In 2003, Venerable Dhammananda came back from a trip to Sri Lanka that challenged Thailand's Theravada Buddhist beliefs. She had become the first Thai bhikkhuni a fully ordained nun in modern history. To this day, full ordination and the privileges that come with it are usually only reserved for male monks.

The full ordination had always been in my head, Dhammananda, now 76 years old, told VICE. I just waited for a realization. And when I had it, I knew it was my time to become a bhikkhuni."

A bhikkhuni is a status given to fully ordained female monastics in the three different branches of Buddhism Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Theravada. Their male equivalents are called bhikkhus. Being fully ordained means one has achieved the highest level in the Sangha, the Buddhist assembly.

Dhammananda with other bhikkhunis in Thailand. Photo: Courtesy of Venerable Dhammananda

Unlike modern branches of Mahayana Buddhism, many Theravada authorities still question whether full ordination of women is valid. This was not always the case, with records of these female monastics dating back to Buddha's death, around 400 BCE. This was practiced for over 1,500 years but eventually disappeared.

"Monks want to be able to trace everything back to The Buddha," Brenna Artinger, president of Alliance for Bhikkhunis, told VICE. "They think that, if lineage has died, they cannot revive it."

With no wish to revive the Theravada bhikkhuni order, the only status left for Theravada Buddhist women were 'laywoman' or 'novice,' leaving all the highest positions to monks.

To this day, the bhikkhuni ordination ceremony is prohibited in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, where violators could face imprisonment. Dhammananda believes the prohibition of full ordination for nuns is a misunderstanding of the religion's beliefs. Referring to the Maha Parinibbana Sutta scriptures, she said The Buddha created a gender-balanced monastic order composed of both fully ordained monks and nuns bhikkhus and bhikkhunis at the highest level of the Sangha.

"The Buddha gave women permission to be fully ordained. If you respect him, you should try to revive what he established."

Dhammanandha has been challenging Buddhism in Thailand for over two decades. In the 2000s, she left Thailand and joined a Theravada temple in Sri Lanka to practice, study, and receive her full ordination before turning 60.

"The Buddha is my first feminist," she said.

"In a very traditional society, he opened the space for women by recognizing they can achieve a highest spiritual goal. He was a revolutionist."

Following this mentality, Dhammananda pioneered a modern revolution in Thai Buddhism. By advocating for full ordination of women, she's challenging an order that, she says, lets social and gender expectations take over religious rights.

Dhammananda and fellow bhikkhunis. Photo: Courtesy of Venerable Dhammananda

"Socially, if you allow the ordination of women, everything has to change because monks have been in power for 2,500 years," said Karma Lekshe Tsomo, former president of the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women. "Theravada Buddhists differ in their attitudes toward full ordination for women, but those in positions of power generally oppose it."

Despite 70 percent of its population practicing this branch of Buddhism, Sri Lanka is the first and only Theravada Buddhist country that allows the full ordination of women. Since 1998, the government has allowed local and foreign nuns to receive the ceremony on its soil.

As Mary Kate Long, a doctoral candidate in Asian Studies at Cornell University, explained, this decision could have been motivated by various reasons: the rise of female monastics in Sri Lanka, the complex historical link between Theravada Buddhism and East Asian Mahayana Buddhism in the country, and the ongoing contests for symbolic capital between different religious and monastic authorities. By being the first Theravada country to allow full ordination, hundreds of nuns have flown to Sri Lanka since the 2000s. However, these new bhikkhunis are not always welcomed when they return home.

About 89 percent of Myanmar's population is Theravada Buddhist. It is also one of the most conservative Buddhist countries, with a religious authority that believes the full ordination of women is a crime.

In 2005, ex-bhikkhuni Saccavadi was sentenced to five years in prison for having been fully ordained in Sri Lanka. She was released 76 days after her conviction,after her story was highlighted in international media. Fearing more repercussions, she quickly left the country and has not returned since. She flew to Sri Lanka, then to the United States, and disrobed in 2008, because of the traumatic experience.

In Thailand, bhikkhunis are in a gray zone. They cannot be fully ordained in the country but dont face imprisonment if they do so abroad. Over 94 percent of Thais are Theravada Buddhists. Dhammananda, as the first officially recognized bhikkhuni in the country, initiated changes in the society.

"When I came back from Sri Lanka, I was a lone voice in this big world of monks."

"I was rejected, but wasn't punished legally. Today, there are 285 bhikkhunis spread out in at least 40 provinces. Weve come this far. But we are still facing a lot of legal issues."

Unlike their male equivalents, bhikkhunis have no legal status in Thailand and thus remain marginalized. They don't have any clerical advantages or recognition, which means they suffer financially. They pay taxes to the government for their temple, receive less donations from the people, and pay the full fare for public transportation.

"Nuns, as monks, are technically not allowed to use money, and neither to ask for it. It makes their everyday life more complicated. Sometimes, bhikkhunis can't even afford going to lectures or ceremonies," Artinger, from the Alliance for Bhikkhunis, explained.

"Because we don't have our religious status on our IDs, all the prices are really decided by the person in front of us," Dhammananda said. "If they recognize us as ordained monastic, we'll get half price. But if they ask for our ID, we'll pay full fare. Its up to them."

A bhikkhuni ordination in Los Angeles in March 2018. Photo: Courtesy of Alliance for Bhikkunis

However, she remains hopeful that things will improve as more nuns from around the world are opting for full ordination. She believes there's strength in numbers, and in staying true to what it means to be a bhikkhuni.

We didnt [get] fully ordained to be accepted, said Dhammananda. We did it because we respect The Buddha. If we do proper work, if the people accept us, then eventually the Sanghawill have to recognize us.

Read the original post:
Buddhist Nuns and Their Crusade for Recognition in Southeast Asia - VICE

This is the third essay in The Angsty Buddhist, a series about being Chinese American, nonbinary, and finding my own relationship with Buddhism, in a country where so many of its ideas have been whitewashed.

I usually think of 23 as when my body started to rebel, but it could have been earlier. Before that, there was the drive between San Francisco and LA where I felt like my entire body was being contorted by the seatbelt. There was the way I couldnt understand how other people carried shoulder bags didnt that make them feel lopsided? There was the way I flinched when other people tried to touch me. My mom always said I was tense, even when I was a little kid. Shed squeeze my shoulders, and theyd be like cement. When I tell people about this, I laugh. Isnt it funny that Ive never been able to relax?

But 23 was when my body and its tension became the center of my life how I scheduled my day, chose what I wore, and spent most of my critical thinking skills trying to figure out how to manage. More than my angst about gender, what propelled me towards mens clothing was that the pants have pockets and it hurt too much to carry a purse.

I also thought I was making it all up and didnt mention it to my friends, even ones that I saw almost every day. Youre just doing this for attention, I told myself, even though I wasnt getting any attention because I refused to talk about it. The couple of times, I did bring it up vaguely, people dismissed me by saying I probably spent too much time on the computer, which Im sure I do, but not more than anyone else my age.

In the midst of this, or maybe because of it, I started going to meditation sessions at an acquaintances Zen Center. The Zen Center practiced a type of Buddhism that a Korean monk had started in Providence, Rhode Island because he thought Brown students would be the most receptive to his teachings (And they have money, I thought). This type of Zen gained popularity in the U.S. and Europe before making its way back to Asia. At the time, I was living in Hong Kong, and even though I didnt connect with this version of Buddhism and chafed at the fact that many of its leaders were white men, I reserved my biggest judgments because there were many people I met there whom it seemed to be helping.

What surprised me was how much meditation soothed my chronic pain. Afterwards, I walked back to the minibus feeling light, reveling in the fact that I was not thinking about the knots in my back, at least for the moment. I started researching mindfulness after that, trying to see if there were other things I could do to manage my pain. Yoga was something that always came up.

I started doing those white lady yoga videos everyday. Sometimes, when the teacher would start chanting or say namaste: at the end, I would groan performatively or mutter fuck you

I felt conflicted about this. I didnt want to be like a white yoga lady whose life centered around cultural appropriation. As someone who grew up with Buddhism and feels pretty pissy about white Buddhism, it felt hypocritical to try yoga. In the end, though, my own self-interest won out, and I found a short yoga video on YouTube. The teacher was a white lady who liked to talked a lot about self-love. I followed her instructions about when to inhale and exhale grudgingly.

Afterwards, my muscles did feel looser, and I could go a few hours without really thinking about my body. I started doing those white lady yoga videos everyday. Sometimes, when the teacher would start chanting or say namaste at the end, I would groan performatively or mutter fuck you, which made me feel a little less embarrassed about how much this was helping me.

Two of the most common questions I get when I tell people about my chronic pain are Have you seen a doctor? and Have you tried yoga? I hate both of these questions.

I have seen a doctor, many times. Because Im privileged to have insurance, I feel bad complaining about the care Ive received. Whenever my doctor doctor finishes examining my spine or the x-ray comes back clear, I feel like a fraud. You should just take more breaks when youre working, she says, misgendering me often during our conversations because Im too wimpy to tell her my pronouns and the intake sheet only offers two options for gender. When I say that I do take breaks, something that always makes me nervous because I dont want my boss to think Im slacking off, my doctor says, Are you stressed? Its probably stress. Try getting a standing desk.

Being asked if Ive seen a doctor annoys me because I feel like the people asking think that Im being lazy or silly for being in pain just go see a doctor, as if this will fix everything. When people ask if Ive tried yoga (or meditation or acupuncture), its usually because they dont know what else to say. I think it freaks people out to have to sit with someones pain and not be able to do anything. It freaks me out, too. That doesnt make the questions about yoga any less irritating.

I find it interesting, though, that many of the miracle cures that people offer up when there isnt a clear diagnosis are from the East. It feels connected to the ways we are always trying to find healing in the Other.

I find it interesting, though, that many of the miracle cures that people offer up when there isnt a clear diagnosis are from the East. It feels connected to the ways we are always trying to find healing in the Other. So much of the way we characterize Eastern medicine in this country, regardless of what culture or spirituality it comes from, is as something spiritual and holistic, collapsing the divide between body and mind. Probably this is sometimes true and someone will whitesplain why this is so in the comments. But I think a lot of this is orientalism Asia is too big of a place, with so many different and conflicting peoples and cultures, to make sweeping generalizations like that.

I think that these ideas do not tell us anything about what defines Eastern cultures and does tell us more, at least subconsciously, about what were lacking. What do we do with pain that is ongoing? What is the connection between emotions and the physical body? How do we talk about this in a way that is not gaslighting and dismissive of the often very physical causes of pain? I dont know, and I see how it seems so easy to look to the Other the Buddhist nun, the Hindu goddess, that incense burner on sale at Ross and ask them to hold that for us.

Healing is a buzzword in queer and trans spaces. This makes sense, given how much there is to heal from. The first people I felt comfortable talking to about chronic pain were other trans Asian Americans. They seemed to understand, without explanation, the way that the body is shaped by everything it has experienced, its traumas and its joys.

I hear a lot of people talking about ancestors a lot, about lineage and intergenerational healing. Ive been told I should try to reclaim my ancestral healing practices, and this is something I would like to do. When I try to learn about Chinese things, it feels performed. I wonder if me learning qigong is any better than yoga, and the other day while my partner and I were trying to learn how to make an herbal soup, we were more amused by the fact that one of the herbs was called Semen Euryales than anything else.

Sometimes, these practices helps relieve the pain in my body, and sometimes they also help quiet my anxieties. Other times, they dont do anything at all. It always seems like a bit of a crapshoot. But even when I dont feel the immediate effects of these practices or if Im not doing them correctly, theres something healing about learning practices that were taken away from me and my family because of the violence of white supremacy and assimilation. For me, this makes learning Chinese healing practices feel different than doing white lady yoga, at least just a little.

Once, in a BIPOC writing group that I am part of and love, we had a guest host, who led us through some exercises that were definitely culturally appropriated from yoga, before instructing us to free write. The host didnt mention the cultures that these practices came from or from whom he had learned them. I dont think he was South Asian, but I could be wrong. I reluctantly did his breathing exercises and felt the muscles in my neck ease.

There was one point where he led everyone in chanting Om. When this started, one person left the Zoom call. I am assuming that this person was South Asian because of their name, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe they just left because they had something else to do. Maybe I was just projecting how uncomfortable I was feeling. I should private message one of the hosts and tell them this is a little weird, I thought but didnt.

At the end of the session, many people thanked the guest host, including me. I was grateful that hed taken the time to be at our group. I was thinking about how so many BIPOC spaces are held together by people giving their labor for free. Other people liked the exercises. This is the first time Ive been able to be in my body, someone said, and I felt guilty for being judgy because BIPOC folks are so often cut off from the resources they need to heal. Why would I want to take this away from anyone?

Still, I think its important to connect to our own ancestral practices, even if this process is imperfect. I dont want to become a white yoga lady.

During a recent pain flare, I tried taking a new medication, but all it did was make me drowsy. I tried to meditate but after a few minutes got frustrated and crawled back into bed. I went through my normal procession of unhelpful thoughts, youre faking this, youre lazy, get up, but this time, it seemed like it was more out of habit than anything else. Instead of spiraling, I let the thoughts pass. Instead of trying to get up, I let myself cry until I fell asleep.

I think a lot about my own body, whose pain I often try to aggressively breathe and stretch away. What would it mean to stop trying to find a way around this?

I think a lot about how disability justice activists critique the idea of cure. That it is ableist to treat cure as the end goal, that the disabled body is not something to be fixed. I think a lot about my own body, whose pain I often try to aggressively breathe and stretch away. What would it mean to stop trying to find a way around this? This is not to say that I enjoy being in pain. I want to be in less pain but not in a way that only makes me better at capitalism or that allows me to dissociate from the histories and traumas that caused me to be in pain in the first place.

This is similar to how I think about culture. Even if I am trying to connect to my own cultures and histories, I dont want to return to an identity that existed before imperialism and diaspora. It would be impossible to erase the ruptures that have already occurred. Im not sure what the end point of this kind of healing is, or if I should even be thinking about this in terms of end points. I dont think anyone knows for sure. I still think I need to try.

Excerpt from:
The Angsty Buddhist: Chronic Pain & Trying Not To Be A White Yoga Lady - Autostraddle

The life of Thich Nhat Hanh has come full circle. Two years ago, the government of Vietnam quietly allowed the revered Zen master to return to his homeland and live out his remaining days at Tu Hieu Temple, near the city of Hue, where he became a monk at the age of 16.

Thay, or teacher, as he is affectionately known, is 94 and continues to suffer the effects from a severe stroke in 2014, which left him unable to speak and in a wheelchair. Because of his opposition to the Vietnam War, he had lived in exile for more than 50 years, during which time he established several monasteries and practice centers from Plum Village in Southern France to three in the United States, including Deer Park in Escondido. Hes written more than 100 books many of them best sellers as he spread the gospel of mindfulness around the world.

As with the Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, he amassed widespread popularity. The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. President Barack Obama quoted him. And last year, a congressional delegation visited him in Vietnam.

During his visits to Deer Park, I interviewed him on topics ranging heaven to happiness. Here is some of what he had to say.

Heaven: The kingdom of God is really available in the here and now. This is important, he says, because once you understand that, you will behave better. If you have the kingdom of God, youll not have to search for happiness in sex, wealth or fame anymore.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the capacity to live deeply in the moments of your entire life. There is freedom from worries, anger and forgetfulness. Forgetfulness is the opposite of mindfulness.

Proselytizing: When Christian missionaries came to Vietnam when he was young, they tried to convert Buddhists. When Nhat Hanh brought his spiritual practices West, he did just the opposite, urging people to use mindfulness and meditation to deepen their own faiths. People are free to take from Buddhism as much as they want. Buddhism is inclusive, not exclusive.

America: Americans are not as accepting as they used to be. The war on terrorism, for example, has put an entire religion under suspicion. When a culture goes like that, it goes wrong. It only serves to create more hate and terrorists. In Buddhism, every person is looked at as a potential Buddha an attitude and a perception that he prefers.

Happiness: The art of happiness is to learn how to be there, fully present, to attend to your needs and to attend to the needs of your loved ones. And if you dont do the first step, its very difficult to do the second. Stop running and begin to make steps.

Here is the original post:
Meet Thich Nhat Hanh, the man behind Escondido's famed Deer Park Monastery - The San Diego Union-Tribune

In Vietnams Red River, navigating the space between environmental conservation and cultural preservation can be trickier than it first appears.

November 11, 2020

On a chilly, gray January morning in Hanoi, Vietnam, a local development worker named Anh Ngoc Thi Nguyen volunteered at a river clean-up at the Red River near Chuong Duong Bridge. Keep Hanoi Clean (KHC), a nonprofit funded by USAID, had organized a crew of nearly two dozen volunteers to form a human chain, passing sack after sack of trash from the riverbank to a small parking lot beneath the bridge. KHC organizers planned to remove over 11 tons of garbage.

But when Nguyen noticed that some of the sacks contained ceramic incense bowls and urns, and waterlogged bits of wooden altars, she refused to take part. I didnt want to touch them, she says. It was scary.

In Hanoi, almost every house and storefront has its own wooden altar. Twice a month and on special occasions, residents offer food, alcohol, and cigarettes in the altars as a gift for their ancestors. When homeowners move, tradition dictates they must discard that house altar in a large body of water. Many in Hanoi choose to throw the altar and its contents from one of the many bridges that span the Red River.

Nguyens family members rigorously follow the many customs and traditions passed down to them by their elders. When Nguyens fathers body was reinterred, for example, her mother threw the ceramics that sat on top of his former grave into the river not far from where they lived. Nguyen and her family believe that those ceramics belong to the spirits of their ancestors and the water helps to carry them away.

The altars and offerings represent just one small part of the pollution picture on the Red River. Once the lifeblood of Hanoi, the river, through years of unfettered dumping of plastic waste, illegal sand mining, and industrial runoff, has become a symbol of the degradation caused by rapid industrial development.

At the KHC cleanup site, a debate ensued among volunteers on whether or not the discarded urns and altars represented spiritual artifacts to leave alone, or if they should be disposed of alongside the trash clogging the river. Ultimately, the events coordinator and KHCs founder, James Kendell, decided that these artifacts would be removed.

Watching KHC remove these artifacts from the river made Nguyen feel unsettled. Why couldnt they just leave them where they were? she asked later. They werent hurting anyone.

This debate on the Red River is a microcosm of a much larger question of how we balance environmental activism and cultural traditions. A 2013 paper in the Journal of Cleaner Production estimates that each year, more than 2 million pilgrims to Mecca emit 60.5 kilograms each of carbon dioxide per day (as opposed to a global average of just under 14 kilograms per person per day) during their pilgrimage as a result of transportation and lodging.

During the Lunar New Year, the Chinese set off fireworks to ward away evil spirits. In 2018, Beijings air quality soared above 500 on the Air Quality Index due to this tradition. Anything over 50 is considered unsafe.

And each year, during Christmas time, the United Kingdom produces 30 percent more waste than usual, air travel around the world spikes, and 540,000 tons of wrapping paper fill Canadian landfills.

In Hanoi, Keep Hanoi Clean has been trying to figure out how to navigate its programs with consideration to cultural practices on the Red River. According to Doug Snyder, KHCs general director, up until the January volunteer event, the nonprofits policy has always been to leave spiritual artifacts where they lay.

In previous years we did not touch the urns because one of the people on our team told us not to, he says.

But now, the organization is changing course.

Diep Ngoc Bui, chief operating officer at KHC, says complaints against river clean-ups mostly come from older people for whom the custom of immersing altars, ashes, and other sacred items in rivers is heavily ingrained. Bui says in these situations she tries to explain why the ceramics and altars should not be thrown into the river in the first place. But that tactic is not always successful.

Its really hard to tell the older generation you shouldnt throw these things into the river, she says. [They believe] its going to affect their business or health of the family, the rest of the year. Its really a delicate issue.

We really have to get on the education side, says Snyder. Unless we put out some information about giving them an alternative thats less destructive, then theyll just keep doing it.

Snyder says there are plans to consult with members of the local Buddhist community to help to initiate a public education program.

Thich Tinh Giac is a Buddhist monk and reformist who runs Chua Phuc Son, a buddhist pagoda just outside of Hanoi. He says that people throwing religious artifacts into Hanois waterways have got it all wrong. He says the idea that this practice brings good fortune is all superstition.

It does not, he says, have any significance in the Buddhist faith.

Giac also makes one other important observation: He notes that the Vietnamese people have historically been poor. They could not traditionally afford to make sacrifices the size and scope of those they make now.

The GDP per capita of Vietnam has increased six-fold since the year 2000. As a result, per-capita consumption has also increased, and Vietnam is now the worlds fourth largest contributor to ocean plastic waste, producing an estimated 730,000 tons each year.

Snyder has made a similar observation. At one cleanup event, he and a Vietnamese volunteer confronted two women who had been throwing plastic flowers into the river. Snyder and a Vietnamese volunteer then collected the flowers.

It was kind of like a comedy skit, Snyder says. But then one of them got really upset.

A conversation about the origins of the practice for this woman ensued.

What did you put in the water in the past? asked the Vietnamese volunteer.

Well, we didnt put this kind of stuff in, the woman replied. We were too poor but now were rich.

In other words, a big issue that Snyder and the KHC staff are dealing with is how plastic waste has infiltrated a cultural practice.

Of course, this may seem a minor issue given the bigger problems facing the Red River. Admittedly, KHCs work is somewhat piecemeal given the size and scope of the environmental challenges facing Vietnam, such as mining, urban and industrial runoff, and rampant corruption and top level apathy toward environmental issues that hinder any form environmental activism that goes beyond picking up rubbish.

This is particularly true when money is involved. For example, in May, a local newspaper called Phu Nu TPHCM (HCMC Women) tried to expose a local developer for damaging Vietnams natural heritage. As a result, the newspaper was fined and its website taken offline for a month. Advocacy can be risky when it jeopardizes profits.

So KHC is doing its best to clean up the river by picking the safer option: working with local traditions to find a solution that helps the river.

Luckily, Giac says that support for these practices is waning, particularly as Buddhist leaders occupy an important role in society.

Because I am a monk, they believe me, they respect me, Giac says. At his pagoda he has urns he has retrieved that he now uses to grow plants. He says repurposing rather than destroying the bowls makes a lot more sense.

In this vein, Giac says he has an important role to play in helping to save Hanois waterways. He often confronts worshippers in the process of making their offerings and counters that Buddhist doctrine actually supports protecting the environment.

In Buddhism, we say, you reap what you sow, he says. So the environment, you look after it and over time you get good results.

More:
One Man's Trash, Another Man's Tradition - Earth Island Journal

LITO Adiwang has always taken pride in being fully prepared each time he steps inside the cage.

But the 27-year-old is coming in at ONE: Inside The Matrix III as driven as ever, dedicating his match against Hiroba Minowa to his ailing mother.

"My mother has had a big impact on my life. She is the reason I am who I am today. I thank her for everything in my life, and I am proud and happy to be her son," she said.

Continue reading below

Adiwang shared of his family's struggles in caring for his mother Leticia, who survived multiple strokes and has been terminally ill for the past few years.

Continue reading below

Recommended Videos

It's a hard position to be in, but the Team Lakay bet is using this as an inspiration for his fight on Friday in Singapore, hoping to come home with a victory to his family back in Benguet.

"This fight is very special for me. I want to win for my family, especially my mom, said Adiwang.

It's for this same reason that the rising star is not letting up in training.

Though he won his last seven bouts, Adiwang never gets complacent as he seeks to inch closer and closer to his dream title shot.

"Its very important for me to keep my momentum in ONE Championship because its one way for me to be recognized as a top talent in ONE," said the Thunder Kid, who sports an 11-2 win-loss card.

Continue reading below

"My goal is to one day become a world champion. Nothing has changed since you last saw me. Ive only gotten better and Ive really done my best in training to improve myself. Thats the only way I can keep this up.

"Everytime I step into the circle, I want to give fans a show they want to watch. Each victory will keep moving me up the ladder until Ive reached the top."

See the article here:
Ailing mom a source of motivation for Lito Adiwang ahead of ONE fight - Sports Interactive Network Philippines

Workout motivation tips for weight loss: Do not miss your workout. Think about why you started exercising in the first place and get moving, says lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho.

Exercise tips: Wear your workout clothes and shoes and it can encourage you to start exercising

Midweek blues are pretty common. Apart from finding it difficult to find the motivation to work efficiently, many people feel lazy and probably demotivated to workout. Well, we have got you covered! If you are someone who feels lazy today and has already taken the decision to skip your workout, then here's what you can do. Lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho, in one of his recent posts on Instagram, talks about a few simple tricks that can motivate you to workout on a day you absolutely don't feel like doing it.

RELATED STORIES

Being physically active is an important prerequisite for building stamina. Walking, jogging, cycling, running and other cardio exercises can help in boosting your stamina, stays Vinod Channa.

Workout tips: From sweet potatoes to cottage cheese, ginger and eggs, here are foods that can help you recover after exercise-induced burnout.

It is commonly said that when you feel like giving up on something, think of why you started it in the first place. The same goes with your daily workout and your workout goals.

Also read:Belly Fat: Ladies, Get The Abs You Have Always Dreamt Of, With This Glutes And Abs Workout By Kayla Itsines

People who exercise regularly know that not every day is the same while exercising. Energy levels, mood, stress, pre-workout meal and many other facts influence exercise performance.

And it is most likely to be on a day of high stress, low mood and low energy levels that you will not feel like working out at all. Coutinho says, "Remind yourself how you usually feel after each workout."

Here are other tips that can help:

1. Put on your workout clothes. Even better, invest in some fancy ones so that you want to wear them daily.

Invest in fancy workout clothes and it can motivate you to workout every day Photo Credit: iStock

2. Appreciate yourself. Regularly write down your progress in terms of inch loss or weight loss, or how well your clothes fit you now. Now put on your workout shoes.

Also read:Lunch Break Workout: Plank Jacks, Lunges And Other Exercises You Can Do In Just 10 Minutes

3. Start exercising. Even if you do it for a minute, it can help you get in a rhythm and continue for 10-15 minutes. And remember, that it is not important to take out one hour or more for exercising every day. High Intensity Interval Training, Tabata and High Intensity Circuit Training are a few workouts that can be done in a 10-15 or 20 minutes.

4. Compile a nice workout playlist. Fill it will the music you enjoy. Good music can improve your mood and also motivate you to exercise at times.

5. Make your workouts interesting. Try to do different kinds of exercises regularly. Variety in workouts can help in avoiding boredom. Also make sure your workouts are challenging so that you make progress continuously.

Also read:Weight Loss: This Power Workout Will Make You Feel Energetic Like Never Before- Try It Now!

6. Try to be accountable by sharing your workouts on social media or by sharing details of your workout with a friend. This not only makes you more responsible but also motivates you to workout.

We are sure by now you want to workout today. Here's a no equipment workout that you can do at home, any time, anywhere, without any equipment. Get up and get started. You can do this!

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.

See more here:
Weight Loss: 6 Tips That Can Motivate You To Workout On A Day When You Feel Like Skipping It - NDTV Doctor

Could a single gene reduce our craving for sugary foods while at the same time increasing our desire to exercise? Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) believe theyve found such a gene in miceand that the discovery could point to new treatments for obesity.

The gene is called Prkar2a, and its particularly active in a small region of the brain that controls several responses, including those to pain, anxiety and reward. When the researchers knocked out the gene in mice, the animals cut down on their consumption of high-fat foods, even after fasting, they reported (PDF) in the journal JCI Insight.

The NIH study builds on a previous discovery in mice that lacked working copies of Prkar2a. When those animals were fed high-fat foods, they were less likely to become obese than their normal counterparts were.

A company was facing major challenges in a global clinical trial program with 30 studies for an uncommon indication. Not only did they need to transition all ongoing clinical trials to the Bioclinica Clinical Adjudication platform for better analysis but they also needed to do it within 60 days.

In this study, mice lacking Prkar2a showed decreased consumption of palatable, 'rewarding'foods and increased motivation for voluntary exercise, the researchers wrote in the study. In fact, Prkar2a-negative mice ran two to three times longer on a treadmill than normal rodents did.

RELATED: This cancer-related gene may also hold the key to beating obesity

The NIH researchers suggested that the key to Prkar2as influence in obesity-related behaviors is an enzyme called protein kinase A (PKA). The gene makes critical components of PKA, which speeds reactions inside cells in many species, according to a statement. The study concluded that the reduction in PKA signaling in the Prkar2a-knockout mice improved their motivation to exercise and decreased their craving for unhealthy foods.

Several research teams have linked particular genes with obesity. In May, a team led by the University of British Columbia showed that variations of ALKa gene that, when mutated, has been linked to some cancerscan make some people naturally resistant to weight gain.

An Australian team removed the gene RCAN1 in mice and found that those animals did not gain weight, even after eating a high-fat diet. The key there was that blocking the gene helped turn white fat into calorie-burning brown fatthe goal of many ongoing obesity studies. Harvard University researchers, for example, reported over the summer that they used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to activatethe gene UCP1 in white-fat precursor cells, creating cells that were more like brown fat.

The NIH researchers hope their new study on Prkar2a will inspire future research aimed at preventing obesity.

Achieving weight loss and maintaining energy balance by moderating food intake and increasing physical activity underlies the battle against dietary obesity and weight gain, the researchers wrote. Thus, further study of PKA regulation in the various distinct cellsubtypes is warranted.

See the original post here:
Obesity-related gene that controls cravings and exercise motivation in mice could inspire new therapies - FierceBiotech

Mike Rizzo will tell you he doesnt make a single offseason decision based on what other clubs are doing to their roster. The Nationals general managers sole focus is on improving his team, no matter what anyone else around the league is doing.

Its an admirable philosophy, of course, and it has served Rizzo well in his decade-plus in charge of the Nats. It also may be increasingly difficult to adhere to this winter, because theres reason to believe every other club in the National League East is going to be motivated to make significant improvements.

The NL East was supposed to be among baseballs most competitive divisions entering 2020, with four teams believing they could contend from the outset. As it turned out, only one of those four teams made the postseason (the division champion Braves) while the team nobody was talking about finished second and made it to October (the Marlins).

The Mets and Phillies, like the Nationals, had disappointing seasons. And like the Nats, both of those clubs are quite motivated to get better in 2021 and return to contention.

It all starts with the Braves, though, who had a fantastic regular season, then won their first postseason series since 2001, then were one win away from the World Series before blowing a 3-1 lead to the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

Atlanta, which has now won three straight division titles, isnt going anywhere. The lineup remains stacked. The rotation should be healthier next year. And the bullpen continues to be a strength. And after coming so close to the promised land, you better believe the Braves are going to be feeling pressure to make whatever transactions are necessary to lift them over the hump in search of their first championship since 1995.

The Marlins arent going to outspend anybody; we know that. But with an impressive core group of young players headlined by some elite starting pitching, they arent going to enter 2021 looking to the future. Theyre going to be looking to win now and prove this season wasnt a mirage.

The Mets, meanwhile, might be the most dangerous team in the majors this winter. Not because theyve got a championship roster. But because theyve got a brand-new owner who wants to make a serious opening statement that his franchise is serious about winning.

New York is a big-market club that didnt always act like it when the Wilpon family was in charge. Now that Steve Cohen is writing the checks and Sandy Alderson is back in charge of baseball operations, look for the Mets to be aggressive and among the highest bidders for just about every free agent of consequence.

And then there are the Phillies. Theyve already spent a ridiculous sum of money to sign Bryce Harper and tried to surround him with a championship roster. It didnt happen in his first two years there, so they fired their GM. And now theres an enormous amount of pressure on the changing front office to give Harper the kind of help he needs and end a nine-year streak without producing a winning record.

So where does all of this leave the Nationals? Right in the thick of what figures to be another challenging division race with everyone staking some kind of claim to a postseason berth in 2021.

Rizzo doesnt need to pay too much attention to his NL East counterparts. He knows what roster holes he needs to fill, and hes going to try to do that no matter what anybody else does.

But Rizzo and Nationals ownership had better at least acknowledge they reside in a highly competitive division, one that includes a bunch of rivals with pressure and motivation to do something this winter that helps put them in a better position to win next spring.

By the time everyone reports to Florida in mid-February, the Nats cant afford to be left wishing they had done more to keep up with the pack.

See the original post:
Every NL East club has reason to be motivated this winter - MASNsports.com

The New England Patriots have quickly fallen out of the playoff picture in the 2020 season. Cam Newton has been at the front of those issues behind his struggles to guide the offense forward. In light of that, Newton may have finally found the motivation he needs from head coach Bill Belichick to push through this year.

RELATED: Bill Belichick Uses False We Sold Out Claim to Excuse His Egregious Mistakes

The New England Patriots entered the 2020 season well aware of the notable change of trajectory with the franchise.

Things had begun at a promising pace through the first couple of weeks with Cam Newton under center. However, that has since seen the year quickly head south after three straight losses.

Newton has struggled to get a stable grasp of his performance, contributing significantly to the Patriots offensive shortcomings. The three-time Pro Bowler has thrown five interceptions in the last three games, including less than 200 passing yards in each contest.

The 31-year-olds play has remained underwhelming, but the Patriots have continued to stay behind him as their starting quarterback. With Newton trying to break through his porous trend, he may have found the motivation he needed from Bill Belichick.

RELATED: Bill Belichick Just Lost His $7 Million Answer to the Patriots Biggest Problem

Throughout the 2020 season struggles, Cam Newton has remained confident in his ability to bounce back.

The process has seen many more valleys than peaks, leading Newton to look for other sources of motivation. He may have just found that with Bill Belichick as he voiced to the media that seeing his head coach work behind the scenes has pushed him harder to get the most of out himself. (H/T WEEI)

When I see that, I look at it like I need to be doing something too. I need to be working on my mechanics, Newton said. I need to be working on my fundamentals. I need to be working on my strength. I need to be working on just the small things. Seeing that day in and day out. Early in the morning.

Late at night. It just gives you a boost of understanding to say, I always have to be working. Hes the head of the ship. For me to see that from him, it starts from top down.

Belichick isnt a coach of many words, which his work ethic and dedication to his craft speak for him. Over the last two decades, he has set the standard in New England. Newton sees that daily at the training facility with how he approaches the job.

The onus is on him to match that intensity to help finally guide the team forward this season.

RELATED: Bill Belichicks Latest Comments About Cam Newton Perfectly Illustrated the New England Patriots Problems

The Patriots have had no shortage of challenges this season, from injuries to COVID-19 heavily impacting the roster, but there remains an opportunity to push forward.

Cam Newton has the chance to breakthrough in the Week 9 matchup against the New York Jets. The Patriots will be facing a winless Jets team that is more than likely barrelling toward finishing with the worst record in the league this season.

New York has struggled mightily defensively, currently ranked sixth-worst allowing 29.8 points per contest, fourth-worst against the pass, and hold the 26th overall defense. All that sets up a chance for Newton to put forth a much-needed bounce-back performance.

If the Patriots are unable to secure a convincing performance on Monday night, the concerns around the franchise should ramp up another notch.

View original post here:
Bill Belichick Is Motivating Cam Newton In More Ways Than He Knows - Sportscasting

Being picked eighth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll didnt sit well with the UMass mens basketball team.

Thats most definitely a chip on our shoulder, senior guard Carl Pierre said. I think everybody in our programs believes we can do much better than that.

The Minutemen closed last season 5-3 and lost two of those games by single digits. They bring back six players, including their three leading scorers. UMass also added a talented, five-member freshman class and two experienced transfers. The Minutemen will begin the season at Mohegan Sun from Nov. 25 through Dec. 2 for the Bubbleville tournament. They start A-10 at La Salle on Dec. 9.

We have a lot to prove, but I think we had that chip before we had that number, sophomore center Tre Mitchell said.

Mitchell is the reigning A-10 Rookie of the Year and was named to the preseason all-conference first team. He averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, shooting 48 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3. The Basketball Hall of Fame included Mitchell on its 2021 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List along with players from top-10 teams like Duke, Gonzaga and Baylor.

No matter what is put on me I always view myself as an underdog and Ive always got something else to prove, Mitchell said.

Hes one of three starters returning along with sophomore Preston Santos and senior Carl Pierre. Pierre is one of UMass most reliable shooters, making 75 3s last year. Santos started 12 games toward the end of the season and can play multiple positions.

The Minutemen will also benefit from a full season of sophomore guard T.J. Weeks. He was limited to 10 games in his debut campaign after requiring surgery for a hernia. At the time, Weeks was shooting 48.5 percent from deep and scoring 14.7 points per game. That would have led the nation if he qualified over a full season.

Of the five freshmen joining the program, four boast three-star ratings from 247sports.com. UMass also added sophomore guard Noah Fernandes from Wichita State and grad transfer Mark Gasperini from American.

This is as deep of a team as Ive had since Ive been here, said fourth-year UMass coach Matt McCall.

That depth will be critical to the Minutemens quest to outpace expectations. McCall brought a fast-paced, pressing system when he was hired from Chattanooga. It has taken him time to implement the system and find the right players to execute it.

We want to press, were committed to pressing. Youre going to be able to play nine, 10, 11 guys, McCall said. Theres not a lot of drop-off with these guys.

UMass went 14-17 last year and has gone 38-58 over McCalls first three seasons. The Minutemen havent been to the NCAA Tournament since 2014. They last earned a bye in the first round of the A-10 Tournament in 2016. Despite that history and a modest upward trajectory over the previous two seasons, winning three more games last year than in 2018-19, the Minutemen believe they can achieve something special. What does special mean?

Something special would be wining the A-10, making it to the tournament, Pierre said. We think its something thats doable for our group. The only thing that could stop us is ourselves. Why not set the goal high? Why not us?

Mitchell took it a step further.

Were ready to get the tournament, get a couple wins, get this thing rolling, he said.

That confidence comes from the bond the group has already formed. Eight of the rosters 14 players spent time at Woodstock Academy in Connecticut. They also have connections from AAU teams during their prep seasons.

Its more of a mindset thing, Mitchell said. There would be no point in us putting all this work in If we were going to say were going to finish eighth in the league.

Read more from the original source:
Motivated UMass out to prove preseason conference ranking wrong - GazetteNET