Beginning a Yoga Practice for Sedentary Lifestyles

Physical activity is one of the most important actions in which any person can take part. There are many reasons to practice Yoga, but one would be to decrease the chance of an untimely death. That said, living a lifestyle that is mainly sedentary can have disastrous consequences. Whether this lifestyle is led by choice (being a notorious couch potato) or by necessity (logging long hours at a desk job), it is important to incorporate physical activity back into your life; and Hatha Yoga is the perfect way to do this.

A long term sedentary lifestyle causes damage to the body, by weakening muscles and decreasing flexibility. A radical upsurge of activity, however, can cause injury. Since Yoga posturing is a low impact activity, it is a wise choice as a tool to gradually ease into an active lifestyle.

Your hip flexors have been caused a lot of trauma, due to all that sitting around, so it is important to stretch them daily to avoid lower back pain. The Warrior I pose, or Virabhadrasana, is a great hip flexor stretch. While performing this exercise, it is important you ensure your body is in proper alignment – with your heel perfectly in line with your knee, and your hips are aligned in a forward position.

The reclining hero pose, or Virasana, is also an excellent stretch for your hips, and can be practiced every day. Downward Dog is a great pose to promote healthy blood flow. Sun Salutations are also very beneficial because they increase the body’s activity greatly and speeds up the metabolism. To start with, go through each pose gradually and mindfully. Do not worry about making up for past mistakes. Set your own pace to create a healthier lifestyle.

A lack of self-discipline may have been what created your sedentary lifestyle, but self-discipline is what is needed to end it. Make it a habit to practice Sun Salutations as soon as you wake up, for a healthy greeting to your day. It is crucial to carve out time for physical activity and do it – no matter what. If it’s hard for you to give up your TV, practice Yoga in front of it! Find little spaces of time to do poses, and slowly increase that amount each day, until your sedentary habits are replaced.

Turning a sedentary lifestyle around is crucial to your health and your future. Imagine how accomplished you will feel when you achieve this goal, and use that as your driving force. The self-discipline you gain, while practicing Yoga, can assist you in other aspects of life, as can the many other benefits of practicing Yoga.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

Can My Website Host Videos?

So you are interested in placing a video on your website or blog, but you are unsure of the best way to do it? Assuming you have already handled the video production and prepared the file, you now have some options. Each of the three options has some benefits and drawbacks.

The first option is to upload the video to a YouTube account and then embed the video into your website with the YouTube embed code. Under each YouTube video there is a button labeled embed video. Clicking this button will bring up some options, including the ability to copy the embed HTML code directly. This code should then be placed into the HTML area of your site where you want the video to be displayed. YouTube also has some sizing options below the HMTL code if you’d like to resize your video. Be sure to click on the size you want before copying the code. The default size is 560 by 340 but play with the sizes to see what works best for your site. YouTube has other options that allow you to change the design of the video player so that it matches your site branding, but they are a bit limited.

There are three main benefits to using YouTube to host your video. The first is that YouTube is super easy to use because all it takes is creating an account and uploading the video. The second benefit is that YouTube is free and handles all of the hosting of the video. So you don’t have to worry that you’ll have a gigantic bandwidth bill if your video get’s a million hits. The final benefit to using YouTube is that it is the second largest search engine next to Google so you have more of a chance that your web video is found in YouTube first. This can drive more traffic to your actual site. The drawback of using YouTube is that you have some limitations on design and people may just watch your video in YouTube instead of on your site.

The next option you have to host videos on your website is to use an open-source flash player. An open-source flash player is one that you download off of the internet for free and place into your site code. Then you can use this play to play whichever videos you would like, as long as you have the completed video file. Free downloadable flash players are all over the web but I recommend the player called, Flowplayer. Flash players are easy to manipulate to match your design. Much better than using the YouTube video players. The one issue with using your own player is that you are hosting the video on your servers and must account for bandwidth costs on your own.

The final option is to hire a professional video production company that can create and host your video and player exactly for your website. The is obviously the best option in terms of matching your site branding and design needs. It also gives you unlimited options for video creation and playback. Most web video creation companies can handle any options you may require. The only drawback of using a video creation company is the cost. Basic packages start in the hundreds to just embed your video into your site and can go up in the thousands of dollars if you require help in creating the video. This is the most custom option however and may make sense if the benefits of having a professional video that fits your site perfectly outweigh the cost of creation and placing on-site.

Employment Law – As It Applies to Confidentiality

With all the new information concerning HIPAA, which is scheduled to be fully implemented by April of 2005. you need to be aware of the confidentiality laws that govern your practice. One aspect of confidentiality concerns employment law. There are federal and state guidelines that address employment and discrimination laws.The common law governs the relationship between employer and employees in terms of tort and contract duties. These rules are a part of agency law and the relationship between Principle (employer) and Agent (employee). In some instances, but not all, this law has been replaced by statutory enactments, principally on the Federal level. The balance and working relationship between employer and employee is greatly affected by government regulations. The terms of employment between management and the employee is regulated by federal statute designed to promote employer management and welfare of the employee. Federal law also controls and prohibits discrimination in employment based upon race, sex, religion, age, handicap or national origin. In addition, Congress has also mandated that employers provide their employees a safe and healthy environment to work in. All states have adopted Worker’s Compensation Acts that provide compensation to employees that have been injured during the course of their duties for the employer.As I mentioned above, a relationship that is closely related to agency is the employee. and principle-independent contractor. In the employer-employee relationship, also called the (master-servant relationship), the employer has the right to control the physical conduct of the employee. A person who engages an independent contractor to do a specific job does not have the right to control the conduct of the independent contractor in the performance of his or her contract. The contract time to complete the job depends upon the employer’s time frame to complete the desired task(s), or job. Keep in mind that the employer may still be held liable for the torts committed by an employee within the scope of his or her employment. In contrast an employer ordinarily is not liable for torts committed by an independent contractor, but there are instances when the employer can be held liable for the acts of the independent contractor. Know your laws governing hiring a person as an independent contractor.Labor law is not really applicable to your practice of Chiropractic in a practice setting. We will concentrate on employment and discrimination law. There are a number of Federal Statutes that prohibit discrimination in employment based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, age and handicap. The main framework of Federal employment discrimination law is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but also the Equal Pay Act, Discrimination in Employment Act of 1973, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and many Executive Orders. In all cases each state has enacted laws prohibiting the same discriminations as Federal Statutes.Equal Pay Act: This act prohibits an employer from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying unequal wages for the same work. The act also forbids the employer from paying wages at a rate less than the rate at which he pays for equal work at the same establishment. Once the employee has demonstrated that the employer pays unequal wages for equal work to members of the opposite sex, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to prove that the pay difference is based upon the following:1. Seniority system
2. Merit system
3. A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production
4. Or any factor except sex.Remedies may include recovery of back pay and enjoining the employer from further unlawful conduct and or sizeable fines.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin in hiring, firing, compensating, promoting, training or employees. Each of the following could constitute a violation prohibited by the Act:1. Employer utilizing a proscribed criteria in making an employment decision. Prima Facie evidence would show, if the employee was within a protected class, applied for an open position and was qualified for the position, was denied the job and the employed continued to try to fill the position. Once these criteria’s are established, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to justify a nondiscriminatory reason for the person’s rejection for the job.2. An employer engages in conduct which appears to be neutral or non-discriminatory, but continues to continue past discriminatory practices.3. The employer adopts rules, which are adverse to protected classes, which are not justified as being necessary to the practice business. The enforcement agency is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). It has the right to file legal actions, resolve action through mediation, or other means prior to filing suit. Investigate all charges of discrimination and issue guidelines and regulations concerning the enforcement policy of discrimination law.The Act provides three defenses: A bona fide seniority or merit system, an occupational qualification or a professionally developed ability test. Violations of this act include: enjoining the employer from engaging in unlawful conduct, or behavior. Affirmative action and reinstatement of employees and back wages from a date not more than two years prior to the filing of the charge with the EEOC.Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1976: This Act prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, salaries, on the basis of age. Under Title VII it address all these areas and ages, but it is especially benefits individuals between the ages of 40-70 years. The language in this act is substantive for individuals between 40-70 years of age. The defenses and remedies are the same as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.Employee Safety: In 1970 Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This Act ensured that every worker have a safe and healthful working environment. This Act established that OSHA develop standard, conduct inspections, monitor compliance and institute and enforce actions against non-compliance.The Act makes each employer to provide a work environment that is free from recognized hazards that can cause or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to the employees. In addition, employers are required to comply with specific safety risks outlined by OSHA in their rules and regulations.The Act also prohibits any employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee who exercises his rights under this Act.
The enforcement of this Act involves inspections and citations for the following:1. Breach of general duty obligations
2. Breach of specific safety and health standards
3. Failure to keep proper records, make reports or post notices required under this ActWhen a violation is discovered, a written citation, proposed penalty, and corrective date are given to the employer. Citations may be contested and heard by an administrative judge at a hearing. The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission can grant a review of an administrative law judge’s decision. If not, than the decision of the judge becomes final. The affected party may appeal the decision to the US Circuit Court of Appeals.Penalties for violations are both civil and criminal and may be as high as $1000.00 per violation per day, while criminal penalty be imposed as well for unlawful violations. OSHA may shut down a business for violations that create dangers of death or serious injury.Worker’s Compensation: Most actions by injured employees against an employer are due to failure of the employer to use reasonable care under the circumstances for the safety of the employee. In such actions the employer has several well-established defenses available to him. They include defenses of the fellow servant rule. This rule does not make an employer liable for injuries sustained by an employee caused by the negligence of a fellow employee. If an employer establishes that the negligence of an employee contributed to the injury he sustained in the course of his employment, in many jurisdictions the employee cannot recover damages from the employer. Voluntary assumption of risk is the third defense. An employer in most jurisdictions is not liable to the employee for harm or injury caused by unsafe conditions of the premises if the employee, with knowledge of the facts and understanding the risks involved, voluntary inters into or continues in the employment of the employer.Keep in mind that all states have enacted Worker’s Compensation Acts. These statutes create commissions or boards to determine whether an injured worker is entitled to receive compensation. Defenses above are not available in most jurisdictions to employers in proceeding under these statutes. The only requirement is that the employee be injured in the course of his employment.Fair Labor and Standards Act: This act regulates the employment of child labor outside of agriculture. This act prohibits the employment of anyone less than 14 years of age in non-farm work. Fourteen and Fifteen years old may be employed for a limited number for hours outside of school hours, under specific conditions of non-hazardous occupations. Sixteen and seventeen year olds may work any non-hazardous jobs. Eighteen and older person may work in any job. This Act imposes wage and hour requirements upon covered employers. This act provides for a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay.Keep in mind HIPAA laws are involved in confidentiality and proper record keeping and address many of the areas discussed in this article.