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Amazon (AMZN), which has come under intense scrutiny for unfavorable labor conditions at its fulfillment centers, announced a new worker-education program this week to help improve the careers of some of the company's most dedicated employees.

The largest U.S. online retailer plans to reimburse its full-time hourly workers for vocational training at an accredited school. Selected employees would be given $2,000 a year for four years.

The caveat lies in the program requirements. In order to apply and participate, workers must have been with the company for at least three consecutive years.

Amazon posted details about its program on its retail site Monday:

"At Amazon, we like to pioneer, we like to invent, and we're not willing to do things the normal way if we can figure out a better way. It can be difficult in this economy to have the flexibility and financial resources to teach yourself new skills. So, for people who've been with us as little as three years, we're offering to pre-pay 95% of the cost of courses such as aircraft mechanics, computer-aided design, machine tool technologies, medical lab technologies, nursing, and many other fields."

Amazon's Career Choice Program: Good for Workers or P.R. Stunt?

Showcasing the company's new education program on the Amazon homepage has some critics wondering whether this program is nothing more than an attempt to improve the company's image.

Will Oremus of Slate is skeptical and wrote this week:

"There's something puzzling about the company's use of its massively trafficked front page to broadcast this program. In an economy full of unemployed people desperate for work, does Amazon really have to blast all of its millions of customers to find a few hundred new applicants?"

Link:
Amazon’s New Worker Education Program: Good Business or PR Stunt?

Add to the long list of health benefits attributed to regular yoga practice better balance, increased confidence and higher quality of life in survivors of stroke

Image Source / Getty Images

You dont have to be a devoted yogi to reap the benefits of the cobra pose. A new study in chronic stroke survivors shows that practicing yoga can improve balance in patients, giving them more confidence to handle day-to-day activities and potentially reducing disability.

The study, published in the American Heart Associations journal Stroke, involved 47 stroke survivors, mostly male veterans, who had had their stroke six months prior. The participants were still experiencing balance problems, which can be long-lasting after stroke, arising from injury to central brain structures and impaired senses. Difficulties with balance can lead to a higher risk of falls, further injury and continued disability.

The oldest patient was in his 90s. To qualify for the study, all the participants had to be able to stand on their own.

The patients were divided into three groups: one group participated in twice-weekly sessions of group yoga for eight weeks; another group, the yoga-plus group, met twice weekly for yoga and listened to relaxation recordings three times a week; and the control group received usual medical care, without yoga rehabilitation.

(MORE:Does Yoga Really Drive People Wild with Desire?)

The study authors note that natural recovery and focused rehabilitation therapy typically end about six months after a stroke, but patients may still remain disabled. Improvements after the six-month window take longer to occur, but we know for a fact that the brain still can change, said lead study author Dr. Arlene Schmid, a rehabilitation research scientist at Roudebush Veterans AdministrationMedical Center in Indianapolis, in a statement.

Indeed, the pilot study found that even patients with significant paralysis following stroke were able to do modified yoga poses. The participants were guided by a registered yoga therapist, who helped them learn various modified poses that increased in difficulty week by week. The patients started with simple rotational moves on the mat, such as pigeon pose, and worked toward more challenging poses that required standing, including chair pose. They also used relaxation and meditation techniques.

By the end of the eight weeks, those in the yoga and yoga plus groups had improved their balance on tests of standing, standing with their eyes closed, standing with their feet together and turning around 360 degrees, compared with patients in the control group. Whats more, the yoga participants also reported being less afraid of falling, feeling more independent and enjoying better quality of life.

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Yoga Can Help Stroke Survivors Regain Their Balance

The ancient practice improved motor function and balance in stroke survivors

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 02:30 EST, 27 July 2012 | UPDATED: 02:30 EST, 27 July 2012

Survivors who had yoga classes felt less afraid of falling (posed)

Yoga may help stroke survivors improve their balance, according to a new study.

Researchers found group yoga can improve balance in stroke survivors who no longer receive rehabilitative care.

In a pilot study, scientists tested the potential benefits of yoga among chronic stroke survivors - those whose stroke occurred more than six months earlier.

Lead researcher Doctor Arlene Schmid, a rehabilitation research scientist at Indiana University in the United States, said: 'For people with chronic stroke, something like yoga in a group environment is cost effective and appears to improve motor function and balance.'

The study's 47 participants, about three-quarters of them male veterans, were divided into three groups: twice-weekly group yoga for eight weeks; a 'yoga-plus' group, which met twice weekly and had a relaxation recording to use at least three times a week; and a usual medical care group that did no rehabilitation.

The yoga classes, taught by a registered yoga therapist, included modified yoga postures, relaxation, and meditation. Classes grew more challenging each week.

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Yoga helps stroke patients regain their balance

They randomly assigned participants, all of whom could stand unaided, to one of three groups - two yoga groups and one who received usual care. The oldest participant was 90.

Those in the yoga groups took part in classes that gradually got more difficult.

Tests found people in the yoga groups had better balance, less fear of falling, were more independent and happier with their lives than those who did not do yoga.

Arlene Schmid, assistant professor of occupational medicine, said: For chronic stroke patients, even if they remain disabled, natural recovery and acute rehabilitation therapy typically ends after six months, or maybe a year.

But we know for a fact that the brain still can change. The problem is the healthcare system is not necessarily willing to pay for that change.

The study demonstrated that with some assistance, even chronic stroke patients with significant paralysis on one side can manage to do modified yoga poses.

Yoga participants also told researchers they were more confident, saying they felt more able to take showers unaided, get out and about and visit friends.

Prof Schmid continued: It has to do with the confidence of being more mobile. Although they took time to unfold, these were very meaningful changes in life for people."

Writing in the journal Stroke, she and colleagues suggested that yoga might be better than traditional exercises because the combination of poses, breathing and meditation made the brain work harder.

However, they cautioned it was only a small study and so they could only draw limited conclusions from it.

Go here to see the original:
Yoga 'helps stroke patients recover balance'

Add to the long list of health benefits attributed to regular yoga practice better balance, increased confidence and higher quality of life in survivors of stroke

Image Source / Getty Images

You dont have to be a devoted yogi to reap the benefits of the cobra pose. A new study in chronic stroke survivors shows that practicing yoga can improve balance in patients, giving them more confidence to handle day-to-day activities and potentially reducing disability.

The study, published in the American Heart Associations journal Stroke, involved 47 stroke survivors, mostly male veterans, who had had their stroke six months prior. The participants were still experiencing balance problems, which can be long-lasting after stroke, arising from injury to central brain structures and impaired senses. Difficulties with balance can lead to a higher risk of falls, further injury and continued disability.

The oldest patient was in his 90s. To qualify for the study, all the participants had to be able to stand on their own.

The patients were divided into three groups: one group participated in twice-weekly sessions of group yoga for eight weeks; another group, the yoga-plus group, met twice weekly for yoga and listened to relaxation recordings three times a week; and the control group received usual medical care, without yoga rehabilitation.

(MORE:Does Yoga Really Drive People Wild with Desire?)

The study authors note that natural recovery and focused rehabilitation therapy typically end about six months after a stroke, but patients may still remain disabled. Improvements after the six-month window take longer to occur, but we know for a fact that the brain still can change, said lead study author Dr. Arlene Schmid, a rehabilitation research scientist at Roudebush Veterans AdministrationMedical Center in Indianapolis, in a statement.

Indeed, the pilot study found that even patients with significant paralysis following stroke were able to do modified yoga poses. The participants were guided by a registered yoga therapist, who helped them learn various modified poses that increased in difficulty week by week. The patients started with simple rotational moves on the mat, such as pigeon pose, and worked toward more challenging poses that required standing, including chair pose. They also used relaxation and meditation techniques.

By the end of the eight weeks, those in the yoga and yoga plus groups had improved their balance on tests of standing, standing with their eyes closed, standing with their feet together and turning around 360 degrees, compared with patients in the control group. Whats more, the yoga participants also reported being less afraid of falling, feeling more independent and enjoying better quality of life.

Read the original post:
Yoga Can Help Stroke Victims Regain Balance

Geno Auriemma (Getty)LONDON Across a life of basketball, even as the victories and championships and perfect seasons piled up, Geno Auriemma always figured there was one goal out of reach: United States women's national team coach.

It wasn't just that he was born in Italy. It wasn't just that he was a man in a women's game. It wasn't just that he was from the college ranks and the trend lately swung to taking pro coaches.

It was Geno himself. He is, admittedly, an abrasive force. Unapologetic. Politically incorrect. Not at all a member of the inner cliques of the women's basketball. He's had longstanding feuds with any number of coaches, most famously Pat Summitt, the icon of the sport.

He wins games, not popularity contests. Getting to be national team coach is, quite often, a popularity contest.

"I did think that if there was a committee that picked the coach, then the chances of me getting picked were zero," Auriemma said Thursday.

[ Related: Kevin Love is not happy with his playing time ]

It turns out there wasn't a committee, at least not in a traditional manner. Carol Callan, the women's national team director had the most to say, and Auriemma isn't 804-129 (.862) by accident. So one day in April, 2009, Auriemma's phone rang in his office at the University of Connecticut, and Callan told him he was hired.

So here he sat at the Olympics' Main Press Center, talking about the women's teams' 33-game, four-gold-medals win streak, discussing six of his former UConn Huskies on the squad and basically revealing an opportunity he didn't see coming.

"I could never, ever, ever be here as an athlete," he said. "So you kind of live vicariously."

This is a culmination for an American original. He was an immigrant kid, moving to Norristown, Pa., at age seven, speaking only Italian. His parents weren't interested in sports, and Auriemma said he wasn't any good at them anyway. The only positive was since they never attended his games, he'd just tell them he played well.

Continued here:
Women's hoops coach Geno Auriemma on cusp of adding golden chapter to remarkable tale

LATROBE Ben Roethlisberger choked up. Mike Tomlin found perspective. Chris Rainey marveled at the display of cheating death.

To Kirby Wilson, it was just a jog. To the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was, to use Tomlins word, a blessing.

Wilson, Pittsburghs running backs coach, was on the field barking at his players and even running with them from drill to drill on the first official practice day of Steelers training camp at St. Vincent College.

Less than seven months after sustaining life-threatening burns over almost half of his body in a house fire, Wilson is doing what he wants to do.

Its awesome, Wilson said. My favorite time of the year. The most rewarding camp Ive had.

Beloved by his players, Wilsons services are arguably needed more than usual for Pittsburgh this season. With starter Rashard Mendenhall recovering from knee surgery, the Steelers have a young, deep and talented running back corps for Wilson to work with and sort through. When asked about the competition for roster spots and increased roles at running back, Wilson used a pun that might have been in poor taste only a few months ago.

Its heated, Wilson said. Thats the only way I can describe it.

You have one guy on (the physically-unable-to-perform list) in Rashard (Mendenhall), and after that, (new starter) Isaac Redman and a bunch of young guys who really have a lot of ability but really havent done it over the long haul and are trying to find their niche.

Mendenhall is recovering from surgery after he tore the ACL in his right knee during the regular-season finale in January. Redman takes over as the featured back in the Todd Haleys offense, but roles for Jonathan Dwyer, John Clay, Baron Batch and rookie Chris Rainey are still largely a mystery.

Dwyer, in his third year, and Clay, in his second, were high-profile college backs at big-time programs but went undrafted and have scant NFL experience. Batch was briefly the darling of last seasons camp as a rookie until he tore an ACL, and Rainey, the speedster of the bunch, was drafted in the fifth round out of Florida.

Read the rest here:
Wilson back coaching for Steelers

ROCK HILL, S.C. It was one of the saddest days of his life, one of the saddest in recent college basketball history, but Pat Kelsey will talk about it. He'll talk about it openly, eagerly, thoroughly even without being asked. He mentions every heartbreaking detail, including the part where he got into the driver's seat of an ambulance and moved it in front of the Wake Forest basketball offices in the vain hope that he could do something, anything, to help. He couldn't. His mentor, boss, father figure, former coach, Skip Prosser, was gone at age 56.

It was five years ago Thursday.

Kelsey, 37, wants to talk about it. He points to the couch in his coach's office at Winthrop University, reliving the moment. Let's say that's where Coach was sitting when it happened, he says. Prosser was just back from a run and was wearing his ratty yellow shorts. He loved old clothes. He had an opened newspaper on his face, and Kelsey never will forget the color of that face. It was blue.

Kelsey wasn't the first to find him. But Kelsey was close behind. He remembers what people said. First, "Where's Mr. Prosser?" Then, "Call 911!" Then, "Hurry! Hurry!" Then, "It's not good, Kels. Not good, Kels."

He remembers the paramedics saying they would do everything they could, which he knew was code for "There's nothing we can do." Driving the ambulance probably was illegal, and definitely useless, but Kelsey would do anything and everything to keep Skip Prosser alive.

And that's why Kelsey is talking about the day he died. He does it without reluctance or anger because Mark Prosser (left) and Pat Kelsey have a special bond. (Eric Adelson)that's part of his mission now, five years later. He needs to keep this man alive.

Even though doing so nearly cost him his own career.

"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Skip Prosser loved that saying. Thomas Payne wrote it in 1776, about those who fought for the American cause only during the good times. Prosser had no use for summer soldiers or sunshine patriots, and that message got through to Pat Kelsey even when he was a young director of basketball operations at Wake Forest.

Kelsey is a Cincinnati boy, the son of a car salesman who taught him how to think creatively until it hurt, smile until it hurt and work until it hurt. It was some sort of miracle that Kelsey found a coach and leader who had the same belief system.

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Skip Prosser's son, Mark, and protégé Pat Kelsey carry on his coaching tradition at Winthrop

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

26-07-2012 20:57 Balloon pop popping with my puppy watching Hello ! how are you? I am on here to try to help everyone eat better and exercise If you need any help with that email me or call (607) 483-8445 please do notforget to eat raw organic fruit (focusing on the fruit) vegetables (especially dark leafy greens) nuts and seeds and exercise two hours or two miles (walking) a day everyday huge hugs remember you are loved huge hugs dedicating all my videos to my mom who passed on to Heaven April 24, 2012 She will be enormously missed.

The rest is here:
June-Marie Food and Fitness Health just being silly balloon pop popping funny 015 - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3IC25ok3LU

25-07-2012 21:32 The Leader in Health & Fitness at Affordable Prices Blackwood Fitness is a family-owned and operated health and fitness facility in Blackwood, Adelaide. South Australia. Our friendly staff has been helping thousands of people realize their health and fitness potential by providing state-of-the-art equipment and personal training at affordable prices. Today, our 3500 square foot club has expanded to offer the latest and best exercise equipment including the latest Cardio Vascular Equipment, Free Weights, Nautilus Equipment and recently refurbished male & female change rooms. We have over 100 classes on our timetable including RPM, Body ATTACK, Body PUMP, Body STEP, Body COMBAT, Aqua Aerobics, mature age classes, mind and body classes and a huge variety of freestyle classes. Our member amenities are among the best in the country. We offer innovative group exercise classes seven days a week, personal training, child care, a coffee bar, and much, much, more. Here at Blackwood Fitness, our trained and knowledgeable staff are dedicated to helping you achieve all of your health and fitness goals. To help first-time members get started, we offer a complimentary consultation with a personal trainer. No matter your fitness level, your personal trainer will collaborate with you to develop a customized program that meets your unique needs and will help you reach your goals FAST!

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Blackwood Fitness FREE STEP - Video