty seasonal and different decoration. A Merry, Merry and all-purpose pomegranate!

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Dreaming

Come along with me, take my hand

Let’s dream together, reach for the stars

Hand in hand, together we’ll stand

These feelings, these dreams are ours

Close your Eyes and take a journey with me

To a place we’ve never been, never seen

Let your spirit soar, set your soul free

You’ll see there is a place so real, so serene

Open your heart let your feeling flow

You’ll see there’s no sorrow, no pain

You’ll find I’m here, just let your love grow

I’ll promise you it won’t all be in vain

So come along with me, let’s fly away

To where the stars meet the heaven

Let’s join the angels and where they play

And forever I can be with you in earth’ Eden

Using Pilates in Everyday Life, by Steve Shipside

Changing Your Daily Habits



Pilates isn’t just about classes or mat work. Its principles can be applied to almost any situation, making it possible to do yourself some good wherever you are in the office or on the bus. One of the beauties of Pilates is that you can use it while being physically active or inactive. You can be working out without anyone knowing. We've got some easy everyday Pilates tricks from Power-up Pilates by Steve Shipside.


Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Sitting isn’t as easy as it looks. Most of us manage to put stress on our shoulders, necks and backs just by the way we sit. Pilates posture can help.

First, make sure you’re sitting back in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Imagine that your coccyx (tailbone) is made of lead and pulling straight down into the chair. Make sure your spine is in neutral and you can feel the middle of your back lightly pressed against the seat back. Your shoulders should be relaxed but not slumped. To get a feel for that position try some leg lifts. Lift each knee alternately up, placing it smoothly down again with the foot flat on the floor. You should be totally stable, if you can feel your coccyx moving, then check that you are sitting back and in the neutral position—you may be sitting too far forward with your pelvis tilted. If you’re not sure about neutral when sitting, then try lifting the knee right up towards your chest. As you do you’ll reach a point where you can feel the pelvis tilt, and the coccyx slides towards the front of the seat. Hopefully that feel for being out of neutral should help you settle into neutral.


With your pelvis and back sorted out, the next issue is your shoulders and the neck strain that all too easily results from tension and poor posture. Hunching your shoulders upwards is a shortcut to tension and trouble as it tightens the trapezius muscle at the top of your back and that transmits its strain into the back of the neck. If you feel tense (and who doesn’t at some point in the working day) then try this.


Slide your shoulder blades towards each other and then down and at the same time extend your neck. You should feel an immediate easing of the pressure on your spinal column, shoulders and neck as well as feeling as if you’ve just grown an inch. Next time you want to shout at someone, try doing that first. A really great time to try the sitting exercises is on the bus/metro or at the traffic lights on the way home. Because we’re tired we’re likely to slump and take all that tension back home with us. Try and make it part of your daily routine to ease that pressure out as a way of leaving work behind before you get home.


Here's another idea for you...


‘The lift’ is another exercise you can do at your office chair or on the bus. The aim is to work on zipping up from the bottom of the pelvis towards your ribs. While sitting upright, imagine that there is a lift on your pelvic floor. As you breathe out try to take that lift ‘up’ to the next floor—you should feel your pelvic muscles go taut. As you take the ‘lift’ further up the floors from ‘first’ to ‘second’, you should feel your lower abdominals tighten. Higher than that and you risk the six-pack muscling in on the action.

Pilates At The Keyboard


Try to get away from the keyboard often enough to give your body a break. But when deadlines are tight, or the boss is hanging over your shoulder, you don’t have to leave your seat to perform simple exercises to release those muscles, help your posture and above all ease the stress.


Since we tend to store up stress in the shoulders, try to roll it out again with shoulder rotations. Mobility exercises—taking the joints through their full range of movement—are a staple of most forms of modern exercising. Your shoulder, like your hip, is a ball and socket joint, meaning it can rotate in any direction, so every now and again you should let it. Sitting in neutral, with your feet flat on the floor and your shoulders relaxed but not slumped, bend your elbows and rest your fingertips on your shoulder (right on right, left on left). Now circle them forwards and upwards so your elbows touch, then lift up above your ears, pull back to be in line with your shoulders and finally come forward again. Now perform the same circle but in the opposite direction—remember the importance of working every equal and opposite muscle so that for every pull there is a push.


The best office distressing exercise is undoubtedly to land a clean right hook on the boss, but since this may lead to ugliness it’s worth looking at other options. Stress balls—those squidgy balls you can squash in your fist when anxiety rises—are a good exercise for your hand muscles. The problem is people often tense the trapezius muscle that leads to the shoulders when they do. If you use a stress ball, then make sure you perform the shoulder roll above.


Now work on the fingers—if you’ve been typing, then they’re probably tense and tired. Despite the publicity about RSI you only have to look around any office for a couple of minutes and you’ll find keyboards without wrist wrests, keyboards set up at the wrong height for the seat and keyboards right at the edge of the desk so there’s nowhere to rest your elbows. Concentrated mouse work, even with elegantly shaped ergonomic mice, can also put real pressure on your fingers. Remember that before you start your fiftieth game of minesweeper.

To release tension in the fingers start by turning your hands palm upwards and bring the tip of each finger in turn to the tip of your thumb then repeat the sequence. Just to make things a little more interesting, try starting with the little finger on one hand at the same time as you start at the index finger on the other so the two hands are out of sync.


Next, hold all your fingers our flat together and then open up the gap between the second and third fingers so that the first and second pull away in one direction and the third and fourth in the other. Now bring the second and third fingers together and keep them together and this time open up the gaps between the first and second, and third and fourth.


This Little Piggy Does Pilates



Next time you put your feet up don’t just give them a break—give them a workout.

Like most adults you tend to hide your feet away and if we’re going to be brutally honest you probably consider them a bit ugly. Time to change all that and for two very good reasons:


You don’t have to be a reflexologist to realize that the feet hold the key to easing stress and keeping the rest of the body happy.


You might not think it as you apply that corn plaster, but the feet themselves are a miracle of anatomical engineering and deserve the best maintenance you can give them.


The first point is easy to prove. Next time you get back home from the shopping trip or from work, kick your shoes off, lose those socks/fishnets and with your bare foot just try to grip the carpet, then relax. Doesn’t that feel good? Doesn’t that feel good right through to your shoulders? In fact it feels so good you should do it right now. I don’t care if you’re in the office, tell the boss I said it was OK. We all know that daily stress makes its way into the shoulders, and while I’m not knocking the divine beauty that is the back rub, if you forget about your feet, then you’re only dealing with the most obvious symptom of stress.


Your feet contain 52 bones, and more than 76 muscles and ligaments. More than a quarter of all the body’s bones are in the feet, most of them are small and delicate, and yet everyday we expect them to handle the equivalent of hundreds of tons of force with barely a thought for their well-being.




A foot workout doesn’t have to take long and will go a long way to easing stress. As ever, even though you’re thinking of your toes you shouldn’t neglect your posture. As you sit, park your pelvis in neutral, and pull your head and spine upright as if being pulled up by a string running right through your spine and out through the top of your head. Scoop your stomach and now focus on your feet.


Start with a little ankle rotation to ease swelling and increase mobility. Rotate each foot in a circle while keeping the knee and lower leg still. Now try rotating them both together but in opposite directions and then change direction to circle the other way. If you’ve been walking all day, and especially if you’ve been carrying heavy bags, then this should ease the pressure immediately.


Now try pointing and flexing both feet together. Pointing means pushing your toes as far away from you as you can but try not to curl the toes, instead keep them straight and in line with the foot. Flexing means turning the ankle the other way so that the toes point back towards you, again the toes should be in line with the foot rather than trying to bend right back.


Here's an idea for you...


Try playing imaginary piano scales with your toes (you’ll need to be barefoot for this). Joseph H. Pilates was a great believer in body control and this is a great exercise for trying to re-establish the links between brain and body. With the soles of your feet flat on the ground, spread your toes as wide apart from each other as you can and then try to touch them to the ground one after another in order. It’s not as easy as you might think. Remember they have to touch one at a time and in order. Got that? No problem? OK, then I’ll bet you just did it starting with the little toe. Now try to reverse that and do it the other way, starting with the big toes.


Let’s Twist Again


Rotate to rejuvenate, work your waist, stretch your obliques and mobilize your spine. Go on, put a twist in your tail.

Mobility and flexibility are the key to staying young, avoiding injury and making the most of daily life, but they are the classic examples of the rule of ‘use it or lose it’. You don’t have to be a senior citizen to find that out. Spinal mobility is an issue for anyone who works at a keyboard. The good news is that you don’t have to leave that keyboard to do something about it.



Seated on a chair, put your arms out straight, then bend them at the elbow so they cross in front of you like a Russian dancer with each hand flat, extended and parallel to the floor. One hand rests on top of the other elbow, the second hand is under the elbow of the first. Slide the shoulder blades back and down, and extend the neck as if that string was running through your spine and out the top of your head pulling you upwards.


Scoop the stomach, park the pelvis and without moving the pelvis at all start breathing out, pivot the spine and head together slowly through 90 degrees so you are facing sideways. You should count five seconds to complete the move, breathing out smoothly all the while. Breathe in and return for the same count, then breathe out again and do the same to the other side. Six to ten twists to each side will help stretch and work the oblique muscles down the sides of your torso, and maintain the mobility of your spine while tensing the transverses for good measure.


As an alternative you can extend the arms straight out to each side for the movement (be careful not to take out any desk lamps/potted plants/co-workers as you twist) to work the obliques a little harder and emphasis the movement. If you do that you will also add to the work done by the shoulders so it’s important to ensure that they don’t hunch up. Although it feels as if all of the work is being done by the upper body, this also brings in the lower body which is working unseen as it stabilizes the pelvis to stop it from turning with your torso. By focusing on sliding the shoulders back it also helps open up the chest and encourages you to breathe deeply. All this means it can be a nifty little stress buster into the bargain. Ideally the move should be combined with some lateral stretching, to get all-round spine movement and stretch the muscles of the ribcage.


Here's an idea for you...


The idea of having a full glass in each hand is a sure way of ensuring you’re twisting smoothly and evenly, particularly if the glass happens to be full to the brim of precious liquid. If you do perform twists with anything in your hands, be particularly careful to slide your shoulder blades back and down. Otherwise you can end up using the shrugging muscles to help do the work and that creates tension in the neck.


A slightly more common (but ultimately less fulfilling) prop is the simple pole or broom handle. Place the pole on the shoulders behind the back of the neck, with your elbow in front and beneath it and your wrists wrapped around so they rest on each end. You should look a little as if you’d been put in the stocks. Turning this way helps keep your arms and shoulders in line, and makes it much easier to feel the pivot at the hips and so keep the pelvis out of the movement.

Flex Under Your Desk

Leg Flex Time

Just because they're under a desk all day doesn't mean your legs don't deserve some attention. Try this workout to get sexy, toned legs.

The exercise: While sitting in your chair, extend one leg straight out and hold for 10 seconds activating your quadriceps muscles. For a greater challenge, raise the entire leg a few inches higher. Repeat on other side. Do 5 total sets.

Abs For Sale

Who says you need an ab roller to strengthen your abs? Try this breathing exercise to see your tummy get toned.

The exercise: Sit up straight at your desk, take a deep breath in and then on the exhale, squeeze your belly in and up, making your stomach as flat as possible. Hold your stomach for 30 seconds while maintaining a steady breath. Repeat 2 more times for a stronger core.

4-01(k) Tricep Dips

Warm weather usually leads to bare arms. If you're looking for sexy summer arms, follow this exercise.
 The exercise: Place your hands palms down and fingers forward on a desk chair (without wheels). Move your torso forward to lower your butt, while keeping your feet flat on the ground and your knees bent. Bend at your elbows and lower your body weight down as low as possible and push yourself up again to extend your arms. Repeat for quick motions 4 times and then hold the position with your elbows bent to activate your triceps.

HR Squat Hold

We don’t give a squat if our co-workers start staring. This tush-toning move is one of our favorites.

The exercise: Spread your feet slightly wider than your desk chair. Lower your butt down to hover over the seat but do not sit down. Make sure your body weight is in your heels, not your toes. Hold the position to work your lower body for as long as you can for the duration of your next conference call. Be sure to mute the phone since your muscles are sure to be fired up.

Neck Roll(overs)

If you're not having the greatest day, try releasing some tension in your stiff neck with this exercise.
The exercise: Tilt your head to one side, slowly drop your chin down as low as possible and rollover the head to the other side. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat from side to side for 5 sets.

5 Yoga Poses You Can Do at Your Desk (Without Anyone Knowing)

Tired or stressed at work and just need a little energy boost? Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit, a yoga training system used in fitness centers, says you can do yoga poses right at your desk and feel rejuvenated in a matter of minutes.
"In the midst of a stressful, deadline-driven day, simply breathing deeply and practicing helpful and soothing yoga postures will improve both your mood and your productivity," says Beth. Yoga not only calms the mind and gets you focused; it tones the body and increases flexibility.

Try this best five moves to do right at your desk:

Chest expansion: From a seated position at the very front of your chair, interlace your fingers behind your back and straighten your arms. Breathe into an open heart and lungs.
What it works: Stretches the upper body, head and neck
Benefits: Calms the mind

Seated Backbend: From a seated position at the very front of your chair, place your hands or fists on the bony points along your spine. Firm your glutes, push your hips forward, and lift your chest toward the sky. Lift out of your lower back, drawing your elbows back to expand your chest. Look toward the sky without dropping your head back.
What it works: Stretches the lower back and opens the heart center
Benefits: Calms breathing

Lateral Flexion: From a seated position, lift your arms over your head. Create dynamic tension by lifting your upper body and pressing down through your feet. Slide one hand down the outer thigh and reach the other hand toward the sky. Gently lean to the side without dropping your chest. Breathe into your sides, ribcage, waist, and chest. Keep your head in line with your spine. Don’t let your upper body fall forward. Switch sides.
What it works: Opens side and waistline muscles
Benefits: Tones the obliques

Seated Twist: From a seated position, bring your right knee up with the sole of your foot on the chair. Place your right hand next to you or behind the chair and sit tall. Beginning at the base of the spine, rotate to the right, bringing your left forearm around to hold your right shin. Use your core strength rather than your arm to deepen the twist. Lengthen your spine with every inhale; twist further with every exhale. Switch sides.
What it works: Internal organs, core, postural muscles
Benefits: Massages the internal organs, tightens the core, elongates the postural muscles from sitting all day

Extended Leg Forward Fold: From a seated position, extend your legs. Pull your toes back toward your body. Reach forward, placing your hands on your legs, ankles, or feet, or on the floor. Draw forward through the top of your head using your abdominals. Continue to reach forward toward your feet with your chest and the crown of your head. Firm your quads. Relax your shoulders back and down and enjoy the stretch.
What it works: Spinal muscles, legs
Benefits: Unkinks muscles along the spine, stretches rear legs

Good workout!

Moments of Wellbeing with Eye Yoga, Eye Relaxation is in!

Linz, April 2009. Stars like Paul McCartney know: Eye yoga is the secret for a relaxed look. Simple exercises can provide gentle and comforting relaxation to these highly efficient organs that take in about 80% of all our impressions. Silhouette specialises in "comfort eyewear" and has compiled a simple eye yoga program with the help of Belgian yoga expert Jozef Kiekens. Ultimately, the eyes make the first impression – therefore, they should radiate as much freshness and relaxation as possible.

"Yoga supports body, mind, and soul, enhances blood circulation and thus a general feeling of well-being; we may therefore assume that somebody practising yoga has better sight as well. Furthermore, there are very special exercises for the eyes," reveals Jozef Kiekens from Belgium, who has dedicated almost fifty years to philosophical yoga theory and works at the Yoga Vendata Centre in Aalst. Jozef Kiekens regularly travels to India and in particular to the ashram of Rishikesh, which was also visited by the Beatles.

A big advantage of eye yoga: you can do it nearly anywhere - and you should, as often as possible, especially at the office. People working in front of a computer often moan about their tired eyes, but more relaxed vision can easily be achieved with yoga exercises, because yoga provides a balancing and relaxing effect. A few minutes a day are sufficient.

It is important only that you exercise regularly and don't overdo it, "because", according to expert Kiekens, "there are only two failures in yoga: you don't do the exercises at all or you do too much.” Regular exercising may result in small miracles for the eyes.

Eye yoga

In the morning...

Start your day with eye yoga

It is important to stretch extensively after getting up. After that, it is best to sit cross-legged on a cushion on the floor and to concentrate on breathing in and breathing out.

Now look up and down 5 times and close the eyes again.

Open the eyes again, look to the right and to the left 5 times and close them again.

Open the eyes again, look to the upper right and to the lower left 5 times and close them again.

Open the eyes again, look to the upper left and to the lower right 5 times and close them again.

Then rub your palms firmly together and lay them on your eyes (see yoga for tired eyes).

Your head doesn't move at all during the exercises; only the eyes move.

After a few days some additional exercises may be added to the morning eye yoga:

Roll the eyes clockwise and counter-clockwise: Start by looking down and fixing on a point on the floor. From there, look slowly to the left and then up to the ceiling, then to the right and back to the floor. This exercise must be executed very slowly and the eyes must move in a large circle. The head stays still the whole time. Blink a few times after the exercise, close the eyes, and rest with closed eyes by lying on the back for 3 minutes and then repeat the same exercise counter-clockwise.

The eyes should be relaxed after these intensive exercises. Both of the following relaxation exercises are suitable here:

Relaxation of the eyes after exercise

Sit with open eyes and blink quickly 10 times. Keep your eyes closed for min. 20 seconds. Repeat this exercise at least 5 times.

Relaxation of the eyes after exercise 2

Close your eyes as firmly as possible. The eyelids must be pressed together firmly and the eye muscles must be noticeably tensed. Hold this contraction for 3 seconds and then quickly release it. Blink a few times and repeat the exercise at least 4 times.

For relaxation during the course of the day...

Special moments

Another possibility to relax your eyes is to move them in a special way.

Sit comfortably - e.g. lie back in your office chair - and begin to move your eyes in a special way: up and down, from the right to the left, across and in circles. Start slowly and go faster and faster.

Energy for tired eyes

This exercise relaxes and rejuvenates the eye muscles and stimulates the intraocular fluid circulation. It is an in-between exercise for the eyes and quickly revives tired eyes again.

Close your eyes and rub your palms firmly together until they are warm. Once the hands are nicely warm, put the arched palms gently on both of the eye lids without directly touching them. The palms’ warmth passes over onto the eyes and relaxes them. This exercise should be repeated at least 3 times.

Twinkle with your eyes

This exercise requires you to first deeply breathe in and out, and then to gently open and close your eyes. It is important that the forehead remains completely relaxed. Then close the right eye and cover it with the right hand, lightly touching the eye lid with the fingers. Then start blinking with the left eye. Imagine that the eye lashes draw the eye lid down and lift it up again. The eye lid just follows the movement of the eye lashes but itself is without tension. Move the left eye lid so gently that the right eye lid remains without tension and there is no movement that the finger can feel. Massage your forehead gently during this exercise: The left hand's fingers touch the thumb, and then the fingers open slowly, massage the forehead with this movement.

After the exercise with the left eye, the exercise is now done with the right eye. Cover the left eye gently with the left hand's fingers. Blink relaxed and slowly with the right eye. Massage the forehead gently with the right hand’s fingers during this exercise.

Although this exercise is very simple it is very powerful. It should comfort the eye and not stress it. It may be done during the course of the day, standing in a queue, waiting for the bus, or just at the office.

Before going to bed...

Cleaning of the eyes

The oldest yoga exercise for eyes is called Trataka. It is very simple and yet has a spectacular effect as it cleans the eyes.

Just sit and relax cross-legged on a cushion, 1 meter away from a lit candle and stare at the flame until the eyes start burning and tears run down. Then lie back, relaxed on your back, with your arms and feet loosely out to the side. Remain lying down for about 10 minutes.

Do this exercise immediately before going to bed; it cleans the eyes and enhances concentration.

A selection of relaxing yoga exercises and more wellness tips for the eyes can be found in the Silhouette booklet “24 Hours Eye Care Programme”, which is distributed free-of-charge, worldwide through eye care professionals.

http://www.silhouette.com/

The Five Rituals of Eternal Youth, an ancient tibetan secret

That's right! For taking the trouble to click on that link a moment ago, you are now going to be rewarded with the sacred rituals of eternal youth. Yet only unto the faithful is the miraculous bestowed. Do you believe that modern and ancient truths are not so very different?

It's been more than a century since Einstein told us that matter is simply corrupted light, a multi-dimensional dance of energy fields. Still we persist in thinking of ourselves as discrete units of meat, bone, and blood. How about those seven ductless glands, the ones responsible for the secret juices which decide everything from how deep your voice is to wich of your hairs turn gray first?

No Hindu mystic ever beheld a pineal gland in a petri dish, yet he knew about chakras, the vortexes of energy whirling about the organic manifestations of the endocrine system. Some of Buddha’s early fans told the Tibetan lamas about it, that youth and energy were pendant on those chakras whirling fast and in-synch, drawing prana into all the processes that give life to meat, boone and blood.

Things fall apart: age and entropy will slow the chakras. When they spin at different velocities, no plastic surgeon or GNC supplement can long hold off the damage. That’s why you might forgive the lamas who devised this system for calling them rituals – ‘exercises’ is a bit banal for actions which merit a reprieve from Father Time.

Rite The First

Stand Up. Put your arms out straight to the sides. Now spin clockwise.

You expected chanting, maybe? Joint-cracking postures only possible for a fifty-kilo ascetic in a diaper? Tut, tut. The atom only exists because it spins, as does the universe. As do children when they want to shake things up. Whirling dervishes are known for more than diverting head gear, by the way, such as conjugal prowess lasting well into eighth and ninth decades, but the modest Turks don’t usually speak of such things.

If you feel too dizzy to turn more than once or twice, do sit down, and be of good cheer. In a few weeks, or months, you will spin the prescribed twenty one times, and in such improved chakric synergy that your bright eyes will stop the room from turning almost at once.

Rite The Second

Lie down, palms down at your sides. Inhale, lifting chin to chest and legs perpendicular, no bent knees unless necessary.

Those who tire after two or three are the majority, the endless legions who glumly snap at their ever-more-snug waistbands. Those who can do twenty-one don’t fear the scale, and seldom pine for the call of nature.

Rite The Third

Kneel, hands on the hams for support. Chin down to the chest for inhale. Exhale and arch head and shoulders back as far as possible.

Twenty-one of these on a regular basis, and even the most slack-shouldered wage slave begins to attain the proud carriage of a nobleman. His mind inevitably turns from morbid worry to superior detachment. Huge groups of lamas perform this ritual simultaneously, claiming that the vibrational energy created clears up all sorts of bad karma. Feel free to laugh at the lamas and their mystical take on mental health and well being. Rumor has it there’s not one monastic dispensary in Tibet stocked with Prozac.

Rite The Fourth

Sit down on the floor, legs out straight, trunk erect, palms flat on the ground. Tuck the chin in. Now inhale, throwing the head back as you make like a table, body parallel to the floor, arms and calves perpendicular. Become rigid like the table you are, then relax on the way back to sitting down.

This ritual is where the secretly incorrigible start bemoaning their tight shoulders and stiff ankles. They deserve sympathy, not for their perceived ailments, but for their sluggish vortexes, spinning wobbily like exhausted tops. Confidence and optimism spring from harmonious velocity. Twenty-one will turn a crybaby into a confident yet compassionate adult.

Rite The Fifth

Hands and feet on the floor, two feet apart. Legs and arm straight, back arched. Throw the head back, and as you inhale push the posterior straight up to make an inverted ‘V’.



This rite passes for isometric exercise, also, and the increased flexibility in the spine compliments one’s toned arms, chest, and shoulders. Once again, however, the true benefit goes to the seven mini-cosmos, whirling faster, at the same speed, harmonious fields of energy that brook no disease or decay.


Twenty one is the optimal number of repetitions for each rite, but as few as three apiece will get things rolling, or spinning, rather. If you find one of the rites ‘impossible’, leave it out, for now. Only daily devotion will have long-term effect, but adepts can do all five rituals twent-one times in less than ten minutes. Try for twenty-one days with open mind and heart. You’ve got nothing to lose but years of aging effects. Besides, they’ll still be selling wrinkle cream and face lifts if you change your mind.

Do you believe the lady on photos have 62 years old? Well, it's true.

Here's a Daily Romantic Tip

~~~ It's the Little Things ~~~

A flower discovered on the windshield or car seat

Here's your Feng Shui tip for Today

If we're to take a page from some of today's crazy calendars, then we should spend time pondering our own existence on this, 'Evaluate Your Life Day.' So contemplate where you are in your life and imagine the areas where you'd like to see some change. Get clear on what's working and what's not. Say a sincere and emotional prayer of gratitude and thanks for all that's supportive and wonderful in your world. Then, thinking of what you would like to change, move these stale or stuck energies out of your existence by first moving them out of your space.

We'll do this by using an ancient, de-cluttering, space clearing SOS in smoke signal form. Light a few sticks of frankincense or sandalwood incense. Hold the smoking sticks in a container, go to your front door and begin to walk your main floor in a clockwise direction. Allow the smoke to permeate each room that you walk through while pausing in corners to give the smoke an opportunity to address those areas where energies are stuck. Work your way back to your front door, and if the incense is still burning put it anywhere in the center of the house so the smoke can keep cleansing and clearing. Otherwise, be sure to keep a window or door wide open in order to bid adieu to anything not completely and totally supporting you.

You'll see that after you do this you'll evaluate your life in a whole new and very positive way!

Here's a Short and Sweet Workout for you

This walk is a little bit shorter and slower to give you a bit of a rest. Sometimes your body needs a little recovery walk. Enjoy your shorter walk. You deserve it. Invite your partner or a friend to walk with you.

Your assignment:
Walk for 30 minutes at 4 mph or 135 steps per minute.
Finish your walk with some tummy toning bicycle move like in the next photo: you can repeat 10 times this position and alternating left right, joining your left elbow with your right knee and after the right elbow and the left knee. Your tummy will be flat and toned.

smallrivers

Another Feng Shui tip for you, Love your Body and It Will Love You!

It's 'Love Your Body' day. It goes without saying that we could all use a day to honor and love the bodies we live in, and so today's energies are going to be all the more powerful because of the collective nature of this wonderful and conscious intention. So why not do something special to honor and love your body today that will have a powerful and positive effect for a whole bunch of tomorrows? According to the modality known as reflexology, or foot massage therapy, each part of your body corresponds to a spot on the soles of your feet. By massaging your feet you can stimulate a healthy flow of Chi or good energy throughout the body you love so much. Reflexology says that the toes are linked with areas of the head such as the eyes, ears, sinuses, teeth and brain. The heel, on the other hand, connects with the lower back, pelvis and the sciatic nerve. By giving yourself a gentle foot massage, or having someone else do one for you, you're giving your body a chance to balance and remove blockages. Gently press and rub the soles of your feet for a few minutes each day to reduce tension and improve the overall health of your entire system. Now, if that's not loving your body, than I don't know what is!

Here's a Feng Shui tip for 19th October

19th October: This one's for all the women, and the men who love them! It's 'World Menopause Day,' a day designated by the World Menopause Society in collaboration with the World Health Organization to celebrate a unity amongst women who share the experience of menopause. This day allows a spotlight to shine on a major physiological event in a woman's life that's universal, unavoidable and unpreventable. In many cultures, the advent of menopause often signals the shift from mother to wise woman, and so the cessation of menses and fertility and the onset of wisdom should be heralded and celebrated. However, sometimes referring to a woman in menopause as being 'hot' now takes on an entirely new connotation. If you or someone you know is suffering from flushing caused by flashing, then one of the easiest ways to address this is simply by chillin'. With an ice cube or two, that is! That's right, sucking on an ice cube during a flush will cool the blood in the area of the neck that's causing facial flushing and the flush will be gone in a flash! Women, unite and welcome this change in your life and be sure to take some time to marvel at the miracle of the human body, even if you don't feel quite so 'hot' anymore!

Here's a Daily Wish for You, I hope it works!

If your ear itches, you should cover the itching ear and make a wish that only good will be spoken about you. A common belief is that an itching ear means someone is talking about you.



If your eye itches, don't rub it. Cover it with one hand as you wish for something or someone you'd like to see.


If your lips itch, press them together and make a wish.


If your nose itches, make a small 'X' on the tip and make a wish. If the palm of your hand itches, scratch it and say the following chant as you wish for money:


'Money itch, money itch,


Money itch, money come true.'


If your hand itches (some say the right hand and some say the left), rub it on wood as you wish for money and say the following words, naming the hand that is itching:


'Left/Right itching,


Rub it on wood.


Wish for money,


'Tis sure to come good.'


A very old belief is that if your hand itches -- usually the palm is specified -- you will be getting money.


If your foot itches, you should stamp it three times and wish to go to a particular place. This no doubt stems from the belief that an itching foot means that you will soon travel.