Making meditation more active

How we typically perceive meditation may not be the only way to do it. Ariel Van Alstyne proposed a different approach. 

Main point: "Sitting in silence isn’t your only option—there are other, dare I say more fun styles of meditation that don’t require you to clear your head of all thoughts. In fact, there’s one type of practice that actually encourages an active imagination: Visualization meditation."

Other points:

• “Visualization meditation is the method of picturing positive images, ideas, symbols, or using affirmations and mantras to help calm the mind while the body is in a relaxed state.”
• "With regular meditation, Van Alstyne says the goal is to clear the mind and bring awareness to the present moment. With visualization meditation, your focus is on engaging your imagination and actively creating imagery in your mind."

Visualization meditation struck me as similar to descriptions people have shared with me about how they pray. 

The article listed benefits and also shared a way to get started.

Maybe white bread isn't that bad

Have you tried to steer clear of white bread in its different forms even though it tastes good? An article suggests maybe it's not as bad as we think.

Main point: "...it's a complete myth that removing starchy foods from your diet will lead to fat loss."

Image courtesy of Stocknation

What you want to know:

• "There's not as huge a difference between the two types of carb as most people think, and the calorie counts are actually very similar, so it's not true that replacing white carbs with brown will magically lead to weight loss."
• "The biggest difference between brown and white carbs is that the former provides more fiber — white bread is more refined due to the removal of bran and wheat germ, so is lower in fiber.The difference isn't drastic though: while 100g of brown rice contains 2.1g of fiber, the same quantity of white rice offers 1.3g."
• "When it comes to choosing a brown over white carbohydrate, on paper, the brown is generally the better choice, mainly due to the higher fiber content, and we generally under-consume fiber."
• "...when it comes to brown and white carbs, their calorie content is practically the same."

Putting the knowledge to use: "...you can still eat white carbs, simply combine them with fiber-rich foods."

Of course, overdoing it (and I do love my bread and butter) can wipe out all the positive things described in the article.

Maintaining and fixing the spin (internal) locks of your adjustable Nordic walking poles

The video refers to trekking poles. The shafts and locks of adjustable trekking/hiking/walking poles are the same as the shafts and locks of adjustable Nordic walking poles

The video covers:

• Fixing the lock when it doesn't tighten
• Cleaning inside the poles