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Beautiful Places Healthy Living

@Silicon Valley’s NVidia

So cool to bring attention to this cause!

Surprised to see these fashion displayed at their beautifully designed new headquarter building of this innovative company. It’s a sleek brand new space … something resembling a cross between star wars-ish futuristic structure of an airport, a museum and a college campus under one dome …that’s their new headquarter building. So taken aback to see these apparel on display by their gift shop entry …seemed so unrelated.

BUT THEN, not so surprised when you stop to consider this: Their state of the art technology GPU is not just for gaming anymore – it’s helping cancer research in the area of early detection to customized care. Their product is also helping in scientific research to the level unimaginable before … So stopping to consider this startling fact, for example – Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women – so it is no wonder. While the survival rate has dramatically improved in recent years due to advances in screening and treatments, it is still second main cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. There are around 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the United States (U.S.). The chance of any woman dying from breast cancer is around 1 in 37, or 2.7 percent; while each year 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with this disease. According to the World Health Organization, on a global scale, the number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70 percent over the next two decades. Given that grim fact, it’s refreshing to see how tech companies are stepping up to make a difference.

Whether in the areas of prevention or in the midst of the battle or in recovery, we have learned how we manage the stress greatly influences the outcome. We know some stress is good for us; the kind of stress that brings people closer and make community more tightly knit; and good stress motivates us to improve, achieve and accomplish, i.e., to get things done. Good stress is even empowering as each time we overcome that challenge = stress, we feel stronger; but chronic stress, the kind of degenerative and relentless stress; where there’s little breaks during the accumulative onslaught, that kind of toxic stress can weaken and compromise our immune system and slow down our healing. This kind of stress weakens us – For some of us, the latter has become the norm so much, we don’t even notice what it’s like to live without that burden, that weight – the tension. Is it possible to just be? To simply embody our body with gratitude (even if one may feel betrayed by it – loving kindness to self first:); To feel the clarity, the pure energy and lightness … of being? And if it is possible, how, then, HOW? That’s when tools and techniques of yoga comes to the rescue.

Support of appropriate exercise, and mindful practices such as yoga and meditation is said to really help. Tech workers can “compute the cure” and “PWN Cancer” while also practice yoga to boost their immunity and improve their stress resilience.

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Healthy Activities Healthy Living Yoga

The Lymphatic System includes organs?!

Learning something new everyday! I was surprised to read that the lymphatic system includes several other organs such as the tonsils (glands located at the back of your throat that filter bacteria); the adenoids, and the spleen and the thymus (filtering organs that screens the blood and produce white blood cells). No wonder the lymphatic system is so vital as much as our blood vessels and nervous system are.

Noting that when the lymphatic system becomes overly stressed, they become sluggish as we experience the following:

chronic fatigue
swelling in lymph nodes (like throat, armpits or groin)
muscle aches and pains
joint pains
sore throats and getting colds more often
frequent infections or viruses
fibromyalgia symptoms
arthritis
and …even cancer formation

The body protects us from infection and illness by trapping microbes found in our tissues (mostly bacteria we pick up from the environment) and sending them to the lymph nodes, where they become “trapped.” This keeps the bacteria from spreading and causing further problems like viruses. Once the bacteria are trapped, lymphocytes attack and kill the bacteria. Then the lymphatic system, our body’s drainage system will eliminate the toxins out of our system, protecting us.

Yoga can help in restoring the healthy function with the gentle coaxing through asana, breath and centering practices afforded in a regular practice you maintain. Yoga works.

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Yoga

Sequence of poses/asana – Find the Baseline

Chaturanga Dandasana – hovering on the carpet of fallen leaves …the nose grazing the sweet earth; Flex your ankles, press through the heels, resist the buttocks from rising, or dipping too low to a sag, strengthen the core- do not collapse the chest but rather lift & FLOAT – before the series of progressive releases are introduced. Shoulders should not collapse below the height of the elbows – a bit close here? Observing the need for upper body strength.  Honestly do we want to hurt our shoulder girdles or do we want the integrity to be honest with ourselves. Always an option to bring your knees to mat/earth to modify if you are affected by fatigue or whatever restrictions, unable to muster enough strength. Do not strain – check in with your breath.

Warm up more or try core and upper arms/upper body strengthening before attempting this …so start out with down-dog, cobra, up-dog, plank, dolphins … any of these to get ready for this yoga push up … or again, skip to knees-chest-chin/forehead – modify.  Allow your intention to inform your practice.
True Ribs (1-7); False Ribs (8-10); Floating Ribs(11-12) housing our lungs – rig cage, aka = “home” study for the anatomy geeks…

Found a studio that offers a well-rounded offering of both solar (Ha) and lunar (Tha) styles of yoga with an incredible vent system to keep the air fresh and clean; Yes, to fresh oxygenated air … yes, yes; to boot, a thermostat you can control! YES! It’s like a practice you can dial up or dial down according to your condition while the sequence of poses stays relatively the same:) That way you can better figure out where you are – when the practice keeps changing, you lose your baseline … so that’s probably one of the reasons I see the popularity and benefits of Mysore and Bikram kind of discipline as you can really keep track, monitor your progress or condition, without the distractions. It’s great to be creative with the sequence – yes – but to not be so fragmented – it’s also nice to have something steady and something you can count on and rely on as general blueprint. Something unchanging and stable to come back to. The Rock. Okay, so some may say, boring; but shift the perspective, and I’d say, it’s like coming home. Time and time again – it’s the repetition that bears fruits even though we hate to admit it – the repetitions, the drills, over and over … that’s why it’s a “practice” not a performance. It’s soooo … clear and one-pointed.

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Having said that, the practice changes to honor the lunar cycle this week … tapping into the subtle Yin energies when our practice is imbued with that luminescent light within the shadows. The day becomes shorter and the night longer as we head into the Autumn season. Please take care – perhaps a cleanse to eliminate the toxins and start afresh to prepare for the holiday season. Strengthen the immune system with getting enough REST and targeted release/relief of body parts to enhance our organ health. Namaste.