The six principles of Pilates

Joseph Pilates then went on to create " the six principles of pilates" in order to properly condition the entire body. They are breathing, centering concentration, control , precision and flowing movement.

Breathing enhances proper blood circulation, which in turn stimulates cells in the body and carries away wastes that can cause fatigue. For blood to function optimally, it has to be charged with oxygen and purged of waste through proper breathing. Full and thorough inhalation and exhalation are thus an integral part of every pilates exercise.

Centering involves the large group of muscles found in the center of the body, called the "powerhouse" in pilates- the abdomen, lower back, hips and buttocks. All the energy exerted doing pilates exercises begins from the powerhouse the "core"

Concentration demands careful attention and intense focus. Every position and movement of every part of the body is interrelated. Control simply means no unnecessary and uncontrolled movements.

Slower movements make your strength and coordination grow. Practitioners also perform every exercise with utmost control, in order to avoid injury. Precision aims to accomplish unified (flowing), precise and perfect movements through appropriate transitions, rather than many halfhearted or disjointed ones. The end goal is for precision to eventually become second nature, and carried over into everyday life as grace and economy movement. Once precision is archived the exercises are intended to flow within and into each other in order to build strength and stamina.

Josep Pilates once said " Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. In order to achieve happiness, it is imperative to gain mastery of your body. If at the age 30 you are still stiff and out of shape, you are old. If at 60 you are supple and strong, then you are young"

Baby's precious moments: The importance of pointing.

I just want to let everyone know that my 11-month old baby is starting to point on things, He is like telling me "what's that mom?!" He is just so cute, And I've read that i should be happy that my son keep on pointing on different things. Here are something I've learned and wanted to share to all happy mothers like me.

Right around now, your child is becoming quite a pointer. Few items seen during your daily routines escape his little thrusted finger, and as your baby points, he likely says, "What'sat?" Now you might think doing this is just his way of learning the names of various things: clock, car, sock, plate, pencil, vase, pillow, and so many, many more.

This pointing skill, however, is about far more than just learning words. It involves bringing you into your child's realm of learning. If you watch younger babies closely, they are either solely engaged with you or with objects. They'll bat at an object overhead and then later coo back and forth with you. But now as he turns one-year old, your child can point at an object and interact with his Most Important Person—you!—by asking, "What'sat?"

What the Research Shows

Brain scientists call this phenomenon the cognitive triangle; the points of the triangle include you, your baby, and an object. Researchers discovered this pointing ability by doing nothing more than observing and videotaping children at about 12-months old.

For example, a child sees a fly on the window: She folds her thumb around her pinky, ring, and middle fingers while extending her index finger toward the fly, and then looks at her parent. Even when the child does not explicitly ask for information, you can see the question written all over her face. The parent just knows to say, "That's a fly."

source:

babyzone.com

The health benefits of White tea.

There are just so many teas right now in the market. And i know that all of them has its own health benefits. Among all of this teas, my daughter fell in love with the green tea, I really do enjoy the original tea but she just love green tea. But she always ask me the difference of the green tea and the white tea. She tried the white tea and she said that she thinks that white tea is now her favorite, so, what exactly is white tea and its health benefits?

White tea gets its designation from the fine, silvery white hairs found in the unopened buds of the camellia sinensis plant. White tea leaves have a striking appearance.

Largely produced in China and deeply revered during the Song Dynasty that flourished from the 900s to the 1200s, white tea possesses a light, delicate, slightly sweet flavor that sharpens the senses without overwhelming the tongue. White tea may have lower levels of caffeine than green tea.

Some of white tea health benefits are as follows:

• White Tea may help prevent heart ailments.

• White Tea can fight stroke by reducing the accumulation of cholesterol in the bloodstream.

• White Tea can lower blood pressure and improve the function of the arteries.

• White Tea may help fight cancer by attacking the free radicals that inflict damage in the cellular level.

• White Tea promotes strong bones.

• White Tea contains high amounts of anti-bacterial and anti-viral agents thereby promoting general well-being.

• White Tea promotes healthy teeth and gums.

• White Tea helps in protecting the skin from damage and may even reverse some of the damage wrought by free radicals.

• White Tea may reduce blood sugar and help alleviate the symptoms of diabetes.

We may all have different tastes when it comes to tea, but you could always try new ones and you might find it very beneficial to you.

Source:

www.teabenefits.com

image courtesy of islandteashop

Toddlers who uses gestures, are smarter in the future?

I came across this latest news and I wanted to share it to all of you. I have an 11-month old baby boy now and thought that this news would benefit mommies like me, read on:

Toddlers who use gestures more often have better vocabularies on reaching school age, US researchers say.

They say those who convey more meanings with gestures at 14 months have larger vocabularies at four-and-a-half years and are better prepared for school.

Parents and teachers could help children learn to speak by encouraging the use of gestures, say psychologists from the University of Chicago.

Their study, in Science journal, was announced at the AAAS conference.

'Hand-in-hand'

The researchers found that children from higher-income families with well-educated parents used more gestures as toddlers.

They also had higher vocabularies at school age.

"Our findings contradict the folklore," said Prof Susan Goldin-Meadow, co-author on the study.

"Your grandma always told you - if you're really articulate you shouldn't have to use your hands at all.

"That's typically what the upper class believes about itself.

"But our findings were surprising - we actually found extra gesturing in these high socio-economic status [SES] families.

"Gesture and speech go hand-in-hand.

"That's interesting and we need to explore what's happening here.

"Vocabulary is a key predictor of school success and is a primary reason why children from low-income families enter school at a greater risk of failure than their peers from advantaged families."

Pointing the way

Psychologists have long stated that families of higher income and education levels talk more with their children and speak to them in complex sentences.

But the study is one of the first to focus on whether gestures, too, have an influence on vocabulary and school preparedness.

The researchers studied 50 families from diverse economic backgrounds.

They recorded video of children with their parent, or primary caregiver, for 90-minute sessions, during ordinary home activities.

Fourteen-month-old children from high-income, well-educated families used gesture to convey an average of 24 different meanings during the 90-minute session.

Meanwhile, children from lower-income families conveyed only 13.

Once in school, students from higher-income families had a comprehension vocabulary of 117 (as measured by a standardised test), compared to 93 for children from lower-income families.

The paper does not establish a causal link between early child gesture and later child vocabulary.

But the authors suggested two possible mechanisms by which one might encourage the other.

"Child gesture could play an indirect role in word learning by eliciting timely speech from parents; for example, in response to her child's point at the doll, mother might say, 'Yes, that's a doll,' thus providing a word for the object that is the focus of the child's attention," they wrote.

The connection also may be more direct, since gestures allow children to use their hands to express meanings when they have difficulty forming words for them.

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

The wonders of ginger.

Ginger is not just another spice in your cabinet, Its definitely more than that. I'm not the first person who will ask you to don't take that ginger for granted! It's my grandma! She always make it a point to boil some ginger and add just a little sugar and drink it like tea. I've decided to write down the most common health benefits of ginger.

Ginger is very much known for promoting lower cholesterol,Recent studies show that ginger might also have a role in lowering LDL cholesterol because the spice can help reduce the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed. It has also been shown in animal trials to help slow or even prevent cancerous tumor growth.

It can also help reduce inflammation. So it can be used to treat any disease that is caused by inflammations such as arthritis or ulcerative colitis. Some studies show that it can even help inhibit the replication of the herpes simplex virus.

In addition to its knack for curing nausea and indigestion, ginger is also potent in treating circulation problems, arthritis and stomach cramps. Other great benefits of ginger include promoting lower cholesterol, treating motion sickness, relieving gas and bloating, stopping diarrhea, and naturally freshening bad breath. The ginger herb root is also able to promote bile flow and improve the cardiovascular system by producing platelets that don’t stick to the artery walls.

The great thing about ginger that allows it to be so potent is that it is the one natural ingredient that does not cause any known side effects. This is because it does not have the tendency to interact negatively with other drugs prescription.
So don't take those ginger for granted and try to add some spice in your life.

Sources:

http://www.indepthinfo.com/
http://www.carefair.com/

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Alpha Lipoic Acid and it's benefits

I'm very much interested with ALpha Lipoic Acid. It was first introduced to me be a colleague way back 6 years ago. I've heard of it when I was young but I wasn't that interested. This friend of mine told me that it helped her made her skin supple and glowing. I really thought it was just another food supplement in the market today that was just looking for some popularity. For those who have no idea.

Alpha-lipoic acid, is an antioxidant. And it is commonly called as lipoic acid or thioctic acid, This food supplement were once only known to help diabetics because it helps to stabilizes blood sugar. But after few years of continued research and studies it shows a lot more benefits.This powerful antioxidant is a fat and water soluble, it means it can get into or penetrate into our body well, making it easy to protect against free radicals. It simply help to detoxify our body.

And speaking of detoxification, ALpha Lipoic Acid helps glutathione to work like wonders. ALA also makes Vitamin E and Vitamin C works efficiently. You can get ALA in different foods such as Spinach, Brewer's yeast, liver etc. We do have ALA in our body but if you want to make the most out of it you really have to take a supplement, You can always ask your doctor.