New York's unclothed yoga scene is no longer just for dudes. Chelsea's Le Male Yoga which, as the name suggests, previously specialized in naked yoga for men is now Bold & Naked Yoga, a studio that also provides all-female nude classes, as well as some for "co-ed groups and seniors." (For now, the 55-and-up offering is all male, though we suppose there's nothing stopping more mature women from attending one of the new mixed courses.) Joschi Schwarz told DNAinfo that the no-guys-allowed sessions will involve "a little more in emotional psychologies, to really help women to feel good about themselves."

As for the coed sessions? Those seem to be just for fun but don't get too excited, straight people: "If you are looking for an orgasm, you are in the wrong place," declares the Bold & Naked website. Schwarz explained, "I know sexuality is always in peoples' minds and I have a feeling that a lot of people don't know that yoga has nothing to do with sex at all." It's actually about "sensuality." "When you get rid of the clothes, you get rid of the labels and that's a beautiful thing," Schwarz said. So this probably means that new students should leave their cheesy "Coed Naked Yoga" T-shirts at home.

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Coed Naked Yoga Is Coming to Chelsea

Dec. 17

Junior Strings concert to include music mix

About 16 musicians from the Tucson Junior Strings will share a mix of music by Dvorak and Mozart, as well as light classics, show tunes and perhaps even some Christmas carols when they return to the Arizona Senior Academy for a concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

As in previous concerts, the violin, viola, cello and bass players will consist of high school students drawn from Tucson Junior Strings members throughout the area. All are part of the elite Chamber I, the top of six levels of Tucson Junior Strings orchestras.

The Tucson Junior Strings have been part of the Tucson music education scene for 46 years. Under the guidance, organization and dedication of Dennis and Anna Bourret (working together since 1970), along with Andrea Jameson, young Tucson string musicians have progressed through the strings six stages as they master increasingly difficult levels of music.

Working in concert with school orchestra programs, the strings emphasize, in particular, the gaining of leadership skills by playing without a conductor and continually rotating concert master and section leader assignments.

Basic to the program is the cooperation of everyone for the benefit of harmony both musical and interpersonal. That emphasis has resulted in Tucson Junior Strings alums in leadership roles in many organizations, both inside and outside the musical world.

Summer tours are planned for each year, with the 2014 tour heading to Boston, where Tucson Junior Strings students will have the benefit of coaching sessions with members of the Boston Symphony and the New England Conservatory of Music. Closer to home, Tucson Junior Strings will be conducting a weeklong Music Camp in the Santa Catalinas.

For more information about the program, go to tucsonjuniorstrings.org online.

Janet Kerans

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At the Academy: Young musicians, a talk on Cuba, and living off the desert

Oroville, CA (PRWEB) December 11, 2013

To assist people in finding their ideal occupation or profession, Suzanne Strisower proudly announces the release of her new book, 111 Inspirational Life Purpose Quotes and Exercises to Find Your Purpose in Life," which will help readers discover their individual purpose in life and to make it simpler to find a fulfilling career rather than just another job.

According to a recent survey for Monster.com, almost 50% of the people in the American workforce are dissatisfied with their current jobs. In a study of over 40,000 people in 300 countries, one of the top qualities of a fulfilling job is the flexibility and freedom to create and be entrepreneurial, reports Mashable.

Over 500 million people a month are trying to find their life purpose, ideal job, or a new career, and they can dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes to find the right direction in life by discovering their purpose. Everyone has something to contribute, and to be able to identify this purpose will allow the individual to grow personally and professionally. comments Strisower.

Fern Gorin, Founder and Director, Life Purpose Institute said, This is one of the most valuable tools and resources that I have ever seen to help people with their life purpose. It is full of tools and processes, and Suzanne is brilliant and thorough in her insight and clarity to help people mover forward in every aspect of their lives.

111 Inspirational Life Purpose Quotes and Exercises to Find Your Purpose in Life is divided into the seven different universal aspects one needs to know to find their purpose in life:

111 Inspirational Life Purpose Quotes and Exercises to Find Your Purpose in Life the workbook is available in and paperback format from all major book retailers. (ISBN: 9781475297669, $19.95, 194 pp). Digital downloads available on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, all eReaders, smart phones, laptop and PC systems. View Book Trailer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suzanne Strisower, best-selling author, certified Life and Career Coach, Life Purpose Expert, and the creator of the award winning Life Purpose workbooks, 111 Inspirational Life Purpose Quotes and Exercises to Find Your Purpose in Life. She is a true renaissance woman who for the past 35 years has helped thousands of people as an intuitive, life purpose expert, certified life and career coach, spiritual guide, author, speaker, workshop facilitator and radio show host. Suzanne helps people make sense of their lives through their purpose, dreams, intuition, passion and the wisdom they reveal.

The award-winning author of three books, Suzanne recently released a comprehensive life purpose workbook, 111 Inspirational Life Purpose Quotes and Exercises to Find Your Purpose in Life which uses peoples Life Purpose DNA as a way to reveal their purpose. One Hundred Eleven Tweetable Inspirational Life Purpose Quotes: A Book of Inspirational Thoughts, all Tweets, and a new-age fortune telling oracle, The Runes of the Four Realms, plus a spiritual feature-film screenplay, Living with Guides and Angels.

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Award Winning Workbook Guides People To Their True Life Purpose For An Ideal Job Or Fulfilling Career

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB 2.0 ANNOUNCES ITS THIRD SELECTION, "THE INVENTION OF WINGS" BY SUE MONK KIDD

Los Angeles, CA, and New York, NY - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, O, The Oprah Magazine and Oprah.com announced today the newest Oprah's Book Club 2.0 selection, "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking). Kidd's new book, which follows the success of her previous novels, "The Secret Life of Bees" and "The Mermaid Chair," is about two unforgettable women, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world.

"The moment I finished 'The Invention of Wings,' I knew this had to be the next Book Club selection," said Oprah Winfrey. "These strong female characters represent the women that have shaped our history and, through Sue's imaginative storytelling, give us a new perspective on slavery, injustice and the search for freedom."

For an OBC 2.0 announcement message from Oprah, click here http://www.oprah.com/obcvideo (link with embed code).

"I'm thrilled and honored that Oprah Winfrey chose my novel as her new book club selection," said Sue Monk Kidd. "After researching and writing The Invention of Wings for the past four years, I can't tell you how exciting it is to launch the novel with Oprah's Book Club 2.0. I'm immensely grateful."

In addition to being available in bookstores nationwide beginning January 7, 2014, Oprah's Book Club 2.0 special digital edition of "The Invention of Wings," with exclusive content including a reader's group guide and Winfrey's notes on her favorite passages, will be available for Amazon Kindle, NOOK(R) by Barnes & Noble, on iBooks, Google Play, Kobo(R) and everywhere e-books are sold.

The cross-platform book club's third selection kicks off in an interview in the January issue of O, The Oprah Magazine (on sale nationwide December 17), where Oprah interviews Kidd about her inspiration for the book, how she was able to get inside the characters minds, and also discusses why the book resonated personally with her.

As readers complete their journey through "The Invention of Wings," a follow-up exclusive interview with Oprah and Kidd will be broadcast on the Emmy(R) Award-winning series "Super Soul Sunday," Oprah.com, Facebook.com/OWNtv and Sirius XM's Oprah Radio channel (Sirius 204, XM 107 with Sirius Premier) early next year.

Readers can further engage online through a variety of digital and social media platforms, including:

Oprah.com/bookclub, the book club hub, with original content from Kidd and reading guides with Oprah's personal thoughts about her favorite passages from the book.

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Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Announces Its Third Selection, "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd

Terence Netto

In a much-awaited speech on the reform of higher education in Muslim societies, Anwar Ibrahim disagreed with the popular notion among Muslims that western education is devoid of an ethical and moral dimension.

Anwar said this notion, widely disseminated in Islamic intellectual circles, has been a hindrance to the development of Muslims, particularly in the scientific and technical spheres.

.. [T]here is a general perception among the discourse of many Muslim scholars that Western education and philosophy is secular and bereft of an ethical and moral dimension. To my mind, this is unfounded, declared Anwar in a keynote address to a symposium organised by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in Washington DC on Monday.

Malaysias parliamentary opposition leader, highly regarded abroad than at home for his intellection, observed that the misperception of western education as ethically vacant was also shared by intellectuals in the west.

He said seminal western thinkers like John Locke and Adam Smith were concerned to found their philosophies on a moral core, but that Smith, in particular, the icon of capitalism, has been seriously misread.

Anwar argued that the moral sentiments that were an integral part of Smiths economic propositions were not at loggerheads with Islamic percepts.

He likened Smiths concern for morality in economics with Islamic thinker Ismail Faruqis conception of a good economy as the expression of Islams spirituality.

To Faruqi, the economy of the ummah and its good health are the essence of Islam just as Islams spirituality is inexistent without just economic action.

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In a much-awaited speech on the reform of higher education in Muslim societies, Anwar Ibrahim disagreed with the ...