My article “Yoga For Beginners” is drafted to people like yourself who are interested in yoga, but not sure as to how to get started. I will take you by the hand and guide you through: 1) How yoga is defined, 2) Identifying the most best style for you, 3) Initial “tools” you might want, and 4) Getting Started. Navigating the world of yoga is actually not as hard as it might seem, if you have a map!

Yoga Defined

According to Wikipedia, Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The practice is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Yoga for beginners is much simpler. Yoga is a sequence of positions and postures, coordinated with your breathing, designed to elevate your mind, body and soul. ultimately, as you go through the various stages, the result will be a sharper mind, improved fitness and, if you are a spiritual person, a stronger connection with the universe!

Yoga Styles

Yoga has 10 “popular” styles. However, the differences among the styles reside in the individual emphasis of the styles versus the poses or postures:

1) Hatha (Ananda): This style is characterized by a slower pace, personal affirmations, and self-control, versus an true workout. This is the best style of yoga for beginners.

2) Ashtanga (Power Yoga): As the nickname “Power Yoga” suggests, this is a more intense, faster pace form of yoga. This is not for beginners.

3) Anusara: This style is describes as “heart-oriented” and makes good use of yoga equipment. These classes are somewhat intense but still appropriate for all skill levels.

4) Iyengar: This style is characterized by a great attention to detail and a concentration on bodily alignment. Much more stamina is required for this style, as poses are often maintained for an extended period…not the smartest place for you to begin.

5) Integral: An appropriate style of yoga for beginners. This style focuses equally on meditation, poses and breathing, Integral is a more general style, like Hatha, that will expose you to the areas of concentration of the remaining styles.

6) Bikram (Hot Yoga): Are you ready to sweat? It’s called Hot Yoga because it’s performed in a room temperature of around 100 degree! This allows cleansing sweat to flow and muscles to loosen. Beginners pass for now.

7) Kundalini: Focuses on the release of energy through breath control and breathe/movement coordination. Sure why not.

8 ) Kripalu: This style concentrates on breathing and progressing at your own individual pace… a perfect style of yoga for beginners.

9) Sivananda: Among the larger schools of yoga, this style uses a more holistic approach, inclusive of diet, relaxation and thinking. Great option for those of you looking for guidance in areas beyond just fitness.

10) Svaroopa: You won’t break a sweat here. This style is more about raising your consciousness. This is absolutely appropriate for beginners, but not if your focus is improved fitness.

Equipment of Yoga

Here are a you might want to pick up for your journey:

1) Mats: You’ll want the extra cushion and support, even if your practicing yoga on carpet! Most classes are taught on hard floors, mats are a must for yoga, for beginners or experts!

2) Blocks and Straps: Are you lacking the flexibility to do the poses and stretches the same as the instructor? These help you to compensate.

3) Proper clothing: relatively loose clothes to allow greater range of motion. Long pants are help to prevent carpet/mat burns.

4) Training Videos; These may be in the form of DVDs or direct downloads from the internet, but they are essential, if you’d prefer to begin your journey at home. I’ve always practiced yoga in the comfort of my own home!

Get Started!

No surprises here… get started! This is what you need to learn yoga for beginners. Now go find a local class, or a good video. Final piece of advice… start with at home workouts and save yourself some embarrassment!

If you truly wish to succeed at being in the best shape of your life, here’s the best at home resource I’ve found. Go to Next Level Yoga immediately, to see how easily it can be done with at home workouts!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darvin_J._Hooey

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By Christine Lakatos –

Diets are big business and they come in many packages like diet programs, books, videos, products (including creams, gadgets, drugs, supplements, drinks, foods, etc.), and there are the health clubs, clinics, centers, and even surgery. In fact, in 2004 the weight-loss market was worth $46.3 billion and according to a recent study done by Marketdata Enterprises, the estimated value of the U.S. diet market in 2008 was $58.6 billion. That’s an increase of $12.3 billion in only four years. With all of this money being spent, are Americans leaner or healthier?

According to JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) Issue: August 27, 2008, “unhealthy diet and physical inactivity are second only to tobacco as underlying causes of death.”

John LaRosa of Marketdata, one of the leading researchers of the diet industry, recently informed me “the number of U.S. dieters is estimated at 72 million. Sixty-six percent of the American population is overweight or obese (both combined — total 151 million adults). The share that’s obese (BMI 30+) is 31% (71 million).”

Childhood obesity in the U.S. is growing at an alarming rate, with one out of three kids now considered overweight or obese. Statistics on eating disorders are just as alarming when it is estimated that 5-10% of American teenage girls and women (i.e., 5-10 million) and one million boys and men are struggling with eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or borderline conditions. At least 50,000 individuals will die as a direct result of their eating disorder.
At any given time two-thirds of all American adults are on a diet. Of those, 29 percent are men and 44 percent are women. Yet, only five percent of dieters will keep the weight off. In fact, most will actually regain their lost weight, plus more. With all the money being spent on diets and diet products, Americans aren’t losing weight. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, overweight and obesity has reached epidemic levels. One of the main reasons dieters fail at their “get fit” attempts and remain a statistic is because they choose “fad diets” as opposed to a balanced, healthy diet. In fact the weight-loss industry makes its billions because “millions succumb to ‘quick-fix’ claims, seeking a (non-existent) effortless weight-loss method.”

There is no quick fix to fat loss, optimal health, and longevity! No sensible diet will ever compromise your physical or mental health for the sake of looking good. In fact, you don’t have to starve, deprive yourself, settle for fake food, lose your sanity and health, or take pills to lose weight and get into great shape! I know that getting and staying healthy and fit involves a lifestyle of the “proper diet and exercise regimen”. According the Web MD –”proven weight-management strategies include a balanced diet with reduced calories with a regular exercise regimen”.

Prevention is best when it comes to being healthy and fit, however, if you’ve never been taught proper eating habits, you want to lose a few pounds, you’ve become overweight, obese, or find yourself facing health issues, you may need to seek out a diet program.

First and foremost, we should quit searching out diet programs and products that offer quick-fix solutions and are basically gimmicks full of false promises, magic potions, and misleading propaganda. Then we should start to tackle the root causes of why we are overweight and not at our full potential for optimal health.

If you want a lean, fit, healthy and more functional body, while improving your chances of a longer, happier life, you will need to change your thinking or behavior-or both! The winning formula for fat loss, vibrant health, and longevity can be found in five very powerful words; knowledge, accountability, courage, discipline, and motivation.

#1 — Increase Knowledge (general awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles)
Knowledge is power; however, make sure you have accurate knowledge when it comes to health and fitness.  If you don’t, you may find yourself choosing one of the thousands of “fad diets” (quick-fix solutions) that only lead to failure and down the path of yo-yo dieting, leaving you fatter and unhealthier then you were when you started and may even drive you crazy!

#2 — Become Accountable (responsible to somebody else or to others, or responsible for something)
Do a reality check on your current health and fitness condition by getting a physical examination. Make sure you get your body fat tested (and note measurements) because this is the only way you will know your body composition (lean body mass vs. fat pounds). Frequent body fat tests are necessary so that you will be able to track your progress to know if you are losing fat and not just weight.  You may also consider evaluating your level of flexibility, strength and endurance.

Don’t despair when you see your current health and fitness condition. Think of this as your map, showing you were you are, where you need (want) to go and how long it will take to get there. This map will help you set realistic goals and an appropriate plan that will eanable you to accomplish your goals in a timely manner.

Stop “blaming shifting” (and making excuses) and take personal responsibility for your current health and fitness condition. This is a major step towards change! In fact, 70% of chronic diseases come from a poor diet and lack of exercise. Admit to your part and move on to a better you!

Consider a “get fit” buddy that will diet and workout along side you.  This will help with motivation and on-going accountability.

#3 — Find Courage (the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action)
Wage war against obesity-a battle worth the fight!  This type of battle demands backbone-strength of character and determination.  Getting and staying fit and healthy requires a long-term commitment where you may have to endure uncomfortable stretches (especially in the beginning). So dig in and you will win!

#4 — Implement Discipline (mental self-control used in directing or changing behavior, learning something, or training for something)
Discipline is usually the toughest part for most who start and stay on a proper diet and exercise program, but without it failure is inevitable.  However, it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing situation, even small steps of discipline will improve your body and move you toward ultimate health and fitness levels.

Make mini goals (along with small rewards) and even scheduled “cheat days” as you go down your “get fit” journey, this will ensure a positive attitude that will keep you on the road to success.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you stray from your diet or exercise program. When you fall, get up and start again. Remind yourself that nobody is perfect and continue toward your goal of the body you’ve always dreamed of.

#5 — Stay Motivated (having enough interest or incentive to do something)
Keep in mind getting (and staying) fit and healthy is a lifestyle and you will need to enjoy the process as well as the end results.  Motivation is essential to endure your new lifestyle of the proper diet and exercise program, so find ways to keep your incentive going.

We are all motivated in different ways when it comes to getting and staying fit.  Some are motivated by vanity, some are forced into a healthy lifestyle due to major health issues, while others really enjoy the process and the final goal of a healthy, fit, vibrant, and more functional body.  Whatever motivates you, use it to your advantage and you will be victorious!

On a final note: know that we all face the same battle and nobody is immune to the challenges surrounding fat loss, vibrant health, and longevity.  Getting fit and healthy is hard work,  but possible (even likely) if you are willing! At the end of the day, it is all up to you!

I am the creator and author of the fat-loss diet book just for women, MY DIVA DIET: A Woman’s Last Diet Book . I am the the mother of two awesome daughters, an ACE Certified Fitness Trainer, and I’ve been in the fitness industry since 1980. I am also a retired bodybuilder and fitness competitor wining titles such as Ms. Fitness San Diego 1993, Ms. Fitness USA finalist 1990, Ms. San Luis Obispo 1989, along with promotional appearances for Thane Fitness Co., KESQ TV-3 Midday Show, Joe Weider’s Muscle and Fitness, and an American Gladiators contestant in 1990. I strive to help women (and young girls) lose weight the safe, healthy and life-long way!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Lakatos

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Q:We recently had someone come to our company to talk about stress management. All he did was talk about the physical results of stress and tell us we need to not be so stressed and to relax. It really wasn’t very helpful, and I was wondering if you could offer some tips on how to handle stress.

A:You’ve run into a problem I see all too often in the field of stress management, as well as in any other area that involves change.

Anyone can describe the problem for you, sometimes in great detail. Then a few others can describe the problem and tell you what you should do about it. What you need is someone to tell you the how of managing stress.

Three Tools

To get you started on managing stress, here are three tools that you can use right away.

Tool of relaxation.

Here’s something I call push-button relaxation. Picture yourself somewhere that is very relaxing and peaceful. See, hear and feel everything as if you were there. Create your own personal button to create this picture/feeling. For some people it’s a snap of the fingers, others use a word or phrase – whatever quickly takes you there in your imagination. Use your push-button when you’re feeling stress and notice the difference.

Tool of battle.

This does not mean grab your sword and shield. It does mean to pick your battles wisely. It’s vital to ask: Is this a battle worth fighting?

Many of us tend to major in minor things. We let too many little things upset us. The more you ask this question, the less you’ll have needless battles, and you’ll have less stress and more energy.

We’ve just about killed off fun and spontaneity with our over-scheduled, day-planner-run lives. I’ve even seen one friend’s daily schedule that had a 15-minute block that reminded him to “have fun.”

Here’s my challenge to you: Sometime in the next week, do something spontaneous and fun.

If you really want to mamage and master stress, use all three of these tools.

For more tips and tools to manage and master stress visit Tools for Successful Living

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring

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Can feeling happy actually be good for your health? No doubt you know intuitively that when you feel happy you feel better. But now there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates that by making your happiness a priority, you’ll also be significantly improving your overall health — both physically and emotionally.

This is such an overlooked aspect of the study of happiness and health. In fact, it’s not much of a stretch to say that happiness is a pre-requisite to good emotional health and to good physical health. By the same token, unhappiness is literally a poison to your ongoing health and longevity.

Happiness and Your Emotional Health

Your brain is literally hard wired to be happy first and there are numerous studies that bear that out. But let’s set the studies aside for a moment. When you observe small children, what do you see? Are they generally happy and playful, or are they unhappy and sullen? They’re happy of course. Why? Because they’re born that way.

Studies of the concept of learned helplessness, which was first introduced as a concept in the 1970s by Martin Seligman (ironically enough through the study of animals), reveal an undeniable link between your happiness and state of mind.

Unhappy people, who believe they have no ability to control or change their circumstances rapidly lapse into emotional despair. They lack energy, experience increased stress, suffer from depression, experience a decline in their cognitive and problem-solving abilities, suffer from a lack of motivation, have more relationship and other interpersonal problems.

It’s as if we can literally watch them slowly shrivel up and die.

The effects of unhappiness on your physical health are just as dramatic. Stress and depression result in the manufacture of harmful chemicals and toxins that are detrimental to your cellular health. Chronic unhappiness weakens your immune system and increases your frequency of illness. It results in more colds, more flus, more headaches or what have you.

Even more disturbing is the increase in the incidence of major illness such as heart attacks, strokes and cancer. On top of that, recovery time for such illnesses is markedly longer for unhappy people.

By contrast, happiness and responses associated with being happy, such as laughter, have the opposite effect. Laughter triggers a physiological response. It lowers blood pressure and increases blood flow. In addition laughter triggers the contraction of fifteen facial muscles, abdominal muscles, leg muscles, etc. It literally gives your body a physical work out. Laughter also triggers an increase in the production of T cells, the creation of antibodies, and helps to reduce excessive production of cortisol, which is harmful to the body.

Would you like more information and ideas about the benefits of happiness and how being happier can improve your health? I’ve co-written an entire program that reveals how easily you can begin to choose to have fun and live a happier, more fulfilling life, starting today. Sign up for my free introductory eCourse here: Life Happiness Secrets

Warren Wojnowski is an avid student of personal growth and self improvement. He is a respected writer, teacher and Intrinsic Coach® who is very willing to share what he’s learned (or still learning), what’s working, and what isn’t. Warren says “If you have an aspect of your life in which you feel stuck, whether in your life or your business, I can help you get back on track and start living the life you want”.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Warren_Wojnowski

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At first it may seem trite, but the benefit is akin to owning the most fertile land on the planet where a lifetime of harvesting can be reaped. The state of joy is a state of freedom and it creates a path of least resistance to all that you desire. A happy child is a child who does well across the board, a happy businessman is one who is successful at what he does. A happy writer is a person who finds great pleasure in writing. When you are happy the things you are up to in life work. You attract all the right people and you find yourself always falling into the right opportunities.

Building a structure for happiness and joy is not as strange as you might think. Why do you suppose you do anything, you do it because you think it will make you feel better. You want a beautiful relationship because you want to feel the joy of it.

Don’t spend your entire life building a structure of yourself to attain the things that will make you happy, instead, build yourself as a structure of happiness and the situations and circumstances and things of life will come your way.

What are these structures? Happy structures are those things and places and thoughts and people who you find it easy to be happy around.

Become aware when you notice situations and circumstances and places and things where you might automatically think or say something diminishing. That is great news because that is a structure in your life for which you can invent a better feeling thought, a better interpretation or story. I used to make the President wrong all the time but I learned to simply say, ‘he’s doing the best he can’. I no long have that ugly feeling I used to have whenever anything reminded me of him. That is one additional structure in my life where I feel happier than I did before.

How to build a happier structure is easy. There are three basic possibilities. One would be to remove things from your environment that annoy you. Perhaps there is a painting in your den that you really don’t like, it’s not ‘feeling good’. We have many things as such, and it could be huge, you might have a big irritation with the city you live in. The second of course would be upgrading the conversations you have about all things beginning with those you feel the most about. And third would be to bring things into your environment you’d love to have there. Perhaps you would really like a hanging plant in the kitchen or you would like clean windows.

When you think you have run out of things to upgrade, look for even better upgrading conversations about the people you love. Express gratitude and appreciation often. This will do more for your self esteem than you can know.

Don’t be around people who don’t make you happy. Don’t do things to others that will make them less than happy. Don’t make diminishing comments about yourself or others, that make you move away from a good feeling about yourself. Make people feel good just being around you. And you can only do that by feeling good about yourself. If you feel good about yourself people will read the love, the vibration they feel around you. You are the emotional environment you feel about yourself. That’s big and that is powerful, and it doesn’t cost you a dime.

All of my writings live in the domain of the law of attraction but the best work on this amazing subject can be accessed via the internet and reading Abraham-Hicks. The secret to a happy life is to reach for happier feeling thoughts.

Creating structures for happiness is no doubt the best thing one can do to insure a happy life; it is best begun when you are young, but you can begin anywhere and anytime you choose. You’ll find it fun and exhilarating. Gather along the path of your future all the joy you can muster for yourself and others.

If you understand about the power of directing your emotions in a particular kind of way, I invite you to visit and learn about the iCap. http://www.insightsforworkability.com

Biofeedback has advanced beyond our imagination. You can discover and manage your emotions such as to seek and discover more joy and happiness than you can imagine. And because of the personal computer, the cost is affordable and the advances have been remarkably pleasing.

Stop by when you can.
Leon Cautillo, Author/Instructor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leon_Cautillo

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We are at the beginning of a holiday weekend, and, like other holidays we will spend it cooking – probably outside on the grill – having family get-togethers, enjoying fireworks and, yes, shopping. Sales are everywhere.

We get so involved having fun (and we are supposed to have fun) that we forget what it is we are celebrating – we tend to forget why we have a day off, why we get together, and what the fireworks mean.

Independence Day – The Fourth of July -  is a day to reflect on and celebrate our freedom. In the Declaration of Independence it is stated that we have  “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Our founding fathers declared this because of the oppressive laws of the King of England and because we had no true representation in the government – taxation without representation. They put their lives on the line so we could have the the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The responsibility for freedom didn’t stop with the signing of the Declaration of Independence but is passed on down through the generations to us. We have the responsibility to pass freedom on to our children and grandchildren.

How are we doing with it?

How are you doing with it?

Do you vote in every election? Do you let your representatives  on a local level – and on up to a federal level – know what you want and how you want them to represent you? Do you get involved in government on any level? Do you get involved with getting the people who represent your views elected to office – in  your town, county, state, Congressional District, Senate, Presidency?  Do you sit and whine about what “they” do or are you actively involved in maintaining our freedom? Do you reach out to help those around you who need help or do you step aside so the “government” can do it?

Have you read Declaration of Independence lately? Have you ever read it? I encourage you to refresh your memory now. The Declaration of Independence is printed in its entirety below?

Have a wonderful celebration of freedom!

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

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• Success and Freedom

Health care is becoming a very popular topic. It is on the top of the list at the national conventions as we near the presidential election. Congress, state and local government officials are in discussion. It is on the minds of millions of Americans as we see costs continue to rise. We’ve heard countless ideas and options for reforming the system. We’ve heard about a universal plan that would automatically provide health care for every citizen. We’ve heard of employers being required to provide health insurance to workers and family members.

No matter what you feel is the best plan, we all agree that something needs to be done. We may not have the new plan calculated and ready to roll out, but we all know that reform is coming. But what will reform do for us? That is a great question.

The answer, if we continue life the way we have been living it for the past 20 years, is nothing. That’s right, health care reform will do nothing for us if we continue our current lifestyle. As a nation, we have used more and more medical services, become more dependent on drugs and we’ve become more and more out of touch with our health care.

What compounds these issues (or causes them, depending on your position) is the fact that we are so out of touch with our own health. We don’t take the responsibility to do what we know will help us. We don’t take responsibility for the condition that we are in. In fact, we don’t want to take responsibility for the money we spend to fix these conditions that we have brought upon ourselves. We want to pay for the easy method and take medication to “solve” our problems, but want someone to change the system so it doesn’t cost so much.

Well, they are working on it. They are trying to reform the system so we can all have what we are “entitled” to have. We all deserve health coverage. We all deserve the best care possible. I completely agree with those statements. What I don’t agree with is the fact that we have an entire system devoted to saving people from themselves. The whole system is designed to provide care for illness and injury. What we have done to ourselves has overloaded the system and turned it into something else.

We call it health care. It should be called sick care. We are getting sick because we refuse to take care of ourselves and the system says “OK, here is your surgery, here is your prescription and here is your new title for you to identify yourself by so you don’t feel self-conscious or responsible for your actions”. We ignore the fact that these cures are more expensive (and much more dangerous) that simply preventing conditions in the first place. We’ve all heard the phrase: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. It’s true.  That is the most frustrating part of it all. Diabetes, Obesity, Depression and even many cancer cases are preventable. We chose the behaviors that brought these conditions on.

To conclude my thoughts on sick…or health care, I will ask you this: How will you reform your health? The government can work day and night to fix the system. We can argue over what we are entitled to or not. The bottom line is, if we don’t take care of ourselves, the system will never be able to save us. In fact, the system itself will always appear to be broken until we fix ourselves.

Business Health Expert Joe Byrd uses his passion and expertise to bring business and health together. He integrates health education in lifestyle topics such as Stress Management, Weight Management, and Smoking Cessation into businesses in order to accomplish the following:

Improving Employee Health

Decreasing Health Care Spending

Increasing Your Employee Productivity

Improving Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Joe applies his craft in the business world by making health part of business strategy. As he helps companies invest in their employees, together they create healthy and successful cultures.

Web: http://www.ByrdWellnessconcepts.com

Email:  info@ByrdWellnessConcepts.com

Toll Free: 866.851.7961

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_R._Byrd

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Which comes first? The low self esteem or the negative reaction to stress?

Think about it. You’re having a great day. Everything has gone well today at home and at work. During your drive home you’re thinking about the complements you received from your boss and co-workers about a job well-done and are looking forward to telling the family about it at dinner. Someone cuts you off, you shrug and keep driving still feeling the pleasure of the day.

The next day, however, someone told  you off, saying you were pig headed, self centered and incompetent. Even though you know that those words aren’t true, they eat at you the rest of the day. Driving home from work, you find yourself reviewing them over and over. Someone cuts you off, and you lose it. You give him the salute, blue the air with epithets and scowl the rest of the way home. “The stupid jerk!” dominates your thoughts.

Studies show that there is a definite correlation between self-esteem and stress; e.g., the higher the self eteem the lower the negative reaction to stress. Those who like themselves find healthy ways to cope with life’s ups and downs much more readily than those who have a negative self image and poor self esteem. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure  that out.

The question is what can we do to increase our self esteem or “How do I fall in love with me?” I don’t believe it is a “quick fix” that can be handled with positive affirmations (although there is a place for these) and lists of “good things about me.” (and  these can help as well but much more is required.)

For more durable  results you need to:

Get control of your thinking. Stop a tanget of “poor me” before it gets started. Let your thoughts dwell on the positive, the beautiful, the true, the good. Easy? Hmmm. Try it. For one hour try to think of only your good qualities, the good things about your job, your relatioships, your finances, etc. Notice when they stray across to the negative and bring them back on the positive track. And when you are finsihed with the hour of positive thinking, notice how different you feel. Stretch the one our to two or more. Make being aware of your thinking a priority because your thoughts are the beginning of what you create in your life.

Know what you believe. I don’t mean, know what you were told you had to believe, but know what YOU believe about God, human existence, relationships, happiness, religion, politics, work, the arts – everything that’s important in your life. There is a saying, “Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.”

Get to know yourself. What are your strengths, your talents, your personality traits? What do you do when you’re alone?  What do you like? What do you live for? What would you be willing to die for?

Look at yourself in the mirror What do you see? Do you critique yourself to pieces because you don’t look like the movie stars or the latest anorexic fashion model? Who sets the standards for you? Why do you need to be just like anyone else?You are beautiful/handsome in your own way.

Know that you make choices about everything in your life – how you feel, how you look, how you react, what you believe, whether or not you are happy, and so on. . Many people let someone else make choices for them by default. Exercise your right to make your own choices about you.

You don’t need to be too far along this path of self esteem building before you find a significant difference in the way you handle stress. I’m not saying that the stress will completely stop, but the way you respond to the stressors will definitely change and you will more easily stay in a state of equilibrium.

It isn’t easy and it’s a lifetime job. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Sites for research abstracts on the connection betwween self esteem and stress:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9F-3SX2JX6-D&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=799bc02023f83a470b2dbe3c2dee49a8

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13766246

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VD0-4MBBYTM-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=6bbd564e994459e0e8c4f41f3d1c8ab0

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By Irene Conlan -

Hope is one of those words that we use a lot but writing or talking about it is like trying to catch a rainbow or nail Jello to the wall. We know it’s there but just can’t get to it.

There are two sides to hope to consider – one that motivates and one that prevents. You, of course, don’t have to agree with me on this, but at least read to the end and do you own pondering of  it.

Hope is positive in that it keeps us going. The idea is that as long as I have hope, I will keep on trying, step up my efforts, and hang in there. When people who are ill lose hope of recovery they are almost certain to die. If people do not have hope that they can lose weight, they will never begin a program of healthy eating and realistic exercise. If you have no hope that your garden will grow, you will not plant the vegetables or flowers. If people consumed by grief don’t hope that things will someday be less painful, they cannot endure the pain of loss. They need hope. Hope is the grease that keeps the wheel turning, so to speak.  When people lose hope that things will get better, they generally stop trying.

“I hope things will get better; I hope I can do this; I hope I get:  rich, free, beautiful, slim, happy, successful, married, famous – put in your own words.”

On the flip side, as a therapist when I give a client an assignment that I think will help them come to grips with the problem and I ask “Can you do this?” and they respond with “I hope so” I’m pretty sure that nothing will happen. They will not take action to make change. They will hope and hope and hope but never change their thinking or their direction in order to make change happen. The sister word to hope is try. “I will try” is a phrase that almost always implies that nothing is going to happen. My response is always, “Don’t try. Be like Nike and “Just do it.” (Easy for me to say.)

A world without hope is like a soda without fizz – the taste is there but the fun is gone. It’s flat.

Hope, alone, though, is like the fizz but no wonderfully tasting soda. There’s only fizz and no substance.

I can hope and do nothing and that is what happens – nothing. I can plan action and without hope of success I will most likely not act. Some examples will make this clearer.

Hope: I hope I can lose weight but I do not intend to take the time to devise a food plan and I certainly have no intentions of going to a gym.

No Hope: I have a great food plan and a gym membership. But I have no hope so I don’t use either one

Hope and Action: I have hope that I can lose weight, I have a food and exercise plan and I started this morning.

Hope: I hope to write a book but I don’t take the time to research what’s already out there, or do an outline, or write the first chapter.

No Hope: I have a novel written but I have no hope of getting it published so I don’t try.

Hope and Action: I have written a novel and, because I hope to have it published, I am in the process of finding an agent and shopping my manuscript around to as many publishers as I can.

Hope: I have strong opinions on politics and government and I hope for better leadership but I don’t register to vote or go to the polls on election day.

No Hope: I am a registered voter and I’ve never missed an election but this year I see no hope so I stay at home on election day.

Hope and Action: I am a registered voter and I know that my vote counts. And because I have hope for America I most certainly will cast my vote in November and get as many who think as I do to go to the polls as well.

Can there be self improvement without hope? I don’t think so.

I have hope that someone will read this to the end and, therefore, I’ll post it.  I also have hope that you’ll let me know what you think by making a comment below. That fulfillment of hope is up to you.  Have a great day.

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