Think Yourself Thin

The brain works in mysterious ways and can both contribute to and deter obesity. In fact, you might just be able to think yourself thin, or at least control your appetite and how much food you eat.

According to recent research at Carnegie Mellon University published in the recent issue of Science, visualization can help to curb your appetite and decrease food cravings. The study, which utilized five different experiments, was based on the principle of habituation, in which repeated exposure to a stimulus reduces the response to it.

In one of the five experiments, participants were divided into three groups and told to imagine performing 33 tasks, involving repetition of feeding quarters into a washing machine and eating M&Ms. One group visualized feeding 30 quarters and eating M&Ms; one feeding 3 quarters and 30 M&Ms; and one feeding 33 quarter (and, alas, no M&Ms). They were then offered a bowl of M&Ms to enjoy. The group that was told to think about M&M’s the most was the one that ate the least.

The same result occurred in a later experiment with M&Ms, where participants had to either imagine eating M&Ms or moving them from one bowl to another (in a combination of 33 times). Those who just had to move the M&Ms, ate more than those who were allowed to imagine eating them.

While thinking about a food can cause you to crave it, repeated thoughts of actually eating a food, can reduce that craving. And with the reality of temptation around us every day, and especially so over the holidays, by taking a bit of time to savor the flavors in our mind ahead of time, just may keep the unwanted pounds off and allow us to enjoy our food just a little bit more.

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What Is Yoga?

Yoga can seem like a complicated concept - or, at the least, a dizzying array of physical manipulations that turn seemingly happy-looking human beings into happy looking human pretzels.

Even more disconcerting, a stereotype does exist in places where the term yoga is synonymous with cult, or some kind of archaic spiritual belief that compels one to quit their job, sell their house, and go live in the middle of nowhere.

In actual fact, Yoga is a very basic "thing". If you've had the opportunity to visit a country where it has been established for generations – India, Japan, China, and others – it's really rather, well, "ordinary".

The practice of yoga came to the west back in 1893 when one of India's celebrated gurus, Swami Vivekananda, was welcomed at the World Fair in Chicago. He is now known for having sparked the West's interest in yoga.

Literally, the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit term Yug, which means: "to yoke, bind, join, or direct one's attention". At the same time, yoga can also imply concepts such as fusion, union, and discipline.

The sacred scriptures of Hinduism (an ancient belief system from India that has a global presence) also defines yoga as "unitive discipline"; the kind of discipline that, according to experts Georg Feuerstein and Stephan Bodian in their book Living Yoga, leads to inner and outer union, harmony and joy.

In essence, yoga is most commonly understood as conscious living; of tapping into one's inner potential for happiness (what Sankrit refers to as ananda).

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Why Medicine Ball Is So Popular With Athletes?

The other names for this ball are exercise ball, gym ball, stability ball, fitness ball, fit ball, therapy ball, balance ball or medicine ball. The exercises with this ball are known by different names as exercise ball exercises, fitnessball exercises, fitnessball workoutgs, medicine ball exercise, etc. The size and weight make the medicine ball the ideal piece of exercise equipment for people of all ages and fitness levels. Medicine balls are available in various weights and sizes, perfect for all ages and fitness levels.

The medicine ball is used to develop different forms of strength, such as, eccentric strength and concentric strength. Concentric strength is used when throwing a medicine ball, pushing a medicine ball or pressing a medicine ball. Eccentric strength is used to catch a medicine ball and slow it down.

These general medicine ball drills develop strength and power throughout the torso, laying the foundation for the future use of specific medicine ball drills. Likewise, bench-press strength advanced by 23 % for the weight-trained athletes but inched upward by just 9 per cent for medicine-ball tossers.

Weight training proved to be far superior to medicine ball workouts, both in terms of bench-press power and throwing speed. Weight-trained athletes upgraded their baseball throwing velocity by 4.1 per cent, while medicine-ball men enhanced throwing by a statistically insignificant 1.6 percent. Control individuals also failed to improve their throwing.

Many weight-training group work out twice a week, utilizing barbell bench press and barbell pullover exercises. For the first four weeks, weight trainers completed three sets of eight- to 10-repetition max exercise per workout for both the bench presses and barbell pullovers (in other words, they used weights which could be lifted only eight to 10 times per set). For the final four weeks, employ three sets of six- to eight-RM for each exercise. All weights were lifted in a slow, controlled manner - not explosively. Medicine-ball, weight-trained, and control athletes all participated in their regular baseball workouts during the eight-week period. After eight weeks, all athletes were tested for maximal baseball throwing velocity and bench-press strength.

When you activate your II-B fibers with this explosive medicine-ball workout, you'll see big gains in strength, size and speed. The medicine ball will help you achieve fitness that emphasizes not just strength, but also explosive power, core stability and split-second responses.

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Three reasons you should not do Cobra

"The Cobra pose destroys all diseases and increases body heat".

In a Sanskrit language Bhujanga means a cobra hence the name, mostly used in the West. In the Bhujangasana the body is facing downward while the upper body is curling up and back resembling a snake with its head raised ready to strike. This pose is mostly practiced as the first in the series of backward bending asanas followed by Locust and Bow postures.
Before attempting this powerful movement of the Cobra pose the warm up of the muscles of the back is strongly recommended. During holding the pose the legs do not remain passive; they are extended down from the hips. While you start lifting your upper body from the floor be aware of the point where you have extended as far as you can without straining your back. Keep your elbows slightly bent and do not push it up over your zone limit. The best way to check if you are not too high is to take your hands off the floor for a moment so that the height you find will be comfortable and safe.

During Bhujangasana the spine receives a powerful backward stretch which increases flexibility of the spine, strengthens the spine and rejuvenates the spinal nerves. Each vertebra of the spine is given a rich supply of the blood. This posture is excellent tonic for women as it tones the ovaries and uterus and it helps to alleviate the menstrual problems. By regular practice of the Cobra pose the backache can be removed.

Three important reasons not to do the Cobra pose:

1) This asana should not be attempted by pregnant women at all cost.

2) A person suffering from Hernia should not practice this pose.

3) If you have injured your back please, avoid this posture.

Issued in the interest of people practicing Hatha Yoga by Subodh Gupta, Yoga Expert based in London.

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