That was today’s challenge in yoga.

And quite the challenge that is.

My teacher urged us to look at our lives and think about what we are thankful for. So often we look at our lives and see the flaws.

And why do we do that when there is so much good in life?

The Untied project is done — and despite the many headaches — it has been a gratifying experience.

This is my last blog post and I like to end by thanking you for reading.

I urge you to be thankful for the many good things in your life, to be positive in the midst of a negative society, and to practice yoga and clear your mind of needless thoughts.

Yoga high: 5.0

Yoga straps. Courtesy of Google images

Summer has officially hit here in Central New York — the muggy, warm days are here to prove it.

Feeling groggy after a day at Untied, I debated if I wanted to go to yoga or go home drink a cool beverage, relax, and maybe get a little shut-eye.

The latter definitely sounded better, but I decided to stick to my quest for mental clarity and trudged to yoga. It was restorative, so I figured some light stretching and meditation would probably do me some good.

And it did.

I wasn’t the only one who wanted to skip out on yoga. There were only two other people in the class. My teacher commented that summer had begun because people were out enjoying the weather rather than coming to yoga.

I was instantly glad I came because classes with fewer people are always more relaxing.

Slowly turning inward and focusing on only my breath, I instantly cooled down.

Here’s a great heart opener and shoulder stretch that we did today:

1. Sit cross legged with your back straight.

2.Take a band, yoga strap, or some sort of material you can hold on both ends. Make it taut by pulling it with your arms, which should be separated a little wider than your shoulders.

An example of wide your arms should be. Courtesy of Google images

3. Take a deep breath in, and on the exhale pull the arms (holding whatever strap you choose) behind your head and hold the stretch, as well as the breath.

4. On the inhale, pull your arms slowly back over the head.

5. Lean forward, placing your head on your arms, and breathe in supported child pose.

6. Sit slowly back up, repeat the shoulder stretch, and this time do one extra rep of pulling the arms back over the head.

7. Repeat as much you as like.

Yoga high: 4.0

Courtesy of Google images

I’m a religious person, thus I go to church every Sunday and belt it out with the choir.

Singing is sometimes the part of mass I enjoy the most. It’s therapeutic to sing as loud as you can and not care who hears.

I’m Catholic, but went to a soul church for a while because I enjoy singing that much. Their mass was three hours long, and they dedicated the first hour to solely singing with many chorus interludes thereafter. Women, men, and children got up sporadically and started dancing when they felt the music.

I loved it. I’m tone deaf and a horrible singer, but there’s no judgment in church. It’s the one place where I sing in public.

There’s something spiritual about singing and there’s something spiritual about yoga.

I feel a different kind of spirituality at yoga, than I do at church. I am most at peace when I practice faith and yoga routinely.

So, today at yoga we sang. It was blissful.

We sang a yoga psalm. I didn’t know the words and was out of sync with the group a lot,  but it was extremely peaceful.

Singing and yoga is a form of meditation, and actually strengthens your practice. Some studies show that singers and yoga actually require similar skill and focus.

I got my strongest yoga high of my practices thus far. I highly recommend going to a quite space, looking up some yoga psalms, and singing your heart out for 20 minutes or so — you’ll feel extremely refreshed after.

Yoga high: 4.0

I almost didn’t buy it, until they revealed Robin Williams, sans makeup, chirping on the phone in his faux-female Scottish brogue. Creeeeepy. The quick cuts at the end are pretty inspired, too. Who thought a light-hearted drag comedy could be so chill-inducing?

Yet another cautionary tale for divorcées everywhere: don’t accidentally hire your transvestite ex as your housekeeper, or he’ll become obsessed with your children. Completely plausible.

–Katie Nowak

“In my mind, Usher and I are still married.”

photo courtesy of egyptsaidso.com

Although Tameka Foster, Usher’s estranged wife, talked about her marriage with hope to the media, it seemed the marriage between the stylist and the R&B singer is getting closer and closer to an end.

The couple’s marriage was a mess from the very beginning. In 2007, they cancelled the more luxurious wedding ceremony at first, and got married secretly and quietly. At that time, rumors spread, including the most important one – Usher’s mother disagreed with the marriage.

The bad start was definitely a bad sign. Now, Usher has filed for divorce, and the news report showed the couple has been separated for a year. And don’t forget, they’ve only been married about two years. What made Usher give up in this marriage so quickly? He hasn’t spoken. But to his friends and fans, it seems they don’t feel surprised at all.

In the news report, a friend of theirs said, “No one I’ve spoken to is surprised.” Another friend said the couple had “a troubled marriage that started unraveling even before their wedding.” She said Usher wasn’t ready to settle down, at least not with Foster.

Foster’s newly hired attorney Randy Kessler said Foster has been a loyal wife, but apparently loyalty isn’t enough for a successful marriage. Now, the war is just in the beginning. Let it burn…let it burn…

-Amy Su

The only problem is that if you are a big caffeine person, then the response will be less effective versus someone who just drinks it once in a while. Once the caffeine is in the body, it’s absorbed by the GI tract and rises in the blood at 15 minutes and then peaks at 60 minutes.

This can be very helpful for creating tension during the workout and also stimulating the central nervous system by increasing alertness and decreasing drowsiness. Who knew caffeine could do all of this inside of the body?

(courtesy of google images)

An example of caffeine at it’s best would be taking it before a prolonged exercise like running because it can raise glucose levels and use fatty acid as the fuel for getting the exercise completed.

- Skylaur Morris