"What kind of crazy company," a friend emailed me, "pays for yoga classes for their employees and then insists on their right to get the least possible benefit from them?!"

And it does seem ludicrous, both what we've been hearing about Facebook's employee-coddling culture, and the image of a student reaching down from ardha chandrasana (half moon pose), a fairly challenging balance position, to punch in a text. This says so much about our current culture that I look forward to seeing it depicted on a New Yorker cover sometime soon.

Both the yoga community and my colleagues and students at Pixar, where I've been the company yoga teacher and provided wellness support for the past 17 years, have been abuzz with the story of a Facebook yoga instructor fired for insisting that this student turn off her cell phone during class. The consensus seems to be strongly on the side of the teacher, and I've heard much ridicule of Facebook's purported policy, not just from yogis, but from high tech industry friends as well. That email came from a web designer who is one of the most wired people I know, constantly texting during live conversations and never out of touch with his own Facebook page.

This issue hasn't actually come up for me; when a phone rings in my studio, the student who forgot to turn if off always scrambles, red-faced, to take care of it. And in my corporate classes, students don't even bring their phones; yoga is their break from being plugged in, and they don't want it disrupted by technology any more than I do. For the most part, I agree with my friend's assessment. As a yogi, it's disheartening to hear that yoga students would even have to be asked to turn off their phones. But there are two sides to every story.

Bringing yoga into the business world is a tricky mix, one that requires blending two completely different sets of needs, goals, and expectations. While a "no phones" policy is indeed a completely reasonable guideline for yoga classes, the fired teacher was not teaching in a dedicated yoga studio, and unless that rule is explicitly supported by the company she's working for -- and there were two companies in play here, Facebook and Plus One Health Management, the outside contractor that oversees FB's fitness classes and gym -- it's not her policy to set. She can request compliance but not demand it.

I started my career teaching yoga at UC Berkeley, where my classes were held in a basketball court. This was very early in the explosion of yoga into the mainstream, and I was sometimes astonished at what seemed to me extremely rude behavior. But I quickly realized that my expectations were born out of the yoga culture, and not necessarily shared by people coming to classes because their health club happened to offer them. I learned that teaching yoga etiquette -- for example, discouraging latecomers from tromping noisily through a room full of meditators -- was sometimes part of the job, especially when bringing yoga outside of its home environment.

Yoga teachers are only human; like anyone else, we have impatient moments, and times when something pushes our buttons that we handle less than skillfully. So if an incident like the one at Facebook happened in my class, I hope I'd have the presence of mind not to roll my eyes, but I can't swear that wouldn't be my first reaction. Still, glaring at a student with disdain seems out of bounds, no matter how absurd her behavior might seem. Another option would have been to respectfully ask the person to step outside to take care of whatever urgent business needed her attention, and return when she could focus. Imparting those lessons is far more effective when it's done with kindness. And a gentle, supportive approach is more in keeping with the spirit of yoga as well.

Ms. Van Ness is on record as saying that there's nothing "going on at Facebook that couldn't wait a half an hour," but that's a presumptuous statement, and not something she's in a position to decide. Even though I haven't had students use phones in my classes, people do often come in late or let me know they have to leave early for a meeting, and although it's not ideal to take a partial class, I've always felt it was better for them to get some practice time in than to miss it altogether. In my view, as with eating your vegetables, some yoga is better than none. And the job of teaching in a corporate setting is to support the employees' well-being in the context of their own culture.

Does that mean it's okay to text during yoga class? No, of course not. Not only is it detrimental to the student's own experience, it's distracting and rude to the other students as well. However badly this was handled on all sides, the bottom line is that multi-tasking is the opposite of yoga. The whole point is to train the mind to focus and be present through the physical practice. And that's where my high tech friend is absolutely on target. You only have to know a little bit about the physiology of stress, and the holistic effects of yoga, mindful breathing, and meditation to understand that the benefits of these practices are hugely reduced if they're not given full attention. Sort of like serving those vegetables deep fried.

That's something both Facebook and Plus One could benefit from considering: What are the goals for offering these classes, and how does a policy that "employees should be allowed to do whatever they want" affect the quality of what they're providing?

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Sandy Blaine: When Worlds Collide: High-Tech Yoga

The firing of yoga instructor Alice Van Ness because she glared at a Facebook employee texting while in a half-moon yoga pose has Sacramento yoga teachers dumbfounded.

"If someone argued for keeping their cellphone with them, I'd kick them out of class and tell them not to come back," said Bill Counter, who has been teaching yoga for more than 21 years at Absolutely Ashtanga Yoga. "That isn't appropriate behavior. Only if they were a doctor expecting a call, I'd understand."

Jennifer Sadugar, founder of the Yoga Solution, works with people dealing with pain, depression and various illnesses. "To do a pose and text is a safety issue. It's a strain on the body, and one could get hurt, or fall and hurt someone else," she said. "Only ER doctors or nurses can put their phones on vibrate, and if they have to text or take a call, they leave."

Laura Francis, instructor at Zuda Yoga, said Van Ness' dismissal was shocking.

"There are absolutely no cellphones in my classes. It's disruptive to other students. I'd ask them to leave if they tried to text," she said. "It's pretty standard policy that you leave your cellphone outside. There isn't a teacher here who would say it's OK to keep it with you."

Last month, Van Ness, 35, of San Carlos was teaching a yoga class at Facebook's Menlo Park campus when one employee was typing a text during the half moon pose, according to the Associated Press.

AP reported Van Ness, who has instructed yoga for six years, asked the class not to use cellphones during the yoga session. Plus One Health Management, which oversees the yoga and gym programs for Facebook, terminated her two weeks later, AP reported, because she had been warned she couldn't enforce a cellphone ban and after the Facebook employee complained that she glared at her. Neither Plus One Health Management nor Facebook would comment for the AP story.

Van Ness' glare cost her job and a third of her monthly income.

Instructors in Sacramento said they go by the assumption that their students understand not to mix cellphones and yoga. "I don't think someone would even try to use a cellphone in my class; I have an understanding with my students about the seriousness of the subject," said Gary Vercelli, Iyengar yoga instructor at the Yoga Solution. "One must respect that yoga has no distractions."

Yoga instructors aren't the only one sympathizing with Van Ness. Her personal website has started to collect an array of supportive comments.

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Sacramento yoga teachers back Facebook instructor who was fired

Fencing, despite its masked and padded exterior, hurts.

And not in the physical sense.

You get hurt emotionally, more than anything else, Greg Massialas said. Because its still a confrontation. Its life or death, in a sense.

He should know.

A fencing veteran of three Olympics (1980, 1984 and 1988), Greg was turned away each time and each time without hardware. But after coaching last years USA fencing team, Greg will again return to the grandest of international stages this month for the 2012 London Games.

Though hell return not only as a coach.

When I was five or six, I may have not understood the grandeur of the Games, Gregs 18-year-old son, Alexander Massialas said, the youngest male fencer at this years Olympics. But I told my dad, Hey, Im going to be an Olympic champion.

Given his childhood, the early proclamation is anything but surprising. His youth was one dominated by the sight of his fathers foils and Olympic rings. But the 6-foot-2, 155-pounder a recent graduate of San Franciscos Drew School and the International Fencing Federations No. 13 senior foil fencer in the world never had a blade forced upon his right palm.

I never forced them into doing it. If anything, I actually kind of kept them away from it, said Greg, whos daughter also fences. Its something they wanted to do for themselves. Unless its something you want to do for yourself, you will not be successful, in my opinion.

And so far, the younger Massialas has succeeded. In shuffling schooling and fencing careers for most of his adolescent life, hes collected numerous championships and medals, including a bronze in the 2012 Paris Foil World Cup.

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Father-son duo lead USA fencing team in 2012 London Games

Named one of Time magazines 25 most influential Americans, Stephen R. Covey, bestselling author of the self-help book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," worked to help individuals discover how they can be more effective by making conscious decisions as to how they will respond, act, and think. More than 25 million copies of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" have been sold worldwide since its publication in 1989, but Covey was insistent that what he taught was not original but rather was based on universal principles and mostly common sense he credited himself only with laying the material out. Covey held a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and spent the majority of his career teaching at Brigham Young University as a professor of organizational behavior and business management. In 1997, Covey co-founded Franklin-Covey, a leadership development organization that aims to help individuals and organizations improve through coaching, mentoring, workshops, and assessment services based on Coveys principles. It is the largest management and leadership development organization in the world.

- Elizabeth Drake,Monitor contributor

Photo: Steve C. Wilson, AP

We see the world, not as it is, but as we are or, as we are conditioned to see it.

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Stephen R. Covey: 7 essential quotes to commemorate his life

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4bNAbsMYyg

17-07-2012 16:24 What's The Apps Top 5 Health And Fitness Apps Adidas Micoach Nike + Running Myfitnesspal Pulse Reader Nike + Training

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What's The Apps Top 5 Health And Fitness Apps - Video

SHELTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

FitLinxx, a provider of health and wellness technology that motivates people to live actively and improve their well-being, today announced that Thomas Blackadar, chief technology officer, has been elected to the Fitness Industry Technology Council (FIT-C) Board of Directors, which was formed earlier in 2012.

FIT-C was established as a non-profit membership organization focused on growing the fitness industry, improving the fitness user experience and maturing the collection of real-time wellness data through the creation of interoperability standards for technology-based fitness devices.

With this leadership position within the FIT-C, FitLinxx now participates in four associations committed to fitness and wellness programs and to the development of healthier lives, including Continua Health Alliance, Fitness Industry Association, IHRSA and FIT-C.

The members of FIT-C are working to build or improve several important technology standards for the fitness industry. Among initial work areas are the following:

According to Blackadar, FitLinxx has been focused on extracting and making exercise data accessible and informative since the companys inception. Tracking exercise performance interactively can help participants get better results and stay motivated to adhere to their programs. With FIT-C, we can work as an industry so organizations can help people obtain more and better health and wellness results. We are excited to work as part of FIT-C so that consumers garner value from data, including employer incentive programs, gaming and social networking. The goal is to provide the fitness industry with updated standards and technology.

FitLinxx offers an exercise workout tracking system called FitLinxx Professional that attaches directly to fitness equipment, adding an extraordinary intelligent dimension to the workout experience. The system guides members through their program and provides interactive feedback that helps them adopt exercise habits to achieve their health, wellness and fitness goals. By offering members a more engaging workout experience, fitness facilities attract new members, increase referrals and promote fitness adherence.

More information about FITC-C membership is available at http://www.fit-c.org/membership/.

About FitLinxx (www.FitLinxx.com)

FitLinxx develops patented health and wellness technology that motivates people to live actively and improve their well-being. Sold exclusively through partners to businesses, its wireless activity monitors, health devices and software make it easy for people to accurately track and measure daily activity levels and health indicators like weight and blood pressure. In addition, its fitness facility solution helps members adopt exercise habits that achieve health, wellness and fitness goals.

Originally posted here:
FitLinxx’s Thomas Blackadar Named to Newly Formed Board of Fitness Industry Technology Council

How often do you look at yourself in the mirror and think one of the following: "I really could stand to lose a few pounds", "why do these pants look and feel tighter on me than they did a few weeks ago?" or the classic (and one I'm really guilty of) "geez, I feel older than I am"? Those are questions and problems local entrepreneur, and co-owner of Sustainable Health Choices, Kammaleathahh Livingstone, wants to help you with. I met Kammaleathahh a few months ago when I was in the thick of writing these articles on local entrepreneurs and was looking forward to sitting down with her, getting some advice on how to get back into shape, and get going. Then I got a new job, got consumed with it, and let everything else fall by the wayside, including my health choices. Luckily for me, Kammaleathahh reached back out to me about writing the article and we recently got together once again...someone out there really must be looking out for me.

Originally from Louisville, Kammaleathahh met her business partner, Miriam Biber, while in school in North Carolina. Miriam, whose expertise is health counseling and education around the issues of nutrition, cooking, and their relationship to our overall connection to our health, and Kammaleathahh, whose areas of expertise revolve around massage and bodywork, began sharing ideas with each other and trading services, and the idea for a partnership took off from there. Sustainable Health Choices began in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2007. In 2011 Kammaleathahh returned to her Louisville home, and now the ladies work out of both cities. The goal of their company is to not just treat symptoms or issues you may have, but to help you find the root of those issues and help you eliminate it through giving you the skills to be aware of how your daily choices impact your health...mind, body, and spiritual. We all know, or should know, that things like diet and exercise can help prevent certain medical ailments like heart attacks, etc., but it goes so far beyond that. Did you know that a tight muscle in your foot can affect other muscles in your body? Kammaleathahh is trained to know how the body interconnects and wants to share that knowledge with her clients so they have more tools to keep themselves healthy.

I recently had my first session with Kammaleathahh and during her initial body assessment she found that the muscles around my ribs were tight and were pulling my torso. After some massage and acupressure not only did I feel better, but when I stood up I actually did feel stretched out and taller...like my posture had been elongated. I highly suggest Louisville support this local entrepreneur. Sustainable Health Choices is not a company that is about making it's founders rich, it is a company that is about making it's communities, and the people within them, richer by giving them control over their own health.

From Kammaleathahh's website:

"I am a Kentucky and North Carolina licensed massage and bodywork therapist. My work is centered in compassion, safety, and relief as I believe this is the foundation of high quality health care. My job is to help alleviate your pain and the imbalances in your soft tissue through myofascial release and other therapeutic techniques. As a Sustainable Health Choices practitioner I want to offer services that truly support people and larger communities to live in a more harmonious, cooperative, and vibrant world."

You can learn more about Sustainable Health Choices, what they do, and what they're about at http://www.sustainablehealthchoices.com. You can also learn more about Kammaleathahh's massage therapy at shcmassage.com and contact her directly at 502.265.5849 or Klivingstone@shcmassage.com

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Louisville Entrepreneur Profiles - Sustainable Health Choices [Fitness & Health]

Power training has become increasingly popular among the general training population.

Power is defined as work divided by time, or the speed at which you can do a particular task. In contrast, strength is the amount of force you can generate at a specific force, and power is how fast you can generate that force. A very heavy deadlift is an example for max strength; a heavy load moving slowly. Throwing a baseball is more of a power exercise; moving something relative light very fast. Both are important for athletic performance and daily living.

For athletes, the need for speed and power is arguably more important than max strength, and is so for the general population as well. It is even more important as people age.

As people age, they lose muscle mass and strength; however, people lose power at a higher rate. This is problematic because many daily activities, such as climbing up stairs and jumping over a puddle, require power. In fact, most of my clients are amazed by how difficult power training can be sometimes. Activities like simply jumping with both feet can be quite challenging, as many people haven't tried to jump in years, if not longer. If you don't use it, you lose it.

An effective way to increase power and add some fun and variety into your training program is to add plyometrics. Plyometric exercise is defined as a quick powerful movement that rapidly stretches then shortens a muscle group. Jumping up and down with minimal ground contact time is an example.

Plyometrics work by using the body's energy like a spring. When a person lands from a jump they store some energy in the muscle, like a spring being coiled together. If the person can then jump up again with minimal ground contact time, they can get an extra jolt of energy, like a spring being uncoiled rapidly.

Plyometrics are more of an advanced example of power training and are not for everyone. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the athlete should possess basic levels of strength, speed and balance before adding plyometrics to their training program. Athletes should have a maximum squat of a least 1.5 times his or her body weight and bench press at least their body weight. They should be able to squat and bench press 60 percent of their body weight in five seconds or less. Finally, the athlete must be able to stand on one leg for 30 seconds without falling. People weighing over 220 pounds should be careful as they may be at an increased risk of injury attempting plyometrics. Many people are not used to this type of training and it should be incorporated gradually to avoid injures.

A basic power move I like to have my clients perform is a medicine ball toss. It is easy to teach, the risk of injury is rather low, and most importantly it is kind of fun. If you have the space and a medicine ball, one can chest-pass the ball to work on upper body power, jump over it, for lower body power and then slam it into the group, to work the anger out.

--

Kyler Crouse, BS, CSCS is a personal fitness coach at Sierra Athletic Club and in the homes of clients in the greater Lake Tahoe area. Visit http://www.KCstrength.com for more info.

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Health and Fitness: Add variety with power training

Intro: For the past 25 years, the number of people ages 65-69 in the workforce has gone up a whopping 74 percent. If that trend keeps climbing you might be asking yourself if you'll ever get to retire. Well, there's no doubt the retirement landscape has changed, but it's still a viable option if you prepare yourself for the new realities.

Reality number one is that you must be more self-reliant and take more personal responsibility for your retirement. That means saving earlier and saving more.

Take SOT: Greg McBride, Senior Financial Analyst

"The game has changed. The burden is increasingly on us as individuals to save for our own retirement, so aim to save 15% of your income specifically for retirement. And the sooner you get to that threshold, the better."

Continue VO: Another reality is to have a back-up plan. Chances are you'll need more money in retirement than you realize ... so just participating in a 401(k) still might not be enough. Supplementing your retirement with a Roth IRA can boost your retirement savings, while providing flexibility to withdrawal money tax-free in retirement ... since you already paid the tax when you made the contribution in your working years.

Take SOT: "Anyone with earned income is eligible to contribute to an IRA. Even a stay-at-home spouse or someone without their own income can still contribute based upon household earnings."

Working longer may not only helps finances, but sharpness of mind, too. Postponing collection of Social Security from 62 to 70 can mean a 76 percent increase in benefits. Plus, studies by the American Economic Association have shown that staying in the labor force in your later years also helps with cognitive function of the brain ... use it or lose it! Another jarring reality? Even those who diligently save face staggering health care costs. Medicare doesn't cover everything, in fact the average 65-year-old couple will spend 260,000 on out-of-pocket healthcare during their retirement years, according to Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Bottom line: Save more, save earlier and be prepared to work longer. To learn more about funding your retirement, just visit the retirement tab at Bankrate.com. I'm Kristin Arnold.

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Video: Working longer in retirement

ATLANTA, July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Jack Albertson, a leader in retirement planning seminars and popular radio talk show host, unveiled a new website designed to help Georgia retirees understand the basics behind retirement planning. BestRetirementGuy.com offers pre-retirees and retirees free educational videos and a list of important retirement terms defined.

Heralded as "The Retirement Guy," Albertson has been offering Georgians retirement information, estate planning, retirement income planning, taxes, and investment services for over 21 years. The launch of his website marks a new era in retirement information, giving members a free and accessible orientation on the basics of retirement annuities, the benefits and drawback of each classification, and even strategies behind retirement investing.

The Fox Business featured author launched the site to help Georgians make the most of their retirement funds. "With all the bumps in the road throughout your retirement years, it is vital that you map out a retirement strategy to minimize taxes, guarantee income, fight inflation, increase your purchasing power and protect your nest egg," says Albertson. He hopes his website gives pre-retirees and retirees critical information they need to plan ahead.

Rusty Humphries, a nationally-syndicated news talk host in Atlanta, supports Albertson's mission to help Georgians reach their retirement goals, "We all plan to start saving for retirement 'one day,' but getting past the jargon and details is hard. Jack makes it easy to understand so that anyone can start his retirement plan and actually know what's going on in their financial statement each month."

Signing up is free and the first step to accessing the informational videos on http://www.BestRetirementGuy.com. From there, visitors can learn more about the specifics of retirement account types, forms of interest, and more by checking out the retirement glossary.

Jack Albertson helps Georgia families and individuals realize and fulfill their retirement goals through Albertson Financial. Working with pre-retirees and retirees for over two decades, Albertson and his staff pride themselves on both protecting and growing client assets. An often called-upon key speaker for college and university events, he has also served as a retirement planning seminar trainer and leader. Albertson was honored with the National Leadership Award in 2003 and is the honorary chairman of the National Business Advisory Council.

Media Contact: Jennifer Albertson 770-641-7771

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Retirement Made Easy: Radio Personality and Retirement Planning Expert Helps Georgians Understand the Basics of ...