Colin Farrell, a 36-year old actor, recently went public about his love for yoga and how it has helped him to recover from drug and alcohol addiction.

Farrell is not the only person who has turned to yoga as a means to recovery. In fact, some addiction treatment programs use the practice of yoga as a tool to aid in recovery.

The good news is that those who are in bondage to addictions have the ability to recover if they have the desire to do so. This article will focus on how the use of yoga can aid in the journey to recovery.

History of yoga for addiction treatment

Even though yoga has been used to improve mental and physical health for over 5,000 years, it has only made its way into drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs in the last 10-years.

Five ways yoga helps those in recovery

-Impulse control

Yoga promotes impulse control, attentiveness and concentration. This is important because many people who use drugs and alcohol feel a compulsion to follow through with their cravings to use. In addition, they are more likely than others to allow their thoughts and emotions rule them and how they react to life.

-Deep breathing

Coping skills are needed for those seeking recovery, and yoga helps by teaching deep breathing that is a useful tool.

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Yoga Aids in Recovery from Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Trish Browns office is simple. Four white walls, narrow plywood shelves, a single desk. Hardly anything especially notable except the collection of thank-you cards and letters neatly displayed on the bottom shelf.

Brown looks up at the collection. Short blond hair frames her soft face. A wide smile spreads across her face as she describes the cards as not only gifts but also the motivation behind working as a health and fitness instructor.

Isnt that what you want to do in life? she said, reflecting on the students whose lives she has affected. Point out and show people the good they dont see in themselves.

Thats why I am so lucky I get to do what I do.

Brown has been teaching Winona State University students the fundamentals of physical education since 2006. When shes not on campus, Trish works part-time with Winona residents of all ages, leading a variety of fitness classes, including spinning, body pump and kickboxing at the Winona YMCA.

Winona State senior Tucker Blegen has participated in several of Browns fitness classes, including hip-hop hustle and kickboxing. He said there was never a day when Trish wasnt on top of her game.

I love Trish. She is so energetic and makes you want to work harder and push yourself because you dont want to disappoint her, Tucker said. She motivates you by leading by example.

Although Brown had always been active in sports and exercise, she never thought fitness would become her career. She went to college looking to become a nurse, but when her athletic trainer at Bethel University in the Twin Cities introduced her to the possibilities of a career in fitness, she knew it was the right path.

You need to enjoy what you do and find the avenue to get there, Brown said. Its hard work, but its not work because I love it.

She got a bachelors degree in athletic training and health education. After moving to Winona, she majored in adaptive physical education at WSU. She then got a masters degree in curriculum and instruction. Now shes working on a doctorate.

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Monday profile: WSU instructor Trish Brown spreads fitness gospel on and off campus

The Labor Day Walk will cross the Huron River at Riverside Park. Photo courtesy City of Ypsilanti.

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The City of Ypsilanti's Parks and Recreation Commission is organizing a bridge walk to promote health and fitness throughout the area.

The Ypsilanti Labor Day Bridge Walk on Sept. 3 begins at 9 a.m. at Library Plaza Park, near the downtown library at 229 W. Michigan Ave.

Members of the Michigan Fitness Foundation, a subgroup of Gov. Rick Snyder's council on physical fitness, are encouraging officials in Michigan towns to host walks similar to the one held at the Mackinaw Bridge.

"We were hoping to have something local," said Bob Krzewinski member of the commission.

Walkers will have the option of taking part in a one-mile walk, crossing over the Huron River using city bridges, including the Riverside Park three-way pedestrian bridge.

There will also be a one-mile option taking in the Water Street non-motorized trail.

Krzewinski said not only is Ypsilanti a really nice place to walk, it's also a place where they can walk to restaurants, parks, merchants and the library.

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YPSILANTI: City hosts Labor Day Bridge Walk as a fun, easy way to start a local exercise routine

KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) today finalized standards that will accelerate the proliferation of Bluetooth wireless technology sensors that measure speed and cadence for running and cycling activity. Made possible by Bluetooth v4.0 low energy technology, the recently approved standards will enable the next generation of Bluetooth Smart fitness devices. Companies can now quickly implement Bluetooth Smart sensors in sports devices to instantaneously transmit data such as running cadence, stride length, total distance, or cycling speed, distance, and pedal cadence to Bluetooth enabled devices like smart phones, sports watches, and cycling computers.

Bluetooth technology already has significant momentum in the sports and fitness market, making it possible for products like the Nike+ FuelBand, Nike+ Basketball and Training shoes, Polar heart rate monitors, and many more to connect to the Bluetooth ecosystem. The new running and cycling standards will accelerate growth in this space. By allowing manufacturers to use standards-based protocols, the new profiles give companies the opportunity to quickly create innovative products that can connect to the vast array of Bluetooth enabled hub devices.

ABI Research, Inc. forecasts shipments of Bluetooth enabled sports and fitness devices will grow ten-fold from 2011 to 2016, totaling 278 million and representing over 60 percent of the total available market. According to ABIs Jonathan Collins, principal analyst in telematics and M2M technologies, this is being driven by the trend to move away from proprietary solutions and toward Bluetooth Smart devices.

Supporting Quotes

Suke Jawanda, chief marketing officer, Bluetooth SIG:

Historically, sports and fitness sensors capable of tracking speed and cadence relied on proprietary technology, limiting their reach and functionality. The Running S&C and Cycling S&C profiles unlock these sensors, allowing companies to build products that can connect with the tens of millions of Bluetooth Smart Ready devices already in the market, and the hundreds of millions on the way in the coming quarters. As an OEM, if you want your product to connect with billions of products your customers likely already use on a daily basis, then Bluetooth technology is the obvious choice. A rich supplier ecosystem and our organizations continued dedication to perfecting Bluetooth profiles for the sports and fitness market is one of the many reasons Bluetooth technology is becoming the de facto wireless standard for low power sensor devices. Not only in this market, but in healthcare, home automation, and more.

Brian Bedrosian, director of deeply embedded wireless connectivity business, Broadcom:

Bluetooth Smart is playing an important role in augmenting the value of smartphones by enabling consumers to interact with Bluetooth or Bluetooth Smart heart rate and blood pressure monitors, measurement sensors and other sports and fitness devices without significant impact on battery life. Broadcom continues to help drive the proliferation and integration of this exciting technology, which has demonstrated the potential to open up entirely new applications and markets for home health, fitness and diagnostics.

Paul Williamson, senior product marketing manager for health and fitness, CSR:

Link:
Bluetooth SIG Adopts Key Profiles for Sports and Fitness Market

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LYNN He spends an average 55 hours a year on School Committee business, but the Retirement Board calculated John Fords service as an elected official in years, not hours, last week when it voted to accept Ford as a future city retiree whose pension will be partly paid by local taxpayers.

Board members Buzzy Barton, Richard Biagiotti, Claire Cavanagh and Stephen Spencer voted last Tuesday to credit Ford for eight years service on the committee. Board Chairman Michael Marks only votes to break a tie.

Fords entry into the system expands the number of elected officials entering Lynns public retirement system. The systems 1,200 former city employee members divide up $31 million-worth of pensions annually. Lynn taxpayers foot $23 million worth of that cost.

Board Director Gary Brenner said the board had little choice but to accept Ford into the system because elected officials like Ford qualify for admission into public retirement systems under state law. Ford, said Brenner, is the first local School Committee member to be voted in by the board.

I think were the only people in the city who dont get something, Ford said last Wednesday.

Brenner estimated city taxpayers will eventually pay about 30 percent of Fords pension once he retires from his job as an aide to state Rep. Steven Walsh based on pension worth 25 percent of his aides salary.

Fords legislative salary is listed on the state website as $30,000 a year.

When his pension is calculated, were responsible, Brenner said.

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Retirement board OKs Ford pension

Note: All figures are based on IFRS and are shown in Canadian dollars. All comparisons are with the corresponding period of2011, unless otherwise stated.

Jennifer Gregory - National Vice-President, Business Development, Group Savings and Retirement

MONTREAL , Aug. 27, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada today announced the appointment of financial services industry veteran Jennifer Gregory as incoming National Vice-President, Business Development, Group Savings and Retirement. Based in Toronto , Mrs. Gregory will be responsible for creating a strategic vision and a national roadmap in order to grow Standard Life's group savings and retirement business across Canada . Her appointment is effective September 17 .

"The group savings and retirement segment being the cornerstone of Standard Life, I am very pleased to have attracted an executive with such in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience in this industry," said Charles Guay , President and Chief Executive Officer. "Given her extensive involvement in the business community, Jennifer significantly adds to the Toronto office and brings considerable strength to our overall management team. Her arrival ties in perfectly with our continued efforts to be an industry leader in long-term savings and investment solutions."

Prior to this appointment, Mrs. Gregory held several senior positions at Great-West Life Assurance Company since 1993. Most recently, she was Vice-President National Accounts, Group Retirement Services where she gained a strong understanding of the group retirement capital accumulation plan industry in Canada and spearheaded organizational change to provide an exceptional intermediary and plan member and sponsor experience.

Mrs. Gregory has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Alberta. She also holds designations as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) and Registered Pension Associate (RPA).

Note to Editors In the second quarter of 2012, Standard Life Financial's overall premiums and deposits reached $1.3 billion (up 13% from $1.2 billion in 2011), including $709 million from the group savings and retirement business (up 15% from $616 million in 2011).

About Standard Life Standard Life plc is a leading long-term savings and investment company headquartered in Edinburgh , Scotland. Standard Life has around 6 million customers worldwide and operates in the United Kingdom , Europe , North America and Asia Pacific, and globally with Standard Life Investments Ltd.

In Canada , Standard Life has been doing business for almost 180 years. Standard Life Financial Inc., which wholly owns The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and Standard Life Mutual Funds Ltd., is Standard Life plc's largest operation outside the UK. With about 2,000 employees, it provides long-term savings, investment and insurance solutions to more than 1.4 million Canadians, including group benefit and retirement plan members.

As of June 30, 2012 , Standard Life plc had $327 billion in assets under administration, including $42billion in Canada through Standard Life Financial.

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Standard Life hires a seasoned sales leader for its group savings and retirement business

JUPITER, Fla., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU) announces the formation of The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU), which will offer corporate retirement plan sponsors an exclusive and unique training and certification program designed to improve their retirement plan. The Mission of The Plan Sponsor University is to educate and train employers to better manage their corporate retirement plan(s) on behalf of their participants, help improve outcomes and to introduce plan sponsors to the very best plan advisors who can help them to accomplish these goals.

TRAU, a collaboration with the UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education, revolutionized the retirement plan industry in 2010 by offering the prestigious C(k)P - Certified 401(k) Professional designation for plan advisors. TPSU follows suit by offering the first comprehensive and national online and in-person workplace retirement plan certification program to business owners, financial professionals, benefits specialists and other plan fiduciaries.

TPSU offers employers charged with the responsibility of company retirement plan oversight the opportunity to increase their knowledge and expertise in areas such as retirement plan design and operation, management of their fiduciary obligations, improving outcomes for those who participate and, upon completion of the program, awards the enrollee certification as a C(k)PS - Certified 401(k) Plan Specialist.

"Managing retirement plans and helping plan participants has become increasingly complex. Plan sponsors need state-of-the-art training available online and created by a nationally recognized educational organization delivered in person by qualified professionals," said Fred Barstein, Founder and Executive Director, The Retirement Advisor University.

TPSU courses and curriculum will be offered regionally around the country conducted by local plan advisors starting in the spring of 2013. Advisors that present the curriculum and train those who enroll in The Plan Sponsor University must meet strict criteria established to ensure that only the most experienced and qualified retirement plan professionals become Adjunct Lecturers at TPSU. The criterion to become a TPSU Adjunct Lecturer includes:

TPSU is currently recruiting adjunct lecturers to teach in several regions that remain available. Financial professionals who are interested and feel they meet the criteria may apply at http://www.TPSUniversity.com.

About TRAU

TRAU, The Retirement Advisor University collaboration with UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education is the first retirement planning certification program associated with a nationally recognized institution of higher learning. Participating advisors and wholesalers can benefit by earning certification that has real meaning to plan sponsor clients, prospects, and the retirement industry as a whole. http://www.TRAUniv.com

About TPSU

The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU), an affiliate of TRAU, offers the first comprehensive online and in-person workplace retirement plan certification program for business owners, benefits specialists and other employer fiduciaries. http://www.tpsuniversity.com

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New Retirement Plan Training Offers Help to Employers & Employees

If you've decided you want to get rid of your debts but are having trouble doing it, that might be because you haven't prepared your brain for it.

To free yourself of oppressive debt, you should treat yourself and make yourself feel good. I'm not talking about indulging yourself once again with the credit card. Rather, you need to give yourself hope that you can really chop away at that debt mess until it's gone.

And research by two assistant professors of marketing from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management provides the way.

David Gal and Blakeley McShane tested advice often given to people loaded with debt, and found the advice lacking. They concluded you should ignore the popular suggestion that you get rid of debt by paying off your biggest loan or credit card balance first. Going after the card with the largest balance is likely to be discouraging, perhaps making you feel defeated along the multiyear process of paying off all debts and maybe causing you to give up.

Instead, Gal and McShane found it's more effective to give yourself a quick success. Pay off your smallest balance or loan, and then move to the next small one and do the same. Each might take awhile, but the sooner you can get rid of one and move to the next, the more you will feel a sense of accomplishment and control. Your success will help motivate you to stick with your plan and make it to the end of paying off debt entirely.

Gal and McShane dug into the behavior of almost 6,000 people who had gone to a debt settlement company for help in getting rid of debt. Such firms can be sketchy, and individuals must be cautious about trusting some of them. The firms typically have clients make a single monthly payment into an account devoted to the person's debts, and with time the firm tries to negotiate reductions with lenders.

Only about 43 percent of people make it to the end of the process successfully as they make payments over an average period of three to four years. About 30 percent of people give up before the debt settlement firm is able to negotiate a single reduction, and the consequence can be bankruptcy.

By observing the behavior of people dealing with the Freedom Financial Network, the researchers were able to see how individuals respond to paying off debts.

On a numbers basis, it doesn't matter if people pay off small or large debts first, although sometimes a person can reduce his or her overall debt load the most if they get rid of big debts with high interest rates. But, psychologically, people need to feel like they are making progress. That's especially true when a person faces a long process, like paying off debt over a few years.

The researchers also found that people were motivated to keep working on their debts if they consistently paid down the smallest balances. For example, Gal and McShane found that one year after enrolling in the debt settlement program, clients were 14 percent more likely to complete the program after experiencing small successes than people who paid down random balances of various sizes. People were even more motivated if they were eliminating the smallest balances instead of the largest.

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Personal Finance: Provide yourself hope while eliminating debt

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Vidyo, Inc., the first company to deliver personal telepresence, will be showing the currently available VidyoRouter Virtual Edition (VE) along with a technology demonstration of VidyoDesktop running on VMware View at VMworld 2012 in San Francisco, Booth #2530, August 26-30.

"Traditional video conferencing solutions typically rely upon proprietary hardware to perform transcoding necessary for multipoint video calling," said Ira Weinstein, Senior Analyst and Partner at Wainhouse Research and author of the recently published white paper Multipoint Videoconferencing Goes Virtual. Vidyos software solution supports multipoint calling without the need for processor-intensive transcoding, making it well suited for virtualized and distributed environments. By eliminating the need for a transcoding MCU, this architecture significantly reduces the cost associated with large-scale video conferencing deployments.

Vidyo is a leader in virtualized video conferencing infrastructure. VidyoRouter VE, which is generally available, provides enterprises and service providers with unprecedented quality of up to 1440p and deployment flexibility, enhancing their ability to deliver natural video communications optimized for desktop, room and mobile devices at price points comparable to web conferencing.

Virtualization enables efficiency, cost saving and new deployment capabilities, said Ashish Gupta, CMO and SVP of Corporate Development, Vidyo. With support for VMware environments, Vidyo brings increased quality and value to end-users and IT departments by delivering a multimedia solution that is truly scalable and supports a variety of firewall solutions, devices and wide area networks requirements including those for branch offices and small businesses.

End-users using VMware View solutions are looking for uncompromising performance while at scale, said Mason Uyeda, director, End-User Computing Technical Marketing, VMware. Vidyos virtualized solution on VMware View provides access to high quality video communication as an application and an enhanced user experience in a managed, secure environment.

VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. VMworld 2012 US is the industry's largest virtualization and cloud computing event. With more than 300 unique breakout sessions and over 250 exhibitors, attendees will have unparalleled access to the knowledge and tools they need to master the new cloud landscape and transform their business. This year's VMworld theme "Right Here, Right Now" focuses on how attendees will gain the tools and training needed to master the new cloud landscape, with the speed, security and control they've come to expect.

The Vidyo Difference

The Vidyo communication and collaboration platform is software-based, highly flexible and can be easily customized for individual enterprise and vertical market video conferencing needs. The patented VidyoRouter architecture introduces Adaptive Video Layering, which dynamically optimizes the video for each endpoint leveraging H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC)-based compression technology and Vidyos IP. Adaptive Video Layering eliminates the MCU and offers unprecedented error resiliency, low latency rate matching thus enabling natural, affordable, high-quality video to work over the Internet, LTE and 4G networks. The platform allows users to quickly leverage the latest hardware innovations and new consumer devices, making it uniquely attractive to partners. Vidyo has been active driving H.264 SVC and SIP videoconferencing interoperability in various standards bodies since 2005.

About Vidyo, Inc.

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Vidyo Brings Scale and Affordability to Personal Telepresence On VMware View®

August 27, 2012

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online

Sex education has had little to no effect on teen pregnancy rates, which have remained essentially unchanged over the past four decades, claims the author of a controversial new study.

According to Sarah Harris of the Daily Mail, professor David Paton, chair of industrial economics at The University of Nottingham, has said that despite schools attempts to educate students under the age of 16 about sex, annual pregnancy rates from 1969 to 2009 have remained almost exactly the same.

While the rate has seen peaks and valleys over that time, rising and/or falling to between seven to 10 per 1,000 girls each year, Paton said that it tends not to correlate with UK efforts to prevent such occurrences, Telegraph Medical Correspondent Stephen Adams added.

It surpassed nine per 1,000 on three occasions (once in the mid-1970s, once in the early 1990s, and once in 1996) but has been on a general decline since then, the professor argued.

Writing in the journal Education and Health, Paton said that it is very difficult to establish a strong case that standard policy interventions have been at the root of such changes, according to Harris.

To illustrate his point, Paton explained that the all-time highest teen pregnancy rate was reached in 1996, just four years after the introduction of the Health of the Nation initiative that made contraception and information more readily available to young women.

Implicit (and sometimes explicit) in these approaches has been an assumption that access to family planning will reduce pregnancy rates amongst those teenagers who were already having sex but will not cause an increase in the proportion of all teenagers who engage in sexual activity, he wrote, according to the Daily Mail.

Standard economic models, however, suggest that the two factors are irretrievably interlinked. Easier access to family planning reduces the effective cost of sexual activity and will make it more likely (at least for some teenagers) that they will engage in underage sexual activity, he added. In conclusion, despite recent decreases in the overall underage conception rate, unwanted pregnancy amongst minors in England and Wales has proved remarkedly resilient to policy initiatives implemented by different Governments over the past 40 years.

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Sex Education Does Little To Lower Teen Pregnancy Rates In The UK