Claire Santos helps Stacey Barrineau during a yoga class at Family Wellness, at 4817 NE 2nd Loop, on Saturday in Ocala.Claire Santos is involved with Yoga Gangsters, an outreach to help at-risk youth.

Dont let her smile fool you Claire Santos is a gangster.

Absolutely, Im a gangster a yoga gangster, Santos, 37, said as she took a break Saturday while leading group sessions at Power Yoga of Ocala.

Santos, a registered yoga instructor with 400 hours of certification, who also teaches private lessons, is spearheading an effort to form an Ocala chapter of Yoga Gangsters, a Miami-based nonprofit that provides free yoga to troubled youth. The program, given a fun name to connect with kids, has a goal of turning young people away from destructive behavior and toward a positive self-image by instilling self-esteem, confidence and peace of mind.

Santos, who moved to Ocala from Oregon in 2009, heard about Yoga Gangsters through family members.

We want to empower youth who are mired in addictive, criminal and violent situations, and circumstances from teen pregnancy to HIV, to find their presence with the science and practice of yoga, Santos said. When someone is more connected due to the practice of yoga, its harder to do things that are harmful.

She said hatha yoga is more than 5,000 years old and that the word yoga has to do with combining of mind, body and spirit.

Marisol Tamez, 28, a former MTV television producer, has served as executive director of Yoga Gangsters since 2011. The group was founded in 2008 by Terri Cooper. Tamez said the focus is to establish self-awareness, self-respect and self-control among youth who are at-risk or in crisis.

One of the many organizations Yoga Gangsters has served is Stand Up for Kids, an organization that focuses on homeless teens in the Miami area. We also conduct programs at local hospitals and childrens rehabilitation centers to work with children as young as 2 years old, using yoga in an attempt to lower blood pressure without medication as well as address numerous other health conditions, including Autism and Down syndrome, Tamez wrote in an email.

There was an 18-year-old homeless youth in one of our Yoga Gangsters programs who participated for several months and then suddenly stopped appearing. I assumed he went back to a bad environment, Tamez wrote. A few months later, I ran into him on the street. He looked like a new person, was well-dressed and groomed, and shared that he had moved back home after restoring a positive relationship with his mom.

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Instructor hopes to bring Yoga Gangsters chapter to town

Painters, designers, architects and other creative individuals are typically thought of as right-brained. But a new study from the University of Southern California suggests that creativity may require more logical left brain thinking than previously thought.

Zach Stemerick THE CHRONICLE

The study, published online last month in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, showed that while the right brain does the bulk of the heavy lifting in creative thinking, the left side of the brain also plays a critical role.

In the popular media, people usually associate the right brain with creativity, said lead researcher Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, an assistant professor of neuroscience. But its definitely more complicated than that.

Aziz-Zadeh and fellow researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains of architecture students, who tend to be visually imaginative, while they performed creative tasks.

As they were scanned, participants were asked to visualize images that could be created by rearranging the No. 8, a circle and the letter C. They also mentally pieced together shapes to create rectangles, a task that requires spatial processing but not necessarily creativity.

The results showed that the logical, mathematical left side of the students brains lit up just as much as the creative side while performing the artistic task.

I think that the two hemispheres do complementary processing, Aziz-Zadeh said. The right hemisphere of the brain provides the big picture, and the left controls sequential processing. Both of those are important for creativity.

The research also showed that the students medial frontal cortexes, the area of the brain that controls planning and problem solving, were highly active while performing tasks. According to Aziz-Zadeh, this suggests that the left and right hemispheres of the brain have an equally important influence on the creative process.

I think what was most surprising is how simple the results were, she said. Usually, studies produce all of these results that you dont know what to make of, but our results on this study were very clear.

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Home » Health and Fitness , Science and Health » Neuroscience of creativity

Aurora Wellness Center

Healing with Yoga: This series is open to those currently undergoing cancer treatment and those who have completed treatment. Learn techniques to relieve stress through imagery, breathing, gentle stretching and deep relaxation. The focus for cancer patients is on restoring and nurturing all parts of mind and body, and on regaining a sense of control, optimism, energy and wholeness. Participants may start six weeks after surgery; a doctors permission slip is required. 10:30-11:45 a.m. Tuesdays through Sept. 25 at Aurora Wellness Center, 300 McCanna Parkway, Burlington (participants may join at any time). Free, registration is required, go to http://www.aurorahealthcare.org or call (800) 499-5736.

Kenosha Visiting Nurse Association

Flu shots: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Kenosha Visiting Nurse Association, third floor, 600 52nd St., Kenosha. The fee is $32 and payable by cash, check or charge. Medicare Part B, WEA and Select Humana Plans accepted. Call (262) 656-8400 for more information.

Western Racine County

Immunizations and free blood pressure clinics: Childrens vaccines include: Chicken pox, diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Hib meningitis, HPV, measles, meningococcal, mumps, pertussis, pneumococcal, polio, rotavirus, rubella and tetanus.

Adult vaccines include: Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), hepatitis A (severe food poisoning) and hepatitis B. TB skin test (must call 24 hours in advance to schedule), $10 plus the following administration fees.

Resident fees: Administration fee is $10 for one immunization, $15 for two and $30 for three or more. Non-resident fees: Administration fee is $20 for one immunization, $25 for two and $$30 for three or more. Payment must be made by check or cash only. Badger Care and Medicaid fees are exempt with card.

Sept. 12, Western Racine County Health Department, 156 E. State St., Burlington, 4-6 p.m.

Sept. 17, Waterford Library, 101 N. River St., Waterford, 5-7 p.m.

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Health and Fitness File, Sept. 5

CLINIC Wednesday Life Line Screening at Central Christian Church. Life line screening uses painless ultrasound to see the plaque build-up in your arteries. Pre-registration is required: 1-800-364-0457.

Thursday Free Medical Clinic, 4 to 6 p.m. Templo Del Espiritu Santo United Methodist Church, 3715 Elaine Drive, Bryan. 450-7258.

Tuesday Free Medical Clinic, 4 to 6 p.m. Templo Del Espiritu Santo United Methodist Church, 3715 Elaine Drive, Bryan. 450-7258.

Free Medical Clinic, 6 to 8 p.m. The Bridge Ministries, 1002 E. 29th St., Bryan.

Ongoing Brazos County Health Department immunization clinics. 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays; to 10:30 a.m. (19 and older) and 2 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 10 a.m. to noon Fridays. 201 N. Texas Ave., Bryan. $5 per child, $30 per adult. http://www.brazoshealth.org, 361-4440.

Move Wednesday Seniors Golf Tournament, 7:30 a.m. Bryan Golf Course, 206 W. Villa Maria Road in Bryan. $5 entry.

Brazos Valley Laughter Yoga Circle, 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Unity Church, 4016 Stillmeadow Drive. Combination of laughter exercises, deep breathing and relaxation. Good for seniors, but open to everyone. No mats required. $5 suggested donation. laughwithangelika@yahoo.com or 693-0402.

Thursday Sit and Fit Chair Exercise Class, noon to 12:45 p.m. Southwood Community Center. mrodgers@cstx.gov or 764-6371.

Friday Senior Ladies Tennis, 8 a.m. Gordons Tennis at Aerofit, 4455 Carter Creek Parkway, Bryan. 846-8925.

Line Dancing for Senior Adults, 10 to 11 a.m. Southwood Community Center. No partners needed. mrodgers@cstx.gov or 764-6371.

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Health & Fitness Calendar for Sept. 5 to 11

By Kristen Hallam - 2012-09-05T08:29:06Z

Mario Tama/Getty Images

People walk and bathe on opening day of the newly renovated McCarren Park Pool on June 28, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Being fat isnt always a bad thing, according to two studies by European and U.S. researchers.

Obese people who are otherwise physically fit had no greater risk of dying prematurely than those whose weight is normal, according to research partially funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Coca-Cola Co. (KO), the worlds biggest soft-drink maker. A separate study found that obese people with heart disease have a lower risk of dying early than underweight or normal-weight heart patients.

The findings undermine decades of public health messages, also supported by research, that obesity can accelerate the development of heart disease, diabetes and cancer and shrink lifespans, three European researchers who werent involved in the two studies wrote in an editorial that accompanied the results in the European Heart Journal today.

The prevailing wisdom holds that being slim must be generally good for you, Stephan von Haehling, Oliver Hartmann and Stefan Anker wrote in the editorial. Obesity may carry a benefit up to a certain degree, and it should be recognized that obesity is not necessarily associated with abnormal metabolic function.

The findings dont give people license to expand their waistlines, said Amy Thompson, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation. Instead, the studies serve as reminders that carrying fat around the belly and how fat affects your fitness may be more important than the numbers on the scale, Thompson said.

In the majority of cases, obesity is an undeniable risk factor for developing coronary heart disease, Thompson said in a statement. However, these studies remind us that it is not always your weight thats important, but where you carry fat and also how it affects your health and fitness.

Obesity belongs to a group of early warning signs of heart disease and diabetes known as metabolic syndrome, which affects about 25 percent of the worlds adults, according to the Brussels-based International Diabetes Federation. Obesity is usually defined by body mass index, which is calculated using a persons height and weight. The researchers in the first study used body fat measurements taken from skin folds or using water displacement, techniques thought to be more accurate than BMI.

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Fitness Trumps Fat as Health Gauge, Coke-Funded Research Shows

For women heading toward retirement, theres good news and bad news. The good news is theyre likely to be blessed with long life. The bad news: They may not be able to afford it.

SEE ALSO: 12 Retirement Strategies for Women

That, in effect, is the conclusion of a recent study by the U.S. General Accounting Office. Despite the increase in womens workforce-participation rates over the past two decades, the poverty rate in 2010 for women 65 and older was 9% -- nearly twice the rate for men, at 5%. And while 6% of widowers lived in poverty, 12% of widows were poor.

According to the GAO report, women have a tougher time saving for retirement in part because they take time out from the workforce to care for family members, and when they do work they have lower earnings than men. Other studies bear this out: Women who are 50 to 69 have about 20% less in retirement savings than men in that age group, according to a recent report by the ING Retirement Research Institute. Another report notes that while half of baby-boomer men have retirement savings of at least $200,000, only 35% of female boomers have that level of savings.

Women who are five to ten years from retirement can take some steps to improve their financial readiness. Many of these moves can apply to women of all ages.

Maximize your own retirement benefits. If youre looking for a new job, make sure it has a good retirement plan. Its unlikely these days that you will find a job with a pension plan that guarantees a stream of income in retirement. But you can seek out employers that will match all or part of your contributions to a 401(k) or a similar employer-based plan. A company match is free money.

Even when married women are working, women tend to set aside a smaller amount of their income than men, says Suzanna de Baca, vice-president of retirement and wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial Services. The couple may decide that the womans income is more discretionary, she says. But any woman who is working should contribute as much as possible to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. If her employer doesnt offer a retirement plan, de Baca says, she should set up an IRA.

Indeed, Kelly O'Donnell, vice-president at Financial Engines, which provides asset management for 401(k) plans, told the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging at a recent hearing that men tend to save nearly twice as much as women. "Among our clients, the median 401(k) account balance for men age 60 and older is $82,000 and only $46,000 for women age 60 and older," O'Donnell said.

In 2012, you can set aside up to $17,000 (plus up to $5,500 in catch-up contributions if youre 50 or older) in a 401(k). If youre self-employed, you can make deductible contributions to a retirement plan, too, such as an individual 401(k). If you dont have access to an employment-based retirement plan, you can make $5,000 ($6,000 if youre 50 or older) in deductible contributions to a traditional IRA, or you make the same amount of after-tax contributions to a Roth IRA, which grows tax-free.

Working longer can help maximize your Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration uses your highest 35 years of earnings to calculate your benefit. Any zeros -- perhaps for years you left the workforce to care for children -- will pull down the average. If you keep working, youll be able to raise your benefit -- and maybe knock out a zero or two.

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The Rules of Retirement for Women

(MoneyWatch) Most people spend more time planning their next vacation or car purchase than planning for their retirement and rest-of-life. That's a huge mistake. Neglecting to plan for a period of your life that might last 20 years or more -- during which you have to rely mostly on your accumulated financial resources -- could be the biggest mistake you'll ever make.

And while it's an ambitious task to plan for such an extended period of time, it's a necessary one. So it makes sense to spend a significant amount of time and effort to do the job right.

There are a number of important issues you'll need to research and think about, including:

One important step many people overlook during the planning phase involves the amount of money you need to save for retirement. According to the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), only 42 percent of Americans have actually calculated how much money they'll need to save for retirement. An equal percentage of Americans simply guess at this amount -- and they usually guess too low. The unfortunate result is that these people will most likely exhaust their retirement savings while they're in their 70s or 80s, and will then need to make drastic changes in their lifestyle because they no longer have enough money to maintain their standard of living.

10 Best Places to Retire

The EBRI study also showed that people who calculate how much savings they'll need are more confident about their ability to retire. So try calculating how much money you really need to save by following the steps in this post.

If you do a good job addressing the financial aspects of retirement, it's likely that your financial planning will quickly morph into life and career planning, too, especially if you see that your financial resources aren't enough for a traditional retirement of "not working." Finding that out now, however, is a good thing, since it helps you focus on what you really want for the rest of your life and what type of work you can do to generate those needed funds so that you'll be both happy and financially secure.

Retirement planning: How to do it right 4 retirement planning mistakes you may be making 5 biggest retirement planning mistakes 5 tips for using retirement calculators

While it might take some time to do it right, planning ahead means you'll learn how you can have the best possible rest-of-life and avoid common financial and lifestyle mistakes. If you take steps to avoid these retirement planning mistakes now, you can focus on what's really important -- what you want for the rest of your life and the legacy you might leave.

Want to avoid making any retirement planning mistakes? I've prepared a free, online series of posts titled 12 weeks to plan your retirement. These posts guide you through the important decisions you need to make to plan for a happy, secure future.

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The biggest retirement planning mistake of all

It's a retiree's nightmare: outliving the assets in a retirement portfolio.

Between historically low interest rates dragging on fixed-income yields and uncertainties about taxes, not to mention the threat of future inflation and volatile markets that send skittish investors seeking shelter, retirees who are living longer are finding it challenging to keep their portfolios up to speed.

Recent calculations from the Employee Benefit Research Institute show that roughly 44% of those born between 1948 and 1978baby boomers and Generation Xwon't have adequate retirement income, and that is assuming interest rates go back up in 2014. But the current environment is weighing even on those heading into retirement with what seems like a tidy sum.

Retirees need an efficient plan of attack to squeeze all the juice out of their portfolios, ensuring they have sufficient assets for their golden years. Here are some strategies:

Retirees should map out a budget for necessitiesinclude everything from housing to food, transportation, health expenses and utility billsand set aside a chunk of a portfolio for these costs.

Many planners suggest putting funds to cover three to five years' worth of expenses into safe and liquid vehicles, so the retiree has cash on hand, even if the market drops.

"That way you don't have to liquidate in a down environment," says Marty Leclerc, portfolio manager for Barrack Yard Advisors in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Even though money-market funds are returning basically nothing, funds earmarked to be used within three years should go into these instruments, says Michael Gibney, a financial planner in Riverdale, N.J. "There is no reason to put money that will be used within a short time period at risk," he says.

For five-year time frames, look to add in a short-term bond fund or certificate of deposit to gain a little more yield, he says.

With many people living well into their 90s, retirees need to think carefully about how to protect themselves from running out of money in their later years.

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Making Your Retirement Assets Last

Almost six months after Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) started looking for suitable divestiture opportunities for its Individual Life and Retirement Plans segments as well as the Woodbury Financial Services unit, the company announced an agreement to sell the Retirement Plans business to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). The divestiture is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to the attainment of regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

Hartford will receive a cash ceding commission of $400 million for the transaction. However, the amount is open to adjustment before the completion of the sale.

Although the transaction is unlikely to have a material impact on the companys results on a reported basis, it is expected to boost the net statutory capital, including ceding commission and lower risk-based capital requirement, by about $600 million. The impact on the financials can be revised at the time of closure of the transaction to include the impact of market conditions, Hartfords results as well as other adjustments.

Following the closure of the deal, Hartfords Retirement Plans business will be taken over by the Retirement Services Division of MassMutual. However, the agreement allows Harford to sell new retirement plans during the transition period. MassMutual will cover the risks and expenses related to the new plans under a reinsurance agreement. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Greenhill & Co. Inc. (GHL) are acting as Hartfords financial advisors for the deal.

The deal is an outcome of Hartfords plan, announced in March this year, to divest its Individual Life and Retirement Plans segments along with Woodbury Financial Services under intense pressure from its largest shareholder, John Paulson. Woodbury is an indirectly-held, wholly-owned retail broker-dealer subsidiary, included in the Individual Life segments distribution network.

Subsequently, in August, Hartford entered into a strategic alliance with American International Group Inc. (AIG) to sell Woodbury. The deal is expected to consummate by the end of this year, subject to approval by regulatory bodies. According to Reuters, Hartford will receive $90 million pursuant to this acquisition. It will also receive an additional $25 million as dividend from Woodbury.

Currently, Hartfords shares carry a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold). Also, we maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Read the Full Research Report on HIG

Read the Full Research Report on GS

Read the Full Research Report on GHL

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Hartford Sells Retirement Plans Biz

I'm 46 years old and for the past 22 years I've put 6% of my paycheck into my 401(k). Will I have enough to live on when I retire at 67 -- Diana B., Va.

Getting an early start on saving and sticking with it is by far the best way to gain the inside track to a secure retirement.

So the simple fact that you've contributed to your 401(k) every year since the beginning of your career leaves you in a much better position than if you had procrastinated or not saved at all.

But without knowing how much you've actually accumulated in your 401(k), I can't really say whether you're on track to retire at 67.

Fortunately, you can gauge that pretty easily yourself. Just go to a good online retirement calculator and enter such information as your salary, the current balances of your 401(k) and any other retirement accounts, a breakdown of how your savings are invested and the percentage of pay you plan to set aside annually over the next 20 years.

Once you've plugged in those figures, the calculator will estimate the probability that your projected savings plus Social Security will be able to generate enough income to support you throughout retirement

Ideally, you'd find that chances are good that you'll be able to retire on schedule at something close to your pre-retirement standard of living if you continue your current regimen.

But unless your employer has been supplementing your savings with generous employer matching funds over the years, I doubt that will be the case. Typically most people need to save between 10% and 15% of their annual income throughout their career to have a realistic shot at a secure and comfortable retirement. I suspect that a 6% annual savings rate will leave you a bit short of where you should be.

Still, even if you find that you're not as prepared for retirement at this point as you'd like, there's no reason to panic. You've still got several options for improving your prospects, and plenty of time to turn things around.

The single most effective move you can make (which I'm sure will come as no surprise) is to boost the percentage of pay that you sock away each year.

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Retirement savings: Am I on track to retire at 67?