I used to be success driven. I started babysitting when I was 12 years old, and I’ve worked two or three jobs at a time for most of my life. I worked hard and accomplished every goal I set. I had a luxury home, fast car, great kids, and a successful career as an executive.…
This is a guest blog from fellow blogger Daniel Sherwin at http://dadsolo.com/. Please check out his helpful website on traveling with children. Taking the time to travel with family is a wonderful way to spend quality time together. World travel helps kids become more adaptable and flexible as they face new experiences every day. They see…
There’s a new buzz-word in the travel industry, “voluntourism.” Voluntourism is gaining in popularity. Lots of people who are eager to help and seeking adventure around the world are signing up. They’re paying big bucks for the opportunity to make a difference in the global community, but some of these people are coming home feeling…
According to a 2014 study of the self-improvement market by Marketdata Enterprises, Americans spend over $500 million a year on self-help books. That doesn’t even include classes, workshops, and seminars. Self-help is a gigantic industry, but there seems to be an equally popular counter movement. When I was in Rishikesh, India I saw several people reading…
Somewhere right now there is a little boy in an impoverished country feeling lost and forgotten. He is fortunate that he has the basics in life: shelter, food, and water; but his young life is still a struggle. He has to work long days helping his parents in the little café they own in Bali.…
After traveling to twenty countries in the last two years, I can tell you without a doubt that every country has its share of problems. However, it’s America’s gun problem, and India’s garbage problem, that sadden me the most, because I love these two countries the most. What’s even more sad is that just the act of me writing this post will undoubtedly start off a shit storm that will have people unfriending me like a bastard at a family reunion. Still, the comparison of these two problems is real, and the issues must be addressed. Here are three ways that America’s gun problem is like India’s garbage problem.
These two issues are horrific, astonishing, obvious, and downright tragic. While politicians and corporate leaders try to glaze over the issues, because the mountain just seems too high to climb, the rest of us argue over which trail to take. Who’s to blame? Why is it a problem? It’s always been this way. We have the rights to our guns. We have the right to toss our garbage into the Ganges River. How dare you take away my rights! Meanwhile, children get plowed down at school like a scene in a video game, and our planet chokes on the garbage of over a billion people.
Every day when I scroll through my social media feed I see more and more posts involving fear, hatred, and negativity. It’s easy to get caught up in all the politics and hype, but it’s not healthy. We need to surround ourselves with positive things too. In fact, we should focus much more of our…
So, you want to see the world, but your checking account barely has enough in it for a trip across town. That doesn’t mean you have to put off your trip to Bali or Mexico. It just means you need to be smart and do some pre-planning. Many people are under the misconception that I…
I waited until I got back home to the USA to write this post. Why? It’s because many Indian’s consider complaining about a service, or anything in India for that matter, “anti-nationalism.” They don’t like anyone talking bad about anything in India, and if it’s a foreigner spilling the beans, that’s even more taboo. It’s…
Yoga is a complete lifestyle that encompasses the mind, body and spirit. My first instructor used to say, “It’s a work-in, not a workout.” It is all about harmonizing the body with the mind and breath through the practice of various breathing exercises (pranayamas), yoga poses (asanas) and meditation (dhyana). Many people often ask me what is the best way to start yoga or how to start doing yoga at home. There are many possibilities for how to start a yoga practice, but these are the best ways to start yoga.
The first thing you should know is that there are many different types of yoga. Why are there so many different types of yoga? The answer is simple, because there are so many different types of people in the world, and everyone has different preferences. The styles can be vastly different so it is a good idea to learn a little bit about them ahead of time so you can choose the type of yoga that is best for you.
Hatha yoga is a generic term that refers to any type of yoga that teaches physical postures (asanas). This is typically where most people get their yoga start. This is where you will learn basic yoga poses. Ashtanga is a rigorous style of yoga that follows a very specific sequence of postures and those postures are normally held for a longer period of time. Vinyasa classes are known for their fluid like movement or yoga flow. Vinyasa teachers carefully choreograph their classes for smooth transitions from pose to pose. Generally, they play music and sometimes it feels almost like a dance. Iyengar yoga is a very meticulous typed of yoga, with utmost attention spent on finding the proper alignment in a pose. In order to assist each student with achieving the proper alignment, an Iyengar yoga studio will stock a wide array of yoga props, like blocks, blankets, straps, chairs, and pillows. In a Bikram class, you will sweat a lot as you work your way through a series of 26 poses. Like Ashtanga, a Bikram class always follows the same sequence, but the class is taught in a heated room, much like Hot yoga. Generally, the only difference between Bikram and hot yoga is a hot yoga studio must deviate from Bikram’s sequence in some way, because the Bikram sequence is trademarked, so they must call themselves by another name.