The Peanut Story

The last two weeks have been frustrating and 'trying'. I have been given a few challenging problems in my life as well as the studio. Let's just say, it feels as if an elephant dropped from a plane and coincidentally landed on me. I think the only thing that has kept me going are the words of encouragement from family, dear hubby and students. Ah well, 'c'est la vie', that's life.

Here are other things far more interesting to know about while reading this blog, NUT ALLERGY HYSTERIA....recently a nut was found on a US school bus and some 10 year old kids had to be evacuated. Apparently some schools overseas requires ALL to wash hands prior entering school compound fearing nut contamination. Crazy? Well, get this, one school had children wearing gowns during meal times for fear of milk contamination. Hmmm, I can understand the nut allergy, but milk? Interested about it, click here

Okay, news for love birds out there, DON'T kiss too hard. Apparently, a Chinese woman in China turned deaf after a kiss. Here's what the paper said," The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear,' the treating doctor, surnamed Li, was quoted as saying, adding the woman's hearing would likely recover in about two months."

And here's today's headline ......... ;P ............ The incident prompted newspapers to dispense kissing safety advice. (Get ready for this) Ahem,.... While kissing is normally very safe, doctors urge people to proceed with caution, the China Daily reported. 'A strong kiss may cause an imbalance in air pressure between the two inner ears and lead to a broken ear drum,' said the English-language Shanghai Daily in a story headlined 'Kiss of deaf'

I still find this hard to believe, and if you don't believe me, click here for the story.

I was watching Oprah the other night, and I was confused with whether the episode was new or old. Why? Well, Oprah looked bigger than her previous shows and I thought she was much slimmer before. Than it came out in the papers Winfrey, 54, has been struggling with an out-of-balance thyroid and how the condition made her develop 'a fear of working out.' She says she's gained 40 pounds (18kg) since 2006, when she weighed 160 pounds (72kg). Here is her story.

Ps Note to fitness queens and kings out there, we have step aerobics in the studio now, so do join us for some crazy moves on the steppers.

See ya later alligators......................

Words of Encouragement

Here are a few quotes I feel helps those in need of encouragement

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change"

"The warrior of light perseveres in his desire, but knows he must wait for the best moment"

"There are moments in life when the only possible option is to lose control"

"God in his infinite wisdom, hid Hell in the middle of Paradise, to keep us on our toes"

Yoga At BAG Network Co.

Hi guys

Have been away from the net for awhile. A lot has happened in the past week. Held a talk with BAG network company and hopefully I would have encouraged some of the audience to do some yoga. Raquel came along and did some yoga demo. The talk was short but I was supernervous. I think it was because most of them were all smartly dressed. Then again, I have been under a lot of duress stress in the past few days. It's hard to talk about it. Hubby very supportive. I just hope I am able to resolve it.

No matter, there are other blessings I should be grateful for. To stay in one piece.

Hugs
Jac

Notes From The Universe

Think of everyone
on the planet, everyone, as your special friend.......
And so they shall become,
Dang!.......................

by Mike Dooley

Sniffles

Well, Lucky didn't make it. He past away at midnight. Right on the dot. Sigh. ..................

Lucky at Midnight

Small little Lucky (terrapin) is still pretty weak. Keeping close eye on him. Hope he makes it through the night.

What is Meditation?

I just came across a comment made by a person about meditation seen as something religious. I have been approached on this subject plenty of times and again, these are the things I will say about it.

Meditation means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness is meditation. "Watching your breath" is meditation; listening to the birds is meditation, walking in the garden or park silently is meditation, sitting still looking at the sky is meditation, looking out into the ocean absorbing it's beauty is meditation. Meditation can be practiced doing simple repetitive tasks. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation..

The word meditation, is derived from two Latin words : meditari(to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation 'medha' means wisdom.

Here's a wonderful explanation of the types of meditation I came across from health care online:-

Concentration Meditation focuses the attention on the breath or an image in order to still the mind and allow a greater awareness and clarity to emerge. This is like a zoom lens in a camera; we narrow our focus to a selected field.

The simplest form of concentrative meditation is to sit quietly and focus the attention on the breath. Yoga and meditation practitioners believe that there is a direct correlation between one's breath and one's state of the mind. For example, when a person is anxious, frightened, agitated, or distracted, the breath will tend to be shallow, rapid, and uneven. On the other hand, when the mind is calm, focused, and composed, the breath will tend to be slow, deep, and regular. Focusing the mind on the continuous rhythm of inhalation and exhalation provides a natural object of meditation. As you focus your awareness on the breath, your mind becomes absorbed in the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation. As a result, your breathing will become slower and deeper, and the mind becomes more tranquil and aware.

Mindfulness Meditation , according to Dr. Borysenko, "involves opening the attention to become aware of the continuously passing parade of sensations and feelings, images, thoughts, sounds, smells, and so forth without becoming involved in thinking about them." The person sits quietly and simply witnesses whatever goes through the mind, not reacting or becoming involved with thoughts, memories, worries, or images. This helps to gain a more calm, clear, and non-reactive state of mind. Mindfulness meditation can be likened to a wide-angle lens. Instead of narrowing your sight to a selected field as in concentrative meditation, here you will be aware of the entire field.

Here are the physical benefits of meditation:-

• Deep rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced work load of the heart.
• Lowered levels of cortisol and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress.
• Reduction of free radicals- unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage. They are now thought to be a major factor in aging and in many diseases.
• Decreased high blood pressure.
• Higher skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels.
• Drop in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease.
• Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very helpful to asthma patients.
• Younger biological age. On standard measures of aging, long-term Transcendental Meditation (TM) practitioners (more than five years) measured 12 years younger than their chronological age.
• Higher levels of DHEAS in the elderly. An additional sign of youthfulness through Transcendental Meditation (TM); lower levels of DHEAS are associated with aging.

And here are the psychological benefits:-

• Increased brain wave coherence. Harmony of brain wave activity in different parts of the brain is associated with greater creativity, improved moral reasoning, and higher IQ.
• Decreased anxiety.
• Decreased depression.
• Decreased irritability and moodiness.
• Improved learning ability and memory.
• Increased self-actualization.
• Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
• Increased happiness.
• Increased emotional stability.

In yoga, I practice breath awareness throughout the whole entire lesson. As we start the lesson, I would asked the students to listen to their breaths and focus on it. The more tuned we are to these natural sensations of breathing, the more effortless breathing becomes. As time passes, breath awareness shifts the relationship between breathing and the nervous system. These two are closely linked and respond to one another like best friends. When nerves are upset, breathing is affected; when breathing relaxes, so does the nervous system.

Breath awareness is to meditation what good lighting is to fine photography. The cost of stressful reactions is that they give negativity a foothold in the nervous system, which is then translated into unpleasant symptoms. During meditation, breath awareness short circuits this translation process. It does not eliminate the conflict, but helps prevent it from taking up residence. The phrase ' I need to go out, get some fresh air and clear my head." is exactly what meditation tries to do. When breathing remains relaxed and a steady focus of attention, problems are not so easily oversold to the nervous system and are less likely to overwhelm us.

Breath awareness is associated in yoga with a particular function of the mind, a function variously described as the ability to the inner witness of experience, to remain detached in the face of discomfort, and to act decisively.

I have personally used meditation in a positive manner. It's not hard to do, if you put your mind to understand what's going 'through' psychologically. In the classes, I would ask the students at the end of the physical exercises, to relax on the mat and focus their attention to their breaths again. If they had any thoughts coming through while relaxing, to either focus back on their breaths, and if they can't, to try and turn those thoughts into positive thinking.

I don't see meditation as religious. You can look at it from all different angles and choose how it will best help you. Meditation is universal. In Wikipedia Dictionary online, this is how it describes Meditation:- Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Meditation often involves turning attention to a single point of reference. It is recognized as a component of almost all religions, and has been practiced for over 5,000 years. It is also practiced outside religious traditions.

Last but not least:- There are all sorts of meditation. Be decisive and choose wisely and base your decision on facts rather than opinions, understand what it truly is before commenting.

Okay, getting late now, night night and see ya later alligators.

Really, Why are the Chinese skinny?

Just came across this article from the Straits time and British writer Lorraine Clissold set out to discover what it was that kept the Chinese so skinny when they were eating large, delicious meals, while she and her British and American counterparts were suffering on bland salads and still not managing to lose weight.

Overall, she came to conclusion Chinese eat meals that are nutritious with vegetables as a 'must' for most dishes at dinner tables. Also the meals are simple but tasty at the same time. She went on to say most chinese people eat things to nourish the whole body, rather than being concerned with just its outer shape, which is the case with many Western diet regimes.

Surprisingly, Clissold made a research and her findings was that the Chinese actually consume 30 per cent more calories than Westerners but stay 20 per cent slimmer, a claim originally made by T Colin Campbell in The China Study, a comprehensive survey that examined the link between diet and disease in China and other countries.

If you are interested to read more about it, visit this site

Lucky

I was on my way to meet a friend for breakfast at the Country Patch coffee house but decidedly made a detour to the pet shop to get some fresh aquatic plant for my fishes in the studio. Was looking around the shop and was admiring the little 'Nemo' fishes (okay, I have no idea what is the correct name for this little cuties but I still think they are gorgeous) when something else caught my attention. There were two tiny terrapins in a huge fish tank. One was on it's back and wasn't moving. The other perched on a wooden plank and was dry as burnt lobster. And yes, being an ICU nurse came into reflex action, I cried out to the shopkeeper and said, " Have you been looking after the terrapins? Do you know one of it is probably dead?" The guy looked at me as if I was a mad woman on hot wheels. He lifted the one on it's back and true enough it was dead.

The other one was barely moving and looked as if it was dried out. The shell was super soft and I was nearly in tears. I bought him at full price regardless and rushed to the studio. I set him in a small porridge bowl and called him Lucky. I don't know whether he'll survive or not, but better something then trying nothing at all.

I called Peter up, who was still asleep at home, " Peter, get to the studio, you need to babysit Lucky. I found him in the pet shop and he doesn't look well. Please come!"

"Have you had too many coffees again? You're talking strange."

I was even more worked up after," Look, he doesn't look well. I need you to come over and give him some tender loving care. I need to meet up with a friend for a while."

" ..............you should be named Lucky and for me to be crazy to say yes to this."

"....(in my head, I was thinking...I know) I know..."

I told Elaine (my cousin) to keep an eye on it while Peter made his way to the studio. While having breakfast with my friend, I couldn't stop thinking about Lucky. After breakfast, I rushed back to the studio. He was looking a bit better.

Cross fingers, little lucky will be lucky to see through the week.

Thank Goodness it's Friday ........80's and 90's

Thank goodness it's Friday. Technically my day off. Ahhhhh. It's really weird. I would have thought all this yoga, teaching five classes maximum in one day would really send my muscles in SOS mode. In fact, I feel good. Well, okay except for yesterday. I was knackered. I felt as if my body was twice it's size and I wasn't able to keep my head upright. The feeling of knowing it's Friday soon is a sheer bliss.

Hmmmm, Izan was playing a couple of boy band music the other day. I was just recalling the boy bands I fancied back then. Ya, you guess right. I loved NKOTB. They were so cute then. It drove my family nuts that I was playing their music everywhere. Even when my dad was driving, I would reach out from the back seat and shove my NKOTB into the cassette player. His comment would be, " Every song is girl, girl, girl, girl. This you also like ah?" I would nod my head vigorously and smile from east to west. My favourite guy was Jonathan Knight. Oh, not to forget Tommy Page. What's that song again? Paintings in my mind. Alzheimer's has not set in just yet.

What else was so 80's and 90's? Curly hairs, puffy sleeves, Jane Fonda, big sun glasses, plastic bangles (they have been in fashion until now), big granny pants, bermuda pants, Tiffany, Reebok, glitters in the face and hair..........(not that I ever did it myself...ahem....) I am sure there would be a lot more than this......K, will continue this a bit later. Gotta go. Class to teach.........Here we go with a few more warrior poses.................................