(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) At 58 John Graham barely knew a thing or two about dance. If asked he'd confess that he was highly 'uncoordinated and wouldn't be able to match steps with the rhythm'.

But over the last couple of months Graham has been watching his dance moves closely in the full-length mirrors that adorn the wall at his gym. For a change he seems to be enjoying swinging his feet and swaying his hands caring little about coordination.

The high-on-energy Bollywood music that he has been grooving to could have had something to do with it but burning calories was the initial draw he claimed.

Graham and his wife both 'reluctant dancers' are among the many fitness enthusiasts who have taken a liking to what they describe as a 'fun cardio-workout' called the aerodance to stay healthy and on top of their game. It's like aerobics and yet not said Graham.

Involving a combination of free-style movements inspired from Jazz Zumba Salsa and Arabic dance forms among others the hour-long exercise regime which is performed to popular Bollywood tracks is drawing the attention of both the young and old who want to break away from the regular diet of cardio and aerobic routines.

'Working out on the treadmill and the cycle can get boring' said Smina al Mahrooqi who is in her 30s and a regular at the aerodance class for the last eight months.

Shedding her inhibitions about whether she was cut out for dance was the start. 'I have always wanted to dance but lacked the courage. But the energy levels in this class are so high you just get convinced that it's the best thing to keep you in shape' admitted Smina adding that 'learning new dance steps especially the Bollywood moves' was inviting enough.

'Dancing can be both liberating and de-stressing' said aerodance instructor and master choreographer Muhammad Aleem Khan who first introduced the class in Muscat at the Balance Health and Fitness Centre Qurm adding 'This is why aerodance works; it is basically a combination of aerobics and different dance styles set to music. But the choreography is intended to target core muscle groups. As trainers we know which muscles need to be worked upon to burn fat so we incorporate dance steps that will work on those particular muscles.'

According to Khan Bollywood music is best suited for the workout because it is freestyle just like the dance moves. 'It's also the most popular music across nationalities so though some students don't understand the lyrics they enjoy it nonetheless because they've definitely heard it before' he said.

Generally an aerodance class is around 45 minutes long but the one designed by Khan a certified trainer from Fitness Champion Malaysia who has also registered his aerodance choreography with the same organisation lasts for around an hour.

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Aerobics, Bollywood style

60 Rocks with Roker

Meghan Holohan TODAY contributor

22 hours ago

On Wednesday, Al Roker turned 60 and took the milestone in stride. Today, hes celebrating by investing in his health and hes not alone. According to a TODAY survey, 61 percent of people in their sixth decade of life say they are in good health.

By the time you hit 60 youre comfortable in your skin. In fact, most people my age are feeling pretty good, Roker said.

The survey also found that 59 percent of people in their 60s see a doctor once a year, a habit that will help them feel good for years to come. To continue this good feeling, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News chief medical editor, introduced Roker to Dr. Tanya Benenson, chief medical officer at 30 Rock.

So whats a newly minted 60-year-old to expect from the doctor?

Some of the routine things that you mightve seen before; so blood pressure, weight. Youll likely have your blood done, Benenson says. What your doctor decides to do depends on you and your risk factors.

Rokers risk factors? A history of obesity and being an African-American man. African-American men are twice as likely as white men to have diabetes.

ColonoscopyEspecially if the last one occurred a decade ago. A colonoscopy is recommended every 10 years for men and women beginning at age 50.

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Ready for 60? Be fit and 'comfortable in your skin' like Al Roker

BANGKOK: Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Tuesday as renewed investor appetite for risk lifted shares globally, with the Thai index eking out gains amid foreign inflows ahead of the nomination of a new prime minister later in the week. The Thai SET index closed up 0.03 percent, with shares of Siam Commercial Bank and skytrain operator BTS Group Holdings among the most actively traded. Thailand's military-dominated legislature will nominate a prime minister this week, members of the national assembly said on Tuesday, a move that looks set to consolidate the army's hold on power almost 100 days since it wrested control of the country. Indonesia's main index closed up 0.16 percent, with brokers citing the formation of a new government in October among the positive factors. Fund flows in the region were mixed, with Indonesia reporting net foreign outflows of 448.7 billion rupiah ($38.4 million), Thomson Reuters data showed. The Thai stock market brought in inflows of 866 million baht ($27.2 million), while Malaysia's was at 78.2 million ringgit ($24.8 million) and the Philippines took in a net 4.2 billion peso ($96 million), stock exchange data showed. Vietnam slipped into negative territory, closing down 0.07 percent as investors took profits, while gains in PetroVietNam Gas helped limit the market's retreat. SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 444.88 443.88 +0.22 Singapore 3316.43 3312.78 +0.11 Kuala Lumpur 1872.16 1861.75 +0.56 Bangkok 1542.85 1542.36 +0.03 Jakarta 5165.17 5156.75 +0.16 Manila 7082.75 7027.58 +0.79 Ho Chi Minh 604.64 605.08 -0.07 Change on year Market Current End 2013 Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 444.88 388.37 +14.55 Singapore 3316.43 3167.43 +4.70 Kuala Lumpur 1872.18 1866.96 +0.28 Bangkok 1542.85 1298.71 +18.80 Jakarta 5165.16 4274.18 +20.85 Manila 7082.75 5889.83 +20.25 Ho Chi Minh 604.64 504.63 +19.91 * The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

(1 US dollar = 11,678.0000 rupiah) (1 US dollar = 31.8400 Thai baht) (1 US dollar = 3.1560 Malaysian ringgit) (1 US dollar = 43.6500 Philippine peso) - Reuters

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Southeast Asia Stocks - Most higher, including M'sia which saw RM78.2mil foreign inflow

Cans of tear gas hurled at protesters, police armed in military gear, shots fired, hearts broken its difficult to accept that this sad scene is playing out just a short distance from the home of a friend of mine. For my family and me, visits to his home have always been warm and joy-filled occasions. Today these visits present a stark contrast to what has happened in the community since Michael Brown, a young man from Ferguson, Mo., was killed by a local policeman.

Some say the root of the problem is racism. The police force in Ferguson is primarily white, while the population of Ferguson is primarily African-American.

The situation has stirred me to pray, as it has many others. No one wants to see a community torn apart. As I reached out to God with the hope that the community could find peace and healing, the words of another friend of mine came to thought. She, told me of a time when someone speaking to her said, I dont know whether to call you African-American or black. Ann has a quick wit, but she is also a deep, spiritual thinker. Her response was, What if you call me Ann, and Ill call you by your name, Joe.

As I thought more deeply about Anns response, and knowing her approach to life, I realized she was urging the idea that we should honor one anothers spiritual individuality and lay physical appearances aside. With that reminder, a conviction that humanity could rise above racism began to grow in my thought. I realized that when we stop defining one another on the basis of our material characteristics, and, instead, understand and appreciate each individuals spiritual nature, or Godlikeness just as Christ Jesus did racism will lose its hold.

The Bible explains that there is an unbreakable link between God and each of us. It says, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:27). The reality of this powerful truth may at times seem to be a far cry from human experience. However, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, explains: Mortals are not like immortals, created in Gods own image; but infinite Spirit being all, mortal consciousness will at last yield to the scientific fact and disappear, and the real sense of being, perfect and forever intact, will appear (p. 295).

Christ Jesus showed us that God is all good and perfect Love. Through his pure consciousness of man as Gods perfect likeness, Jesus helped others see themselves in this true light. By this means he healed lepers (see Luke 17:12-14), cast out demons (see Matthew 17:14-18), and raised the dead (see John 11:1-45).

Jesus made mans spiritual individuality, or Godlikeness, tangible to others because he fully expressed this individuality in his own life. That was his way of loving others. He lived according to the new commandment that he taught: That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13:34). His life of pure, unselfish love demonstrated mans spiritual nature and presented humanity with a living example of true manhood and womanhood.

As we live up to that example, we do our part to break racisms hold in our neighborhoods and our world. We could begin by asking ourselves some questions: Do I understand my inherent oneness with God, and everyone elses oneness with Him? Am I willing to seek the spiritual understanding of being that will allow me to rise above selfish considerations to live according to Jesus new commandment? Do I love God and my fellow man enough to be a witness to the real, spiritual nature of everyone I meet? We can all do this because each of us is the pure, perfect image of Love. As we perceive our unity with God more clearly, we will be able to see the real, spiritual nature of all humanity.

The world has great need for healing today. Not only in Ferguson, but on every street corner around the world there is an urgent demand for humanitys spiritual individuality to be understood and demonstrated. There are no lines drawn, dividing one spiritual idea from another. We are all united through what Mrs. Eddy calls the indissoluble spiritual link which establishes man forever in the divine likeness, inseparable from his creator (Science and Health, p. 491).

Man made in Gods image is magnificent. We can honor the spiritual individuality of one another and so dissolve whatever misperceptions would separate us.

See the rest here:
Honoring one another's spirituality brings peace and healing

The International Court of Justices March ruling against Japans scientific whaling program was not as decisive as whaling opponents had hoped. Scientific whaling is likely to continue in some form, alongside coastal whaling and small cetacean hunts.

The Whale Wars are, therefore, also likely to go on, pitting environmental and animal rights nongovernment organizations and anti-whaling governments against Japans whaling establishment.

We can expect little change in either sides positions. There will be the usual arguments about culture, environmental values, science and morality; and while such arguments may rally home front support, they are ineffective at changing minds, let alone fostering mutual understanding.

A recent call by former Asahi Shimbun reporter Akira Ozeki for a more philosophical approach to the whaling debate should therefore be welcomed. On both sides, there is a need for housekeeping to tidy up the muddled common-sense beliefs framing their arguments. With better organized thoughts, all parties could, as Ozeki hopes, fight each other with reason, come to a compromise and make concessions though at present his hopes do seem rather optimistic.

And as Ozeki rightly suggests, many Western, humanitarian opponents of whaling like myself do have to tidy up their thinking. Less reflective carnivores protesting the cruelty of whaling need to look more closely at factory farming methods that deliver cheap animal protein to their dinner plates, at often appalling costs to animal welfare.

Humanitarian opponents of whaling argue that cetaceans, like some primate species, have special cognitive and emotional capacities that justify respecting them as persons. It may or may not be valid to derive cetaceans moral personhood from evidence of such capacities, and differences in those capacities between different cetacean species also need to be addressed.

The question arises of how to accommodate growing evidence of cognitive and emotional capacities in other animals including livestock animals. If whaling critics are consistent in acknowledging this evidence, they must rethink their principles for humans duties to animals (and not just cetaceans) and adjust their dietary preferences and moral judgments accordingly.

How can they achieve this adjustment? That depends on how much they think different cetacean species and other animals eaten by humans meet the emotional and cognitive criteria that they associate with personhood, or with other morally significant categories like sentience. They could do as philosophers like Peter Singer recommend, become humanitarian vegetarians, and campaign against both livestock meat farming and whaling.

Or, like the philosopher Roger Scruton, critics could deny personhood to animals and maintain their humanitarian credentials as ethical meat eaters. Then they could oppose factory farming and inhumane slaughtering methods for both livestock and cetaceans.

Either way, they can dodge accusations of hypocrisy leveled at them by whaling advocates.

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