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Meditation is one of the five Principles of Yoga. It is the practice by which there is constant observation of the mind. It requires you to focus your mind at one point and make your mind still in order to perceive the ‘self’. Through the practice of Meditation, you will achieve a greater sense of purpose and strength of will. It also helps you achieve a clearer mind, improve your concentration, and discover the wisdom and tranquility within you.

Yoga Meditation Relaxation Response?

When you are feeling stressed and tense, it is hard to accomplish anything and you are usually just in a bad mood. Yoga exercises and meditation are two great ways to relieve stress and reach a feeling of calmness. Release your stress with the yoga meditation relaxation response.

Yoga asanas or exercises combined with meditation give your body a natural relaxation response that fights stress. the asanas release tension in the body and meditation releases turbulence in the mind and emotions. in addition to that, practicing yoga will also increase your happiness and serenity, both of which will make you feel better in the long run.

It is impossible to avoid all stress but you are able to help yourself avoid the negative effects by learning how to activate the relaxation response. during a stress response your body is filled with chemicals that prepare you for “fight or flight” which is helpful during an emergency, but it is bad when it is active over a long period of time.

The relaxation response gets your system back into balance by: reducing stress hormones, relaxing your muscles, deepening your breathing, and slowing your heart rate and blood pressure. It also increases your energy and focus, relieves aches and pains, boosts motivation and productivity, and combats illness.

When practicing yoga, you gain the body, mind and emotions come into harmony. when this happens you have an incredible sense of well being. just like when you feel stressed and tense your day doesn’t go well, when you start out with well being, everything in your day seems to go really well.

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By RACHEL LOUISE ENSIGN Crafting a good résumé for a job search is difficult enough. Doing so in later life—when issues like age discrimination potentially come into play—is tougher yet. To get a better idea of how job seekers age 50-plus should …
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NEW YORK — Lindsey Gehl and Ryan Bell have a vision of their June wedding being white — and green, too.

The 27-year-olds will pledge their troth in a traditional ceremony, followed by a reception amid the scenic trails and wildlife habitats of the Pilcher Park Nature Center in Joliet, Ill., to which they’re donating $600. Indeed, their dedication to the environment is so true, they’ve forked out a little more to have invitations printed on recycled paper, and to have drinks served in glasses instead of plastic tumblers.

“It would have been cheaper to have our wedding at a church, but we both love nature and we believe it’s important to do what we can for the environment,” says Gehl, a teacher.

Gehl and Bell are in good company. in a November survey by chain store David’s Bridal, 78 percent of respondents said they were taking steps to green their weddings, while 35 percent planned to serve local food or decorate with local flowers — both steps that reduce a wedding’s carbon footprint.

Those who have scoffed at “green” as being synonymous with “cheap” may have to eat their words. Wedding planners say there’s an increased focus on environmental niceties that may not save money, and may even plump up a wedding bill.

Take food, for example. Locally sourced produce tends to cost more than those by large institutions based farther away, says Loren Michelle, proprietor of Naturally Delicious, a caterer and event planner based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I pay $14-$16 a pound for New York State aged cheddar. Regular cheddar would be $6 to $8,” she says, while New York wine is more expensive than wine from California. In-season local vegetables may be less expensive, but not by much.

Organic food of any kind is pricey. About a quarter of Michelle’s customers request free-range, grass-fed meat, which can cost 30 percent more.

As a genre of nuptial celebrations, eco-friendly weddings have held steady at about 11 percent of weddings since the economy tanked in 2008, reports TheKnot, a wedding planning website.

And hosts are keen on not being wasteful, says TheKnot editor Anja Winikka.

To be sure, it can be stylish to be “eco-chic”, says blogger Anne Chertoff, who writes for WeddingWire, an online platform for vendors. A bride could give her gown to a charity, or favor a caterer that will donate unused food.

Some green choices can be gentler on the wallet.

“For my wedding we used locally grown organic dahlias and hydrangea and saved almost $1,500,” says Kate Harrison, founder of the Green Bride Guide.

Couples can halve their flower budget, and keep a lid on their carbon footprint, if they avoid having exotic flora shipped in from tropical locations, says TheKnot’s Winikka. Moving flowers from the ceremony to the reception area can trim some costs, while enjoyment of the blooms may be prolonged by having guests take them home afterwards.

Green to the extreme For radical savings, couples can emulate Lane Bigsby, who in October, opened a low-cost rental service for vintage wedding props, Something Borrowed Portland. instead of “something borrowed, something blue,” Bigsby’s maxim for her wedding last August was a green one; everything had to be borrowed, used or homemade, then reused or recycled after the event.

She spent $3,000 on 100 guests, in a year when the average wedding cost $27,021, according to TheKnot survey. A neighborhood seamstress created her dress with a frilly skirt of old curtains. Sheets were cut into napkins, and burlap bags from the local coffee roaster redeployed as table runners. Guests brought entrees and took home leftovers. the goal? Zero waste.

“We had one small grocery bag of garbage, and I took it home and sorted through to save things and compost the rest,” says Bigsby, 36, who works as a project administrator at an energy efficiency consulting company.

Here are some tips for couples who’d like their big day to be eco and budget conscious:

Recycle dresses Alter a dress that’s already in the family — his or hers. or buy a used gown for a third of its retail price, according to Harrison. Check out RecycledBride.com, which also offers items like shoes and rings.

Sell the dress after the wedding to recoup some costs or donate it to a thrift shop serving a favorite cause. the Bridal Garden in New York City gives all proceeds to benefit education for local children. The Glass Slipper Project and donatemydress.org give bridesmaid gowns to high school students who can’t afford prom dresses.

Car pool, and location pool Skip the parade of honking cars and hold the reception and ceremony in the same location. Arrange car pooling.

Web invites Invitations made from recycled paper and soy ink are fine, but perhaps consider a web invite, or use free wedding websites to provide directions and hotel information. Guests can RSVP online.

Green gifts create a green registry. ask only for essential gifts or have guests contribute to a charity.

The ring consider a vintage ring. or buy wedding rings made with post-consumer gold and man-made diamonds.

Green, in moderation Not every green wedding idea is smart. Bigsby — certified in Portland as a “Master Recycler” to educate the public about environmental issues — recommends against compostable dishes; these apparently don’t compost in a landfill or in home composts, which don’t get hot enough.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

MANY parents decided to spend the first day of the recent school holidays crafting with their children at the Craft with ParenThots event held at Tropicana City Mall in Petaling Jaya.

Although the event only started at 11am, people began queuing up an hour earlier to secure a good spot and receive the goodie bags given out at each of the three craft sessions.

Parents were eager to spend some quality time with their children amid glue, paper, felt cloth, buttons and various other crafting materials.

This year, the crafting activities were held at specific time intervals instead of simultaneously as it was at last year

Bitter dissents are diminishing the U.S. Supreme Court’s moral standing and contributing to cynicism about the judicial system, according to a retired new Hampshire Supreme Court justice.

In an opinion column for the Boston Globe, retired justice Joseph Nadeau proposes a solution: Ditch dissenting opinions.

“by eliminating dissenting opinions, which are sometimes longer than the majority opinion, the justices could focus more on crafting one clear opinion than on framing contentious responses,” Nadeau writes. “any loss of egocentric exposition or subjective satisfaction caused by ending separate opinions would be more than compensated for by the added force, weight, and dignity unified Supreme Court decisions could command. The focus would be upon the rule of law, not upon judicial personalities.”

Nadeau recognizes some “notable dissents” over the years and acknowledges the argument that dissents contribute to the development of the law. but the good is outweighed by “the price extracted by fractured opinions,” he says.

Hat tip to How Appealing.

Pac-Man can retire, demand a rematch or move on to Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Retirement is the best option. Pac-Man probably wants another shot at besting Timothy Bradley on the scorecards, but there's no reason he needs to indulge that idea.
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Bleacher Report

By Dan Swanson the Nebraska City School Board introduced a board policy June 11 aimed at preventing dating violence on school grounds or during school-sponsored activities. the policy defines dating violence as a pattern of abusive behavior or threats …
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For the past two weeks, accomplished opera singers from new York City, Boston and all over the country have been arriving in Logan, Utah, for the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre’s 20th season. Many of them are return guests who have sung with the Utah Festival Opera before. This week, Cache Magazine interviewed three principal singers from this year’s season to find out why, when the rest of the year they’re busy singing with the Metropolitan Opera, teaching music at the new England conservatory or singing at Carnegie Hall, they love coming to perform in Logan year after year.

“This is my extended family,” said mezzo soprano Vanessa Schukis, who marks her 11th season with the Utah Festival Opera Company this year. “I have just very personal relationships with the returning summer citizens, as well as families in Logan.”

Schukis continued: “It’s just sort of what this place is about, an ennobling experience. when you come here you leave here a better person.”

For baritone Kyle Pfortmiller, who has been singing with the Metropolitan Opera for two years and with the Utah Festival Opera going on four seasons, the Utah Festival Opera’s appeal is all about the quality of the productions.

“How I keep coming back is that Michael (Ballam) makes offers that can’t say no to,” Pfortmiller said. “I can’t do the shows that he offers me anywhere else with the same kind of orchestra and the same kind of people, same kind of colleagues, it’s just impossible.”

Pfortmiller said where musical theaters everywhere are downsizing, substituting a full orchestra with fewer musicians and synthesized parts, the Utah Festival Opera performs its classic operas and musicals how the composer originally intended: with a full, live orchestra.

Because of that quality of production, the competition to sing with the Utah Festival Opera Company is stiff, even for world-class singers. Soprano Jessica Medoff estimated that of the 1,000-plus singers that Utah Festival Opera director Michael Ballam hears at auditions every year, he is only able to hire about 70, many of which are returning guests.

Many singers audition multiple times before earning a much-coveted role at the Utah Festival Opera. Pfortmiller, for example, said he auditioned for Ballam four or five times before securing a role in the 2005 production of “Kismet.” For the Metropolitan Opera, he only had to audition once before he was hired there.

Pfortmiller said competition is high throughout the industry in general, and, as a professional opera singer, rejection is more the rule than the exception. he estimated a full-time singer could expect to be hired for only about 5 percent of the roles for which he or auditions.

Despite the odds, that doesn’t mean auditioning isn’t a pleasant experience, especially when it comes to Ballam, he said.

“I auditioned for Mr. Ballam, I think, four times,” said Medoff, who is singing Marguerite in “Faust” and Judy Garland in “A Tribute to Judy Garland” this year. “Every time he was as nice as could be, and so positive and encouraging to young singers. everybody in new York that I speak to just always remarks at what a great audition that was with Mr. Ballam – and then he gave me candy. and then, eventually, he’ll give you a job.”

Medoff said Ballam has an uncanny ability to remember people, and to match roles to people’s specific talents.

“I sang for (Ballam) four times before he cast me, and I actually appreciate the care he took with the way he cast me,” Medoff said. “It’s just a really good place to grow, to feel comfortable, it’s my first time singing the role (of Marguerite), and I know that this is a very nurturing environment in which to do it.”

That was one thing each of the singers reiterated: the nurturing, friendly, fun environment at the Utah Festival Opera Company, and in Logan during the summer.

“Last summer, I made so many wonderful friends in the festival because Dr. Ballam is really good at choosing good colleagues, and humble, down-to-earth, fun people,” Medoff said. “I think he has a really good sense for finding good people, with a good spirit, and that makes the summer a lot more fun.”

Medoff said it doesn’t hurt that all of the guest artists get to live in the same apartment complex, which is owned by the opera company. Performers are welcome to bring their children, husbands, wives and dogs with them – another aspect that makes a job with the Utah Festival Opera so appealing – and most everyone in the complex enjoys cooking together, going on hikes, going to the gym or just hanging out between shows and rehearsals.

“I know my colleagues, people that are in the same place in their careers as I am, all would be very, very honored to be hired here – for all of the reasons we’ve mentioned,” Medoff said. “It’s not just the quality of the shows, or just the choice of repertoire or the people, it’s just everything together. You’re always looking for a good experience – that you get paid for.”

Megan Cloherty, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – For anyone who has been on a diet, you know there are many tricks to sticking to it, including telling your friends that you’re dieting in the first place. a new app takes it a step further, broadcasting your late night cheating at the fridge to your social networks.

Virtual Fridge Lock is no joke. created by a Brazilian weight loss company called Meta Real to promote its diet program, the app works with a magnetic device attached to the dieter’s fridge door. It can sense when the door is opened and sends an alert to the app, which then publishes the moment on the dieter’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

And it’s not subtle. a large yellow box pops up in the newsfeed with a red arrow pointing to the dieter’s profile picture.

The message reads, “This person just raided the fridge.”

Those who see the post are encouraged to reply with comments that condemn the person for his late night indulgence.

Keep in mind, a dieter signs up for the program and really can’t forget his diet with a giant red magnet attached to the fridge.

Some who commented on the article in The Daily Mail say they’d get around the possibility of embarrassment by keeping their snacks outside the fridge.

Only those on Meta Real’s diet plan (only available in Portuguese) can download the app that works in conjunction with the weight loss program.

Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. all Rights Reserved.)

How To Identify a Legitimate Work At Home Opportunity

How does one identify the legitimate from the shady work from home opportunities? I have seen this question asked in many different places. there are a lot of people wishing to make a living and/or extra money online. the problem is that only 98% of the people who try actually succeed. the biggest reason that people fail is 1 because they give up and 2 the fear of getting caught up with a less then legitimate company or opportunity.

Most people that try to start a business online quit if they do not start making money right away. without some kind of crazy luck that just is not likely to happen. Building a business online is a lot of work! you are not likely to start seeing an income for at least 3 to 6 months, and in many cases more. Also many that try tend to loose money by signing up with companies that intentionally and/or unintentionally do not deliver on what was promised.

That being said the first thing you need is the right mindset before even beginning. Set realistic goals both short term and long term. Then do not let it worry you if things do not go exactly as planned, just keep working and building.

Now back to the original question. it is sadly true that there are many people online ready to take your money without offering anything of true value! Many try to sell you a program that they have not even been working with themselves and have no idea if it really works. They are just after their commission. on the other hand there are many legitimate programs offering work from home solutions that you truly can make money with some time and effort. Again this is where having the right mindset comes in and an understanding of how to choose wisely.

One way to avoid the not so legitimate opportunity is for you to become aware of the types of opportunities that are most commonly not what they claim, and to be able to recognize the difference between the good and the bad. the number one thing to do is trust your instincts. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I am sure you have heard this before, but I have found it to be a truth.

Do not fall for high pressure sales in which a person over the phone or on there website tells you that they are only accepting those who are serious about making a living online, and require that you sign up now before this opportunity is no longer offered. this is a less than honest tactic that many use. all they are interested in is getting into your pocket by instilling a sense of urgency for you to make a decision before you have time to think about it. what ever you do ALWAYS take the time to think!

Research the company online by typing there name in Google with review next to the company name and/or owners name. this technique is only one of many research strategies to use. there are some who write there own reviews thereby assuring that they have positive entries that may or may not be true. Read through as many as there are so you find the people who actually have experience with the company of interest. A really great place to start your research by joining Work from Home Forums. there are many people that have experience with many different opportunities.

Take the time to check with the Online BBB (Better Business Bureau). A newer company might not be listed yet which does not mean they are not legit. you should just spend a little more time researching the newer companies that you are interested in. A legitimate company will have contact information available on their websites. there should at least be an email address.

A legitimate company will offer adequate information as to who they are and what they offer before requiring that you sign up. another thing that the more legitimate companies are doing is offering FREE training courses and information giving you a better view of what they are about. you can also email them and test their customer service response. If they do not email you back but you are very interested, send one more email to assure it was received, then if you still do not get a response you should then move on.

Common opportunities that may not be legitimate:

Email/Chain Letters: you most likely have received this type of email and/or land mail letter requesting you to send x amount of money to the address given in the letter, stating that you will get your name added to the list and then an x number of people will send you a Dollar. these letter schemes are structured so that only the top names receive money and you receive zero!

Typing Work At Home: Though there are some opportunities that are legitimate, many are not. for example some will send you a disk and printed information for a fee. They then want you to type their ads, place them on the internet to sell their system to other people thus requesting you to be dishonest as well.

Craft Assembly offering $600 a week: you are instructed to call them; they will then send you a list of companies to call. Each company will then instruct you to send them $20 or $30 for a start up kit with them which is there primary goal.

Other common questionable opportunities include: Newspaper clip assembly, Stuffing Envelopes, and Pyramid Schemes.

So how does one Identify the Legitimate Work from Home Opportunity? you will hear many say that if you are required to pay a fee to get started then the opportunity is not legit. this is true if the opportunity is a more main stream job such as a Medical Billing, some Data Entry, and proof reading Positions. To be on the safe side you should confirm this type of online opportunity as well.

There are many services and information that is completely FREE. Understand though that there are few to zero real business opportunities off or online that do not require start-up costs. However there are many online opportunities that are only a fraction of the cost of an offline business. you can not beat it! just be sure to research each opportunity, avoid high pressure sales tactics, and choose wisely.

Check with the BBB. Check that there is content information somewhere on their website. Google the company name and/or owner with review next to the name. See what other people that have been or still are working with them. Join work from home or online business forums and ask people there that are already making money online and have had experience with many different Online Opportunities. Email the company(s) you are interested in and ask questions. Last but not least, ALWAYS remember to trust your instincts!

About the Author

Find out more about legitimate work at home at The Work from Home Forum.