Feng Shui and Windchimes - A Natural Fit

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Feng Shui and Windchimes - A Natural Fit

Wind chimes enjoy a long and varied history - truly a product of many cultures, but they enjoy a revered history in South East Asia, especially in China and Japan where they were hung on the eves of scared buildings. Amongst various other applications, many of our ancestors used windchimes for weather forecasting, a practical and obvious use. They determined wind speed and direction by noticing small changes in the wind chime song: the louder the chime song, the more intense the wind. Fishermen relied on windchimes to warn them when not to go to sea. Many a sailor may thank this device as the instrument that very well could have saved their lives. Hanging a windchime by cultivated crops in Indonesia helped scare birds away.

In ancient Asian cultures, however, historians believe the most common reason used for hanging a wind chime was to rid evil spirits from a dwelling and invite good spirits inside. This practice, part of the Feng Shui culture, suggests that wind chimes can balance both positive and negative forces that exist all around us, thus creating harmony in our lives. Feng Shui literally translates as Wind (Feng) and Water (Shui). Chinese scholars claimed to know how wind and water affect our environment and act on our well-being and that specific placement of certain objects, such as windchimes, can help focus the energy flow called "chi". Sound is powerful in Feng Shui. Wind chimes especially are popular with Feng Shui followers because they believed to bring good luck. Wind and sound - Feng Shui and Windchimes: A natural fit.

So, how does this work? Feng Shui believers think that properly installed windchimes can attract money and friends. It can also promote health and harmony for your family. Windchimes, in conjunction with Feng Shui are thought even to loosen pent up energy buried under clutter! How exciting is that? With that in mind, we're providing some tips for inviting those good spirits and positive energy into your home. For good luck, hang hand-tuned wind chimes with six or eight round rods - even numbers promote a balancing influence. For family troubles, however, there is a need to break up bad chi, windchimes with five round rods are what you're looking for as odd numbers can produce harmony. Do you have a long entranceway in your home, such as a long hallway? Hang a windchime by your front door, the sound created by the windchime can help slow down positive energy and keep it from dispersing too quickly. Placing a small wind chime in a corner stirs up and releases chi in that area. Keep in mind that in Feng Shui, you should never place your windchime directly over any sitting, eating or working space. The most important aspect of windchimes and Feng Shui is to ensure that the sound of the windchime is both pleasing and relaxing and that the size of the windchime is appropriate to the place it's hung.

Fat Burning Exercises For a Naturally Fit and Toned Body

Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Fat Burning Exercises For a Naturally Fit and Toned Body

Fat burning exercises alone will not give you your desired weight and body. You have to learn how to do these exercises properly and do them regularly. We've listed some of the exercise programs that can help you burn fat and offer some tips on how to workout properly.

Fat-burning exercises:

1) Squat exercises. Squatting can help you burn fat because you are moving your entire body. It also exercises your hips and your knees which you need to bend when you're squatting. You can use dumbbells while squatting to tone the muscles in your arms.

2) Interval exercise. This combines hard exercise with small minutes of rest or recovery. Hard exercise combined with a few minutes of light movements maximizes your calorie-burning ability.

3) Pushing workout. Push-ups or bench presses are examples of pushing exercises. This technique allows you to exercise the large muscles of your body like the ones in your thighs. The program also makes you burn a lot of calories.

4) Combination of strengthening and cardio exercises. You can perform a three-minute strengthening exercise, like abdominal crunch or leg press, and follow it up with three minutes of cycling. The combination strengthens your muscles and helps you burn body fat.

5) Pulling exercises. Any workout that incorporates the act of pulling helps exercise a lot of muscles. You can do pull-ups, rowing exercises or dumbbell rows.

How to exercise properly:

1) Start easy. You need to warm-up first before doing any of your routines. Start with the lightest part and move on to more extreme actions.

2) Drink water. You should drink at least eight to 16 ounces of water while working out. The amount should depend on how hard you're working out and how humid the weather is.

3) Breathe properly. Try to breathe a bit deeper when exercising to help you burn fat more. Never hold your breath when you're working out.

4) Develop a rhythm. Exercise with smooth, fluid movements to sustain the fat-burning effects of your workout and to avoid getting injured.

5) Enjoy! You have to enjoy your workout so that you can stick with it. Exercise with a friend or go to a gym to be with other people. Or if you need to do it at home, play your favorite music or watch your favorite show on television while working out.

Fat burning exercises will not help you if you don't do it properly and regularly. Discipline yourself to stick with your program, but remember that you need to also increase the intensity of your workout over time to maximize its benefits.


Make Every Workout Count With All Natural Fitness Supplements

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Make Every Workout Count With All Natural Fitness Supplements

Let's admit it. Proper fitness training takes a lot of effort and hard work. Your body doesn't create a rock solid muscular physique overnight! Fortunately, hard work and daily physical workout efforts do pay off. Once you start a regular workout routine, it doesn't take long for your body to follow suit and shape up. But what if you could boost the process a bit while improving your overall health? A sure-fire way to maximize your efforts is to add an all-natural fitness supplement to your daily diet. But don't add just any fitness supplement; choose one that contains natural ingredients that are proven to be safe and effective, such as Stemulite.

How do They Work?

The right supplement will work in several ways to improve your workouts and your health. First of all, it can provide increased energy and stamina that will motivate you to exercise in the first place. A lot of folks want to start a fitness training program, but lack the motivation to begin or to consistently work out on a daily basis. Fitness supplements can help provide the energy and motivation to get you off the couch and into your workout clothes! Even those who are normally couch potatoes will notice when their energy increases, and they will actually "feel" like getting up and doing something active.

For those who already work out but have to keep pushing just to continue, the right supplement can give them that extra get-up-and-go needed for success. Another benefit of supplements is that users notice more strength and endurance during their workouts. Many bodybuilders notice a tiring of their muscles just a few minutes into their workout. They assume it's "normal" to tire so soon when working out, so they either quit early on or suffer through to the end. A supplement can help a person gain strength during the workout so it becomes easier to go that extra mile or two!

Other benefits include better sleep (which means more alertness and energy during the day), faster healing, and improved overall health.

What Ingredients are Beneficial?

Fitness supplements often have ingredients that increase energy and stamina such as lipoic acid (ALA) and indium. There are other ingredients to look for, such as melatonin to help achieve REM sleep, beta glucan to help cellular repair and fight infection, acetyl (L-carnitine amino acid) to improve mental alertness and memory, and SerraPeptase to remove accumulated waste protein and ease minor pain and inflammation caused by overexertion.

The ingredient Quercitin has anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Eggplant extract helps with memory, learning ability and brain retention. Some fitness supplements are geared toward women and contain Mexican yam extract, which reduces the symptoms of PMS and the usual discomforts of menopause. Some contain one or a few of these ingredients, but look for one that contains all of them. Look for a 24-hour fitness supplement that has a daytime and nighttime dose.


Natural Fitness Plans

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Fitness Plans

If you have been reading about all-natural weight loss plans, you may be a bit skeptical about the results you can achieve. It just doesn't seem possible to be able to lose extra weight, gain energy, and feel better without starving yourself or taking risky diet drugs. However, losing weight requires you to have a specific plan for what you will do to accomplish your weight loss goals. There is no such thing as quick fat loss and there is no magic pill that will help you to get rid of years of accumulated fat deposits. The steps in this natural weight loss plan can help you to achieve your weight loss goals over a safe period of time.

Exercise

The amount of exercise you get will determine your level of success at losing weight and keeping it off. You should try to exercise at least five times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time. If you have a busy schedule, you can exercise in 10-minute sessions a minimum of three times each day. When you are exercising, the amount of calories you bun will depend on the type of activity you are doing as well as the frequency and intensity of your exercise. Aerobic exercise is the most helpful for losing fat, but any type of exercise can help you burn calories. For example, weight training helps to build muscles, which can increase your metabolism and help you burn more calories each day. You can increase your physical effort by doing simple things such as using the stairs or riding a bike instead of driving a car.

Focus on Health

Many people focus on becoming thin instead of becoming healthy when they start a fitness plan. The people who are successful at long-term weight loss put more of a focus on the benefits of weight loss than being thin. Changing your mindset to focus on health can help you make healthier food choices and put more of an effort into exercising. When you focus on health, you need to remember to eat a variety of foods that are high in nutrients and low in fat and calories. One way to do this is to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods can be tasty and satisfying, but they will not derail your diet efforts.