Isle of Wight Aerial photographer and cinematographer, Pete Heather, has shared this great short film with us today.

Shot last summer, it showcases some stunning Isle of Wight scenery and follows on from Petes earlier film called, Home.

Under Control features a voiceover by the writer Alan Watts and gives you views you might never have seen before.

Pete says,

Have you ever dreamt of being somewhere else, then only to realise that being where you are now is a much better place?

We continued our aerial voyage around the Isle of Wight only to discover that many of the places we dream about, can be found right here on this stunning island.

You can see more of Petes films on the PH Imagery Vimeo account, but in the meantime, check this out. Turn sound on and make the video full screen.

Under Control from Ph Imagery on Vimeo.

HoMe from Ph Imagery on Vimeo.

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Watch: Stunning film shows the beautiful Isle of Wight in a way you might not have seen before - On The Wight

Moving museum benches, balls darting along roller-coaster tracks, mirror labyrinths, and a chorus of Tibetan singing bowls are just a few of the devices Jeppe Hein has used to elicit joy and wonder. Far-reaching in appeal while incisive and poignant, his work imparts truths that are particularly resonant in these turbulent times to live in the here and now, to accept the dark in order to see the light, to remember that we all share the same air. In midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the artist has taken his Breathe With Me project to Instagram Live, in the form of a regular Wednesday evening workshop that teaches mindfulness through art. We catch up with him ahead of his most recent workshop to talk about conscious breathing, inner change, and the pursuit of happiness.

Jeppe Hein: I am sitting at my desk, at home in Berlin. I have been painting my breath onto the walls of my room in my weekly Wednesday workshops on Instagram. There are other canvases standing next to me, on which I have started to paint waves for our corridor. My new yoga mat with breathing stripes is lying on the floor, and artworks from artist friends surround me. My desk is full of tools, brushes, blank paper, notes and sketches. It has started to thunder and rain heavily, and it smells fresh and very good. I had a long day today, with a lot of meetings and decisions to be made, a bit like a roller-coaster, but I am looking forward to breathing with you and the world in my workshop tonight.

Jeppe Hein wearing an I am right here t-shirt from his own brand, Change Yourself. Photography: Tom Wagner, changeyourself.dk

JH: Mindfulness is about observing and perceiving things in detail. Taking a break from what you are doing, opening up to new experiences and giving new ideas more space. After my burnout in 2009, I had to change my life. I started walking a lot, practicing yoga, and doing breathing exercises, which have influenced my later artworks and my public project Breathe with Me. I still try to include these exercises in my daily life. When I prepare my ginger tea, take a shower, take a walk in the forest, or work in the garden I always try to be in the here and now, be aware of my breath and control it, so that I feel well. Thats my goal, but of course, I dont always achieve it.

JH: When I realised my first work Moving Wall #1, I noticed that it activated something in the observer joy, surprise, wonder, and happiness. This activated something in me too. It inspires me to see how people overcome their boundaries, how they feel themselves, how they perceive their surroundings in a different way, and how they start a dialogue with one another. It helps me develop as an artist, but also as a person.

Jeppe Hein, Wishes for Two, 2017. Two coloured balloons hang from the ceiling, subtly moving with the circulation of the air, their mirrored surfaces produce a distorted perspective of the surrounding space. Only the roof seems to prevent the balloons from soaring into the air and expanding the reflection to the infinite. Courtesy of the artist, Knig Galerie, Berlin, 303 Gallery, New York, and Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

JH: While my aim is not merely to entertain, I believe playfulness and participation make artworks more approachable especially for those who are normally not in touch with art.

Art can make people laugh, and life is easier with a smile on your face or as Charlie Chaplin said, a day without laughter is a day wasted. I believe if an artwork puts a smile on your face and gets you in high spirits, it even makes your life better, at least momentarily. To see how people interact with my work, to be able to fascinate them, and sometimes even make them happy, makes me very happy too.

JH: Our different senses enable us to experience ourselves, others, our surroundings, as well as the artwork in the very moment. The more we are within ourselves, and aware of ourselves and our surroundings, the more we can open up to someone else. We always talk about what we see when we visit an exhibition, but in my opinion, what we feel and experience is more important.

Top, Jeppe Hein, Distance, 2004. White plastic balls dart along steel rollercoaster tracks in this site-specific installation. When a visitor enters the room, a sensor reacts and releases a ball that runs the length of the track. As more visitors trigger new balls, they begin to lose track of their own ball and experience the whole architecture as a moving and dynamic structure. Bottom, Jeppe Hein, Bear Your Consequences, 2018. Created for Heins solo exhibition at Cistererne, a subterranean reservoir turned exhibition space in Copenhagen. A small gas flame burns in the centre of a huge round mirror with a fragmented surface, growing warmer and brighter as the visitor approaches, offering an encounter that both seduces and repels. Courtesy of the artist, Knig Galerie, Berlin, 303 Gallery, New York, and Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

JH: Since its launch in September 2019, thousands of people around the world have downloaded our manual and taken Breathe with Me into their own lives. We continue to empower individuals, families, neighbours, communities, kindergartens, schools, museums, as well as other public institutions and organisations, to make the invisible visible, and share how we breathe around the world. We also aim to bring Breathe with Me to other significant locations worldwide, including Greenland, a place of great beauty and importance, where the climate change rising temperatures, warming oceans and melting ice could have the most extreme consequences.We are also developing a concept for the upcoming Global CitizenFestival.

JH: Its again about sharing. Right now, we are all sitting in the same odd situation, where we feel a lot of different emotions, and it is not easy to breathe freely. So I started to do these workshops to lighten things up and to give people a tool to look at themselves and reflect on their feelings.

Ive hosted the workshop in different ways. I did How do you feel like drawings, encouraging people to express their feelings by painting their faces. Then I did Breathing your wave, where I asked people to listen to their inner ocean, whether it is stormy or flat and calm.

I eventually decided to do Breathe with Me every time, since it is very minimal and the concept is easy to understand. Everyone knows how to breathe and how to paint a line while exhaling. It is the core of what we need now breathing. It unites us all. I will continue to paint my breath onto the walls of my room at home, and make a whole breathing room out of it.

Jeppe Hein, Mirror Labyrinth NY, 2015. An accessible installation of freestanding mirrored lamellae, exhibited at Brooklyn Bridge Park from 2015-16. The varying heights of the mirrored surfaces echoed the Manhattan skyline in the background.Courtesy of the artist, Knig Galerie, Berlin, 303 Gallery, New York, and Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

JH: All around the world, our current situation forces us to stop and actually look inside, whether we want to, and to realise that what we have around us is all we have. We have to feel and reflect much more than we are used to. This is the moment to do things differently on many levels: in our own lives, in our society, in our world. Because if you want to change the world, you have to change yourself.

Jeppe Hein, All We Have Is Right Now, 2016. ALL WE HAVE IS RIGHT NOW glows in white neon letters behind a two-way mirror, layered with reflections of the visitors and the surrounding space. Photography: Studio Jeppe Hein / Florian Neufeldt, courtesy Knig Galerie, Berlin, 303 Gallery, New York, and Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

JH: If this time has a positive aspect, it is that there is room for fresh ideas and new thoughts. I ask myself: What is really necessary? Which way have I come here, and do I want to continue or turn left, right or around? It has inspired me to create a few new works, but also made me realise how important works like Breathe with Me are in offering people a moment to feel themselves again.

JH: The song It starts now by Blond:ish, which includes a speech by philosopher Alan Watts.

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At home with artist Jeppe Hein - Wallpaper*

Conor O Malley the CEOs Caddy and Instigator of CoachAid20 supporting CEOs & Executive Leaders trust the way they learn, lead, and know themselves. Transformative approach to leadership and delivering results are the key outcomes for leaders who work with him through his Observe | Choose | Act methodology. Sharing new ways to see themselves and the world they lead to take action differently. OMalley has shared his reflections and advice in an interview.

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2020 / Conor OMalley, the CEOs Caddy, Instigator of CoachAid20, and experienced executive coach walks alongside CEOs, Business Owners and C-Level Executives to help them execute the right shot through his Transformative Executive Coaching Practice; for executive leaders to trust how they learn, lead, and know themselves and to be more effective both personally and professionally in todays new economy.

OMalley helps his clients observe themselves from the inside out and truly observe the environment they operate in. He helps them see possibilities for their choice of shot (choose), how they execute the shot (act) and he walks alongside them reviewing the outcome (learn). As a public speaker, he supports the audience with his storytelling, through his own executive experience and by sharing distinctions for those present to understand themselves better, as well as the world they lead in, enabling them to take more effective action.

Having a clear view and providing direction remains critical to being an effective leader, OMalley states. He also contends that Executive leadership attributes and styles are changing. One change is to a more enabling leadership style from a more directive and hierarchical model of leadership. This is due, in part, to the increased pace and complexity of the environment that leaders now lead in, where the patterns in the data are harder to see and the pace of decision making has increased. The directive approach is limited by only having one source of listening the listening to self. A caveat to this he shares, is when there is chaos in a time of crisis, as is currently the case with COVID-19, where a more directive approach is required for decisions to be made quickly.

Critical to this change in leadership style is trust. Trust, OMalley argues is, and always has been, created by delivering on your promise. The change he refers to is more mutual respect, empathy at a humanistic level, curiosity, active listening and leaders showing vulnerability; not attributes the previous style encouraged.

This recognition is, in part, a result of O Malleys work with CEOs, Business Owners, and C-Level executives internationally. He takes a humanistic approach to leadership development and career transition through his Observe | Choose | Act Programme.

Conor OMalleys Observe | Choose | Act Programme is a transformative (not performance) coaching approach that delivers:

OMalley, now a native of Melbourne, Australia, has been coaching CEOs, Business Owners and C-Level executives internationally for 3 years, when he decided to leave the C suite in the supply chain industry. After he relooked at what success meant for him, both personally and professionally, he decided to move into the world of coaching and mentoring to support those who are now where he was to help shape how leaders lead, both personally and professionally.

In response to a question on the driving force behind his success, O Malley has explained how it really boiled down to being a beacon for others (his purpose) and helping to build the leadership behaviour and language of business leaders today, that helps shape the world in which we all live.

Reflecting on the change in O Malleys life, to where he is today, he quotes Alan Watts waking up to who you are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be.

In a recent one-on-one interview, O Malley reminisced on past achievements, which helped build momentum towards the present day. Notably, his leadership at National Foods, in Australia, a core part of which was transforming the safety culture of the organisation that changed peoples lives for the better. Most recently, on the outbreak of COVID-19, his instigation and leadership of CoachAid20, where globally 350 coaches signed up to provide free coaching to support professionals transition to working from home 24 hours a day for 9 days prior to Easter. 146 sessions of free coaching were held across 6 continents within 7 days of his idea. Lastly, he shared that transforming his way of being, both personally and professionally, to enable him to be a beacon for others is an achievement he is immensely proud of.

His own learning journey, and competency building, over the last 3 years brought him to a point where he now has a highly professional, and certified, coaching practice working with CEOs and business owners. Having been an executive leader, and now an executive coach, he knows from feedback of the many who have worked with him in both domains, that he has inspired them and taught them skills that have lasted a lifetime, from which they have drawn on in their own journeys.

In the same interview, O Malley stated his intentions for the future. The primary goal for the next 12 months, he states, will be to build his executive coaching reach to support more leaders and, during Covid 19, to build on the community reach of CoachAid20 for those in need of what coaching, more broadly, can provide. This will be done by his message being heard by the leaders of the corporate world and by working with others on developing CoachAid20.

Looking farther ahead, the aim is to be working with world influencers to help shape the language and behaviour of leaders to be more in line with societal expectations of what leadership looks like and needs to be today. His second aim, through CoachAid, is leading a global movement to support those in the community at all levels to have access to free, or affordable, highly professional coaching. The aim being, through coaching, to help them solve their own challenges delivering the outcomes they want and need for themselves, both professionally and personally.

When asked more personally about a core mantra that drives him OMalley said: Trust starts with me. His reason being that without trust there is no leadership and no choosing to follow the leader. We need to trust ourselves first, both existentially and through our own actions, before we can trust others.

OMalley closed the interview by sharing his recommendation for anybody who wants to follow his footsteps in some fashion. According to Conor, the key to any meaningful, and successful, service offer in a marketplace is to meet the unmet needs of the procurer by listening to it, understanding it and ensuring your offer is heard by those whose problem you can help solve.

Further information can be found at: linkedin.com/in/conoromalley

CONTACT:

Contact Name: Conor OMalley Business Name: Outlander Executive Services, trading as COM Address: 32 Gramatan Avenue, Beaumaris, 3193, Victoria, Australia Phone Number: +61405399580 Website Link: http://www.conoromalley.com.au/ Email: Send Email

SOURCE: Conor OMalley

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/589171/Conor-OMalley-The-CEOs-Caddy-Instigator-Of-CoachAid20-Helps-Executives-Execute-The-Right-Shot-Through-His-Transformative-Executive-Coaching-Programme-He-Works-With-Leaders-To-Trust-How-They-Learn-Lead-Know-Themselves-To-Be-More-Effective

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Conor O'Malley: The "CEO's Caddy" & Instigator Of CoachAid20, Helps Executives 'Execute The Right Shot' Through His Transformative...

Anyone who suffers from anxiety knows it sucks. What are your triggers? One of mine is when I resist letting go of situations that are completely out of my control. Another is resisting feeling an emotion, subconsciously or otherwise, because its going to hurt.

Emotere, the Latin derivative for the word emotion, literally means energy in motion. Discovering this was the missing piece to understanding that its resistance to accepting emotions or energy in motion which causes me anxiety. It seems, trying to think of every possible solution or berating myself into being happy creates an energy blockage.

The first law of thermodynamics states, No energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. It is transferred to other forms of energy. Therefore, one may think one can indefinitely resist or suppress the energy which moves when experiencing an emotion but it has to go somewhere and eventually, it will. If ungoverned, energy blockages often come out in subconscious behavior or patterns e.g. self-sabotage, anger, creative block, etc or when bottled up for ages, ill-health may occur.

According to Taoism, the energy which is in play is called Qi (or Chi) and there are two fundamental types of it: Yin and Yang. Feminine and masculine, respectively. Succinctly put, the positive side of feminine energy is fluid, open and creative, the negative (shadow) side is chaos. Masculine energys positive side is solid, structure and drive. Its negative is trapped and restricted. To be clear, these energies are not related to gender. Every person is made from/uses a mixture of both. Too much of either creates a feeling of being overwhelmed and health, flow, passion, etc is found when theyre in balance, e.g. theres enough creativity to generate ideas coupled with enough drive to not spend all day with ones head in the clouds.

If what weve determined as a positive emotion is experienced, say happiness, we immediately accept the energy. It hangs around for a bit, then it moves on in its own good time. We dont stay ridiculously happy forever. With negative emotion, say sadness, we often dont immediately accept it which causes it to stick around. We keep charging up the energy by revisiting the negative emotion and questioning why we are having it or pushing ourselves to try to feel something else instead. As difficult as it might be to just accept, the result of not accepting it is often worse. Pressure builds, we feel overwhelmed, out of control and anxious, which often means we react rather than choose to act.

Accepting emotions is much easier said than done. Constantly being the observer and choosing to act is hard because we have a lifetime of subconscious coping mechanisms to contend with. On top of that, lets not forget that we are human and have primal reactions, ones we dont have a choice about; fight, flight or freeze. When each happens, the bodys reaction is the same; we release adrenaline. This prepares us to protect ourselves by supercharging (energising) our bodies ready for action. This surge of energy is uncomfortable and its the discomfort which magnifies our minds perception of the threat. This creates an energy-thoughts-thoughts-energy vicious circle and anxiety is the result.

Though a journey of trial and error, I pieced together a toolkit for when I register the start of being out of balance. It helps govern the movement of energy and break the vicious circle blockage.

1. Let situations unfold, dont fight it. Practise Wu-Wei. Take a breath, slow down, observe the energy moving in the body and the thoughts we (very quickly) connect to it as simply that energy moving and thoughts. Then try to accept the uncomfortable feeling.

2. Feeling all your feelings. To accept it, try to understand it. Ask Where in my body and how am I feeling out of balance? Are there too many options, a sense of chaos (too much feminine/not enough masculine)? Or do you feel backed into a corner, a sense of feeling trapped (too much masculine/not enough feminine)?

3. Whichever is the answer, as a quick sticking plaster, try and release or ground some energy by:

4. The above helps regain balance after a strong reaction but prevention is better than cure. To aid that, one can question which energy space they are in at any given point. Meditation is a huge, huge part of being able to do that. Here are a couple of prevention examples:

5. An easy question to remember is, Am I acting from a place of love or fear? I believe wherever we are or whatever we are doing, those are the base emotions we are acting from. Take sadness as an example. Letting yourself feel it is coming from a place of love, not letting yourself feel it is because youre fearful its going to hurt. Next time you react, try asking yourself whats underneath your reaction

The unexamined life is not worth living Socrates

Holding a mirror up to myself started my journey. I chose to because my anxiety bouts got quite severe. Through reading, seeing a professional (Sue from Third-space coaching) going to support groups and talking about what was happening, I better understand my brain/body connection. When I discovered anxiety is often triggered by something in the past, overreactions became signals for growth.

To govern the energy which moves during an overreaction, I found it is key to lean into anxiety and not run away from it. Ironing out creases from the past allows trapped energy to be released and the emotions to finally be felt. Its a very strange experience to cry about something that happened 20 years ago but that is 100% where reaching out for support comes in. Once acknowledged, awareness and understanding of whats happening in the body provides a solid foundation to achieving balance, makes the experience of anxiety much less scary and choosing to act rather than react becomes easier.

Ps. Books which were key to writing this: Tao Te Ching Lao-Tzu, The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts, Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson and Alice in Quantumland by Robert Gilmore.

Previously published on Medium.com.

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Writing about being a vulnerebel in life, love and business. Founder of Plight Club - The first rule is: you DO talk about it - http://www.plightclub.co.uk

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Handle Anything. Govern Energy. - The Good Men Project

Derived from the Sanskrit word yuji, meaning yoke or union, yoga is an ancient practice that brings together mind and body (1).

It incorporates breathing exercises, meditation and poses designed to encourage relaxation and reduce stress.

Practicing yoga is said to come with many benefits for both mental and physical health, though not all of these benefits have been backed by science.

This article takes a look at 13 evidence-based benefits of yoga.

Yoga is known for its ability to ease stress and promote relaxation.

In fact, multiple studies have shown that it can decrease the secretion of cortisol, the primary stress hormone (2, 3).

One study demonstrated the powerful effect of yoga on stress by following 24 women who perceived themselves as emotionally distressed.

After a three-month yoga program, the women had significantly lower levels of cortisol. They also had lower levels of stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression (4).

Another study of 131 people had similar results, showing that 10 weeks of yoga helped reduce stress and anxiety. It also helped improve quality of life and mental health (5).

When used alone or along with other methods of alleviating stress, such as meditation, yoga can be a powerful way to keep stress in check.

Many people begin practicing yoga as a way to cope with feelings of anxiety.

Interestingly enough, there is quite a bit of research showing that yoga can help reduce anxiety.

In one study, 34 women diagnosed with an anxiety disorder participated in yoga classes twice weekly for two months.

At the end of the study, those who practiced yoga had significantly lower levels of anxiety than the control group (6).

Another study followed 64 women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by severe anxiety and fear following exposure to a traumatic event.

After 10 weeks, the women who practiced yoga once weekly had fewer symptoms of PTSD. In fact, 52% of participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD at all (7).

Its not entirely clear exactly how yoga is able to reduce symptoms of anxiety. However, it emphasizes the importance of being present in the moment and finding a sense of peace, which could help treat anxiety.

In addition to improving your mental health, some studies suggest that practicing yoga may reduce inflammation as well.

Inflammation is a normal immune response, but chronic inflammation can contribute to the development of pro-inflammatory diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer (8).

A 2015 study divided 218 participants into two groups: those who practiced yoga regularly and those who didnt. Both groups then performed moderate and strenuous exercises to induce stress.

At the end of the study, the individuals who practiced yoga had lower levels of inflammatory markers than those who didnt (9).

Similarly, a small 2014 study showed that 12 weeks of yoga reduced inflammatory markers in breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue (10).

Although more research is needed to confirm the beneficial effects of yoga on inflammation, these findings indicate that it may help protect against certain diseases caused by chronic inflammation.

From pumping blood throughout the body to supplying tissues with important nutrients, the health of your heart is an essential component of overall health.

Studies show that yoga may help improve heart health and reduce several risk factors for heart disease.

One study found that participants over 40 years of age who practiced yoga for five years had a lower blood pressure and pulse rate than those who didnt (11).

High blood pressure is one of the major causes of heart problems, such as heart attacks and stroke. Lowering your blood pressure can help reduce the risk of these problems (12).

Some research also suggests that incorporating yoga into a healthy lifestyle could help slow the progression of heart disease.

A study followed 113 patients with heart disease, looking at the effects of a lifestyle change that included one year of yoga training combined with dietary modifications and stress management.

Participants saw a 23% decrease in total cholesterol and a 26% reduction in bad LDL cholesterol. Additionally, the progression of heart disease stopped in 47% of patients (13).

Its unclear how much of a role yoga may have had versus other factors like diet. Yet it can minimize stress, one of the major contributors to heart disease (14).

Yoga is becoming increasingly common as an adjunct therapy to improve quality of life for many individuals.

In one study, 135 seniors were assigned to either six months of yoga, walking or a control group. Practicing yoga significantly improved quality of life, as well as mood and fatigue, compared to the other groups (15).

Other studies have looked at how yoga can improve quality of life and reduce symptoms in patients with cancer.

One study followed women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Yoga decreased symptoms of chemotherapy, such as nausea and vomiting, while also improving overall quality of life (16).

A similar study looked at how eight weeks of yoga affected women with breast cancer. At the end of the study, the women had less pain and fatigue with improvements in levels of invigoration, acceptance and relaxation (17).

Other studies have found that yoga may help improve sleep quality, enhance spiritual well-being, improve social function and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with cancer (18, 19).

Some studies show that yoga may have an anti-depressant effect and could help decrease symptoms of depression.

This may be because yoga is able to decrease levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that influences levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter often associated with depression (20).

In one study, participants in an alcohol dependence program practiced Sudarshan Kriya, a specific type of yoga that focuses on rhythmic breathing.

After two weeks, participants had fewer symptoms of depression and lower levels of cortisol. They also had lower levels of ACTH, a hormone responsible for stimulating the release of cortisol (2).

Other studies have had similar results, showing an association between practicing yoga and decreased symptoms of depression (21, 22).

Based on these results, yoga may help fight depression, alone or in combination with traditional methods of treatment.

Chronic pain is a persistent problem that affects millions of people and has a range of possible causes, from injuries to arthritis.

There is a growing body of research demonstrating that practicing yoga could help reduce many types of chronic pain.

In one study, 42 individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome either received a wrist splint or did yoga for eight weeks.

At the end of the study, yoga was found to be more effective in reducing pain and improving grip strength than wrist splinting (23).

Another study in 2005 showed that yoga could help decrease pain and improve physical function in participants with osteoarthritis of the knees (24).

Although more research is needed, incorporating yoga into your daily routine may be beneficial for those who suffer from chronic pain.

Poor sleep quality has been associated with obesity, high blood pressure and depression, among other disorders (25, 26, 27).

Studies show that incorporating yoga into your routine could help promote better sleep.

In a 2005 study, 69 elderly patients were assigned to either practice yoga, take an herbal preparation or be part of the control group.

The yoga group fell asleep faster, slept longer and felt more well-rested in the morning than the other groups (28).

Another study looked at the effects of yoga on sleep in patients with lymphoma. They found that it decreased sleep disturbances, improved sleep quality and duration and reduced the need for sleep medications (29).

Though the way it works is not clear, yoga has been shown to increase the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness (30).

Yoga also has a significant effect on anxiety, depression, chronic pain and stress all common contributors to sleep problems.

Many people add yoga to their fitness routine to improve flexibility and balance.

There is considerable research that backs this benefit, demonstrating that it can optimize performance through the use of specific poses that target flexibility and balance.

A recent study looked at the impact of 10 weeks of yoga on 26 male college athletes. Doing yoga significantly increased several measures of flexibility and balance, compared to the control group (31).

Another study assigned 66 elderly participants to either practice yoga or calisthenics, a type of body weight exercise.

After one year, total flexibility of the yoga group increased by nearly four times that of the calisthenics group (32).

A 2013 study also found that practicing yoga could help improve balance and mobility in older adults (33).

Practicing just 1530 minutes of yoga each day could make a big difference for those looking to enhance performance by increasing flexibility and balance.

Pranayama, or yogic breathing, is a practice in yoga that focuses on controlling the breath through breathing exercises and techniques.

Most types of yoga incorporate these breathing exercises, and several studies have found that practicing yoga could help improve breathing.

In one study, 287 college students took a 15-week class where they were taught various yoga poses and breathing exercises. At the end of the study, they had a significant increase in vital capacity (34).

Vital capacity is a measure of the maximum amount of air that can be expelled from the lungs. It is especially important for those with lung disease, heart problems and asthma.

Another study in 2009 found that practicing yogic breathing improved symptoms and lung function in patients with mild-to-moderate asthma (35).

Improving breathing can help build endurance, optimize performance and keep your lungs and heart healthy.

Migraines are severe recurring headaches that affect an estimated 1 out of 7 Americans each year (36).

Traditionally, migraines are treated with medications to relieve and manage symptoms.

However, increasing evidence shows that yoga could be a useful adjunct therapy to help reduce migraine frequency.

A 2007 study divided 72 patients with migraines into either a yoga therapy or self-care group for three months. Practicing yoga led to reductions in headache intensity, frequency and pain compared to the self-care group (37).

Another study treated 60 patients with migraines using conventional care with or without yoga. Doing yoga resulted in a greater decrease in headache frequency and intensity than conventional care alone (38).

Researchers suggest that doing yoga may help stimulate the vagus nerve, which has been shown to be effective in relieving migraines (39).

Mindful eating, also known as intuitive eating, is a concept that encourages being present in the moment while eating.

Its about paying attention to the taste, smell and texture of your food and noticing any thoughts, feelings or sensations you experience while eating.

This practice has been shown to promote healthy eating habits that help control blood sugar, increase weight loss and treat disordered eating behaviors (40, 41, 42).

Because yoga places a similar emphasis on mindfulness, some studies show that it could be used to encourage healthy eating behaviors.

One study incorporated yoga into an outpatient eating disorder treatment program with 54 patients, finding that yoga helped reduce both eating disorder symptoms and preoccupation with food (43).

Another small study looked at how yoga affected symptoms of binge eating disorder, a disorder characterized by compulsive overeating and a feeling of loss of control.

Yoga was found to cause a decrease in episodes of binge eating, an increase in physical activity and a small decrease in weight (44).

For those with and without disordered eating behaviors, practicing mindfulness through yoga can aid in the development of healthy eating habits.

In addition to improving flexibility, yoga is a great addition to an exercise routine for its strength-building benefits.

In fact, there are specific poses in yoga that are designed to increase strength and build muscle.

In one study, 79 adults performed 24 cycles of sun salutations a series of foundational poses often used as a warm-up six days a week for 24 weeks.

They experienced a significant increase in upper body strength, endurance and weight loss. Women had a decrease in body fat percentage, as well (45).

A 2015 study had similar findings, showing that 12 weeks of practice led to improvements in endurance, strength and flexibility in 173 participants (46).

Based on these findings, practicing yoga can be an effective way to boost strength and endurance, especially when used in combination with a regular exercise routine.

Multiple studies have confirmed the many mental and physical benefits of yoga.

Incorporating it into your routine can help enhance your health, increase strength and flexibility and reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety.

Finding the time to practice yoga just a few times per week may be enough to make a noticeable difference when it comes to your health.

Read more here:
13 Benefits of Yoga That Are Supported by Science

Yes, if you think regular yoga is the cat's meow, try yoga with an adorable litter of kittens! The Oregon Humane Society is launching an online class this week.

PORTLAND, Oregon If you've been looking for the PURR-fect workout to do at home right now, the Oregon Humane Society is launching a class that you just might love.

Think regular yoga is the cat's meow? Try yoga with an adorable litter of kittens!

Well, technically you only get to hangout with the kittens virtually - but that doesn't make them any less cute. If holding a kitten gives you a warm fuzzy feeling that relaxes your soul, you might get that same feline - I mean, feeling - from kittens on your phone or computer screen.

Virtual Kitten Yoga is a 45 minute class, led by yoga instructor Diana Hulet. The class is open to all levels, and will include a series of gentle movements. And kittens. Did I mention kittens?

The class costs $15, and proceeds will benefit shelter animals at the Oregon Humane Society. There are currently 100 cats and kittens in foster care right now, and OHS says it expects that number to reach close to 300 in the next few months of "kitten season" (every spring, there is a boom of stray kittens born, so this time of year gets that adorable name).

There are four Virtual Kitten Yoga classes throughout May:

You can sign up for the class right meow here.

Cassidy Quinn is the host of Tonight With Cassidy on KGW. But right now, like many of you, she is working from home (without any pets, sadly), trying to focus on the happier things going on in the world. Tonight With Cassidy is currently on hiatus, but you can watch previous segments from the showhere, and follow Cassidy on Twitter@CassidyQuinn.

See more here:
Virtual Kitten Yoga is the PURR-fect home workout you've been looking for - KGW.com

It's no surprise that wellness expert and author Deepak Chopra is spending his days in quarantine, meditating, doing yoga and getting lots of sleep.

"I'm so happy," Chopra tells CNBC Make It.

In fact, Chopra's quarantine routine is similar to the quiet life he lead before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chopra, 73 and founder of non-profit The Chopra Foundation as well as health company Chopra Global, has long said his simple lifestyle and habits keep him stress free and helped him achieve success.

But Chopra also knows that while yoga, meditation and deep-breathing exercises work for him and many others, they're not for everyone. So for those looking for alternative methods, Chopra says he has had similar stress-reducing results with other techniques too.

For one, Chopra says a great way to destress is by watching funny videos, which he has also been doing while self-isolating at home in San Diego.

"One of my favorite obsessions has been to watch 'Candid Camera,'" Chopra says of the hidden camera reality show that secretly filmed unsuspecting people reacting to outlandish situations and aired from 1948 to 2014. (You can now watch the show onYoutube.)

And researchhas shown that laughing can relieve stress. According to the Mayo Clinic, laughing can stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation that can help reduce some physical symptoms of stress.

Chopra also says "music or poetry, reading interesting and inspiring books or singing nursery rhymes" are all good ways to relief stress.

Indeed, studies have foundlistening to music and readingcan reduce stress. A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. And researchers found that it only takes six minutes of reading to slow the heart rate and relax the mind.

Whatever works for you, Chopra says it's more important than ever before to find ways to reduce stress during the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to help your immune system strong.

"Stress has biological consequences that destroy your immune system and cause inflammation," Chopra,a clinical professorof family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego, says. "So, there's a biological aspect to it that cannot be ignored."

But Chopra says he has researched the effects of stress for years, and he believes there is one stress management strategy that tops everything.

"It doesn't happen through conscious effort, but it's to fall in love," he says.

According to Chopra, when people experience love through a partner, a child or even a pet, it can mitigate stress.There is research to back that up too. But of course, relationships can also cause stress, especially during a quarantine.

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5a.m. wake ups and 1,000 emails: Inside a typical day for White House Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci

White House advisor Dr. Fauci works 20-hour days and his wife reminds him to eat, sleep and drink water

Read more here:
Deepak Chopra: Easy ways to relieve stress if meditation and yoga aren't for you - CNBC

A fall prevention program that combines yoga and occupational therapy was well-received by people living with Parkinsons disease, a new study reports.

Although the study didnt find significant effects of the program on quality of life, participants perceived improvements in several domains, including social aspects and mobility, pointing to a need for more research to examine effects over a longer period of time.

The study, Health-related quality of life changes after the merging yoga and occupational therapy for Parkinsons disease program: A mixed-methods study, was published inComplementary Therapy in Clinical Practice.

Parkinsons disease can take a toll on a persons health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a broad term that encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, with a particular emphasis on how an individuals health affects these aspects of their life.

Falls can contribute to poor HRQoL among people with Parkinsons; as such, fall prevention programs might be expected to increase HRQoL.

One such program is Merging Yoga and Occupational Therapy (MY-OT). It involves the combination of yoga (to strengthen core muscles and improve balance) and occupational therapy (to provide education about reducing fall risk). Originally developed for stroke, a modified version of MY-OT has been adapted for people with Parkinsons.

In the new study, 17 people with Parkinsons completed an eight-week MY-OT program, including biweekly yoga and occupational therapy sessions. The participants were predominantly male (55.6%), married (72.2%), white (100%), college graduates (44.4%), and retired (88.9%); the average age was 71.7 years. The small and relatively homogenous sample size was an acknowledged limitation of this study.

Researchers measured the participants HRQoL eight weeks before starting the MY-OT program, immediately before the program, and immediately after the program. HRQoL was evaluated with the Parkinsons Disease Questionnaire-8 (PDQ-8), a validated instrument for measuring HRQoL in people with Parkinsons.

There were no statistically significant differences in HRQoL scores before or after MY-OT, or among subgroup comparisons.

The researchers noted that, since HRQoL tends to decline over time in people with Parkinsons, a finding showing no significant difference could still be meaningful, as it could indicate that HRQoL isnt getting worse. But, because this study was done in a fairly short period of time and did not include a control group, there isnt much evidence to support that conclusion based only on this study.

Thus, seeing no decline in HRQoL scores may be important, but a follow-up assessment would be necessary to track these changes and establish a clear relationship between HRQoL changes over time, the researchers wrote.

After MY-OT, 16 of the study participants participated in one of two focus groups, during which they were asked about their impressions of the program.

Overall, the program was well-received. Most notably, participants reported that social aspects of the program were valuable.

I think what I liked the best was the group and seeing myself in everybody else and having that reflected back to me and seeing the kindness of the humanity of the group and what theyre going through and thats what was the best for me, one participant was quoted as saying.

You know we could have done the same kind of thing as a home study. But having the group here makes it a lot better, said another.

Some participants also reported that the intervention helped them feel more mobile, allowed them to participate in day-to-day activities with greater ease, and lessened pain and bodily discomfort.

In my walking it took me about an hour to do 6 blocks. I now go over 22 blocks in an hour, one participant said.

Instead of it taking you 45 [minutes] to make the bed you can make it in 15, said another.

A few participants also reported that the intervention made communication easier, helped reduce disease-related stigma, and helped facilitate better emotional well-being. Broadly, participants reported that the intervention helped them feel less stressed and more in tune with their bodies.

I feel like Im in such peace before I used to be very anxious about things and worrying. I dont do that too much now . I just have kind of a peace over me that, you know, Im going to be ok, one participant was quoted.

Overall, the researchers concluded that, Although quantitative results showed no significant improvement during the study time, participants in the MY-OT for PD program spoke to improvements in HRQoL over the course of the intervention. They emphasized the need for more long-term research.

Marisa holds an MS in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied novel genetic drivers of ovarian cancer. She specializes in cancer biology, immunology, and genetics. Marisa began working with BioNews in 2018, and has written about science and health for SelfHacked and the Genetics Society of America. She also writes/composes musicals and coaches the University of Pittsburgh fencing club.

Total Posts: 208

Ana holds a PhD in Immunology from the University of Lisbon and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM) in Lisbon, Portugal. She graduated with a BSc in Genetics from the University of Newcastle and received a Masters in Biomolecular Archaeology from the University of Manchester, England. After leaving the lab to pursue a career in Science Communication, she served as the Director of Science Communication at iMM.

More here:
Study Examines Yoga and Occupational Therapy Program for Parkinson's - Parkinson's News Today

In his book The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West, the author, Alistair Shearer answers a simple question: How did a time-honoured road to enlightenment turn into a $25 billion-a-year wellness industry? He answers it across 357 pages, the first few chapters having a scholarly density, the sources being from history excavations from Mohejodharo (c. 3000 BC - 1500 BC), and texts like the Vedas (2500 BC - 500 BC). It eases up soon enough with insights on what pushed yoga from meditative practice to physical mat work. In a nutshell, Shearer tells us that the original practice was always meant to be what he calls mind-yoga, the purpose of which was to look inward, but what weve turned it into is body-yoga, the purpose of which is fitness or a secular healing remedy.

Past Patanjalis Yoga Sutra, wherein he says only three short verses are devoted to physical postures; the Hatha Yoga Pradipika that has only four asanas; and various other texts, Shearer establishes that the purpose of yoga was never to tone our bodies, but as the way to transcend its irksome limitations altogether. The physicality of the practice, he says, began with the British Rajs clever fusion of gymnastics with yoga as promoted in the YMCA. Along the way, we meet the Theosophists, Swami Vivekananda, BKS Iyengar, and encounter various movements and alliances, like the number of hours of teachers training, the types of yoga that have come up over the years, and Western medicines stamp of approval all of which have contributed to the way yoga is seen today.

In an email interview, Shearer, who has in the past translated the Yoga Sutras, and co-created Neeleshwar Heritage in Kerala, talks of his own interest in yoga, its past, present and future. The book took three years to write, and needed to be pruned of 40,000 words, thereby leaving out some parts of the history of yoga, like the Bihar School. A lot of interesting material had to be jettisoned. Itll be in the next book, says Shearer.

Why a book on yoga was it an idea that came to you because of the huge interest in it, or was it something you had always wanted to do and the time was right?

Well, Ive been interested in Indian culture all my adult life, first studying Indian religions and Sanskrit academically and then teaching courses on Indian art and architecture at various institutions in the UK, including the British Museum and London University. At the same time, on the practical level, mind-yoga has been a constant source of nourishment for me since I studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi over 40 years ago, and I have been practising and teaching meditation ever since then.

The extraordinary growth of global yoga as a commercialised and secular exercise routine, rather than a path leading to spiritual enlightenment, has boomed in the last 20 years, sparking in turn a huge increase of academic investigation into the origins of the practice in India itself. So three or four years ago, it seemed to me to be the right time to bring all these different strands together and weave them into a story in a way that was accessible to the general reader, as well as those engaged in teaching and practising the discipline. Hence the book.

What does yoga mean to you?

I suppose my whole life revolves around it. Ive had a daily routine for many years that consists of a simple set of asanas, some pranayama and meditation, as well as pursuing my interests in the philosophies of yoga and Vedanta. Then there are the retreats I lead for my students every couple of months or so. Recently though, the physical side of my practice has given way to longer daily periods of meditation. I keep meaning to get back to doing asanas but given that I also have a busy working life, it doesnt look likely at the moment. There is only so much time each day one can devote to self-improvement!

The book is quite dense in the first few chapters and it gets easier to read as it goes along? Did you discuss this with your editor, and why did you decide to do this?

The content dictated it, really. The book proceeds chronologically, and to examine the early roots of yoga, you have no choice but to delve into the history of ancient India and get to grips with a very different society that had a very different way of seeing the world than we do today. Much of the specific evidence comes from a handful of highly esoteric Sanskrit texts, such as the Upanishads and Patanjalis Yogasutra, that deal with the nuances of altered and uncommon states of consciousness brought about by prolonged meditation. So for the non-specialist, this is really very unfamiliar territory that has to be trod slowly and with some care. Theres no way round it. But persevere, dear reader! As the narrative moves out of the dense forests and dark caves inhabited by those early yogis, we emerge towards modern times, where there is more room for recognisable markers, anecdote, irony and humour and so the tone automatically lightens. Then, by the end of the book, I come back to discussing yogic spirituality, but in its contemporary setting and in modern terms, with the scientific evidence and so on.

If you were to pick just the main milestones on the road to the rise of yoga, what would they be in the context of it becoming a part of the multi-billion dollar wellness industry?

One silent seed of the modern scene was the work of Shri Yogendra, who presented yoga as a secular, scientific discipline with measurable health benefits, both preventative and curative. He opened his pioneering Yoga Institute, the first in the world, in suburban Bombay in 1918. It is still flourishing today and has become effectively the official spokesman of medical yoga for the Indian Government.

But the most important, albeit unwitting, milestone was probably the great Vaishnava scholar and yoga master, TM Krishnamacharya of Mysore. In the 1930s, he ran a yoga school in the palace of his patron, Maharajah Krishna Wodeyar IV, and he mixed Scandinavian gymnastic exercises, then becoming very popular in Europe, into his regime. TMKs two most successful pupils were K Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar. The former went to America and developed his vigorous Ashtanga system, while BKS conquered Europe with his eponymous method that pioneered the use of props. Both these highly physical approaches ignored the interiority that Patanjali calls the heart of yoga. Significantly, Krishnamacharya also accepted a female disciple, Indra Devi, because he felt that as Indian men were being seduced from traditional brahmin values by the desire to make money, the future of yoga lay with women. Indra went to California and introduced many of the leading ladies of Hollywood to posture work as a way to lose weight, keep fit and combat the effects of ageing. Such concerns have shaped much modern yoga, which is a 90% female phenomenon.

Then came the yogic supermarket countless DVDs, videos, apps, books, clothes, fashion items and assorted accessories that promotes yoga as an image-conscious and celebrity-endorsed pastime.

How did yoga move from the North of India to the South?

This is an interesting and, as far as I know, little researched question. My feeling is that yoga was a pan-Indian phenomenon from early times, though most records of it are in the North. It is widely held that the great Vedic rishi Agastya brought sacred knowledge to the South, perhaps establishing his main ashram at modern Thanjavur. In other centres of Tamil culture, such as Kanchipuram and Kumbakonam, Jain, Buddhist and Hindu yogis lived and taught alongside each other from at least the beginning of the common era. The renowned Vedantin, Adi Shankaracharya, who was born in modern-day Kerala, of course, travelled extensively around the South in the 8th Century AD, establishing monasteries and teaching. He advocated jnana yoga, the most advanced type of mind-yoga, and wasnt interested in postural work, but we do have depictions of physical yoga from the Pallava capital of Mahabalipuram dating from the same period. Then, in medieval times, the most important group of yogis, the Naths, established a powerful centre at the Kadri-Manjunath temple, South of Mangalaru, that dates from the 13th Century, possibly earlier.

Do you ever see yoga going back to what it was originally meant for, or do you see it evolving into something quite different altogether?

I think it will develop in both directions simultaneously. There will be a growing hunger for a return to a yoga that is more profound, more spiritual than mere Instagram flexibility. The devastation caused by COVID-19 may help this. But at the same time, the relentless advances of technology will develop lucrative human-machine interfacing that will result in a type of cyborg yoga, developed by, and for, techno-nerds.

What are some of the most outrageous things people have said to you about yoga, and who has said them?

I remember a public talk I gave several years ago when a serious young man stood up shouting that yoga was the work of the devil and I would go to hell for promoting it. I replied that the pipe he was smoking would do him far more damage than yoga ever could. Thankfully, nowadays, theres far less ignorance and prejudice around the subject.

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The history of yoga in a readable book - The Hindu

The image shows the squirrel on a wooden railing. (Twitter/@Saket_Badola)

A video of a squirrel doing yoga has become the latest source of laughter for Twitter. Shared by IFS officer Saket Badola, the video shows the animal doing such a gesture which resembles one of the popularly known aasana Kapalbhati.

Kapalbhati aasana...squirrel style with this caption Badola shared the video and it has now piqued peoples attention. The video shows the animals abdomen moving in and out in quick successions, much like what happens while doing Kapalbhati.

Take a look at the video which has now left many in splits.

Since being shared, the video has gathered over 11,000 views and close to 1,000 comments. From trying to guess why the squirrel is doing yoga to calling it the new master of the art, people have shared all sorts of reactions on the post.

But their kapalbhati is melodious sounds while ours is with grunts, wrote a Twitter user. That is so awesome, exclaimed another. Maybe its shedding to impress, tweeted a third.

As for another user of the micro-blogging site, she wrote that the video is not just funny but encouraging too and a few supported the notion. Encouraging and funny at the same time, wrote a Twitter user.

Many wrote that they cant stop laughing after seeing the video as its too hilarious.

What do you think of the video?

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Ever seen a squirrel doing yoga? Twitter now presents that too - Hindustan Times