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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Purpose of Yoga - Santosha for Your Health

What is Santosha and how can it help your health? Santosha is a moral observance (Niyama). Santosha literally means contentment or happiness. Yet, this is much more than a Dont worry, be happy guideline.

How often do people consider exercise, or diet, to be major factors, when they consider the state of their physical health? If you listen to any commercial on the radio or television, you will notice they address exercise and diet, almost exclusively. Physicians always mention exercise and diet as part of a preventative health program.

However, stress and happiness, are also major factors in good health. too much stress can lower your resistance to allergies, pain, disease, and chronic illnesses. stress, anxiety, and anger can shorten your life, just as well as a poor diet and lack of exercise.

A person with a negative frame of mind tends to eat poorly and usually does not bother to exercise. When we are in a sad mental state, acid levels in the body and blood can rise, which may cause joint pain and lower our energy levels. Between poor eating habits, and the rise of acid levels in the body, the body becomes a breeding ground for all sorts of potential medical problems.

In comparison, people who are content, eat healthier and have a higher resistance to disease, as a result. Happiness will help people recover from illnesses much quicker, because they are in a positive frame of mind. With that said, happy people will live longer, simply because they are content.

Copyright 2007 paul Jerard / aura Publications

paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga teacher training at: aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA.
http://www.riyoga.com

He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: "Yoga in practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit:
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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5 Tips for Lawn Envy - Building a Dream Lawn

The sounds of engines breaking the silence of Saturday morning and the smell of freshly cut grass tells everyone that summer is in full swing. Up and down the neighborhood people keep an eye out for the fine manicured lawn with the must beautiful lush grass. But for every lawn the neighbors envy, ten others struggle, fight and battle their grass with problems, stress and frustration. For some the idea of artificial grass would solve all their lawn problems.

The Lawn Secret

The secret to that perfect lawn does come down to a perfect fertilizer to produce lush green miracle growth or depending on the yard man to cut the grass every week, or even pay to have a company come by once per once to give the lawn a look. The secret of a great looking lawn all comes down to good old fashion work and sweat.

Taking advantage of professionals to service the lawn for pest and fertilizer may provide some value. However, with a few basic tips and a little know how, your lawn can soon fight for the title of best looking lawn of the neighborhood.

Grass Types

Depending on where you live will help determine the type of grass and type of care your lawn needs. For example, many in the southern states find lawns of St. Augustine grass or many prefer centipede. Moving up into northern climates the best solution may be a mixture of grass types to produce a thick, dense carpet of grass. Check with the local nursery or state extension agency for the recommended grasses for your area.

Mowing the Grass

As tempting as it may be to cut down on the frequency of mowing the lawn, never cut the grass to low as this can cause the grass to burn from the intense summer sun. Bagging or raking the grass is a best practice for lawn care for a number of reasons. Small piles of grass can prevent sunlight from reaching the grass causing brown stops. Also, cut grass will wither and decompose. The decaying grass can be an invitation for bugs and pest.

The frequency of mowing will be determined by the weather conditions, grass health, fertilizer, rainfall or irrigation schedule, time of year and the period between the previous mowing.

Soil Aeration

Aerating the soil golf courses do this all the time - and adding topsoil in the spring can prepare your grass for the hot summer sun. Aeration will help encourage root growth as well as the grass blades while the topsoil adds nutrients and stability.

Watering & Irrigation

Watering the lawn too much can cause just as much harm as watering too little. We should all work to conserve water and not run sprinklers when it is raining. A simple rain sensor should be installed to reduce watering the lawn too much.

Grass as a plant is pretty forgiving, when you see the grass getting crispy, wilting or browning it is time to water. Watering scheduling is always a big debate and topic of water use discussions. Watering twice per week should meet the needs for most lawns. Water long enough to get a good deep watering of the soil moist to about two inches below ground level.

Fertilizing and Weeding

When selecting any fertilizer check at the local garden center for the best formulation for your type of grass and also the best formulation for the time of year applied. Some fertilizers come with a weed and feed formulation to kill weeds and fertilize the grass. Make sure you read the label and apply correctly. Weed and feed fertilizer applications should not be applied when temperatures reach certain levels.

Large weeds should be pulled or dug up then placed in the trash. Simply running a weed eater over them will not make them go away. If you choose to apply a weed eater be careful when spraying. Most weed killers will also kill the grass.

Beautiful lawns do not just happen; they are slowly built over time with tender loving care and attention. Focus on growing a good, strong, healthy root system and youll soon have a lawn the neighborhood will envy.

Lawn Problems? discover the right - fertilizer for grass as Thomas Fryd shares his 25 plus years of plant care and landscape experience at www.Plant-Care.com. Learn practical professional advice on landscaping and houseplant care.

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