Practise Healthy Breathing

The Right Breath
You already know how to breathe, right? You do it every moment, every day, without even thinking about. Chances are, though, your breathing technique is not as healthy as you might think.

Most of us breathe too shallowly, too quickly. Our lungs and heart would greatly prefer longer, slower, deeper breaths. This is true for general health, and it is also true for managing stress. Deep breathing helps dissipate the fight-or-flight reaction so many of us experience when we're stressed. It sends a signal to your brain to slow down, which results in hormonal and physiological changes that slow heart rate and lower blood pressure.

You might be surprised that there are lots of big books written on breathing method. That's because proper breathing technique is crucial for everyone from athletes to people with asthma to yoga experts. But for us regular folk, there are only a few things you need to keep in mind:

• In general, inhale slowly and deeply through the nose. A healthy inhale takes about five seconds.


• In general, exhale slowly through the mouth. Empty your lungs completely. Good breathers focus more on thorough exhalation than on inhalation.


• Engage your diaphragm for good breathing. The diaphragm is the sheet of muscle along the top of your abdomen that pulls your lungs down to draw in air, and then pushes your lungs up to expel carbon dioxide. With a good inhalation, your lungs puff up as your diaphragm drops. With a good exhale, your diaphragm rises. If you don't feel this muscle moving, deepen your breaths even more.


• Work toward breathing just six or eight deep breaths per minute. Most of us breathe more than 20 times a minute.

Proper breathing is particularly important during moments of great anxiety. At times like these, many people resort to chest breathing -- the type of big, desperate inhales and exhales that make you rapidly puff up and deflate your chest, says Michael Crabtree, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, and a licensed clinical psychologist.

To regain healthy breathing during periods of anxiety, he says, lie on the floor and place your hand on your chest. Using your hand as a gauge, try to reduce the amount of chest movement, while continuing to breathe normally. You don't want your chest to move; you want the other parts of your body to take over the breathing -- using your diaphragm instead of the big chest inhales and exhales. Do this for five minutes.

Be aware that chest breathing still has a purpose, but only in times of extreme emotional arousal or physical challenge. "Most Americans use chest breathing because of developing instincts from fight-or-flight conditions," he says. It is in those types of physically dangerous situations that it is still necessary -- not for everyday stress or anxiety. Proper breathing is particularly important during moments of great anxiety. At times like these, many people resort to chest breathing -- the type of big, desperate inhales and exhales that make you rapidly puff up and deflate your chest, says Michael Crabtree, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, and a licensed clinical psychologist.

To regain healthy breathing during periods of anxiety, he says, lie on the floor and place your hand on your chest. Using your hand as a gauge, try to reduce the amount of chest movement, while continuing to breathe normally. You don't want your chest to move; you want the other parts of your body to take over the breathing -- using your diaphragm instead of the big chest inhales and exhales. Do this for five minutes.

Be aware that chest breathing still has a purpose, but only in times of extreme emotional arousal or physical challenge. "Most Americans use chest breathing because of developing instincts from fight-or-flight conditions," he says. It is in those types of physically dangerous situations that it is still necessary -- not for everyday stress or anxiety.

Ten Easy Ways to Green Living

It all seems so daunting.

Climate change. Carbon credits. Biofuels, hydrogen power, and solar energy. The vocabulary of a new century. There's a lot to learn.

The news is full of disturbing reports about global warming, threatened species, and the gradual realization that the way we live -- particularly in the developed nations -- will have to change if we want to enjoy a clean and sustainable future.

But there's no reason to feel overwhelmed. Every journey begins with a single step. At Lighter Footstep, we've rounded-up the ten easiest ways for you to start moving toward a lighter lifestyle. Some cost nothing at all. Others provide a lot bang for your eco-dollar. In every case, these ideas will save you money, cut energy use, and help balance your household's greenhouse gas budget -- the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere to produce goods or electrical power.

So pick a few, and give them a try. Before long, you'll establish the habits we all need to develop as we face the challenges of a resource-hungry planet.

Make the switch to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). Just a few years ago, CFLs were bulky, expensive, and hard to find. Thanks to environmental commitments by companies such as Wal-Mart, CFLs are now readily available at about $2.00 each. That's more expensive at purchase than incandescent bulbs, but lumen for lumen (the unit by which a light bulb's brightness is measured), CLFs use much less power. They also last up to ten times longer than regular bulbs. That means that the average CFL bulb will save $30 in energy costs over the course of its life. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every American household were to swap just one bulb to CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.

Monitor your thermostat. Small changes make a big difference over time. Make a note of where you normally keep your thermostat. Once you've got an idea where it is usually set in the summer and winter, make the Two Degree Pledge: up two degrees in the warmer months, and down two degrees when it's cold. Check Lighter Footstep for energy-efficient ways to stay comfortable through the seasons and save up to $100 a year on your power bill. That's equivalent to one ton of greenhouse gases which would have been produced by the energy you saved.

Clean or replace your air conditioning filter. Depending on where you live, air conditioning filters can get dirty in a matter of days. An air conditioner with a clogged filter has to work harder, which means higher power bills and the creation of more greenhouse emissions. Running clean, you can save up to $150 each year. You'll also enjoy the benefit of fewer allergy causing particles in the air, and a more comfortable home or office.

Unplug idle appliances and electronic devices. Just because that cellphone charger doesn't have a phone attached to it doesn't mean it's not drawing energy. Devices such as televisions with standby modes can use up to half the power they would draw when turned on. Don't just turn something off: unplug it. The average household can save up to several hundred dollars a year just by pulling the plug on silent energy vampires.

Buy a low-flow shower head with a shutoff valve. In most homes, you can replace an old-style shower head with a modern unit in about fifteen minutes. You'll reap two-pronged savings, both in water and the energy you'd have used to heat it. You're also saving your community the power it would have used to treat the wastewater. The benefits can be pretty impressive, since water heaters account for about 25-percent of home energy use. Put several hundred dollars back into your budget each year and keep water use to a minimum.

Drive smarter. In real world testing of common fuel-saving tips, the Edmund Automotive Network found some surprises. First, it's a good thing to keep tires properly inflated, and this is a commonly recommended strategy for saving gas. But Edmund found others which make a more noticeable difference. Use your cruise control on the highway for up to a 15-percent improvement in mileage. Driving less aggressively is the single most effective way to save gasoline: accelerate out of lights more gently, avoid rapid braking, and only drive as fast as you must. And turn off your engine rather than idling excessively. If your car starts reliably, consider shutting it down at long lights. Skip the drive-through window, park, and walk your business inside whenever possible.

Get an annual tune-up for your car. At $200 to $300, a full engine tune-up sounds like a pricey way to save fuel and money. In practice, it's a good investment. A faulty oxygen sensor, for instance, can penalize your car up to 3 miles per gallon. Worn spark plugs and dirty air filters can cost you another 4 MPG. It all adds up -- fast. Set a fixed time each year to give your car the attention it needs. And check that fuel cap, while you're at it. A loose or poorly sealed cap will vent gasoline vapor, polluting the air and costing you up to 2 miles per gallon. Tighten up!

Dust-off that bike. Bicycles are the most efficient form of human transportation, and the only thing they burn is calories. Consider whether bike commuting might fit your lifestyle. Even if this isn't the case, bicycles are a healthy and environmentally friendly way to run those short errands. You'll need a helmet, a good lock, and proper lighting if you're out before dawn or after dusk. Start by resolving to use your bicycle instead of a car just once a week, a build from there. Watch Lighter Footstep for articles on choosing an appropriate commuter bike and outfitting for comfort and safety.

Go meatless once a week. If you're not already practicing a vegetarian diet, consider cutting back on the amount of meat in you consume. As Frances Moore Lappé pointed out in her bestselling book, Diet for a Small Planet, livestock production absorbs sixteen pounds of grain and soy feed for every pound of meat that actually gets to the plate. Each calorie of animal protein requires 78 calories of fossil fuels to produce, and irrigation directly associated with livestock production (including feeds) amounts to about half of all the consumed water in the United States. Give meatless substitutes like Boca Burgers a try, or scan vegetarian recipes for healthy and earth-friendly meal ideas.

Buy local; buy in season. According to the non-profit group Sustainable Table, the typical carrot travels 1,838 miles before it ends up in your kitchen. That's a lot of food miles, and a tremendous amount of wasted fossil fuels and packaging. Buying regionally produced food is a keystone of sustainability: not only does it save the energy costs associated with shipping bulk produce, it keeps a portion of your grocery money close to where live. So locate your local farmer's market and add it to your weekly errands. You'll be supporting local growers while enjoying fresh, seasonal produce.

By the time you've a few of these steps, you'll probably be thinking of other actionable ways to present a lighter environmental footstep. And that's how meaningful change begins: consistent, incremental improvements to the way we manage our personal and community resources. Join with Lighter Footstep in fashioning a wiser and more sustainable future.

Your 7 days program to Stress management

"Have One Week, Will Relax"

They say there's more than one way to skin a cat. The same goes when you start tearing your hair out with all the frustration, grief, anxiety, and yes, stress. It's a state of mental conditioning that is like taking that bitter pill down your throat, causing you to lose your sense of self, and worse your sanity. Just thinking about it can drive anyone off the edge.

And they say that the proactive ones are already living off the edge.

As one stressed-out person to another, I know how it feels, and believe me there are many variants when it comes to stress. Coping with life, and carrying the problems that may or may not belong to you can scratch away the little joy and happiness that you can carry once you head out that door. You can't blame them for being like that; they have their own reasons, so much like we have our reasons to allow stress to weigh us down. They say that stress is all in the mind, well, what's bugging you anyway?

There are several ways to manage stress, and eventually remove it out of your life one of these days. So I'll try to divide it into a seven-day course for you and I promise it's not going to be too taxing on the body, as well as on the mind.

1. Acknowledge stress is good
Make stress your friend! Based on the body's natural "fight or flight" response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I've yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.

2. Avoid stress sneezers
Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected too!

Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you've got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage themselves.

3. Learn from the best
When people around are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?
Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.

4. Practice socially acceptable heavy breathing
This is something I've learned from a gym instructor: You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.

5. Give stressy thoughts the red light
It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. "If this happens, then that might happen and then we're all up the creek!" Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?

Give stress thought-trains the red light and stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go wrong - how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?

6. Know your trigger points and hot spots
Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines…. My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!

Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?

Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to decaf?

7. Burn the candle at one end
Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it's often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don't burn the candle at both ends!

So having stress can be a total drag, but that should not hinder us to find the inner peace of mind that we have wanted for a long time. In any case, one could always go to the Bahamas and bask under the summer sun.

10 Simple Tricks to help your brain

There are two basic principles to keep your brain healthy and sharp as you age: variety and curiosity. When anything you do becomes second nature, you need to make a change. If you can do the crossword puzzle in your sleep, it’s time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain. Curiosity about the world around you, how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast and efficiently. Use the ideas below to help attain your quest for mental fitness.

1. Read a Book

Pick a book on an entirely new subject. Read a novel set in Egypt. Learn about economics. There are many excellent popular non-fiction books that do a great job entertaining you while teaching about a subject. Become an expert in something new each week. Branch out from familiar reading topics. If you usually read history books, try a contemporary novel. Read foreign authors, the classics and random books. Not only will your brain get a workout by imagining different time periods, cultures and peoples, you will also have interesting stories to tell about your reading, what it makes you think of and the connections you draw between modem life and the words.

2. Play Games

Games are a wonderful way to tease and challenge your brain. Suduko, crosswords and electronic games can all improve your brain’s speed and memory. These games rely on logic, word skills, math and more. These games are also fun. You’ll get benefit more by doing these games a little bit every day-spend 15 minutes or so, not hours.

3. Use Your Opposite Hand

Spend the day doing things with your non-dominant hand. If you are left-handed, open doors with your right hand. If you are right-handed, try using your keys with your left. This simple task will cause your brain to lay down some new pathways and rethink daily tasks. Wear your watch on the opposite hand to remind you to switch.

4. Learn Phone Numbers

Our modem phones remember every number that calls them. No one memorizes phone numbers anymore, but it is a great memory Skill. Learn a new phone number everyday.

5. Eat for Your Brain

Your brain needs you to eat healthy fats. Focus on fish oils from wild salmon, nuts such as walnuts, seeds such as flax seed and olive oil. Eat more of these foods and less saturated fats. Eliminate transfats completely from your diet.

6. Break the Routine

We love our routines. We have hobbies and pastimes that we could do for hours on end. But the more something is second nature, the less our brains have to work to do it. To really help your brain stay young, challenge it. Change routes to the grocery store, use your opposite hand to open doors and eat dessert first. All this will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again.

7. Go a Different way

Drive or walk a different way to wherever you go. This little change in routine helps the brain practice special memory and directions. Try different side streets go through stores in a different order anything to change your route.

8. Learn a New Skill

Learning a new skill works multiple areas of the brain. Your memory comes into play, you learn new movements and you associate things differently. Reading Shakespeare, learning to cook and building an airplane out of tooth picks all will challenge your brain and give you something to think about.

9. Make Lists

Lists are wonderful. Making lists helps us to associate items with one another. Make a list of all the places you have traveled. Make a list of the tastiest foods you have eaten. Make a list of the best presents you have been given. Make one list every day to jog your memory and make new connections. But don’t become too reliant on them. Make your grocery list, but then try to shop without it. Use the list once you have put every item you can think of in your cart. Do the same with your “to do” lists.

10. Choose a new skill

Find something that captivates you that you can do easily in your home and doesn’t cost too much. Photography with a digital camera, learning to draw, learning a musical instrument learning new cooking styles, or writing are all great choices.

Original Source of the tip can be found here

Tips on Living and Eating Healthy

Here are a few tips to help you remain healthy, happy and vibrant.

1. Drink plenty of water. There are many reasons for drinking sufficient amounts of water every day. Adequate water intake prevents dehydration. It flushes out body impurities and toxins. Water is great for making your skin clearer, smoother and younger-looking. It is also good to try and avoid drinking soft drinks and other drinks loaded with sugar.

2. Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can cause hunger pangs and food cravings which can lead to overeating during the day. It can also result in a decrease in blood sugar levels. A good approach would be to eat 4-5 small meals during the day than 2-3 larger ones. It helps control your appetite and stabilize your blood sugar as well.

3. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. You have heard this saying plenty of times and it is true. It is recommended that a person eat at least five serves of fruits and vegetables every day. By increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables every day, you significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. They are also perfect substitutes for foods with added sugar that can lead to tooth decay- thus it keeps the doctor and dentist away.

4. Take deep breaths. By taking ten deep breaths daily you are increasing blood circulation around your body, improving your oxygen levels, reducing your stress levels and helping you to feel more relaxed.

5. Engage in physical activity and exercise. Regular exercise can help prevent diseases, reduce weight, improve self-esteem and decrease levels of stress. Exercising can include any activity from walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, playing sports or even practicing other forms of exercise such as yoga or pilates.

6. Maintain a healthy weight. Maintain a body weight that is just right for you. This can depend on a number of factors that should be taken into account such as age, height, gender and heredity. By being too thin, you increase your risk of menstrual irregularities, osteoporosis and other health-related problems. Excess body weight can lead to an increase in the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other illnesses. Keeping up with regular exercise can also help in maintaining your weight.

7. Use humor and laughter to stay healthy. There are so many benefits to laughing. It helps lower blood pressure, improves brain functioning and relaxes the body. Whether you watch a funny movie or spend time with humorous people, it elevates our mood and makes us feel good. On top of that, laughing is contagious. Laugh and the world laughs with you.

8. Exercise your brain. Exercising your body is great but don’t forget your brain too. Read a book or a magazine that you find interesting or work on a crossword puzzle or two. By doing that, you help stimulate your brain and it improves your memory.

Treatment Tips for Acne Sufferers

Get plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Not only will your skin appreciate the vitamin D, your body and mind will enjoy the oxygen and stress reducer of just being outside in the fresh air. Remember to use sun protection or tanning lotion if you're out for any period of time.

Even "good" stress can trigger internal chemical responses that result in acne, so plan ahead to deal with extra stress when planning a wedding, graduation, move, new job, job transfer, new baby, etc. Get help around the house, take time off, exercise have fun or whatever you need to do. But be proactive.

When you control stress, you help control the stress hormone cortisol - reducing its release as you reduce stress, reduces the effects of acne. Activity and exercise help improve blood flow
and circulation and are natural healing aids for your skin enabling improved waste management, via your skin pores.

Both blackheads and whiteheads are filled with trapped sebum and bacteria. So prevention and treatment advice for how to handle them is important.

Drink plenty of water daily. A recommendation is three to four tall glasses of mineral or filtered water. If you don't drink enough, it can lead to dehydration, which leads to dead skin cells not naturally falling off or sloughing properly. This results in blocked pores which ultimately turns into acne.

Acne has nothing to do with dirt, so don't over-wash or over-scrub your face or the rest of your body. Too much washing and scrubbing can result in dry skin. Dry skin means your skin creates more oil. which leads to extra dead skin cells and blocked pores which trigger acne flare-ups.

Add more fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts to your regular diet.
Add salads, dried fruit and nut snacks, juices and other healthy
treats to your daily diet plan

Decrease your intake of caffeine, sugar and refined carbohydrates. Some studies show caffeine can increases levels of stress hormones inside your body, provoking or worsening acne conditions.

Sugar and refined carbohydrates, such as that in white bread, rice, flour, pasta, etc., can result in an insulin surge, resulting in an excess of hormones stimulating the skin to discharge lots of sebum.

Decrease your dietary intake of red meat and dairy products. Since they are more difficult to digest, it's thought their acid-forming properties are linked to our bodies health. It's thought when the body puts effort into the digestion of high levels of animal protein, waste products are not completely processed as quickly as they should be, i.e. they shed slowly, blocking pores which causes acne.

Red meat and dairy products may contain high levels of hormones that may generate higher levels in humans thus causing acne.

Use natural products on your skin. Avoid unnecessary chemicals in skin/body products that may be harmful.

Use non-pore clogging or noncomedogenic products like make-ups and tanning lotions.
Look for any combination of these terms on labels: natural ingredients, antibacterial, antiseptic, anti fungal, anti parasitic, antiviral and / or antimicrobial agent.

Taking these basic steps can help you control your acne.

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