Have you been called a “couch potato?” Does the title “cream puff” fit? Never exercise? Then there is a simple solution to get you back into shape. It’s called Yoga. I know what you’re thinking! You have to stand on your head, twist yourself into a pretzel, or have incredible strength to do Yoga. Those are myths that came about because Yoga originates in India, a place greatly misunderstood by most Americans. The exposure most of us have had to the ancient culture and exercise forms of India is what they see in movies and TV shows. That view of Yoga is design to entertain people watching films and sitcoms and not to inform them about the truth. Many people who have seen factual information on India in a documentary don’t realize that the Yogi presenting the art form was a master and doing poses that show off his prowess or excite him the most. Also, the amount of information presented was only a small portion of what is actually available on the subject. Thousands of books, instructional videos, and classes have been created in the more than 1,000 years since Yoga was first practiced. Finally, any experts touting the benefits of Yoga as an exercise form seem intimidating because they have transformed themselves into super humans with years of hard work and dedication. When these instructors show previews of their training secrets in an infomercial, they combine a wide variety of poses to excite the experienced as well as the novice.Take away the ancient names and the poses for experienced practitioners and you have a great starting point for the average Joe or Jane. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, breath in while extending your arms above your head, and looking up to the sky until your back is arched. That starts most peoples Yoga workout. The routine continues by slowly leaning forward and exhaling until your finger tips are pointing at the ground and your face is pointing toward your legs. Getting the picture? Yoga has a beginning for the novice practitioner that involves nothing more than the ability to follow simple instructions, be able to breath in and out, and a desire to improve one’s fitness level. Also, because Yoga novices need only shorts and a t-shirt to get started, anyone could get off the sofa right now and begin improving their health. Go to “Free Zone” in your cable on demand section and look under health and fitness. Yoga workouts are their in a wide variety of styles. Many of them are for beginners.If the choices available on demand aren’t palatable then look for free Yoga instruction on the internet (yogaclass.com). It is also easy to purchase a DVD (amazon.com) or download a Yoga workout that instructs beginners (exercisetv.tv). Some cost as little as $1.99! Yoga is also a great starting point for the newcomer to health and fitness because of the variety. Many people stop exercising because of the boredom involved in doing long and repetitive workouts. Who enjoys chugging along on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike for an hour or more? Not most people. It is estimated that Yoga forms from around the world include a total of 20,000 unique poses. Since one hundred carefully and gently employed poses more than make up a good beginning workout it is to see how a newcomer can find stances that are easily executed and enjoyable. Currently a lot of fitness professionals are talking about plateau. That simply means doing the same workout for too long causes its effectiveness to decrease over time. One hundred divides into 20,000 two hundred times if you create each workout from poses not used in another workout. Start mixing your favorite poses with stances you haven’t yet used and you could probably exercise everyday of the rest of your life without doing the same workout twice.Another advantage to Yoga is its effectiveness. Strength, flexibility, and balance are all being worked simultaneously. Most other forms of exercise, like weight lifting, only work one aspect of fitness at a time. A second reason people quit exercising is the lack of results. Why bother if no improvement is occurring? It’s a waste of time! One of the modern world’s top complaints is not enough time to get everything done. Avoid weight loss pills and their side effects. Give up on those useless exercise contraptions that promise miracles. Stay away from Doctors too willing to do complicated and dangerous procedures. Get in far better shape with a simple, enjoyable, and effective method known as Yoga. Copyright Paul Weiss 2009
Yoga – The Couch Potato’s Way to Health and Fitness!
Digital Photography Tips – To People Who Want to Take Photos – But Can’t Get Started Part 1
Let’s say you want to take great photos. You’ve seen the magnificent pictures that keep you speechless. You’ve got the passion and you’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on photo gear. And now you want to make it real. You want to be selling photos and making your living from your images. Can it be done, and how can it be done? Well stay tuned. This article will show you a few digital photography tips that just might change your ways.The first big challenge that crops up is lack of confidence in our own ability. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the hip stock photo website when beautiful stock images pop up and take your breath away. Overcome your urge to throw in the towel. Let me tell you this. All skills are learnable. The stunning stock photo dude didn’t know what a camera was once, let alone how to use one.And also let me say that, generally speaking, most people have low self confidence about what they are capable of doing. This is more wide spread than you might think. And when you can understand, realise and conquer this is when you can really shine!But anyway, trust me on this. She or he got out there and started learning. They persisted until they got results. All skills ARE learnable. It takes time to become good, and it’s not always easy at the beginning. So if you want to take photos, but can’t get started, then follow this path. Go to a stock photo site and look around until you find photography that really resonates with you.Once you’ve found images that you love, surround yourself with them. Put the photos on your Mac or on your desk. Give them time to sink in and think about ways the photographer might have captured the shot. What time of day is it? What style of image is it? What feeling was the photographer trying to get across? This digital photography tip will not just get you thinking, but it should inspire you too.Then, make time to get out there and practice. Try to emulate the images that you admire. You’ll discover your own unique style will appear… slowly at first, then stronger as you go. You’ll be amazed at the transformation. Let others guide you to your best. Emulate the ideas from thoughtful photographers. And oh yeah, make haste while the sun shines!
Top Goal for Small Businesses: The Eight Most Important Checkup Questions for 2021
Are you happy with your business this year? What are you going to do differently? How can you hire the right people to support your vision? Sadly, many small business owners do not spend enough time planning for the future. It’s quite understandable. Managers must keep pace with the daily demands of their businesses, including payroll, taxes, product/service delivery, and customer expectations.Fortunately, the end of the year is the perfect time for a comprehensive evaluation of your company. Your business needs a checkup. Most people can relate to a checkup with their local doctor, depending on their background and personality characteristics (age, sex, family medical history). The doctor will conduct a variety of tests, including blood, vision, heart, and hearing.In fact, one element like an individual’s weight is not the only indicator of overall good health. Likewise, small businesses could benefit from a good checkup too. Successful entrepreneurs think strategically when engaged in a hostile, global environment.After 27 years of managing projects and conducting over 100 organizational evaluations of business organizations, I realize that both large and small organizations struggle in implementing their operations effectively. This article examines how small businesses need to conduct an effective checkup of their organizations.Welcome to the New Normal! Yet, nearly a year after this pandemic, the full impact on the U.S. economy is unclear. According to recent studies, more than four million Americans have left the workforce, and nearly 10 million are now unemployed compared with last February.In fact, the number of unemployed people continues to rise. According to a business study conducted between March 28 and April 4, 2020, small businesses have been heavily damaged by the lockdowns due to Covid-19.In an analysis of more than 5,800 small businesses (reaching a network of 4.6 million small businesses), the research highlighted the damage caused by the pandemic. The results showed evident damage of the pandemic. At this juncture, 43% of businesses had temporarily closed, and nearly all of these closures were due to COVID-19.Respondents stated that they had temporarily closed, largely pointed to reductions in demand and employee health concerns as the reasons for closure. In fact, the businesses, on average, reported having reduced their active employment by 39% since January.All industries have been impacted. However, retail, arts and entertainment, personal services, food services, and hospitality businesses showed significant employment declines exceeding 50%. Some businesses hope for assistance from the government.According to a Babson’s Goldman Sachs report, 88% of U.S. small business owners have already exhausted their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan; the Small Business Association gave these loans specifically to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the pandemic. These loans were helpful.Yet, these successes do not diminish the fact that more than 32% of PPP loan recipients already have laid off employees or cut wages. In fact, Forty-three percent of Black small business owners reported that their businesses’ cash reserves would be depleted by year’s end due to Covid-19.Today’s small businesses and entrepreneurs must retool themselves, given the potential impacts of Covid-19 have the necessary capacity to change their way of thinking because of their passion. However, small businesses must be willing to evaluate their current operations and make the required changes.For example, customers have largely gone online to purchase services due to the lockdowns. If a business does not have an online presence now, this company does not exist. Internet pioneer and CEO of PSINet Bill Schrader explains the significant of online visibility: “Almost overnight, the Internet’s gone from a technical wonder to a business must.”With the appropriate diagnosis of an organization, a business can develop more sustainable success. Thus, the right checkup is critical.Below are some critical questions to help you conduct your own self-checkup:
Do you have a clear vision for your business? What is it?
Do you know why your customers buy from you and why others do not buy from you?
What results are you getting from your marketing? Do you have an effective online presence on the web?
Are you collecting data or the right kind of data on your customers and competitors?
Are you keeping pace with your industry trends? If so, what are the key trends?
How are you measuring results (i.e., key performance indicators like cash flow and revenue)?
What are your key competitors’ marketing strategies?
Have you evaluated your strengths and weaknesses (i.e., SWOT Analysis)?
In summary, successful global businesses, like IBM and Google, have continuous systems in place to evaluate their performance. Let’s call this process an organizational checkup.Small businesses that want to succeed in this global and technological climate must be able to conduct this self-evaluation or checkup. This article demonstrated the relevancy of a good checkup to help improve a business by asking probing questions. In many cases, small businesses do not have to take on this organizational checkup along.There are various organizations like the Small Business Administration and local universities that can assist in this process. Have you conducted a checkup for your business this year? It’s not too late. Start the new year with a healthy business checkup.© 2021 by D. D. Green