Bicameralism (the condition of being divided into "two-chambers") is a hypothesis in psychology that argues that the human mind once operated in a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part which listens and obeys a bicameral mind. The term was coined by Julian Jaynes, who presented the idea in his 1976 book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind,[1] wherein he made the case that a bicameral mentality was the normal and ubiquitous state of the human mind as recently as 3,000 years ago, near the end of the Mediterranean bronze age.

Jaynes uses governmental bicameralism as a metaphor to describe a mental state in which the experiences and memories of the right hemisphere of the brain are transmitted to the left hemisphere via auditory hallucinations. The metaphor is based on the idea of lateralization of brain function although each half of a normal human brain is constantly communicating with the other through the corpus callosum. The metaphor is not meant to imply that the two halves of the bicameral brain were "cut off" from each other but that the bicameral mind was experienced as a different, non-conscious mental schema wherein volition in the face of novel stimuli was mediated through a linguistic control mechanism and experienced as auditory verbal hallucination.

Bicameral mentality would be non-conscious in its inability to reason and articulate about mental contents through meta-reflection, reacting without explicitly realizing and without the meta-reflective ability to give an account of why one did so. The bicameral mind would thus lack metaconsciousness, autobiographical memory, and the capacity for executive "ego functions" such as deliberate mind-wandering and conscious introspection of mental content. When bicamerality as a method of social control was no longer adaptive in complex civilizations, this mental model was replaced by the conscious mode of thought which, Jaynes argued, is grounded in the acquisition of metaphorical language learned by exposure to narrative practice.

According to Jaynes, ancient people in the bicameral state of mind would have experienced the world in a manner that has some similarities to that of a schizophrenic. Rather than making conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations, the person would hallucinate a voice or "god" giving admonitory advice or commands and obey without question: One would not be at all conscious of one's own thought processes per se. Research into "command hallucinations" that often direct the behavior of those labeled schizophrenic, as well as other voice hearers, supports Jaynes's hypothesis.[2][not in citation given]

Jaynes built a case for this hypothesis that human brains existed in a bicameral state until as recently as 3000years ago by citing evidence from many diverse sources including historical literature. He took an interdisciplinary approach, drawing data from many different fields.[3] Jaynes asserted that, until roughly the times written about in Homer's Iliad, humans did not generally have the self-awareness characteristic of consciousness as most people experience it today. Rather, the bicameral individual was guided by mental commands believed to be issued by external "gods" commands which were recorded in ancient myths, legends and historical accounts. This is exemplified not only in the commands given to characters in ancient epics but also the very muses of Greek mythology which "sang" the poems. According to Jaynes, the ancients literally heard muses as the direct source of their music and poetry.

Jaynes asserts that in the Iliad and sections of the Old Testament no mention is made of any kind of cognitive processes such as introspection, and there is no apparent indication that the writers were self-aware. Jaynes suggests, the older portions of the Old Testament (such as the Book of Amos) have few or none of the features of some later books of the Old Testament (such as Ecclesiastes) as well as later works such as Homer's Odyssey, which show indications of a profoundly different kind of mentality an early form of consciousness.[3]

In ancient times, Jaynes noted, gods were generally much more numerous and much more anthropomorphic than in modern times, and speculates that this was because each bicameral person had their own "god" who reflected their own desires and experiences.[4]

He also noted that in ancient societies the corpses of the dead were often treated as though still alive (being seated, dressed, and even fed) as a form of ancestor worship, and Jaynes argued that the dead bodies were presumed to be still living and the source of auditory hallucinations.[3] This adaptation to the village communities of 100individuals or more formed the core of religion. Unlike today's hallucinations, the voices of ancient times were structured by cultural norms to produce a seamlessly functioning society.

Jaynes inferred that these "voices" came from the right brain counterparts of the left brain language centres; specifically, the counterparts to Wernicke's area and Broca's area. These regions are somewhat dormant in the right brains of most modern humans, but Jaynes noted that some studies show that auditory hallucinations correspond to increased activity in these areas of the brain.[3]

Jaynes notes that even at the time of publication there is no consensus as to the cause or origins of schizophrenia. Jaynes argues that schizophrenia is a vestige of humanity's earlier bicameral state.[3] Recent evidence shows that many schizophrenics do not just hear random voices but experience "command hallucinations" instructing their behavior or urging them to commit certain acts.[full citation needed]

As support for Jaynes's argument, these command hallucinations are little different from the commands from gods which feature prominently in ancient stories.[3] Indirect evidence supporting Jaynes's theory that hallucinations once played an important role in human mentality can be found in the recent book Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination by Daniel Smith.[5]

Jaynes theorized that a shift from bicameralism marked the beginning of introspection and consciousness as we know it today. According to Jaynes, this bicameral mentality began malfunctioning or "breaking down" during the 2ndmillenniumBCE. He speculates that primitive ancient societies tended to collapse periodically: for example, Egypt's Intermediate Periods, as well as the periodically vanishing cities of the Mayas, as changes in the environment strained the socio-cultural equilibria sustained by this bicameral mindset.

The Bronze age collapse of the 2ndmillenniumBCE led to mass migrations and created a rash of unexpected situations and stresses which required ancient minds to become more flexible and creative. Self-awareness, or consciousness, was the culturally evolved solution to this problem. This necessity of communicating commonly observed phenomena among individuals who shared no common language or cultural upbringing encouraged those communities to become self-aware to survive in a new environment. Thus consciousness, like bicamerality, emerged as a neurological adaptation to social complexity in a changing world.[citation needed]

Jaynes further argues that divination, prayer, and oracles arose during this breakdown period, in an attempt to summon instructions from the "gods" whose voices could no longer be heard.[3] The consultation of special bicamerally operative individuals, or of divination by casting lots and so forth, was a response to this loss, a transitional era depicted, for example, in the book of 1 Samuel. It was also evidenced in children who could communicate with the gods, but as their neurology was set by language and society they gradually lost that ability. Those who continued prophesying, being bicameral according to Jaynes, could be killed.[6][7] Leftovers of the bicameral mind today, according to Jaynes, include religion, hypnosis, possession, schizophrenia, and the general sense of need for external authority in decision-making.[citation needed]

An early (1977) reviewer considered Jaynes's hypothesis worthy and offer conditional support, arguing the notion deserves further study.[8][9]

The Origin of Consciousness was financially successful, and has been reprinted several times.

Originally published in 1976[10] it was nominated for the National Book Award in 1978. It has been translated into Italian, Spanish, German, French, and Persian.[citation needed] A new edition, with an afterword that addressed some criticisms and restated the main themes, was published in the US in 1990 and in the UK by Penguin Books in 1993,[11] re-issued in 2000.[12]

Philip K. Dick, Terrence McKenna, and David Bowie all cited the book as an influence. [13]

Jaynes's hypothesis remains controversial. The primary scientific criticism has been that the conclusions drawn by Jaynes had no basis in neuropsychiatric fact.[14]

According to Jaynes, language is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for consciousness: Language existed thousands of years earlier, but consciousness could not have emerged without language.[15] The idea that language is a necessary component of subjective consciousness and more abstract forms of thinking has gained the support of proponents including Andy Clark, Daniel Dennett, William H. Calvin, Merlin Donald, John Limber, Howard Margolis, Peter Carruthers, and Jos Luis Bermdez.[16]

Williams (2010)[17] defended Jaynes against the criticism of Block (1981).[18][clarification needed][clarification needed]

Asaad & Shapiro (1987)[19] questioned why Jaynes's theory was left out of a discussion on auditory hallucinations. The author's (1987) published response was: ...Jaynes hypothesis makes for interesting reading and stimulates much thought in the receptive reader. It does not, however, adequately explain one of the central mysteries of madness: hallucination. (Moffic, 1987)[14] However Moffic's claim that there is no evidence for involvement of the right temporal lobe in auditory hallucination was incorrect, even at the time that he wrote it.[20][21] More recently, a number of studies have provided more evidence of involvement of the right hemisphere in auditory hallucinations. The new evidence for Jaynes's model of auditory hallucinations arising in the right temporal-parietal lobe and being transmitted to the left temporal-parietal lobe that these neuroimaging studies provide was specifically pointed out by Olin (1999)[22] and by Sher (2000).[23] For further discussion, see Marcel Kuijsten (2007).[24]

Brian J. McVeigh (2007) maintains that many of the most frequent criticisms of Jaynes' theory are either incorrect or reflect serious misunderstandings of Jaynes' theory, especially Jaynes' more precise definition of consciousness. Jaynes defines consciousness in the tradition of Locke and Descartes as "that which is introspectable". Jaynes draws a sharp distinction between consciousness ("introspectable mind-space") and other mental processes such as cognition, learning, sensation, and perception. McVeigh argues that this distinction is frequently not recognized by those offering critiques of Jaynes' theory.[25]

Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion (2006) wrote of The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind:

It is one of those books that is either complete rubbish or a work of consummate genius; Nothing in between! Probably the former, but I'm hedging my bets.[26][pageneeded]

The philosopher Daniel Dennett suggested that Jaynes may have been wrong about some of his supporting arguments especially the importance he attached to hallucinations but that these things are not essential to his main thesis:[27]

If we are going to use this top-down approach, we are going to have to be bold. We are going to have to be speculative, but there is good and bad speculation, and this is not an unparalleled activity in science. ... Those scientists who have no taste for this sort of speculative enterprise will just have to stay in the trenches and do without it, while the rest of us risk embarrassing mistakes and have a lot of fun. Daniel Dennett[28]

Gregory Cochran, a physicist and adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Utah, wrote:

"Genes affecting personality, reproductive strategies, cognition, are all able to change significantly over few-millennia time scales if the environment favors such change and this includes the new environments we have made for ourselves, things like new ways of making a living and new social structures. ... There is evidence that such change has occurred. ... On first reading, Breakdown seemed one of the craziest books ever written, but Jaynes may have been on to something."[29]

Author and historian of science Morris Berman writes: "[Jaynes's] description of this new consciousness is one of the best I have come across."[30]

Danish science writer Tor Nrretranders discusses Jaynes's theory favorably in his 1991 book.[31][vague]

James McGilchrist who published a similar idea, accepts Jayne's intention, but proposes that Jayne's hypothesis was the opposite of what happened:

I believe he [Jayne] got one important aspect of the story back to front. His contention that the phenomena he describes came about because of a breakdown of the 'bicameral mind' so that the two hemispheres, previously separate, now merged is the precise inverse of what happened.[32]:262

As an argument against Jaynes' proposed date of the transition from bicameralism to consciousness some critics have referred to the Epic of Gilgamesh.[citation needed] Early copies of the epic are many centuries older[33] than even the oldest passages of the Old Testament,[34] and yet it describes introspection and other mental processes that, according to Jaynes, were impossible for the bicameral mind.

Jaynes noted that the most complete version of the Gilgamesh epic dates to post-bicameral times (7thcenturyBCE), dismisses these instances of introspection as the result of rewriting and expansion by later conscious scribes, and points to differences between the more recent version of Gilgamesh and surviving fragments of earlier versions: "The most interesting comparison is in TabletX."[12]:252 His answer, however, does not deal with the generally accepted dating of the "Standard Version" of the Gilgamesh epic to the later 2ndmillenniumBCE, nor does it account for the introspection that so often taken as characteristic of the "Standard Version" being thoroughly rooted in the Old Babylonian and Sumerian versions, especially so as our understanding of the Old Babylonian poem improves.[33][34][35]

Julian Jaynes' study is mostly based on the writings and culture of the Mediterranean and Near-Eastern regions, although he occasionally also refers to ancient writings of India and China.[36][a]

Jaynes' proposal does not explain how such bicameralism could also have been near totally lost at the same time across the whole planet and in the entire human species. In particular the aborigine culture was completely separated from the rest of the world from 4000BCE1600CE and appears today to be historically unchanged, but also self-conscious.[citation needed]

Divination is also considerably older than that date and the early writings he claims show bicamerality: The oldest recorded Chinese Writing was on oracle bones, meaning that divination arose at the same time or even earlier than writing, in Chinese society.[37][not in citation given]

While he said ancient societies engaged in ancestor worship before this date, non-ancient societies also engaged in it after that date; very advanced societies like the Aztecs and Egyptians mummified and deified rulers (see Pyramids and the philosopher Nezahualcoyotl). The Aztecs and Incans did so all the way up to their enslavement by the Spanish.[citation needed]

It is now known[citation needed] that the sense of agency is closely connected with lateralization: The left parietal lobe is active when visualizing actions by the self, while the right parietal lobe is active for actions by others. Additionally, Wernicke's area processes the literal meaning of language, while the homologous region in the right hemisphere processes the intent of a speaker.

It has been found[citation needed] that people with damage to the right inferior parietal cortex experience alien hand syndrome, as do people who have had a corpus callosotomy. This reverses the relationship between the right and left hemispheres posited by Jaynes' proposed bicameralism: It is the left hemisphere that is responsible for speech and the right hemisphere that is responsible for self-awareness.

VS Ramachandran proposes a similar concept, referring to the left cortical hemisphere as an "apologist", and the right cortical hemisphere as a "revolutionary".[citation needed]

In his book Neuroreality, Bruce E. Morton, Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii, similarly proposed such a concept.[citation needed]

Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist reviews scientific research into the role of the brain's hemispheres, and cultural evidence, in his book The Master and His Emissary.[32] Similar to Jaynes, McGilchrist proposes that since the time of Plato the left hemisphere of the brain (the "emissary" in the title) has increasingly taken over from the right hemisphere (the "master"), to our detriment. McGilchrist, while accepting Jayne's intention, felt that Jayne's hypothesis was "the precise inverse of what happened" and that rather than a shift from bicameralism there evolved a separation of the hemispheres to bicameralism.[32](See McGilchrist quotation, above.)

Michael Gazzaniga pioneered the split-brain experiments which led him to propose a similar theory called the left brain interpreter.

Neuroscientist Michael Persinger, who co-invented the God helmet in the 1980s, believes that his invention may induce mystical experiences by having the separate right hemisphere consciousness intrude into the awareness of the normally-dominant left hemisphere.[38]

The Julian Jaynes Society was founded by supporters of bicameralism in 1997, shortly after Jaynes' death. The society published a collection of essays on bicameralism in 2007, with contributors including psychological anthropologist Brian J. McVeigh, psychologists John Limber and Scott Greer, clinical psychologist John Hamilton, philosophers Jan Sleutels and David Stove, and sinologist Michael Carr (see shi personator). The book also contains an extensive biography of Julian Jaynes by historian of psychology William Woodward and June Tower, and a foreword by neuroscientist Michael Persinger.[40]

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Bicameralism (psychology) - Wikipedia

Coach, speaker and entrepreneur, I founded the RADICAL Success Institute in 2008, where our mission is to help you define success for yourself and get the guts to go after it.

Ive had the honor of coaching thousands of people to create RADICAL Success in their life and business. Ive spoken at events all across the country and Ive worked directly with Steve Harvey to build his powerful Act Like A Success platform.

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As Founder and CEO of the RADICAL Success Institute and the Vice President, Operations, Act Like A Success | A Steve Harvey Company, Im driven by a singular vision: to help people define success for themselves and get the guts to go after it.

A life-long learner, I constantly engage in continuing education courses and programs to stay on top of the latest research, trends and information on success. I frequently interview and talk with experts, thought leaders and industry insiders in a variety of fields to glean relevant, timely and practical insights to share with my clients and my community.

I received my B.A. from Spelman College, an M.S. in Conflict Negotiation and Conflict Management from the University of Baltimore and my coaching certificate from The Coaches Training Institute.

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RADICAL Success Intensive A NEW, RADICAL APPROACH TO ...

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T.I Motivation

This is probably one of my favorite songs by T.I, considering the fact that I haven't even heard his new album, No Mercy(I saw an ad for it). Well, sub, like and add as friend.

Lyrics:

[Intro]Better get on yo job, tell'em, haters get on yo job, nigga (Motivation)Nigga, get on yo job, tell'em, haters get on yo job, nigga (Motivation)Haters better get on yo job, tell'em, haters get on yo job, nigga (It's motivation)Sucka nigga, get on yo job, if ya, hatin' get on yo job, nigga

[Verse 1]You can look me in my eyes, see I'm ready for whateverAnythang don't kill me, make me betterI ain't dead nigga, you can take the fame and the cheddaAnd the game, any deal, I'm still a go-getterTake my freedom for the moment but it ain't fo-everI got the spirit of a god, heart of a dope dealerI'm a king, seen hangin' with some cold killasI ain't never back down or ran from no niggaI ain't sat down yet, pimp, standin' gorillaEven if I'ma all alone or standin' with four niggazTell'em jump, pimpin' it don't get no realer5'9" with the soul of a 6'4" niggaI separated the fakes, paralized from the waist downFrom the real stand up guys of the A-TownCan't even look me in my eyes, put yo face downI'm outta jail nigga, whachu gotta say now?

[Chorus]MotivationNiggaz fakin' only gonna inspire (Motivation)All yo hatin' in fuel to my fire (It's motivation)Niggaz plottin' on the crown soft droppin' (It's motivation)Hey but I ain't slowin' down and I ain't stoppin' (Motivation)Now nigga don't stop my show (Motivation)You ain't know I don't stop, I go (It's motivation)Sucka niggaz can't make me sufferJust make me stronger and make me tougher (It's motivation)

[Verse 2]To be locked in a box niggaz happy to seePut anybody on top, any rapper but T, I, PBut back to reality G, O.D. still carryin' me, nigga I run thisSpread yo rumours, kick all yo lil' dumb shitTell lies, laugh 'bout the time that I'm gon getIf it make you feel better, picture me over and done withPunk bitch, come with all the gossip you can come withSmall thang to a giant, I can overcome thisJail, I don' done this, rap I'm just havin' fun withI could be a local joker, never have one hitNigga, "New Finish" alone'll get me dumb richWhile these rappers sellin' records gettin' penniesIf Grand Hustle sell any, I'ma get plentyIf God with me, who could be against me sucka?Can't make me suffer, just make me tougher

[Chorus - repeat]

[Repeat Hook]

[Chorus - repeat]

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T.I~Motivation (Urban Legend) - YouTube

"McIntosh has written another important and groundbreaking book. The Presence of the Infinite helps establish the central significance of the beautiful, the good, and the true as the foundation of human wellbeing. By shining the light of integral philosophy onto the subject of spiritual experience and spiritual leadership, McIntosh convincingly describes the future course of humanity's spiritual evolution. Reading this book is a spiritual experience in its own right." --John Mackey, Co-Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Markets, and Co-Author of Conscious Capitalism

"In the Middle Ages, great Christian theologians developed a range of rational arguments for the existence of God. Many of those arguments have been discredited in the centuries since Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Freud, Einstein, and Hubble. As a result, belief in God or spirit, or any transcendence at all, has been slipping away, often leaving a reduced and empty world in its wake. Steve McIntosh is a leading philosopher seeking to rediscover transcendence--not apart from scientific evidence, but by interpreting it afresh. I find his work--especially The Presence of the Infinite--helpful, stimulating, and inspiring in my own work as a Christian thinker, writer, and activist." --Brian D. McLaren, Author of A New Kind of Christianity, and host of brianmclaren.net

"Spirituality is evolving, and The Presence of the Infinite is proof. This book is required reading for any serious student of evolutionary spirituality. Steve McIntosh passionately and meticulously gives his well-trained and inspired intellect to his work as a philosopher, seeing philosophy's role in evolving a new worldview as an absolutely critical undertaking, with a mission to balance and integrate our rapidly-evolving science and spirituality. Your understanding of your own spirituality will be challenged and clarified if you read this book with a serious heart." --Terry Patten, Co-author of Integral Life Practice and creator and host of the online teleseminar series Beyond Awakening

"The Presence of the Infinite represents a unique contribution to the East-meets-West philosophical dialogue. Uncovering the common oversimplifications and misconceptions inherent in both theism and popular nondualism, McIntosh invites us to consider a broader religious synthesis that affirms and begins to unify both the ancient impulse to transcend and the contemporary impulse to evolve. An important book for anyone tracking the evolution of spirituality in our time." --Craig Hamilton, Founder, IntegralEnlightenment.com, and CEO of Evolving Wisdom transformative education

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The Presence of the Infinite: The Spiritual Experience of ...

86

I've been going to this studio consistently since signing up for FitReserve and every time I leave it I feel so much better than when I arrived. The teachers are so encouraging and reassuring, and the classes really are all levels - there's a great mix of students in each one. They're also the exact right balance between physical and meditative. Jennifer and Dana's classes in particular are awesome. I LOVE New York Yoga.

Dont buy a package from here. My sister bought me a 10 pack and I just got a call that it was going to expire. The expiration date was never discussed when purchasing and there was no signature that I agreed to this. NY Yoga thinks that they will keep my $300 dollars for no reason. This is not fair practice and let it be known of this scam.

Tried one class here. This was an open class- and I brought my friend who had never done yoga before. As a yoga teacher I have to say she has a good grasp on leading a class.... if you know the positions. However for the newbies she was not helpful at all. Not only that if I had not intervened my friend could have gotten hurt. It's unfortunate that so many teachers don't know anything beyond sun salutations and some handstands. Yoga is for everyone and this teacher should have shown modifications for each pose.

One of my favorite hot yoga studios in town! The teachers here are knowledgeable and encouraging. They incorporate creative flows with fun music and I always leave feeling both challenged and relaxed. The changing room has all the essentials - lockers (you'd have to bring your own lock), showers, and a hair dryer. Overall it's a great place and I'd highly recommend it!

This is an incredible place. I've gone to hundreds of yoga classes and this was the best one. It's because Cara Anselmo is an amazing teacher. I left feeling completely differently than when I went in, which is a very good thing! Cara taught with kindness and wisdom. She was opening and welcoming and helpful. She was beautiful. I highly recommend this class and this studio. Wish I lived in New York. But I will come back every time I visit New York! Thank you!!!!!

Peaceful, well-kept, quiet studio with friendly & knowledgeable front desk staff. I took Mariana's Power Flow class which was great. Plan to take her hot yoga class next time.

I started practicing with my wife at the York Ave location in September, and we love it. Classes have been great, with good variety to choose from. Our main teachers are Danielle Storm (gentle yoga) and Randi Cerini (basic yoga) and they have been terrific - ultra-positive and accommodate your needs while always teaching with a suggestion here and there. They have made us feel welcome. Now that I seem to be figuring things out, I'm starting to attend Chris Temple's class, and he's just awesome. I have learned so much and yet there is so much more room to grow, look forward to continuing. Thank you NY Yoga!

Restorative yoga=a $30 nap. Will never do it again. Community classes, which are donation-based, are not rigorous, but are better than nothing. I've never paid full price for their regular yoga classes (their prices are steep), so I can't speak to whether or not they're valuable.

Well, I've only been taking class here almost since they opened. This is a friendly studio, but more than that, the teachers are excellent, the classes are creative,and the studio is comfortable. I am, by the way, a Yoga teacher and therapist-- RYT 500-- so I know what I'm talking about. I love New York Yoga.

Clean, well kept little studio. Very peaceful vibes from this space.I've been taking Jessica's Monday night vinyasa class and after the first, I told a friend "I've never gotten so many corrections in my life" - in the best way possible! Jessica give a lot of personal attention while keeping the class moving. What I love is that each time I've gone, despite it being a "basic vinyasa" class, we try something different every class. She has an extremely calming voice and has really helped fix a lot things I've been doing wrong throughout years! Most other yoga classes I take are also downtown (NoHo/union square/ flat iron) which tend to be over crowded with mostly people in their 20s. I like that New York Yoga brings in a very diverse mix of people (age wise and also genders) and it just feels like we are trying to de-stress together on a Monday night.Definitely hit up this studio if you are UES-er!

I absolutely love Rebecca. She is a sparkling gem.

I really love this studio. It is warm, welcoming and clean. The teachers are great and the class sizes are just right. It is a bit expensive but I truly value the classes I take there!

This studio is my happy place. It has excellent vibes. The teachers and members are kind, normal people, not pretentious, snooty, or competitive. It also has the hottest temperature that I have found in all of the hot yoga studios in NYC. The music is also great. Come to an hour class and you will feel amazing about the world afterward.

I moved to the UES and was looking for yoga classes nearby. I got so lucky to find this place. Clean and cozy studio, great teachers and classes. One of my favorite is candlelight yoga. Must try!

I would give New York Yoga a much better rating except for my unfortunate experience with the person at the front desk. It was my first time at New York Yoga and I'd signed up online for a beginners class. I got to the front desk and the woman looked at me and asked if I was there for "Prenatal Yoga". For the record, I do not look pregnant. I was there for Beginner's Yoga or whatever it was called and she had no reason to assume I was there for Prenatal Yoga. While some people might not be offended by this, it offended me, especially when I said that "no, I'm here for beginning yoga" and she said "Oh, I thought you were here for Prenatal Yoga", reiterating that she thought I looked pregnant. It was just so rude. While the class was good, I've never been back.

Wonderful Yoga studio, with friendly staff members, amazing class schedule, and competitive class packages. What I most appreciate of this intimate studio is that they offer 9PM classes. I highly recommend David Radzinsky and Donnalynn Civello's classes.

I went to the 75 min Vinyasa class today.The class itself was good, but quite hard. However, the studio doesn't provide water! I forgot to bring money, and I had to borrow a cup and fill it with sink water. Not good.

'My home away from home'In 2008,..a friend of mine recommended me to do yoga, since my line of work as a supermodel and actress was a stressful one, especially coming from a small town in The Netherlands where everyone is kind and pure.My friend said:" there's a studio two blocks from your house,..go in there,.."So I went,..As I opened the door, a friendly smile greeted me at the front desk and I took my first class with Kristin Leal.I praised to the girl who greeted me with that smile at the front desk about my experience,..she told me about an annual membership. I thought,..you know what, this is like Holland, a wonderful beautiful environment,..I want to be part of that.That girl at the front desk, became my reason for coming there, her smile.Her smile, and her friendliness,...became my love for yoga, I forgot all about my stressful life, it was like cheers,..'where everybody knows your name'That girl grew to becoming over the years a manager of NY Yoga,..a yoga instructor at the studio.Not only that, also, ..teaches the yoga teacher training program.I always wanted to do that, my mother knew, my friends knew,..So here I come at six AM in 2016 and there's that smile again:" Good morning, Saskia" there was that girl again sitting at the front desk filling in for the front desk girl,..now a manager, teacher and a yoga teacher training specialist,...BUT it was like THAT the first time I ever entered that yoga studio, but now with my profound purpose in life.But at this time in 2016 I said her name like family, like a close friend and said;" Rebecca Merritt,..can I do the teacher training program?" Haven gotten to know her,..over the past years since 2008 and the community she's built and the teacher training program, and all the wonderful friends I have made, and all the wonderful practitioners and instructors,..this is like my village in Holland, pure and kindnessNamaste,..Sas

Great instructors. I'm now in my third year at NY Yoga and I continue to be happy with their facilities, staff and instructors! A great place to learn and practice yoga.

I love New York yoga. I've been practicing there for over 7 years. Always a friendly face at the desk and the teachers are amazing! They are all super talented and welcoming. I highly recommend NY Yoga!

Continued here:
New York Yoga - 25 Photos & 86 Reviews - Yoga - 1629 York Ave ...

Full description :Adapted yoga poses can physically and mentally help prepare women for childbirth. This course will teach you how to adapt a yoga practice to each stage of pregnancy, to ensure a safe and enriching practice for mother and baby. You will learn about benefits of yoga in pregnancy and how to modify asanas for the changing body. We will introduce special poses, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques that will help to prepare women for a smooth delivery and explore how meditation and relaxation practices can help parents to welcome their new children. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on how to build a safe and supportive environment in the classroom and support students emotionally through their pregnancy journey. The goal of the course is to give yoga teachers guidelines for teaching yoga to pregnant women. We will cover Swami Vishnudevanandas 5 basic Points of Yoga as applied to teaching yoga to pregnant women.

*15 hr Continued Education Certificate with Yoga Alliance upon completion.

If you would like to take the full 2 week Sivananda Adapted Yoga Teacher Training that includes the following courses:

Adapted Yoga AsanasYoga Asanas According to AyurvedaTeaching Yoga for Kids and TeensChair YogaPrenatal Yoga

Please click here for more information and registration options.

Daily schedule :Wednesday:Check in is at 15:00

Regular Ashram daily schedule

Thursday and Friday:6 am Morning Satsang8 am Yoga class10 am Brunch11 am Karma Yoga1 pm Course session4 pm Prenatal yoga class6 pm Dinner8 pm Satsang

Saturday:6 am Morning Satsang8 am Yoga class10 am Brunch11 am Check out of the room1 pm Course session3.30 pm to 6 pm Prenatal yoga class

**The course ends on Saturday August 11th at 6 pm. Please plan to depart a day after the course dates if needed. Please refer to the check in/out times.

Teacher :Sarada has been part of the Sivananda organization as a karma yogi and teacher for over 20 years, in South America, Canada and Europe. She is a kind and compassionate teacher, offering her vast knowledge of yoga to a wide variety of students. Currently residing in Germany, she also teaches classes for kids / teens with special needs.

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Sivananda Canada

Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases."[2] Personal hygiene refers to maintaining the body's cleanliness.

Many people equate hygiene with 'cleanliness,' but hygiene is a broad term. It includes such personal habit choices as how frequently to bathe, wash hands, trim fingernails, and change clothing. It also includes attention to keeping surfaces in the home and workplace, including bathroom facilities, clean and pathogen-free.

Some regular hygiene practices may be considered good habits by a society, while the neglect of hygiene can be considered disgusting, disrespectful, or threatening.

First attested in English in 1677s, the word hygiene comes from the French hygine, the latinisation of the Greek () hugiein techn, meaning "(art) of health", from hugieinos, "good for the health, healthy",[3] in turn from (hugis), "healthful, sound, salutary, wholesome".[4] In ancient Greek religion, Hygeia () was the personification of health, cleanliness, and hygiene.[5]

Hygiene is a concept related to cleanliness, health and medicine. It is as well related to personal and professional care practices. In medicine and everyday life settings, hygiene practices are employed as preventative measures to reduce the incidence and spreading of disease.

Hygiene practices vary, and what is considered acceptable in one culture might not be acceptable in another.

In the manufacturing of food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and other products, good hygiene is a critical component of quality assurance.

The terms cleanliness and hygiene are often used interchangeably, which can cause confusion. In general, hygiene refers to practices that prevent spread of disease-causing organisms. Cleaning processes (e.g., handwashing) remove infectious microbes as well as dirt and soil, and are thus often the means to achieve hygiene.

Other uses of the term appear in phrases including body hygiene, personal hygiene, sleep hygiene, mental hygiene, dental hygiene, and occupational hygiene, used in connection with public health. Hygiene is also the name of a branch of science that deals with the promotion and preservation of health.

Medical hygiene pertains to the hygiene practices related to the administration of medicine and medical care that prevents or minimizes the spread of disease.

Medical hygiene practices include:

Most of these practices were developed in the 19th century and were well established by the mid-20th century. Some procedures (such as disposal of medical waste) were refined in response to late-20th century disease outbreaks, notably AIDS and Ebola.

Home hygiene pertains to the hygiene practices that prevent or minimize the spread of disease at home and other everyday settings such as social settings, public transport, the workplace, public places etc.

Hygiene in a variety of settings plays an important role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases.[6] It includes procedures used in a variety of domestic situations such as hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, food and water hygiene, general home hygiene (hygiene of environmental sites and surfaces), care of domestic animals, and home health care (the care of those who are at greater risk of infection).

At present, these components of hygiene tend to be regarded as separate issues, although based on the same underlying microbiological principles. Preventing the spread of diseases means breaking the chain of infection transmission. Simply, if the chain of infection is broken, infection cannot spread. In response to the need for effective codes of hygiene in home and everyday life settings the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene has developed a risk-based approach based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), also referred to as "targeted hygiene." Targeted hygiene is based on identifying the routes of pathogen spread in the home and introducing hygiene practices at critical times to break the chain of infection.

The main sources of infection in the home[7] are people (who are carriers or are infected), foods (particularly raw foods) and water, and domestic animals (in the U.S. more than 50% of homes have one or more pets[8]). Sites that accumulate stagnant watersuch as sinks, toilets, waste pipes, cleaning tools, face clothsreadily support microbial growth and can become secondary reservoirs of infection, though species are mostly those that threaten "at risk" groups. Pathogens (potentially infectious bacteria, viruses etc.colloquially called "germs") are constantly shed from these sources via mucous membranes, feces, vomit, skin scales, etc. Thus, when circumstances combine, people are exposed, either directly or via food or water, and can develop an infection.

The main "highways" for the spread of pathogens in the home are the hands, hand and food contact surfaces, and cleaning cloths and utensils. Pathogens can also be spread via clothing and household linens, such as towels. Utilities such as toilets and wash basins, for example, were invented for dealing safely with human waste but still have risks associated with them. Safe disposal of human waste is a fundamental need; poor sanitation is a primary cause of diarrhea disease in low income communities. Respiratory viruses and fungal spores are spread via the air.

Good home hygiene means engaging in hygiene practices at critical points to break the chain of infection.[7] Because the "infectious dose" for some pathogens can be very small (10-100 viable units or even less for some viruses), and infection can result from direct transfer of pathogens from surfaces via hands or food to the mouth, nasal mucosa or the eye, 'hygienic cleaning' procedures should be sufficient to eliminate pathogens from critical surfaces.

Hygienic cleaning can be done through:

Hand hygiene is defined as handwashing or washing hands and nails with soap and water or using a waterless hand sanitizer. Hand hygiene is central to preventing spread of infectious diseases in home and everyday life settings.[9]

In situations where handwashing with soap is not an option (e.g., when in a public place with no access to wash facilities), a waterless hand sanitizer such as an alcohol hand gel can be used. They can be used in addition to handwashing to minimize risks when caring for "at risk" groups. To be effective, alcohol hand gels should contain not less than 60%v/v alcohol.

The World Health Organization recommends handwashing with ash if soap is not available in emergencies,[10] schools without access to soap[11] and other difficult situations like post-emergencies where use of (clean) sand is recommended, too.[12] Use of ash is common in rural areas of developing countries and has in experiments been shown at least as effective as soap for removing pathogens.[13]

Correct respiratory and hand hygiene when coughing and sneezing reduces the spread of pathogens particularly during the cold and flu season.[6]

Food hygiene is concerned with the hygiene practices that prevent food poisoning. The five key principles of food hygiene, according to WHO, are:[14]

Routine cleaning of (hand, food, drinking water) sites and surfaces (such as toilet seats and flush handles, door and tap handles, work surfaces, bath and basin surfaces) in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet reduces the risk of spread of pathogens.[15] The infection risk from flush toilets is not high, provided they are properly maintained, although some splashing and aerosol formation can occur during flushing, particularly when someone has diarrhea. Pathogens can survive in the scum or scale left behind on baths and wash basins after washing and bathing.

Water left stagnant in the pipes of showers can be contaminated with pathogens that become airborne when the shower is turned on. If a shower has not been used for some time, it should be left to run at a hot temperature for a few minutes before use.

Thorough cleaning is important in preventing the spread of fungal infections.[16] Molds can live on wall and floor tiles and on shower curtains. Mold can be responsible for infections, cause allergic responses, deteriorate/damage surfaces and cause unpleasant odors. Primary sites of fungal growth are inanimate surfaces, including carpets and soft furnishings.[17] Air-borne fungi are usually associated with damp conditions, poor ventilation or closed air systems.

Laundry hygiene involves practices that prevent disease and its spread via soiled clothing and household linens such as towels.[18] Items most likely to be contaminated with pathogens are those that come into direct contact with the body, e.g., underwear, personal towels, facecloths, nappies. Cloths or other fabric items used during food preparation, or for cleaning the toilet or cleaning up material such as faeces or vomit are a particular risk.[19]

Microbiological and epidemiological data indicates that clothing and household linens etc. are a risk factor for infection transmission in home and everyday life settings as well as institutional settings. The lack of quantitative data linking contaminated clothing to infection in the domestic setting makes it difficult to assess the extent of this risk.[18][19][20] It also indicates that risks from clothing and household linens are somewhat less than those associated with hands, hand contact and food contact surfaces, and cleaning cloths, but even so these risks needs to be managed through effective laundering practices. In the home, this routine should be carried out as part of a multibarrier approach to hygiene which includes hand, food, respiratory and other hygiene practices.[18][19][20]

Infectious diseases risks from contaminated clothing etc. can increase significantly under certain conditions, e.g., in healthcare situations in hospitals, care homes and the domestic setting where someone has diarrhoea, vomiting, or a skin or wound infection. It increases in circumstances where someone has reduced immunity to infection.

Hygiene measures, including laundry hygiene, are an important part of reducing spread of antibiotic resistant strains.[21][22] In the community, otherwise healthy people can become persistent skin carriers of MRSA, or faecal carriers of enterobacteria strains which can carry multi-antibiotic resistance factors (e.g. NDM-1 or ESBL-producing strains). The risks are not apparent until, for example, they are admitted to hospital, when they can become "self infected" with their own resistant organisms following a surgical procedure. As persistent nasal, skin or bowel carriage in the healthy population spreads "silently" across the world, the risks from resistant strains in both hospitals and the community increases.[22] In particular the data indicates that clothing and household linens are a risk factor for spread of S. aureus (including MRSA and PVL-producing MRSA strains), and that effectiveness of laundry processes may be an important factor in defining the rate of community spread of these strains.[18][23] Experience in the United States suggests that these strains are transmissible within families and in community settings such as prisons, schools and sport teams. Skin-to-skin contact (including unabraded skin) and indirect contact with contaminated objects such as towels, sheets and sports equipment seem to represent the mode of transmission.[18]

During laundering, temperature and detergent work to reduce microbial contamination levels on fabrics. Soil and microbes from fabrics are severed and suspended in the wash water. These are then "washed away" during the rinse and spin cycles. In addition to physical removal, micro-organisms can be killed by thermal inactivation which increases as the temperature is increased. Chemical inactivation of microbes by the surfactants and activated oxygen-based bleach used in detergents contributes to the hygiene effectiveness of laundering. Adding hypochlorite bleach in the washing process achieves inactivation of microbes. A number of other factors can contribute including drying and ironing.

Laundry detergents contain a mix of ingredients including surfactants, builders, optical brighteners, etc. Cleaning action arises primarily from the action of the surfactants and other ingredients, which are designed to maximise release and suspension of dirt and microbes into the wash liquid, together with enzymes and/or an activated oxygen-based bleach which digest and remove stains. Although activated oxygen bleach is included in many powder detergents to digest and remove stains, it produces some chemical inactivation of bacteria, fungi and viruses. As a rule of thumb, powders and tablets normally contain an activated oxygen bleach, but liquids and all products (liquid or powder) used for "coloureds" do not. Surfactants also exert some chemical inactivation action against certain species although the extent of their action is not known.

In 2013 the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) reviewed some 30 studies of the hygiene effectiveness of laundering at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 70C, under varying conditions.[24] A key finding was the lack of standardisation and control within studies, and the variability in test conditions between studies such as wash cycle time, number of rinses, etc. The consequent variability in the data (i.e., the reduction in contamination on fabrics) obtained, in turn makes it extremely difficult to propose guidelines for laundering with any confidence, based on currently available data. As a result, there is significant variability in the recommendations for hygienic laundering of clothing etc. given by different agencies.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

Of concern is recent data suggesting that, in reality, modern domestic washing machines do not reach the temperature specified on the machine controls.[31][32]

Medical hygiene pertains to the hygiene practices that prevents or minimizes disease and the spreading of disease in relation to administering medical care to those who are infected or who are more "at risk" of infection in the home. Across the world, governments are increasingly under pressure to fund the level of healthcare that people expect. Care of increasing numbers of patients in the community, including at home is one answer, but can be fatally undermined by inadequate infection control in the home. Increasingly, all of these "at-risk" groups are cared for at home by a carer who may be a household member who thus requires a good knowledge of hygiene. People with reduced immunity to infection, who are looked after at home, make up an increasing proportion of the population (currently up to 20%).[6] The largest proportion are the elderly who have co-morbidities, which reduce their immunity to infection. It also includes the very young, patients discharged from hospital, taking immuno-suppressive drugs or using invasive systems, etc. For patients discharged from hospital, or being treated at home special "medical hygiene" (see above) procedures may need to be performed for them e.g. catheter or dressing replacement, which puts them at higher risk of infection.

Antiseptics may be applied to cuts, wounds abrasions of the skin to prevent the entry of harmful bacteria that can cause sepsis. Day-to-day hygiene practices, other than special medical hygiene procedures[33] are no different for those at increased risk of infection than for other family members. The difference is that, if hygiene practices are not correctly carried out, the risk of infection is much greater.

Chemical disinfectants are products that kill pathogens. If the product is a disinfectant, the label on the product should say "disinfectant" or "kills" pathogens. Some commercial products, e.g. bleaches, even though they are technically disinfectants, say that they "kill pathogens" but are not actually labelled as "disinfectants". Not all disinfectants kill all types of pathogens. All disinfectants kill bacteria (called bactericidal). Some also kill fungi (fungicidal), bacterial spores (sporicidal) or viruses (virucidal).

An antibacterial product is a product that acts against bacteria in some unspecified way. Some products labelled "antibacterial" kill bacteria while others may contain a concentration of active ingredient that only prevent them multiplying. It is, therefore, important to check whether the product label states that it "kills" bacteria." An antibacterial is not necessarily anti-fungal or anti-viral unless this is stated on the label.

The term sanitizer has been used to define substances that both clean and disinfect. More recently this term has been applied to alcohol-based products that disinfect the hands (alcohol hand sanitizers). Alcohol hand sanitizers however are not considered to be effective on soiled hands.

The term biocide is a broad term for a substance that kills, inactivates or otherwise controls living organisms. It includes antiseptics and disinfectants, which combat micro-organisms, and pesticides.

In developing countries, universal access to water and sanitation has been seen as the essential step in reducing the preventable infectious diseases burden, but it is now clear that this is best achieved by programs that integrate hygiene promotion with improvements in water quality and availability, and sanitation. This approach has been integrated into the Sustainable Development Goal Number 6 whose second target states: "By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations".[34] Due to their close linkages, water, sanitation, hygiene are together abbreviated and funded under the term WASH in development cooperation.

About 2 million people die every year due to diarrheal diseases, most of them are children less than 5 years of age.[35] The most affected are the populations in developing countries, living in extreme conditions of poverty, normally peri-urban dwellers or rural inhabitants. Providing access to sufficient quantities of safe water, the provision of facilities for a sanitary disposal of excreta, and introducing sound hygiene behaviors are of capital importance to reduce the burden of disease caused by these risk factors.

Research shows that, if widely practiced, hand washing with soap could reduce diarrhea by almost fifty percent[36][37][38] and respiratory infections by nearly twenty-five percent[39][40] Hand washing with soap also reduces the incidence of skin diseases,[41][42] eye infections like trachoma and intestinal worms, especially ascariasis and trichuriasis.[43]

Other hygiene practices, such as safe disposal of waste, surface hygiene, and care of domestic animals, are important in low income communities to break the chain of infection transmission.[44]

Cleaning of toilets and hand wash facilities is important to prevent odors and make them socially acceptable. Social acceptance is an important part of encouraging people to use toilets and wash their hands, in situations where open defecation is still seen as a possible alternative, e.g. in rural areas of some developing countries.

Household water treatment and safe storage ensure drinking water is safe for consumption. These interventions are part of the approach of self-supply of water for households.[45] Drinking water quality remains a significant problem in developing[46] and in developed countries;[47] even in the European region it is estimated that 120 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. Point-of-use water quality interventions can reduce diarrheal disease in communities where water quality is poor or in emergency situations where there is a breakdown in water supply.[46][47][48][49]Since water can become contaminated during storage at home (e.g. by contact with contaminated hands or using dirty storage vessels), safe storage of water in the home is important.

Methods for treatment of drinking water,[49][15] include:

Personal hygiene involves those practices performed by an individual to care for one's bodily health and well being, through cleanliness. Motivations for personal hygiene practice include reduction of personal illness, healing from personal illness, optimal health and sense of well being, social acceptance and prevention of spread of illness to others. What is considered proper personal hygiene can be cultural-specific and may change over time.

Other practices that are generally considered proper hygiene include bathing regularly, washing hands regularly and especially before handling food, washing scalp hair, keeping hair short or removing hair, wearing clean clothing, brushing teeth, cutting finger nails, besides other practices. Some practices are gender-specific, such as by a woman during her menstrual cycle.

People tend to develop a routine for attending to their personal hygiene needs. Other personal hygienic practices would include covering one's mouth when coughing, disposal of soiled tissues appropriately, making sure toilets are clean, and making sure food handling areas are clean, besides other practices. Some cultures do not kiss or shake hands to reduce transmission of bacteria by contact.

Personal grooming extends personal hygiene as it pertains to the maintenance of a good personal and public appearance, which need not necessarily be hygienic. It may involve, for example, using deodorants or perfume, shaving, or combing, besides other practices.

Excessive body hygiene is one example of obsessive compulsive disorder.

The hygiene hypothesis was first formulated in 1989 by Strachan who observed that there was an inverse relationship between family size and development of atopic allergic disorders the more children in a family, the less likely they were to develop these allergies.[51] From this, he hypothesized that a lack of exposure to "infections" in early childhood transmitted by contact with older siblings could be a cause of the rapid rise in atopic disorders over the last 30 to 40 years. Strachan further proposed that the reason why this exposure no longer occurs is not only because of the trend towards smaller families, but also "improved household amenities and higher standards of personal cleanliness".

Although there is substantial evidence that some microbial exposures in early childhood can in some way protect against allergies, there is no evidence that humans need exposure to harmful microbes (infection) or that it is necessary to suffer a clinical infection.[52][53][54][55] Nor is there evidence that hygiene measures such as hand washing, food hygiene etc. are linked to increased susceptibility to atopic disease.[43][44] If this is the case, there is no conflict between the goals of preventing infection and minimising allergies. A consensus is now developing among experts that the answer lies in more fundamental changes in lifestyle etc. that have led to decreased exposure to certain microbial or other species, such as helminths, that are important for development of immuno-regulatory mechanisms.[56] There is still much uncertainty as to which lifestyle factors are involved.

Although media coverage of the hygiene hypothesis has declined, a strong collective mindset has become established that dirt is healthy and hygiene somehow unnatural. This has caused concern among health professionals that everyday life hygiene behaviours, which are the foundation of public health, are being undermined. In response to the need for effective hygiene in home and everyday life settings, the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene has developed a "risk-based" or targeted approach to home hygiene that seeks to ensure that hygiene measures are focussed on the places, and at the times most critical for infection transmission.[7] Whilst targeted hygiene was originally developed as an effective approach to hygiene practice, it also seeks, as far as possible, to sustain "normal" levels of exposure to the microbial flora of our environment to the extent that is important to build a balanced immune system.

Excessive body hygiene of the ear canals can result in infection or irritation. The ear canals require less body hygiene care than other parts of the body, because they are sensitive, and the body adequately cares for them. Most of the time the ear canals are self-cleaning; that is, there is a slow and orderly migration of the skin lining the ear canal from the eardrum to the outer opening of the ear. Old earwax is constantly being transported from the deeper areas of the ear canal out to the opening where it usually dries, flakes, and falls out.[57] Attempts to clean the ear canals through the removal of earwax can reduce ear canal cleanliness by pushing debris and foreign material into the ear that the natural movement of ear wax out of the ear would have removed.

Excessive application of soaps, creams, and ointments can adversely affect certain of the natural processes of the skin. For examples, soaps and ointments can deplete the skin of natural protective oils and fat-soluble content such as cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), and external substances can be absorbed, to disturb natural hormonal balances.[citation needed]

It is recommended that all healthy adults brush twice a day,[58] softly,[59] with the correct technique, replacing their toothbrush every few months (~3) or after a bout of illness.[60]

There are a number of common oral hygiene misconceptions. It is not correct to rinse the mouth with water after brushing.[61] It is also not recommended to brush immediately after drinking acidic substances, including sparkling water.[62] It is also recommended to floss once a day,[63] with a different piece of floss at each flossing session. The Effectiveness of Tooth Mousse is in debate.[64] Visits to a dentist for a checkup every year at least are recommended.[65]

Culinary hygiene pertains to the practices related to food management and cooking to prevent food contamination, prevent food poisoning and minimize the transmission of disease to other foods, humans or animals. Culinary hygiene practices specify safe ways to handle, store, prepare, serve and eat food.

Culinary practices include:

Personal service hygiene pertains to the practices related to the care and use of instruments used in the administration of personal care services to people:

Personal hygiene practices include:

Sleep hygiene is the recommended behavioral and environmental practice that is intended to promote better quality sleep.[66] This recommendation was developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia, but, as of 2014[update], the evidence for effectiveness of individual recommendations is "limited and inconclusive".[66] Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people who present with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically or mentally too close to bedtime, limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using bed for anything but sleep and avoiding alcohol as well as nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants in the hours before bedtime, and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment.

The earliest written account of Elaborate codes of hygiene can be found in several Hindu texts, such as the Manusmriti and the Vishnu Purana.[67] Bathing is one of the five Nitya karmas (daily duties) in Hinduism, and not performing it leads to sin, according to some scriptures.

Regular bathing was a hallmark of Roman civilization.[68] Elaborate baths were constructed in urban areas to serve the public, who typically demanded the infrastructure to maintain personal cleanliness. The complexes usually consisted of large, swimming pool-like baths, smaller cold and hot pools, saunas, and spa-like facilities where individuals could be depilated, oiled, and massaged. Water was constantly changed by an aqueduct-fed flow. Bathing outside of urban centers involved smaller, less elaborate bathing facilities, or simply the use of clean bodies of water. Roman cities also had large sewers, such as Rome's Cloaca Maxima, into which public and private latrines drained. Romans didn't have demand-flush toilets but did have some toilets with a continuous flow of water under them.

Until the late 19th Century, only the elite in Western cities typically possessed indoor facilities for relieving bodily functions. The poorer majority used communal facilities built above cesspools in backyards and courtyards. This changed after Dr. John Snow discovered that cholera was transmitted by the fecal contamination of water. Though it took decades for his findings to gain wide acceptance, governments and sanitary reformers were eventually convinced of the health benefits of using sewers to keep human waste from contaminating water. This encouraged the widespread adoption of both the flush toilet and the moral imperative that bathrooms should be indoors and as private as possible.[69]

Christianity has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene.[70] Despite the denunciation of the mixed bathing style of Roman pools by early Christian clergy, as well as the pagan custom of women naked bathing in front of men, this did not stop the Church from urging its followers to go to public baths for bathing,[71] which contributed to hygiene and good health according to the Church Father, Clement of Alexandria. The Church built public bathing facilities that were separate for both sexes near monasteries and pilgrimage sites; also, the popes situated baths within church basilicas and monasteries since the early Middle Ages.[72] Pope Gregory the Great urged his followers on value of bathing as a bodily need.[73]

Contrary to popular belief[74] and although the Early Christian leaders, such as Boniface I,[75] condemned bathing as unspiritual,[76] bathing and sanitation were not lost in Europe with the collapse of the Roman Empire.[77][78] Soapmaking first became an established trade during the so-called "Dark Ages". The Romans used scented oils (mostly from Egypt), among other alternatives.

Northern Europeans were not in the habit of bathing: in the ninth century Notker the Stammerer, a Frankish monk of St Gall, related a disapproving anecdote that attributed ill results of personal hygiene to an Italian fashion:

There was a certain deacon who followed the habits of the Italians in that he was perpetually trying to resist nature. He used to take baths, he had his head very closely shaved, he polished his skin, he cleaned his nail, he had his hair cut as short as if it were turned on a lathe, and he wore linen underclothes and a snow-white shirt.

Secular medieval texts constantly refer to the washing of hands before and after meals, but Sone de Nansay, hero of a 13th-century romance, discovers to his chagrin that the Norwegians do not wash up after eating.[79] In the 11th and 12th centuries, bathing was essential to the Western European upper class: the Cluniac monasteries to which they resorted or retired were always provided with bathhouses, and even the monks were required to take full immersion baths twice a year, at the two Christian festivals of renewal, though exhorted not to uncover themselves from under their bathing sheets.[80] In 14th century Tuscany, the newlywed couple's bath together was such a firm convention one such couple, in a large coopered tub, is illustrated in fresco in the town hall of San Gimignano.[81]

Bathing had fallen out of fashion in Northern Europe long before the Renaissance, when the communal public baths of German cities were in their turn a wonder to Italian visitors. Bathing was replaced by the heavy use of sweat-bathing and perfume, as it was thought in Europe that water could carry disease into the body through the skin. Bathing encouraged an erotic atmosphere that was played upon by the writers of romances intended for the upper class;[82] in the tale of Melusine the bath was a crucial element of the plot. "Bathing and grooming were regarded with suspicion by moralists, however, because they unveiled the attractiveness of the body. Bathing was said to be a prelude to sin, and in the penitential of Burchard of Worms we find a full catalogue of the sins that ensued when men and women bathed together."[83] Medieval church authorities believed that public bathing created an environment open to immorality and disease; the 26 public baths of Paris in the late 13th century were strictly overseen by the civil authorities.[83] At a later date Roman Catholic Church officials even banned public bathing in an unsuccessful effort to halt syphilis epidemics from sweeping Europe.[84]

Modern sanitation was not widely adopted until the 19th and 20th centuries. According to medieval historian Lynn Thorndike, people in Medieval Europe probably bathed more than people did in the 19th century.[85] Some time after Louis Pasteur's experiments proved the germ theory of disease and Joseph Lister and others put them into practice in sanitation, hygienic practices came to be regarded as synonymous with health, as they are in modern times.

Since the 7th century, Islam has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene. Other than the need to be ritually clean in time for the daily prayer (Arabic: Salat) through Wuzu and Ghusl, there are a large number of other hygiene-related rules governing the lives of Muslims. Other issues include the Islamic dietary laws. In general, the Qur'an advises Muslims to uphold high standards of physical hygiene and to be ritually clean whenever possible.

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Hygiene - Wikipedia

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Strike out into new territory with confidence and skill.

Do you ever feel that you have no control over your life and work? Perhaps you feel dominated by your colleagues, or overwhelmed by the demands of your job. Or is your time outside the workplace spent tending to other people's needs at the expense of your own?

This sense of powerlessness can be immensely frustrating. But, no matter what personal challenges you face, you can always make choices that give you back control. Understanding this is the essence of self-empowerment.

In this article, we examine personal empowerment in more detail, and explore the tools and techniques that you can use to achieve it.

Personal empowerment is about taking control of your own life, and making positive decisions based on what you want.

It's closely linked to attributes like self-esteem and self-confidence , but true empowerment comes when you convert intention into action.

Personal empowerment means giving yourself permission to succeed. But it doesn't mean "going it alone." Chances are, you'll need the input, support and guidance of others to achieve your objectives.

And, in many cases, you'll need their permission, too, in the form of trust, resources, time, or autonomy, for example.

Bear in mind that "empowerment" is not the same as "entitlement." People who feel entitled tend to believe that benefits and privileges should come to them automatically, while empowered people achieve success through hard work, reflection and cooperation.

We all experience self-empowerment in different ways, depending on our personalities and our circumstances. Let's look at an example:

Nancy and Geraint work in a store as sales clerks. They've worked there for several years but neither has sought a promotion, even though they both have the skills and knowledge to move up the ranks.

Do they feel empowered?

In Nancy's case, the answer is actually "yes." Nancy likes her job as it is. She's been offered a more senior role, but she made a conscious decision to turn it down, because she didn't want the extra responsibility. However, she feels confident enough to apply again later if things change.

Geraint, on the other hand, is frustrated. He wants the salary and job satisfaction that come with promotion, but he's convinced that he would be rejected if he applied for a management position.

Geraint feels powerless to change his situation, so he doesn't try. It's a vicious circle: the lack of an opportunity to prove himself has reduced his motivation and sense of empowerment. As a result, his performance suffers, and he's overlooked by the people who could give him the promotion that he wants.

It can be difficult to see the way out of a situation like Geraint's. You desperately want to feel stronger, and to make a bigger impact, but how do you do it?

Consider this four-step process for self-empowerment:

When you feel that you lack power, your confidence and self-esteem can take a knock, too. Developing your self-awareness can help you to understand why you feel this way, and to take charge of your emotions and actions.

Start by considering your locus of control the extent to which you believe that you are the master of your own destiny, or that your outcomes are determined by external forces, people or events. Understanding this distinction can enable you to take responsibility for your own empowerment, and to adopt a mindset that fosters learning and growth.

Then, analyze your strengths and weaknesses . Listing all of the things that you're good at and that you could be great at can be hugely empowering in itself. Building on those strengths, and knowing how to deal with your limitations, can give you an even bigger boost.

Understanding yourself better is a core aspect of emotional intelligence (EI), a key skill in the workplace. Developing your EI allows you to see how your emotions and behavior affect the people around you. This will likely make it easier for you to get others "on board" to help you to achieve your goals.

Seeking help from a coach , qualified counselor or mentor can be a great way to begin your journey toward greater self-awareness and personal empowerment.

Pinpoint the areas of your life where you feel unhappy, or where you feel at the mercy of an individual, an organization, or a set of circumstances. If you're not sure where to start, our interactive Wheel of Life tool can help you to identify these areas.

Ask yourself whether you really do lack power in these situations. (Our article, Working With the Control Influence Accept Model , can be useful here.) Be honest. Are you being too modest about your abilities or achievements? Or, could you be afraid of success ?

Focus on the areas that mean the most to you, and which correspond with your personal values . At work, for example, you might want to take on more responsibility, to increase your expertise , or to ask for a change in your work schedule.

Frame these target areas as SMART goals . In particular, focus on making them achievable. Research suggests that your sense of personal empowerment increases when you track the positive effects of the changes that you make. So, set realistic goals and create an Action Plan for reaching them.

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To feel empowered, you may depend on another person often your boss to confer power upon you. But it's no use sitting back and waiting to be promoted, or to be put in charge of an exciting new project. You need to earn that power.

To do this, you may need to learn new skills, or to refresh your existing ones.

Revisit your SMART goals and think about the skills or knowledge that you need. These could be personal qualities, such as tact or initiative; "soft skills," such as communication and conflict resolution; technical skills, like learning a new computer program; or a combination of all three.

To avoid becoming overwhelmed, start small, and work your way up to bigger steps. For example, you could speak up more often in meetings, volunteer for extra work in the field that interests you, or attend a training course.

You can measure the success of your personal empowerment process by the impact that it has on your life.

If your actions have moved you closer toward your goals, you have already succeeded in empowering yourself, and hopefully you will feel more empowered, too.

If that's not the case, you may still have work to do and that's normal. Personal empowerment rarely happens overnight. Once you've taken your first steps, ask for feedback from your co-workers, your mentor, or friends and family to help you to identify what you could do next.

Persistence and resilience are empowering in themselves, and gradually, as you learn from experience and refine your approach, your sense of personal power will grow.

The following techniques and exercises can help to support you during the self-empowerment process. Find the ones that suit you, and practice them regularly!

Personal empowerment is the sense that you are in control of your life. It enables you to make positive decisions, and to take action that will bring you closer to achieving your goals and ambitions.

To become more self-empowered, use this four-step process:

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What Is Personal Empowerment? - mindtools.com

Self-empowerment means that you take charge of your own life. This involves recognizing that within each of us is the ability to live from our natural being state. Another way to put it is to say that a self-empowered individual does not let go of the power as the expert of self. The main characteristic of self-empowerment is peace. This sounds so obvious, yet most of us dont achieve inner peace. To explore this concept further, lets look at it this way could you be self-empowered if you had the knowledge and tools necessary for the task? Find out how many people are transforming their life from dull and stressful to happy and stress-free.

Be Aware

Awareness involves recognizing your environment, yourself, and your power. To fully be aware, you must acknowledge that you can disengage from stressful things. Awareness is about defining why you disempower self from environment in the first place. Be aware of the power you possess inside to take back your life as your own.

Let Go of the Past

To achieve inner peace, you must live in the present moment or the now. Holding grudges leaves you laced with inner anger that interferes with this peace. When you judge, criticize, or regret, there is an inner self laced with guilt. That person will experience depression and anxiety related to the past. Let the past go and recognize it for what it is over. Forgiveness is part of the achievement of inner peace, a valuable part.

Develop a New Mindset

When you have willingness to expand and grow as a human being, you cultivate a new mindset. Think about your current dominant thoughts, habits, and beliefs. Are they serving you in a positive manner or negative one? Cultivate a new mindset so you can acknowledge that you have control of your mind, not the other way around.

Dont Worry About the Future

There is a fine line between the future and self-empowerment. Accept the truth regarding what the future holds for you. Surrender to what is going to be yours and what you have right in front of you. Accept each challenge regarding tomorrow as an empowering event, one you can constructively utilize in your journey toward inner peace.

Trust Others and Yourself

Trust is the quality that propels you forward toward being a better decision maker. Make your choices and stick with them. Trust your own judgment and ability to decide. Having trust involves having faith in the self-empowerment process, as well as in the process of life. Trusting others allows you to let go of worry, doubt, and dread.

Recognized What You Got

To see who you are, you must see what you got. Recognition is about the what, who, when, and where you give your power. Once you recognized your own abilities in this disempowering process, you can achieve self-empowerment. Identify and embrace the gifts and talents you possess. Dont wait on the world to acknowledge these attributes; you may be in for a wait.

Relax

Take time out from your daily life to relax. Meditation is an excellent way to free your body of stress. Take a few minutes each day to seek out and enjoy silence. Because meditation boosts serotonin (the brain chemical associated with mood), your attitude improves and your nights are more restful. Furthermore, meditation decreases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Be Responsible

To be more empowered, you must know exactly what you are responsible for in your life. Knowing this allows you to be guilt-free from life circumstances. Take responsibility for you and your life to be empowered and independent.

Share Your Greatness

Now that you know you are on your way to self-empowerment or empowered, share what you know with others. Allow people to see how great youve become because of your new found independence and peace.

Be Truthful

When you lie, you feel guilty. Guilt leads to shame. Shame leads to feelings of worthlessness. Honesty is really the best policy when it comes to self-empowerment. Dont treat yourself any differently than you treat others. Be truthful with yourself.

Learn about the limitless benefits of meditation, & how precisely designed brainwave technology (EquiSync) helps enable a deep, super-pleasurable, extremely beneficial state of meditation quickly, safely, & easily. Upgrade your life.

Whole Brain Synchronization

Meditation works to balance your left & right brain hemispheres, resulting in what doctors call "whole brain synchronization". In turn, you tap into a host of amazing benefits: more creativity, faster learning, better emotional health, & more. Upgrade everything. See charts.

Build 10 Key Brain Regions

Deep meditation upgrades 10 key brain regions. The result? So many benefits: great sleep, more happiness, deeper learning, better memory, higher IQ & EQ, less stress, more success, just to name a few. Change your brain, change your life.

With monumental health implications, meditation has been proven to naturally boost many of your body's chemicals: DHEA, GABA, Endorphins, Serotonin, Melatonin, & Growth Hormone, while lowering Cortisol. The benefits are staggering.

The power of your subconscious & unconscious mind are incredible. Here, we show you the vast benefits waiting under the surface, and how meditation is the best way to dive in, explore, and harness your deep mind. See detailed chart.

When it comes to what the human body "can" and "can't" do, a revolution is well underway. From extending life, to conquering "unconquerable" diseases, to rewriting genetic code, meditation's latest scientific findings are incredible. Become superhuman.

Why is meditation such a powerful anxiety reliever? From building neurotransmitters, to quieting mind chatter, to cooling the amygdala, this highly in-depth article discusses why anxiety is no match against meditation.

Known as the worlds happiest people, scientists love studying meditators' magnificent brains. From transforming psychology, to fully rewiring thought, to massively upgrading physiology, here we discuss why meditation dominates depression.

Even if you get the recommended eight hours each night, you may not be sleeping deeply enough to fully recharge your battery. Here, we discuss why so many of us have insomnia, and why meditation is the best solution to sleeping like a log.

Why dont meditators have addictions? From urge surfing, to masterfully dealing with stress, to uprooting deep seated emotions, to giving us a natural high, to unplugging naturally, here we discuss why meditation eradicates addiction.

Understand the degree to which meditation dramatically upgrades your body's stress response, effectively making you immune to anxiety, depression, addiction, and more. What is the secret to reaching deep, highly beneficial meditation? EquiSync.

Through a process called "Neurogenesis," doctors have discovered that our brain's "neuron count" is not set for life. Meditations well-proven ability to generate a "neuron fortune" has massive implications & big benefits.

Brain Power, Memory, & Focus

Did you know that your brain power, intelligence, memory, & focus can be dramatically upgraded, no matter who you are? Here, we discuss why scientists keep studying the marvelous meditating brain, and how you too can tap these awesome benefits.

Learn how precisely designed brainwave technology (EquiSync) helps enable a deep, super-pleasurable, extremely beneficial state of meditation quickly, safely, & easily. Charts included. Upgrade your life.

How can meditation transform your life? With links to detailed articles, here we have compiled more than 141 benefits of meditation. No stone left unturned.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about EquiSync's brainwave powered meditation system through our users most frequently asked questions (FAQ). Very helpful.

Happy EquiSync users send us their testimonials every day, we have posted a small sample here. Just the tip of the iceberg!

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10 Ways to Achieve Self-Empowerment - Operation Meditation