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Keep your knees locked! Hold your arms straight until they hurt! If you feel pain, good for yousomething is happening

Ah, the soft and tender words coming from my militant hot-yoga instructornot exactly soothing. Isnt yoga supposed to be relaxing, you ask? Not the kind Ive been doing for a while. I prefer to think of it as bootcamp yoga: an hour and a half dripping with sweat in a very hot room, often practising next to someone who had too much garlic at dinner last night, contorting myself into positions that make my head want to explode, while feeling murderous towards the teacherwelcome to my form of heaven.

Do I enjoy torturing myself this way three times a week come rain or shine? NO. Do I often get into the hot room and want to run out the door screaming? YES. Do I pay a lot of money to go through this torture? YES. Am I glad I do it? ABSOLUTELY.

You may be scratching your head in confusion at this point and I totally understand why. But when I tell you the real reason I do this exercise regime three times a week religiously, suffering and cursing the entire time, youll understand where Im coming from.

At the age of 36, Ive gotten a bit wiser when it comes to health and taking care of my body. Gone are the days of starving myself or overeating and then punishing myself through exercise. Believe it or not, I absolutely LOVE exercise now. Not because it makes me skinny (nothing will do that due to having the pulchritudinous physique of my shapely Jewish female ancestors which I have come to learn is purely genetic). However, regular exercise does keep me at a healthy weight for my size and stops me from obsessing about my body and food (except during PMS when my body and mind are overtaken by some form of alien life who temporarily makes me think that chocolate is in itself, an entire food group and that excess water in the tummy area is a must-have).

The reason I love exercise now is how it makes me feel AFTERWARDS. You see, after I leave an exercise class, I am transformed. No matter how crappy, miserable, sad, or angry I am feeling before I exercise, for some incredible reason, I consistently feel energized, positive, relaxed, and peaceful after a good workout. And so do many of the women I know. Now we know from brain research that exercise boosts serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter in our brains, increases endorphins; chemicals in our bodies that make us feel happy and neighbourly, and relaxes our muscles, which in turn, relaxes our mind.

I encourage all of my clients to follow a regular, three-times-a-week exercise regime of their choice as the first step in improving their mental health. I have not met one single person who has adopted this healthy lifestyle habit who has not greatly improved their mood, productivity, and reduced stress in their lives as a result. I know we hear it over and over again about exercising regularly, but being the stubborn self-willed person that I am, I have finally accepted that other people are wise when they espouse this concept and its not a conspiracy to make me conform to some strange cult.

I have witnessed countless womens mental health improve vastly from including regular exercise into their lives including recovery from depression, anxiety, disordered eating, post-traumatic stress, and many other issues.

I especially recommend regular exercise for women who are suffering from the effects of being in any kind of abusive relationship where they were systematically stripped of their dignity, sense of worth, and faith in their abilities. Vigorous exercise in this case, especially something like kickboxing, can be extremely empowering and help you to overcome feelings of worthlessness and toxic shame. through the act of exercising, you can transform a negative self-concept into one of power, strength, and awareness of your abilities and gifts.

In my therapy practise, I have discovered that many women are weighed down with depression or anxiety and that what is often underneath those labels is suppressed anger and/or grief. Being in our bodies and expressing ourselves physically through regular exercise is a fabulous way of releasing emotions that have been stuffed down for a long time.

Exercise can be extremely helpful in moving our feelings up and out of the body and can thus free up energy and leave us feeling lighter, stronger, and more peaceful and in control of our destiny.

There are so many wonderful, exhilarating, and enjoyable forms of exercise out there. Check them all out, try them out, and find the one(s) that you feel the best doing. Experiment and have fun!

To end, Ill leave you with some very inspiring reasons for working out regularly

Esthers Top Ten Reasons to Exercise regularly:

1.Time for yourself- you get to leave all the people and things that you feel responsible for behind for a time and just focus on yourself

2.Lifts your mood and helps you feel more positive

3.Stops you from obsessing about your body size and shape (in most cases- if you are really prone to this, try a form of exercise that focuses on how you feel on the inside; not how you look on the outside- focus on becoming strong and feeling good emotionally).

4.Gives you a sense of routine which can help you feel more grounded emotionally

5.Gets you out into the world connecting with people you may not meet otherwise

6.Increases your self-esteem as you grow stronger and feel fit

7.Normalizes metabolism which helps you gain or lose weight depending on what is best for your body

8.Improves your sex drive- not a bad side effect, huh?

9.Makes you nicer to be around because youre happier, healthier, and calmer

10.Helps you get out of your head and into your body; this is great for us thinkers and analyzers

So go hop on a bike, take the dog out for a walk, or crank up the stereo and boogie up a storm in the living room - youll feel better as a result!

Esther Kane, MSW, Registered Clinical Counsellor, is the author of Dump That Chump: A Ten-Step Plan for Ending Bad Relationships and Attracting the Fabulous Partner You Deserve http://www.dumpthatchump.com, and What Your Mama Cant or Wont teach You: Grown Womens stories of Their Teen Years http://www.guidebooktowomanhood.com Sign up for her free monthly e-zine, Womens Community Counsellor, to uplift and inspire women at: http://www.estherkane.com

please consider this article for publication in your newsletter or website. Permission is granted to reprint for free with resource box and byline intact. please send me a copy of your publication if you choose to include my article.

// posted by 99645 @ 6:06 PM 0 comments

For the past weeks, there were talks that microsoft is going to take advantage of the holiday season to offset the launch of the ps3 from Sony. It was speculated that there would be Xbox 360 price slash. As a result, most gamers waited for the price slash and the PS3's release before deciding which console to get. However, to the disappointment of everyone, John Porcaro, US Microsoft's PR guy recently came out with a statement from the MS bigwigs that there would be no price slash for the newest Xbox model.

Quite understandably, since Xbox 360 is already selling at half the value of the new Sony console. The cheaper nintendo Wii targets a different gaming audience so microsoft does not consider it as a threat. Also, perhaps, there is some truth in what the UBS analysts predicted last year. According to UBS analysts, microsoft subsidizes the cost of their new console by $75. This is the reason they are able to sell for a lower price. Some rumors even persist that other than the subsidized $75, microsoft is losing as much as $100 per console. This is due to Microsoft's inability to produce their own core manufacturing systems. They get the parts of their core hardware still from Intel and NVIDIA which require them to pay royalties.

To add insult to injury, the company is reported to be still suffering from losses incurred from Xbox sales. They reportedly used the same subsidy system for the older microsoft console. The math goes pretty bad for microsoft since the consoles have high production costs but are only sold at a meager price. microsoft neither confirm nor deny these reports but they report that they have hit their mark for the year.

It is not a mystery how microsoft was able to survive the losses. The company sells different console accessories and do effective marketing. Statistics reveal that most microsoft console users have at least one accessory for enhancement of the game experience. Let's not even talk about the games. Most analysts suggest that the bulk of the gains microsoft received this year was from the sales of game titles. With a new title release almost every month and DRM protection, games are mostly bought and owned individually. The games do not cost much when taken individually; the cost only becomes staggering when you think about the accumulated price. microsoft gains from all these.

Regarding Xbox 360 price slash, I think that consumers can still hope. The holiday market is a big one. It is also the time when people are more generous to themselves and others. microsoft and their new Xbox would have trouble resisting an opportunity such as this. Sony is pushing for a close to $600 price, and though expensive, there is somebody out there who would buy it. The holidays are times of giving and sharing, isn't it? But if the consumer is faced with a more difficult choice, say, three Xbox 360s for one ps3, the balance usually tips to the more economical side. Same quality, cheaper price, more people can enjoy it. That is what you call spreading holiday cheer.

// posted by 99645 @ 2:15 PM 0 comments

In recent years, ethernet hasnt exactly been fashionable. People are sick of running long wires all over the place, making holes in their walls, and being restricted when it comes to where they can use their computer. wireless networking has become all the rage and some predict that it will have killed off ethernet altogether within a few years.

wireless networking works by transmitting radio waves through the air. While it isnt yet strong enough to provide networking for a large area, it is quite possible and cheap to set up a cheap wireless networking system large enough to cover an entire house, using nothing more than a wireless router and a wireless card in each computer you want to use on the network. Newer laptops even come with wireless capabilities completely integrated in the form of Intel Centrino, so you can easily connect to wireless networks wherever you go.

Of course, wireless also has its fair share of downsides. Sure, ethernet requires ugly wires strewn all over the place, but its also much faster, more stable and more reliable. For large businesses or small businesses that have already had all the wires hidden away in their walls, there is little reason to change over to wireless now. ethernet is also often more secure wireless networks are often left unsecured, meaning that anyone can drive past and connect to them. While ethernet networks can be insecure as well, the network intruder at least has to be inside the building in most cases, not sitting in a car outside.

In turn, wireless networking removes a lot of niggles from ethernet. The best thing is that you no longer have to worry about wires getting damaged somehow and needing to be tracked down for replacement. Ultimately, which one you use will depend on how adventurous you are, and exactly what you plan to do with your network.

// posted by 99645 @ 1:27 AM 0 comments