Today’s society is much faster paced that ever before. People have more stress problems which lead to more health problems, mental and physical. There are more concerns with toxicity in the food we eat and the air we breathe. Millions of Americans today live a sedentary lifestyle, which is associated with obesity. The body, the cavities of our soul, was not meant to deteriorate in such a way that leads to disease. Yoga was developed over 5,000 years ago in India and it included spiritual beliefs, physical techniques, and scholarly philosophy.

There is a growing trend to practicing Yoga for many different reasons, which include attaining the yoga body or physique, relaxation and peace of mind, or to prevent injury and ailments. Americans mainly practice Hatha Yoga, which focuses on postures and stretching the body.

Yoga, which is derived from the sacred Sanskrit language of India, meaning *union* or *to yoke or harness*. Yoga is a way or path to transcendence and liberation from the self and the ego by purifying the mind and body. Practicing yoga leads to a union with the mind and body or the individual and universal consciousness. In other words, yoga is the union with the Individual Self and the Universal Self. Yoga predates all other religions and has influenced and inspired many other traditions and philosophies. Yoga is better understood as a union of the physical, physiological, mental, emotional, and intellectual bodies, which leads to a purposeful and balanced life.

There is simply no other discipline quite like yoga because it utilized the body, mind and spirit, all in one practice. Yoga is indeed a spiritual path that is based on ancient sacred philosophy, but one does not need to make an ethical decision when practicing yoga, rather finding your own path is wholly accepted. The holistic benefits of yoga are suitable for the young or old, sick or well, with any religious background. The secrets of yoga are inwardness, concentration, and purification of mind and body with cleansing thoughts and food. Indian philosophy states that within man is the spirit that is the center of everything. *Internal equilibrium is the basis and the ground for the higher illumination,* The cultural Heritage of India (Vol. I) - published by The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, India

If you were to translate Tai Chi into English you would get something that you may not have expected as it translates into “Supreme Ultimate Force”. This means that it is a state of unlimited and complete capability. This type of practice confronts the concepts between Yin and Yang, which rule over the four realms and five elements. Without these two very important aspects there would be no world, as they are what created it and control everything about it. Without Yin there can be no Yang and vice versa. Tai Chi can also be translates as meaning Unity, Oneness, or being one with.

Tai Chi uses the concept of negative and positive energy to draw ones force from the body itself. To be good at Tai Chi one must be at one with himself and have the ultimate discipline of their body. Tai Chi has been practiced since ancient times and is still practiced today even in the western society. It is a series of slow movements that resemble Yoga or moving mediation, in fact you can even say that it is a mix of the two. The different movements end up making forms of the various poses of several animals and birds. Tai Chi is not considered a martial art because of its slow movements.

Tai Chi is considered by practitioners as a relaxing exercise that calls upon the body, mind, soul and environment to work together. However, there are some who look at Tai Chi as a type of combat due to its considerable force behind the movements. If you know anything about Chinese medicine you know that it is all about the energy force that flows through the body that is known as Chi. If for some reason the flow of good Chi is disrupted, the person can fall ill. Tai Chi is a way of keeping the good chi circulating throughout the body as it should.

It is believed that Chi circulates through the body just as you blood would, reaching all organs. Therefore, because Tai Chi helps circulate Chi energy it is directly connected to other types of Chinese medicine such as acupuncture and other oriental healing. Common knowledge is that Tai Chi is practiced to promote tranquility and calmness in ones mind. The mind has to be focused in order to do the complicated movements of Tai Chi. By doing Tai Chi the person will learn many new skills that include motor control, balance, rhythm of movement and alignment of the limbs and body.

By practicing Tai Chi often enough the person will learn how to have better posture when sitting, standing, walking and even running. There are so many different benefits to practicing Tai Chi that they can not all be discussed. However, I can tell you that Tai Chi is a great way to have a healthier body and be more in control of it. By doing Tai Chi you can use a type of “combat” in a slow way without hurting the opponent. However, if you are looking for a self defense martial arts you are looking in the wrong place.

Kung fu is a powerful secret that was revealed when one monk made note of how powerful animals can be in combat with each other. We as warriors, too, have to take note of this most ancient martial art. Don’t just do kung fu, though, be it. These then, become satisfaction. Don’t let yourself be denied, but be powerful and aggressive, and animal in action. You must hear, see, be, feel, strike as the animal you are. This is the basic tenet of kung fu. Be ferocious, furious, fervent and fierce, a whirlwind of fighting force.

With kung fu, you come into contact with this most volatile, instinctive energy of survival. As a mother defending her young with absolute commitment, kung fu, too, drives you with adrenaline and no fear, no pain. You are wound up, pumped up, and wild. You are lashing, thrashing, attacking and loaded as an adversarial weapon, fearless and feared. You are wide-eyed and aware, own your surroundings with your acts, and stay your ground. You as the animal are one with your environment, one with the untamed, savage beauty of the beast inside you. You are alive with fire, one with nature. Life is not just about finding the meaning, but tapping into the energy of it. You must be consumed by it. The energy itself provides the meaning. In fact, at this level, you feel ONLY energy. Embrace it wholeheartedly, unabashedly, and without fear.

Perform kung fu with gusto so that your endorphins will be set free and will remind you of your essence. This truth is in you, and you should feel it moving through you, alive and free.

The Tiger — with this move, you grip the ground in a low, wide stance. Your head and jaw are jutted forward, with your belly drawn in. Extend your fingers out as you might your claws if you were a cat. Curl them, strongly, pretending that they are wicked claws. See your prey in front of you, spitting fiercely like a cat. Turn to your left and then right. As you twist, take your right “claw” and Reagan across your victim’s eyes. Your left, too, follows to penetrate the sockets and the face of your victim.

The Leopard — Draw your hands into fists as though you’re going to knock on a door, then turn them down, knock on the floor fiercely, in a flurry. Leap up, lightning fast, and knock one, then the other fist, roaring like a leopard as you do so. Pounce on and overwhelm your enemy, then turn and face the other the same way.

The Panther — Jut your bent middle finger above the clenched fist formed by your other fingers. This is what is known as the “panther head.” Circle with your panthers, growling while you do so. One panther comes down and blocks a strike while the other hits the target on the temple, exhaling as he does so.

The Boar — The boar stays low to the ground but has plenty of fight. Raise both your arms up and grunt, low, “MMMMMM.” Then, bending down lower, you strike with both elbows at your back and finish up with your grunt continuing. Charge forward with your two thumb tusks, making your enemy freeze. These boar’s weapons pierce the belly and go through sinew and tissue easily.

The Snake — Make your fingers in the snake fist and then stick your “fangs” out, your first and middle finger, spread and ready to bite. Do this with both your left and right fist. Expand your cobra hood roundly, and fill yourself with fierce power. Hiss, serpentine-like, then spring with your left handed weapon out, both fingers poised to pierce both eyes of the intruder to your left. Spring to your right and sink your right-hand strike into the other intruder, on the other side.

The Mantis — This position uses the same basic pose as the Snake, but with this, you take your “fang” fists and put the first and middle finger together. This transforms your snake fangs into a mantis barb. Do this with both hands. Go to your target, and hook up the inside corner of each eye. Then, make a scooping circle inside, come up and around, and then go back in with another strike straight to the center of each eye. Build up to a big release, buzzing, “EIEIEIEIGHT.”

The Hawk — This position has you with your right arm and leg forward, so that you guard your front and are ready for attack. Your index and middle fingers, and thumb are out like a hawk’s talons. Your right talon should be at your face, with your left talon at your ribs. Shout, “HI-YA” as the Hawk’s call, then circle forward to end up with your left, back and down with your right. This brings you leaning forward over your enemy, who is helpless while ribbons of torn flesh dangle from your talons. This should make spirits soar!

The Crane — this position has you pressing the end of your fingers together to make a “beak” that’s strong enough to peck someone’s eyes out. Curl back, raise your “beak” and wind it up above your shoulder, then inhale, and get ready to release. Push it toward your target, shrieking, “UWP,” tensing your solar plexus as you do so. With this position, you can even pluck an Adam’s apple.

Being active is healthy as far as the brain is concerned so as you grow older keeping your brain sharp is all a part of living a better life and aging well. Continued learning and healthy eating are activities which challenge your brain and help you to stay at your peak. Managing to finish (or in some cases even attempting to start) a daily crossword puzzle along with learning a hobby or studying a new language provides the form of a continued workout for the brain.

Taking part in activities which require you to think on your feet, evaluate information and come to quick and accurate conclusions will be a great help in keeping your brain healthy as you grow older. You will no doubt discover that some days this takes a little more effort than it did before, but if you carry on stretching your brain muscles your memory will be as good as your cognitive skills.

If you have an interest in maintaining the health of your brain as you approach old age and want your mind to continue to be sharp, then here are some facts you should be aware of.

When you reach your sixties, brain masses shrink a little, some areas more than others such as the frontal lobe, for example. This is the area of the brain which copes with mental abilities and it is also where your memories are stored. Thinning of the brain in the cortex area and a diminishing of white matter are some of the reasons why disorders of the brain occur in the aged. Changes in these areas in particular cause the cognitive processing of decision making and problem solving to slow down and attention span is usually reduced. These will all fade you as you get older, unless of course you follow the advice above and carry on with regular exercise of these areas by creating new memories and taking in new information.

Having said that, aging is not a decline of brain activity. The brain itself grows sharper and stronger the more you use it. For instance, if in your younger days you were an avid reader of books and you continue reading into your old age, you are likely to increase your reading speed and the amount of information you actually take in, because practice really does make perfect. The majority of our abilities improve with time, especially wisdom and skills to help us sort problems. It is worth remembering that other ailments and sicknesses can contribute to a decline in the normal activities of the brain as well.

Something as straightforward as more formal education can stimulate the brain and can even make the brain cell networks stronger in warding off mental function damage. Another thing which has always been known to have positive benefits on the brain and its functioning is physical activity, aerobics for example. This is the best way to get a free flow of oxygen to the brain and definitely helps the brain to work better. Quite simply having the knowledge that what you do makes a difference to your life and believing that you are making a valid contribution to your good health is sometimes the greatest part of allowing your brain to remain active.

You can slow down the parts of the brain prone to degeneration as you get older by making a concerted effort to pay more attention to everything, and to learn and have to focus on new things. Take is steady, stay organized and this way you will be able to concentrate on the tasks you are setting for yourself. Try to remain as stress free as you can so as to avoid the tension which is associated with certain types of lapses of memory. Practice repetition – this is an all time favorite. You will find that those senior moments you have from time to time can be turned into senior memories to be cherished if you carry on exercising your brain on a regular basis. Do whatever it takes to take care of your mental agility and you are sure to be a happy person as you become old aged. When you take a look at others they are either depressed or extremely happy. Make sure you do everything you can to ensure that you are in the latter category.

The way in which carbohydrate foods are rated according to the effect they have on glucose levels in the blood is called glycemic index. This is more generally known as GI.

High GI foods are rapidly absorbed and bring on a swift rise in blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Low GI foods, work in the opposite way by breaking down in a more gradual manner and stabilizing blood glucose levels. This is important as it helps to avoid the seesaw effect, which may lead to a constant hunger, as well as mood and energy swings. Because foods low on the GI take longer to be digested they release energy into the bloodstream at a slower and steadier rate and this supply of energy helps to prolong that “full” feeling. We all know that if we feel satisfied for longer amounts of time, we are less likely to snack in between meals.

On the other hand, however, foods high on the GI can promote wildly variable blood sugar levels, which can cause the pancreas to over-produce insulin and this, in turn can lead to illnesses like Syndrome X, hypoglycemia, and type II diabetes. Research has also shown that there is evidence to suggest foods lower on the GI can help to improve the good cholesterol levels and this is know to lessen the risk of heart disease.

The majority of low GI diets don’t insist you only eat low GI foods, but they do encourage you to add more foods with a low GI as part of your healthy eating regime. By simply including a low GI food in your meal, it will have the effect of lowering the glycemic index for the complete meal. People who have an active lifestyle should use an equal balance of low and high GI foods to ensure they have the necessary energy to carry out their exercise

High glycemic index foods include many carbohydrates such as baked goods, bread, cereals, pasta, and rice whereas low glycemic index foods are more about fruits, legumes vegetables, and whole grains. Nonetheless there are differences within these broad categories. For instance, both bananas and potatoes would be considered to have a mid ranging GI. How food is processed and cooked also has an influence on the GI levels. Instant oatmeal has a higher GI than traditional rolled oats because the processing lets the starch be more effortlessly exposed to digestive enzymes.

While heightening the amount of low GI foods in your diet can bring on weight loss and improve your general health and well-being this is not the only thing that should be taken into consideration. An example of this is chocolate which is a low GI food but full of energy with little nutrients so it is not going to help anyone lose weight. However, on the whole, GI is a useful tool for identifying foods which have low levels of saturated fat and are rich in nutrients.