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There are people who are fond of getting an exercise for maintaining their body figure as well as to condition their body so to look healthier and sexy. Some do the swimming or others stay in the gym to get their ideal body figure. We all dream and look forward to an exercise program that will always engage us and that will leaves us refreshed and alert with a feeling of physical and mental being. From famous people down to women who are conscious enough with their body, the Pilates can be a great and stunning method in building up your most desired figure.
Well, the Pilates (pu-LAH-teez) Method is a kind of exercise system that focuses on improving the flexibility and strength for the total body without building a weight. The Pilates method is not just exercise as well, but it is a series of controlled movements that engages in your body and mind, and performed on specifically designed exercise apparatus and presided by trained teachers. This Pilates was developed in the 1920’s by the legendary physical trainer and founder of The New York Pilates Studio, Joseph H. Pilates.
Joseph Pilates was a performer and a boxer who lives in England in year 1914. During the outbreak of the WW1, he was placed under the forced internment along with the other German nationals in Lancaster, England, and there he taught his fellow camp members about his concepts and exercises that are developed through self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and Roman physical regimens. Just then, Joseph Pilates began devising the system of original exercises that is known as "mat work", or an exercise that is done on the floor. John Pilates also became a nurse/caretaker to the internees that is struck with wartime disease and physical injury. He then began to devise some equipment to rehabilitate his "patients".
The Pilates method provides a refreshing and energizing workout where it gives a physical harmony and balance for people of different ages and with physical conditions. The sessions of the Pilates are done one-to-one with a certified teacher or in close and well-supervised small groups. Each session is fitted perfectly for your specific needs. The Pilates method can also be the dominant mode of body conditioning and injury prevention, and can be integrated into a rehabilitative exercise and physical therapy programs that is designed to a speed recovery of soft tissue injuries. The Pilates method can also be used by pregnant women in a way to learn the proper breathing and body alignment. It also improves concentration, and recovers the body shape and tone of women after the pregnancy.
The founder of the Pilates really designed more than 500 specific exercises using its five major pieces of unique apparatus in developing the body uniformly. Instead of performing many repetitions of each exercise, the Pilates method was designed to have more absolute movements that require a proper control and form. Since the mind is required to engage with your body to perform the movements properly, you are meant to experience a new awareness of muscle function and control. The instructor of the Pilates methods is the only one who has the right to teach, who has completed a rigorous certification program that includes seminar training and 600 apprenticeship hours. This is because the Pilates want to provide safe and effective conditioning for their clients.
There are certain countries that usually practice the Pilates method, in which they enjoy the physical movement that is designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body. The Pilates has an efficient practice of specific exercises accompanied with focused breathing patterns. Well, you could probably believe that Pilates has proven to be helpful and not just as a part of fitness itself, but also a supplement to professional sports training and to physical rehabilitation of all kinds. The Pilates brings out infinite benefits to your body, such as the increased lung capacity and circulation through deep, and where healthy breathing is a primary focus too. The key components in an effective Pilates program is the strength and the flexibility that is particularly of the abdomen and back muscles, with coordination to both muscular and mental. The posture, balance, and core strength are fairly increased in your body and where your bone density and joint health is also improved.
For more information about pilates please goto the pilates resource center
A Guide To Crawl Space Insulation
by: Jerry Blackburn
Crawl space insulation keeps your house warmer in the winter time. Insulating under the kitchen floor helps prevent cold feet in the morning. An added benefit is a lower bill for heating your home. The method and materials used depends on the construction of the space and if it is ventilated. Installing insulation isn’t difficult. In most cases, for a homeowner with a little knowledge, this is a good DIY job. The typical space can be insulated over a weekend.
Types of Crawl Space Insulation
Several materials can be used for insulating your crawl space http://www.soundproofing-tips.com/crawl-space-insulation.html . Typical materials are fibreglass, wood fibers, foams and paper fibers. Insulating materials come in blanket form, in rigid sheets or loose. The type you choose will depend on whether you are insulating the exterior walls or under the floor of your home.
Regardless of the material used, the basic concept is the same. The insulating materials work like the blankets on your bed on a cold night. The blankets trap air near the source of heat and prevent the warm air from escaping. Heat normally radiates out and away from its source. Insulating materials prevent this from happening.
Products are rated based on their efficiency. More effective insulating materials will be more expensive. The rating is known as the R value, which stands for flow resistance. The higher the rating, the more energy efficient the product. You will generally find this information on the package. If it’s not there, ask the salesperson.
Where to Install Crawl Space Insulation
There are generally two choices for insulating a crawl space. You can either insulate the exterior walls of the space or the ceiling of the crawl space under the floor of your home. A main consideration in deciding is whether or not the space is ventilated. You should only insulate the walls of an unventilated crawl space.
In most cases, it’s better to insulate the exterior walls. The typical material used is fibreglass batt. This will need to be cut to fit the wall from the top, all the way down and extending onto the ground a few feet. You may need to attach wood strips to the wall and staple the insulation to the wood. Another option is to nail into the wood at the top of the wall and drape the insulation.
When you insulate the exterior walls, you need to put a vapour barrier on the ground. This will prevent moisture from seeping from the ground into your crawl space. This moisture can cause mildew to grow in the space. The exterior walls should only be insulated if the space remains dry all year. There should be no ventilation to the outside and any ventilation should be blocked.
If your crawl space is vented, you will need to insulate under the floor. When you do this, be sure to insulate any water pipes and ducts in the space. If you don’t do this, your pipes may freeze and burst in the winter. Several materials can be used for this job. You can use unfaced batts or fibreglass with a foil vapour barrier if moisture is an issue. Reflective materials are available and are excellent for keeping the floor warm in the winter.
Insulating the floor can also reduce the noise level in your home. It acts as a soundproofing material. This results in less noise when the kids run across the carpet or the tile floor.
When working with any type of materials, safety is important. Always wear long sleeves and pants, as fibreglass and other materials are irritating to the skin. Wear gloves on your hands. A dust mask and eye protection are also needed.
About The Author
Jerry Blackburn writes many news and information to http://www.soundproofing-tips.com an online internet site. The author is working on topics such as crawl space insulation ( http://www.soundproofing-tips.com/crawl-space-insulation.html ) and soundproofing.
The old cliché that you are what you eat is quite true. Many people suffer from certain health conditions that even though may not be cured, can be controlled through your diet. All foods have certain qualities that affect the body in different ways. Nutrients are broken down and used in different ways, allowing your body to use them how it desires.
Herbs have been forever rumored to help your body reach its full potential, but they are not the only answer. Your grocery list has foods on them that can help whatever ails you, but you’ll want to alter them just a little. Many of the foods we eat are processed, but they are really over processed. Chemical additives are in the foods, but you might not even know it. The Food and Drug Administration’s restrictions on food labeling might be a little more lax than you thought.
Ingredients need to be listed on the nutritional facts label on food packaging, but ingredients that make up the ingredients don’t necessarily get listed. This can create problems if you are trying to avoid certain substances for health reasons.
How Gout was Controlled Through Healthy Foods
My story has taken place over the last twenty two months. I was faced with gout as a twenty five year old, much younger than the average male dealing with it. Gout is a form of arthritis that affects the joints like the big toe, ankles, and knees. My gout affected both of my big toes. Gouty arthritis is a very painful condition; a bed sheet is too heavy to be placed on the toe. The toe swells and it is nearly impossible to walk, let alone wear shoes. It comes on without warning, lasting up to two weeks.
In the initial trip to the doctor’s office, I was diagnosed with gout. All the usual symptoms. I could either wait it out or take a pill everyday to control it. The culprit is purines in foods, and the kidneys’ inability to eliminate uric acid which comes from purines in the digestive process. Purines are found in red meat, bacon, beer, red wine, pastas, and everything else I enjoy on a regular basis. The list is quite long.
I refuse to take a prescription drug for the rest of my life. I don’t even like to take aspirin. How can I change my diet without eliminating my favorite foods?
Diet Experimentation
Working in restaurants my entire life has given me the ability to cook and lots of food knowledge. I took this info to the grocery store. I discovered an excellent organic food store one city over. What organics offer is purity. The foods are not shelf stable for long as long as those in the conventional grocery stores, but I don’t care. I know what is in the food. A red pepper is made from pepper plants grown in organic soil with no preservative chemicals or wax coatings. My grocery bills are a little more expensive, but the health care costs I avoid offset the difference.
Through my experimentation with food, I realized that I really didn’t need to change my diet. My gout is caused from nitrates and other chemicals that are used to preserve red meat, bacon, and other foods. All natural bacon that is not preserved with nitrates does not affect the gout. I used to feel it coming on as I ate the old foods.
Reveal Your Food Aids
The body really does have the ability to heal itself; you just have to let it. Capsaicin, which is found in peppers from the bell variety to jalapeño to chilies, is noted to help soothe inflammation from arthritis. They will work from the inside or the outside in paste form. There are foods that will work to help whatever ails you.
Any lesson to be learned is experimentation. Many of us are too quick to accept the prescription drug in our lives, but there are too many side effects. They are hard on the body and the digestive system, which can create more problems. A simple diet is better.
When you are at the store, just think about what they ate one hundred years ago. Did they eat at fast food restaurants and make dinner out of boxes? Processed foods can last literally years and years before getting old. Doesn’t that sound unreal? Organic foods without chemicals will not last as long, and you’ll have to make more trips to the store or farmer’s market. In my case, I think it is worth the extra effort. If I don’t need a prescription drug to control the gout, I’ll do it.
Robb Ksiazek writes and publishes valuable information at Body-Mass-Index-4U.com. He researches and practices health and wellness, and believes the mind, body, and soul work in unison toward a fulfilled life.
Science Can Be Fun
by: Kanchan Bodas
In today’s high-tech society it is important that children develop an interest in science at an early age and see that science is a part of our lives. By becoming comfortable with science at an early age, children can reap many long term benefits. Getting children interested in science does not take a lot of time and effort. Their natural curiosity will ease the way. Making it fun is the key element. The learning process in children happens through play. During play the world is not so threatening. Kids feel safe, secure and capable. They explore on their own. There is an old Chinese saying:
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember
I do and I understand.
Information and knowledge gained from hands- on activities and self discovery remains in the long term memory.
There is no need for a special place or equipment for teaching science to kids. Most of the materials and equipment needed can be obtained in home, school, grocery store or local hardware store. Science activity can be carried out with a single kid or group of kids. It can be carried out whenever you want or wherever you want. For example when there is nothing to do and kids are bored. When the weather outside is not friendly. It can be carried out in the kitchen, in the garden, nature hikes, beach trips etc..
Science experiments in our house started in the kitchen. One day when I was baking cookies, my kids were helping. Curious as usual, they started asking questions. “Why do we add sugar?” “Why do we add eggs?” “Why do we have to add baking powder?” At that moment a bulb lighted in my head. We made some cookies without baking powder and compared. This became a hobby. We started experimenting with lot of things, sometimes purely on impulses. But we sure enjoyed that time. Some examples that quickly come to mind are: a) one day when we were folding laundry, some clothes had static. They made small cracking noises and stuck. We had fun learning and experimenting with lot of other things that produce static electricity. b) When we had gone to the beach we started talking about the sea/ocean water being salty and how salt is extracted from the sea water. Kids brought some sea water back home and placed it in sunlight in a shallow tray. In 2-3 days the water evaporated and they collected the salt crystals. The satisfaction in self discovery is incomparable. Without any prompting from me kids also experimented if saltwater freezes faster or tap water.
Looking at their interest, pretty soon me and my friend got together and started doing planned experiments with our children in a group setting. Kids enjoyed them and looked forward to the experiment days. Volcanoes and slimes were a lot of fun. When we did an experiment on coloring daisies, (white daisies if placed in colored water, pick up that color. In a few hours their petals start showing the color in the water) it did not end there. Pretty soon more flowers got experimented on and then came the question “Why some flowers pick up colors faster than the others?” One day while we were weeding in the garden we had an amusing finding. There were lots of Lady Bugs on one particular type of weed. That led us to the information on how and why certain bugs favor certain plants or animals. Similarly different kinds of rocks found in the garden piqued kids interest and we ended up doing a project on rocks.
I was happy to see that I had achieved what I was aiming for: 1) Questioning of observed events leading to finding information. 2) Promotion of independent thinking and reasoning process in the versatile young minds.
This first step “Science is fun” can be followed by the next more exciting step, where kids learn that “Science is also an adventure and challenge.” It often requires some detective work and it requires learning of a methodical step by step approach to solve problems. This approach is called “The scientific method.” The steps in a scientific method can be roughly outlined as follows. 1) If you have to solve a problem start by collecting data. Read books, talk to people, and make observations. 2) Brainstorm- Spend time looking over and understanding the information collected. Have discussions if you are working in a team. 3) Make predictions. 4) Design and carry out experiments. 5) Analyze your results and derive conclusions.
It is a lot more fun to do these activities in a group or as a team. Parents or friends can be very good companions. As kids grow up participation in “science fairs” can also bring a good learning experience.
So parents get involved with your kids science activities and share with them the excitement of being a scientist and an explorer. Kids will know that science can be fun. Once they get interested they will keep thinking, investigating and inventing for ever.
Dr.Kanchan Bodas
Editor
www.springboardmagazine.com
About The Author
Dr. Kanchan Bodas is a caring parent and editor of Springboard Magazine. www.springboardmagazine.com is an online educational magazine for children 3-9 years of age. There are lots of fun educational games to learn math and language, Science experiments and essays, Stories with audio, art and craft projects, coloring pages, general knowledge and much more. The format is easy to use and designed to stimulate creativity and learning in children.The magazine is free. Past issues are archived in a database.
Most consumers are aware of the importance of their credit report. This document, offered to consumers and lenders by the three major credit bureaus, offers a fairly complete list of financial transactions and debts incurred by a consumer. Lenders examine the report, along with the associated FICO score, to determine whether a consumer is worthy of receiving additional credit or loans. What many consumers may not know is that credit card companies regularly check their credit reports, and unfavorable entries may result in a higher interest rate on their credit cards.
We have previously noted that many credit card companies employ something known as a "universal default clause" in their terms of service. This clause allows the company to raise interest rates on the customer’s card if the customer pays bills late. A late payment to the phone company could result in a higher interest rate on the Visa card. Most companies also allow themselves the latitude to raise their customers’ interest rates for any reason at all. With this in mind, the credit card companies tend to run occasional credit checks on their customers, often raising rates if they notice any activity that, in their opinion, makes the customer a higher risk. This might happen even if the customer has a history of paying his or her credit card bills on time.
The sorts of things that may create a "risky" client include taking out additional loans, additional credit cards, or building balances on existing cards to at or near their limits. The companies justify this activity by saying that consumers who do these things create greater risk for the lender, and these costs must be passed on to all of their customers. The problem for the customer is that these higher interest rates are often assigned without warning. The new rate applies to existing balances, too. An interest rate hike today could mean that the television you bought last fall has suddenly become more expensive.
What can consumers do? Keep an eye on your credit card bill and your credit report. You can receive a copy of your credit report, for free, at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. As for your credit card bill, watch the interest rate. If it abruptly changes to a higher rate, call your credit card issuer and ask them about it. They will often reduce the rate if you call and complain. If not, your only option may be to shop around for another card.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to establishing credit, debt consolidation and credit counseling.
A LOST WORLD OF SOUL
When you hear the word ‘divination’, chances are that certain images– will spring to mind: dark gypsy fortune-tellers, tea-leaves, and crystal balls; a scene in a movie when the Ace of Spades falls in a card game or a strange figure draws the Tarot trump Death; charlatans, ouija boards, and phony swamis; or, perhaps, witch doctors and medicine men chanting around a fire. If you look a little deeper, you might see another kind of image lurking in the background: dark magicians in graveyards seeking forbidden knowledge, conjuring demons and the spirits of the dead.
These images express attitudes - ridicule and fear - with a long history. For well over a thousand years, divination was a mortal sin and a capital crime in Western culture, a ‘conversation with the devil’ that was banished along with the old gods and the wise women. Divination is a central part of pagan culture and the pagan sense of a cosmos or ‘living- world’. With the rise of the Church to political power in late antiquity, the old gods of this culture became devils and the living world became their work. With the rise of our modern ’scientific laws’ of cause and effect, the devils in turn became superstitions, tales told by those considered to be marginal or uneducated such as women, lunatics, criminals, and savages. In spite of our inherited assumptions, divination is not a collection of superstitions. It is an outlawed way of knowing and speaking with a living world, a world ensouled and full of spirit." (1)
Every aspect of life and many of the things considered to have no life or soul have been used in telling the intent and flow of nature. To say there is no destiny is common among the artists or scientists of each divinatory method and all understand the part we have to play. In the world of ’seems to be’ that focuses on material and ‘real’ causes that MUST be seen (what can be called the “Toilet Philosophy”) there is more superstition and destiny type of ideologies. Astrology is a refined mathematical method that has been considered a science even during the proscriptions against divinatory methodology and the rulers often were engaged in doing that which they tried to stop others from doing. We have dealt with some general divinatory methods such as ‘divining rods’ in ‘Science’ and we will cover others as we move along. The art and talent of knowing yourself and your ‘center’ or soul is clearly something ‘free’ and beyond acceptance of interpreters or priests. It was necessary to stop this freedom in order to gain total power or as close to it as possible. This book has an Orisha practice that is used in supposedly Christian Santeria. Having studied the use of what they call ‘El Coco’ or the casting of coconut shells I made a point to look for it. To my surprise I saw a word that looked much like Ogham or Ogam, which are variations of Ogham. The word ‘ogun’ was part of the process in what I think was one of the earliest methods of divination outside personal judgement or intuition.
To center oneself in Bibliomancy is a good way of showing what an important flux or conduit our soul can be in taking all things into consideration rather than just what the eyes or ears perceive, and the mind or ego often insist is the only reality to recent western theology. ‘The Book of Answers’ gives a short description of the process we think will be helpful for learning to accept your soul does exist and wisdom doesn’t always allow itself to be seen.
How to Use the Book of Answers
1. Hold the closed book in your hand, on your lap, or on a table.
2. Take 10 or 15 seconds to concentrate on your question. Questions should be phrased closed-end, E.G. ‘Is the job I’m applying for the right one?’ or ‘Should I travel this weekend?’
3. While visualising or speaking your question (one question at a time). Place one hand palm down on the book’s front cover and STROKE THE EDGE of the pages, back to front.
4. When you sense the time is right, open the book and there will be your answer.
5. Repeat the process for as many questions as you have." (2)
My recommendation is to ask only important questions and make sure you have no other questions in your mind at the time. In beginning to read a book it is good to do this and then record what you read and thought about the contextual idea expressed. When you have read the whole book turn back to what your first question was and see if you found the most important part for yourself at that point in time. This will test your effectiveness in centering yourself as well as attuning with the knowledge in the books you read.
Many methods of intuitive thought are forms of divination. The common way we judge people by body movement and language has been very popular in sales as long as salesmen or saleswomen have been on this earth. Many top corporations ask astrologers to give their input on important decisions once they’ve narrowed their choices and contemplated their options. It is never a bad thing to have one’s mind open to other possibilities and opportunities. However, over-dependence and reliance on such things will turn the process into a fear-driven experience that has no freshness or attunement at all, and may lead to negative self-fulfillment. If you are doing Tarot readings for yourself or any one person it is said every two weeks is enough. Bibliomancy answers are different because Tarot integrates many aspects beyond your primary question.
1) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Divination, by Stephen Karcher, Element Books, Shaftesbury, 1997, pg. 7.
2) The Book of Answers, by Carol Bolt, 1999, Hyperion, front of book with no page numbers.
Author of Diverse Druids and many other books
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest ‘expert’ for World-Mysteries.com
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