Whether we like it or not, we experience stress every now and then. As long as it involves money or work, it hits us. By the way, did you know that 33% of Americans are living with extreme stress? And almost 50% of Americans believe that their stress levels have increased over the past five years!

Whatever the statistics say, doesn’t matter. What matters is that we stop digging immediately the second we realize that we’re in a hole. And focus on what we’ve gotta do to move towards the light. Below are 8 simple habits that can be easily formed by anyone from any part of the world, whether you are from Bangkok or Washington DC.

Exercise.



source

This is by far the most effective natural way of improving your mood naturally. Nope, neither typing nor mouse clicking counts as exercising involves sweat. A workout at the gym or a brisk walk around the park nearest to your housing area helps you calm down. It stimulates various brain chemicals, which leaves you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you broke sweat. Other related mood improving benefits of exercise include managing your weight (as it boosts HDL cholesterol, lowers LDL-cholesterol, burns calories) and strengthening your entire cardiovascular system. The ‘happiest’ type of exercise is team participation sports like rugby, soccer, tennis doubles, basketball, hockey, etc. Personally, I enjoy regular badminton with friends every week.

Listen To Music.



source

Ever heard of music therapy? It’s a type of health care that helps you maintain your physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic and spiritual health. Research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm, meditative state. It keeps your mind positive and creative which will both lead to many other positively creative benefits. You know, you may also stumble upon an inspirational lyric that may be about what you are going through =)

Here’s a whole list of happy, groovy songs to fill your iPod with.

Socialize.



source

Sharing multiplies the joys and divides the sorrows. As we age, friends and family truly can be lifesavers. The friend who brings the chicken soup makes as much difference in feeling better faster as the soup itself. With technology like video conferencing and social networks, people between thousands of miles of each other can continue staying in touch and even make new friends. Good friends can help each other feel good by providing support, involvement and encouragement. Sorting things out together take bits of strain off from you. Human beings are social beings. Satisfying the need to feel ‘connected’ feels good.

Sleep Right.



source

Sleep is a natural restorative cycle that allows the body to rest and properly rejuvenate, restore and regenerate itself, so that it can continue to function appropriately. It is so important that if a human being is totally deprived of sleep for an extended period of time, he/she will actually die. A good night’s sleep lowers blood pressure and the elevated levels of stress hormones, both of which are natural results of today’s fast paced lifestyle. Too much stress causes excess ‘wear and tear’ on the body, and increases the aging and degeneration of organs, cells and other body parts. So get your sleep right, reverse the negative effects and encourage a mental state of relaxation.

Eat Right.



source

Throw away that Prozac. Eating right, besides exercising, is one of the 2 keys to a long disease free life. It is important to eat a healthy diet that has lots of fruits, leafy greens and fatty fish(tuna, salmon, etc) in it. Leafy greens especially, are abundant in folic acid, a type of vitamin that low mood people seem to lack. If possible, eat home cooked. It’s better than eating out. It usually contains more fruits, vegetables, and dairy products along with additional nutrients such as fiber, calcium, vitamins A, vitamin C and folate. Home cooked meals are usually not highly salted, plus soda and sweetened beverage consumption is lower at the dinner table. Saves money too.

Have Sex.



source

It certainly does improve your mood but the length of the improvement depends on the depth of the connection and intimacy you have with your partner. Oxytocin, a neurotransmitter for the brain secreted from the pituitary gland, affects social recognition, bonding, anxiety and trust behaviours. Oxytocin and endorphins are two major hormones released through orgasm and their effects normally last minutes or hours. If there is a connection and love with the partner, the afterglow of the sexual connection and mood lift can last a long time. Along the way, you will reap the benefit of having your blood oxygenated and body relaxed by the deep breathing.

Shopping (Mindfully).



source

It’s actually good for your mental and physical health. It releases mood-lifting endorphins, boosts your immune system, keeps your brain nimble, and even fulfills basic social needs. The experience is linked to a heightened sense of happiness. It may not be as tiring as exercising or as provocative and interesting as sex, but as long as you love it, it gives you the same kind of high by releasing a flood of endorphins. Dopamine, increased during pleasurable moments during sex, rises sharply even when you’re merely window shopping. Shopping makes you become more mentally engaged, psychically active and socially involved, all of which keeps your brain sharp into your olden days. Whatever the case, be mindful so as to keep your bank account healthy at the same time.

Participate In Arty, Crafty, Endeavors.



source

Activities of the creative nature has a substantial value in improving moods, relaxing oneself and raising energy levels as well. Whether it is photography, knitting, blogging, playing music or dancing, the effect is definitely positive. Some even have a social aspect to it. For some creative ones, going too long without blogging or taking/editing photographs has a negative impact on their habitual lives.

Massaging is the art of applying structured or unstructured pressure, tension and motion to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints, lymphatic vessels and organs of the gastrointestinal system to achieve a response. A beneficial response. It is usually done by massage therapists and health care practitioners.

According to the AMTA, Americans spend from $2 billion to $4 billion per year on massage therapy. The surest benefit is the relaxation of both body, mind and soul. Below are the 26 benefits of a massage but take it with a grain of salt.

For The Body

• Relieve stress and aid relaxation
• Relieve muscle tension and stiffness
• Alleviates discomfort during pregnancy
• Fosters faster healing of strained muscles and sprained ligaments; reduces pain and swelling; reduces formation of excessive scar tissue
• Reduces muscle spasms
• Provides greater joint flexibility and range of motion
• Enhances athletic performance; Treats injuries caused during sport or work
• Promotes deeper and easier breathing
• Improves circulation of blood and movement of lymph fluids
• Reduces blood pressure
• Helps relieve tension-related headaches and effects of eye-strain
• Enhances the health and nourishment of skin
• Improves posture
• Strengthens the immune system
• Treats musculoskeletal problems
• Rehabilitation post operative
• Rehabilitation after injury

For The Mind

• Peace of mind
• A more relaxed state of mental alertness
• Helps relieve mental stress
• Increases alertness towards stress signals and the ability to respond accordingly
• Promotes calm thinking and creativity

For The Soul

• Satisfies needs for caring nurturing touch
• Fosters a feeling of well-being
• Reduces anxiety levels
• Increases the state of awareness between the mind and the body

Did you know that I have 2 other blogs by the name of ‘because you value your mind’ and ‘because you value your soul’?

=)

American Massage Therapy Association
Your source of information about massages

America’s leading drugstore in sales, earnings, growth, same-store sales increases, prescription drug market share and prescription sales per store. Not only that, Walgreens has been kind and caring towards ’special’ people. It’s really admirable of Walgreens. Watch the video.

Fortune : Global Most Admired Companies 2006
No.1 most admired food and drugstore company

Learn how to release tension and feel at ease all day just by changing the way you breathe. Yoga master Rodney Yee will show us how we can open our chest and breathe more deeply and easily in 3 simple breathing poses.

1. The alcohol content of a common bottle of beer, glass of wine, and mixed drink are equal.
2. People who drink in moderation tend to be healthier and live longer than those who either abstain or abuse alcohol. Moderation means less than 0.01% of blood / breath alcohol concentration.
3. I’m 65kg and anything more than 3 pints of beer in an hour, 3 margaritas in an hour, or 3 dry martinis in an hour will make me convictable of driving under the influence.
4. Here’s a tip if you’ll be driving after drinking. Know that the alcohol’s effect can be limited by not drinking more than 1 drink each hour.
5. Moderate consumption of alcohol does not appear to contribute to weight gain.
6. Distilled spirits like ginger wine, vodka, absinthe, whiskey, brandy, rum, tequila and gin contain no carbohydrates, no fats of any kind, and no cholesterol. However, alcohol content is 35%.
7. Over half of the hospitals in the largest 65 Metropolitan areas in the U. S. have reported that they offer alcohol beverage service to their patients.
8. Alcohol does not destroy brain cells. In fact, the moderate consumption of alcohol is often associated with improved cognitive functioning.
9. High protein foods help slow the absorption of alcohol into the body. They include cheese, peanut butter, peanuts or any kind of red meat.
10. Choosing not to continue drinking anymore may be a bit hard at a gathering. However, you can choose a number of beverages that look like alcoholic drinks. They include tomato juice, lemonade, iced tea, water and ice cubes, club soda with orange juice, tonic water with a twist or wedge of lime, and either orange juice or 7-Up with grenadine. Let’s toast!
11. The alcohol in drinks of alcohol content less than 15% or more than 30% tend to be absorbed into the body more slowly.
12. Restaurants and bars often provide free non-alcoholic beverages to designated drivers, like fresh lime + water.
13. Designated driver and similar programs have contributed to a decrease in drunk driving fatalities of about one-fourth over a period of 10 years.
14. I’ve conveniently incorporated the cool Alcohol Wheel at the end of the article to help readers estimate their limits when they should stop.
15. Almost 2.5 times more teenagers in the US were current consumers of alcohol in 1979 than in 1997 (50 % vs. 21 %)
16. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BAFT) refuses to let alcohol producers distribute scientific medical information or evidence on health benefits associated with moderate alcohol consumption.
17. Alcohol abstinence leads to increase risk of heart diseases. Simply put, not drinking any alcohol increases a person’s chances of suffering heart diseases.
18. Many of the health benefits of alcohol consumption are lost if it is not consumed on a regular basis.
19. Beverage alcohol contains NO fat or cholesterol of any kind. However, it is packed with calories.
20. Hangover in other languages.
    • The French call it ‘wood mouth’
    • Germans refer to it as ‘wailing of the cats’
    • Italians call it ‘out of tune’
    • Malaysians call it ‘lo’
    • Norwegians identify it as ‘carpenters in the head’
    • Spaniards call it ‘backlash’
    • Swedes refer to it as ‘pain in the hair roots’
21. Funny anti-hangover methods
    • Ancient Greeks ate cabbages
    • Ancient Romans ate fried canaries.
    • Some present day Germans eat a breakfast of red meat and bananas.
    • Some French drink strong coffee with salt.
    • Some Chinese drink spinach tea.
    • Some Puerto Ricans rub half a lemon under their drinking arm.
    • Some Haitians stick 13 black-headed needles into the cork of the bottle from which they drank
    • Some Russians drink vodka in an effort to cure hangovers.

    None of the above ‘cures’ is effective!

22. A mixed drink containing carbonated beverage is absorbed into the body more quickly than straight shots.
23. Nearly a dozen states with a .08 BAC level have proposed reducing this level to .06 or lower. Washington State has actually had legislation proposed to make even .02 illegal. This level is exceeded by consuming less than one drink or by simply using mouthwash. Since half of all intoxicated drivers involved in fatal accidents have a BAC of .17 (nearly nine times higher than .02) or greater, is the real interest here in stopping drunk driving accidents or in stopping all drinking?
24. It is never safe or wise to drink heavily, although it is not nearly so very dangerous as usually portrayed in the media. For example, based on data from the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs, for a student who “binges,” (which they define as consuming four to five or more drinks on an occasion), the chance of a fatality is about one in 8,666,667 so-called ‘binges’. Furthermore, fatalities are disproportionately found among those who have consumed over 20 drinks in less than two hours.
25. In the United States Pharmacopoeia, alcohol is listed as medicinal.
26. In medical research literature, long term heavy drinking mothers will result in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
27. Beginning to drink early in life does not necessarily lead to problems later in life.
28. The original purpose of mint juleps appears to have been medicinal.
29. All 13 minerals necessary for human life can be found in alcohol beverages.
30. The drinking of ‘healths’ is a custom found around the world

The Drink Wheel

Disclaimer

Alcohol Problems And Solutions
Healthy and safety fun facts

1. Nicotine addiction has been one of the hardest addictions to break. You can, check out how you can quit smoking in 11 steps.
2. Insignificant amounts of nicotine is also found in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and leaves of cocoa plants other than tobacco.
3. Like caffeine, nicotine is toxic to certain insects and was used as an insecticide.
4. Nicotine burns at a temperature below it’s boiling point, which happens continuously as a cigarette is smoked.
5. It takes only 7 seconds for nicotine to hit the brain when inhaled.
6. The pleasure feeling generated by nicotine is similar to that caused by cocaine and heroin, thus causing the addiction associated with the need to sustain high dopamine levels. Smoking has been reported to make you feel relax, calm, and alert.
7. Even concentration and memory are increased, but all nicotine effects will only last from anywhere between 5 minutes to 2 hours. To sustain pleasant the effects, a smoker would have to puff an average of 20 cigarettes in 24 hours.
8. Quick puffs by smokers produces a stimulating effect, whereas deep puffs produces a relaxing effect. This is because quick puffs produce low blood nicotine levels, whereas deep puffs depresses the passage of nerve impulses, producing a mild sedative effect.
9. Nicotine reduces appetite and raises metabolism, a possibility for weight loss.
10. 50mg of nicotine is the average lethal dosage to kill a human being. Very, extremely lethal compared to common street drugs like cocaine. A cigarette contains an average of 1.5mg of nicotine.
11. Know that nicotine on its own does not promote development of cancer. However, nicotine suppresses apoptosis, an automatic process by the body to remove mutated or damaged cells that may become cancerous. This leads to encourage cancer cells to develop.
12. Nicotine exposure could cause the netopathological changes experienced by infants dying from Sudden Death Infant Syndrome.
13. 82% of schizophrenias smoke, due to the desire to self medicate, seeking the short term effects of nicotine.
14. The only medicinal use of nicotine is to treat nicotine dependent people through gums, dermal patches, lozenges or nasal sprays.
15. Many research has been carried out on the risk lowering affects of nicotine towards Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease happens when dopamine in the brain is less than acetylcholine. Nicotine decreases acetylcholine levels.

Nicotine
Everything there is to know about nicotine

1. Caffeine is a stimulant that temporarily wards off drowsiness and restore alertness. It is found commonly in the leaves and beans of :
• coffee plants
• tea
• yerba mate
• guarana berries
• kola nut
• cocoa (smaller quantities)
2. Over 60 plants use caffeine as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kill insects.
3. Caffeine is the world’s most widely consumed legal, unregulated drug (psychoactive substance) estimated at 120,000 tons per year. 90% of North American adults consume caffeine daily.
4. Dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean’s caffeine content.
5. The color of tea cannot be used to indicate caffeine content.
6. Arabica coffee normally contains less caffeine than coffee originating from Western Africa. Arabica coffee plants are less bitter but more susceptible to disease.
7. Caffeine is COMPLETELY absorbed by the stomach and small intestine within 45 minutes of ingestion.
8. A cup of tea contains half the amount of caffeine of an average cup of coffee.
9. Caffeine in chocolate is insignificant to the point where a 28-gram serving of milk chocolate bar has as much caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee.
10. A study found out that 5.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body mass resulted in subjects cycling 29% longer during high intensity circuits.
11. Animals like dogs, horses and parrots are unable to metabolize the compound thus caffeine is toxic to them.
12. 80% to 90% of American adults consume caffeine daily, and their mean daily caffeine intake exceeds 200 mg/day which means that a large fraction of the U.S. adult population is completely tolerant to most of the effects of caffeine.
13. A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate, diminished motivation to complete daily tasks and even mild depression.
14. Other side effects include dizziness, tachycardia, blurred vision, drowsiness, dry mouth, flushed dry skin, diuresis, loss of appetite, nausea and stomachaches.
15. Caffeine intoxication happens at 3-4 cups of brewed coffee.
16. Caffeine intensifies and prolongs the effects of epinephrine-like drugs such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, or methylphenidate.
17. A small dose of caffeine taken with pain killers increase the effectiveness of relieving headaches and body absorption levels by 40%.
18. Drinking 100 cups of coffee in a streak is another method of committing suicide.
19. Extreme overdose starts at 2 grams of caffeine.
20. According to British Journal of Addiction, caffeine addiction troubles 1 in every 10 of the population.
21. Caffeine reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in men.
22. Caffeine improves short term memory only when the information to be recalled is related to the current line of thought.
23. Caffeine prevents dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from damaging hair follicles.
24. Caffeine increases sperm movement.
25. Caffeine significantly reduces the risk of heart diseases of non-high blood pressure patients.
26. Caffeine causes excess release of stomach acids during ingestion. Valuable during buffets.
27. Smoking can shorten caffeine’s half-life (time required to decay to half its initial value).
28. Give a spider caffeine and and you will notice the speed of it’s web construction.

Caffeine
The commonly used human stimulant

Substance abuse is prevalent in today’s society. This is an alarming problem because of increased abuse over the years, supported by the ready availability of drug related products. The issue is widespread throughout society, especially among students beginning from as early as 8th grade. Below are 13 of the most commonly abused substance in today’s society.

Ecstacy



Also Known As : MDMA, E, pills, brownies, XTC.

Ecstacy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. In 2005, 11.5 million Americans aged 12 or older tried MDMA at least once in their lifetimes, representing 4.7% of the U.S. population in that age group.

Rohypnol



Also Known As : rophy, rufflels, roofies, ruffies, ruff up, rib, roach 2, R2, R2-Do-U, roche, rope, ropies, circles, circes, forget it, forget-me-pill, Baptist Communion, and Mexican Valium.

Rohypnol is a type of sedative that is tasteless and odorless. Used a lot in sexual attacks due to its sedating and intoxicating effect. Although it is usually taken orally, recent reports have shown Rohypnol being grinded to powder form to snort.

GHB



Also Known As : Gina, Georgia Home Boy, Soap, G, GB, GBH, Juice, Fantasy, Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, Gamma-OH, cherry meth and Jungle Juice.

Like Rohypnol, GHB is odorless and looks a lot like water when in liquid form. It is white when in powder form, and is often mixed into alcohol. Other than being used as a sexual attacking weapon, bodybuilders also take it for the anabolic effects.

Ketamine



Also Known As : special K, ket, K, green, super C, vitamin K, super acid, special la coke, baby food, God, jet, honey oil, gas

Actually, it started out as a tranquilizer for animals. Ketamine only became popular in the 1980s when it was found out that large doses induce dream like states and hallucinations. The liquid and powdered form of ketamine can be drunk, smoked or dissolved for injections.

Cocaine



Also Known As : coke, flake, snow, dust, happy dust, gold dust, heaven dust, girl, cecil, lorine, C, toot, blow

Cocaine was pretty useful back in the 1880s. It was used as an anesthetic to constrict blood vessels and limit bleeding. Cocaine is the most potent stimulant of natural origin that can be snorted, smoked or injected.

Crack Cocaine



Also Known As : charlie, freebase, rock

Crack is actually cocaine that has not been neutralized by acid to make hydrochlorida salt. Crack has an immediate high effect and is cheap to produce. The name crack comes from the crackling sound when it is heated.

LSD



Also Known As : acid, trips, alice dee, blotter, doses, liquid A, lucy, microdots, sunshine, twenty-five, windowpane

LSD is one of the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class of drugs. It was discovered in 1938 and is manufactured from lysergic acid, which is found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and other grains.

PCP



Also Known As : angel dust, dust, sherm, super weed, killer weed, PCP, elephant, embalming fluid, hog, PCE, rocket fuel, TCP.

Taking PCP makes you agitated, delusional and irrational. It was developed in the 1950s as an anesthetic but discontinued in 1965. In powdered form, it is crystal white in colour and is soluble. Because of it’s bitter chemical taste, PCP is usually applied to leafy materials like mint, parsley, oregano or marijuana.

Heroin



Also Known As : gear, diesel, smack, B, skag, Bobby, black tar, horse, junk, jack, jenny, brown, brown sugar, dark, dope, dragon, bitch, gak, boy, hammer, girl, ron, ice cube, and H.

A very addictive drug made from substance extracted from the seed pod of several types of poppy plants. Pure heroin is white, though there are other colours which displays the impurities left from manufacturing or other additives.

Inhalant



Also Known As : poppers, snappers, bolt, bullet, climax, locker room, rush, buzz bombs, whippets

Inhalants are known for their psychoactive, mind altering effect. Some examples of inhalants include

• thinners
• paint removers
• dry cleaning fluids
• gasoline
• felt tip marker fluids
• spray paint
• deodorant
• hair spray
• butane lighters
• propane thanks
• whipped cream dispensers
• refrigerants

Marijuana



Also Known As : weed, pot, reefer, grass, dope, ganja, Mary Jane, sinsemilla, hash, herb, Aunt Mary, skunk, boom, kif, gangster, chronic, blunt.

Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant. Other forms of cannabis include sinsemilla, hashish, and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive) drugs. Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint) or in a pipe or bong. Marijuana has also appeared in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, sometimes in combination with another drug, such as crack. It can also be mixed into foods or used to brew a tea.

Methamphetamine



Also Known As : meth, crank, crystal, crystal meth, ice, speed, c.r., go, go fast, geek, gack, geet, glass, red rock, tweak, amp, prope dope, p2p, poor man’s coke, pink glass, chalk, zip

Know that methamphetamine has some medical uses for the treatment of nacrolepsy, ADD and obesity due to it’s effects of increased activity and decreased appetite.

Steroids



Also Known As : juice, roids, gym candy, pumpers, stackers, balls or bulls, weight trainers, arnies, a’s or anabolics

Anabolic steroids were once developed in the late 1930s primarily to treat a condition where the testes do not produce sufficient testosterone for normal growth, development, and sexual functioning. The primary medical uses of these compounds are to treat delayed puberty, some types of impotence, and wasting of the body caused by HIV infection or other diseases. During the 1930s, scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could facilitate the growth of skeletal muscle in laboratory animals. This led to abuse of these compounds by bodybuilders and weightlifters and then by athletes in other sports.

‘Pyramid-ing’ is a common method of steroid use. Users slowly escalate steroid use, increasing the number of drugs used at one time and/or the dose and frequency of one or more steroids, reaching a peak amount at mid-cycle and gradually lessening the dose toward the end of the cycle.

White House Drug Policy
Office of national drug control policy

No. Only sleeping too much or too little affects the health. People who enjoy lingering between the sheets will feel overly tired. People who admitted to spending 12 hours or more in bed were one-and-a-half times more likely to die slightly younger than those people who limited themselves to nine hours shut eye. Actually the main idea is to sleep whenever you like and wake up whenever you like. People usually sleep early because of commitments during the day. For example, school and work.

However, I do feel that skipping breakfast is bad. Know that it is the most important meal of the day because it kick starts the body’s metabolism which helps to burn the calories from food that is taken later on. The ability to concentrate may also be affected. Carbohydrate from cereals and bread are a good source of slow release carbs that helps cognitively. Even my fitness instructor told me to prioritize breakfast, regardless of the amount.

If you live in hotter countries like South America, Africa or South Asia, you will need the afternoon sleep. I usually take a 30 minute power nap before 3pm that keeps me going throughout the day. Sometimes when I sleep late, I’ll wake up at around 12pm. The feeling of sleepiness only comes when it hits 6pm, which is a bad time to sleep. I’ll usually be at the gym or swimming pool at that time, and to feel sleepy isn’t gonna help. Although I can make myself a cup of coffee, I won’t be able to sleep before midnight.

Conclusion is, get enough sleep. Adults need 8 hours, adolescents need 10 hours and my grandma needs only 6.

The best time to perform yoga is in the morning before breakfast and an hour in the evening before dinner.

Mountain Pose



This is usually the starting position for all the standing poses. However, it is useful to practice the Mountain Pose as a pose in itself. Stay in the pose for about 1 minute, breathing easily to :

• Improves posture
• Strengthen thighs, knees, and ankles
• Firm the abdomen and buttocks
• Relieve sciatica
• Reduce flat feet

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend



A good preparation for most of the seated forward bends and twists, as well as the wide-leg standing poses. Stay in the pose 1 minute or longer. Then come up on an inhalation with a long front torso. You get to :

• Stretch the insides and backs of the legs
• Stimulate the abdominal organs
• Strengthen the spine
• Calm the brain
• Releases groins to let it breathe

Downward-Facing Dog



Staying in this posture for about 3 minutes will help :

• Calm the brain which in turn relieves stress and mild depression
• Stretch the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches and hands
• Strengthen the arms and legs
• Relieve menopausal symptoms
• Prevent osteoporosis
• Improve digestion
• Relieves headache, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue
• Therapeutically for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica, sinusitis

Chair Pose



Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come out of this pose straighten your knees with an inhalation, lifting strongly through the arms. The Chair Pose :

• Strengthens the ankles, thighs, calves, and spine
• Stretches shoulders and chest
• Stimulates the abdominal organs, diaphragm, and heart
• Reduces flat feet

Salutation Seal



It induces a meditative state of awareness. Stay for about 2 minutes. The main benefits are :

• Stress and anxiety reduction
• Calming of the brain
• Creating flexibility in the hands, fingers, wrists, and arms

Bound Angle Pose



Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. Then inhale, lift your knees away from the floor, and extend the legs back to their original position. The Bound Angle Pose :

• Stimulates abdominal organs, ovaries and prostate gland, bladder, and kidneys
• Stimulates the heart and improves general circulation
• Stretches the inner thighs, groins, and knees
• Helps relieve mild depression, anxiety, and fatigue
• Soothes menstrual discomfort and sciatica
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
• Therapeutic for flat feet, high blood pressure, infertility, and asthma
• Consistent practice of this pose until late into pregnancy is said to help ease childbirth.

Plank Pose



A good precursor to more challenging arm balances. You can perform this pose by itself and stay anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. The Plank Pose :

• Strengthens the arms, wrists, and spine
• Tones the abdomen

Side Plank Pose



Stay in this position for 15 to 30 seconds. It benefits by:

• Strengthening the arms, belly, and legs
• Stretching and strengthening the wrists
• Stretching the backs of the legs
• Improving the sense of balance

Yoga Journal
Unwinding with yoga