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Poor Bob Harper, I remember when Biggest Loser first started he was everyones favorite trainer. Bob always wants to be friends with the contestents, he cares how they feel and most of all Bob really wants to see everyone do well and feels hurt himself when people struggle with weight loss.

Well this year it looks like the tables have turned. Although the Biggest Loser couples would not have seen this last season when Bobs team did not do well for the first time since the Biggest Loser started but the producers of the Biggest Loser moved even farther into showing Bob Harper teaching the crew about Yoga and meditation. . Bob says that once you are in control of your mind then you will be able to lose the weight. I totally agree with Bob but it seems this seasons team has had a bit of a shift in focus. Everyone wanted to train with mean old Jillian. Read the rest of this entry »

I liked the linking to great articles a few days ago that I thoight I would do it again today. Here are some of the fitness and health articles that I have enjoyed so far today.

I have talked a bit in the past about meditation and although I used to meditate every day I have not done it in a while. Maybe Zen Habits list will help me get started again.
Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Quieting the Mind

Mens Health has 50 ways that you can try to live longer by living healthier. I do likeMens Health although they often seem like they are writing for 18 year old guys…guess that is their target market.
50 Ways To Beat The Reaper - Men’s Health

Lifehacker is a great site for articles about anything to increase your productivity. This article is one that looks into ways to improve your mental ability and concentration on a daily basis, at work or at home.
Mind Hacks: Ten Ways to Defeat Brain Drain

Get the action habit. Here are 7 quick tips on starting to do instead of just thinking about doing.
Going Vegan

I think most people reading this weblog know that I am a pretty big fan of meditation and because of this I tend to find and post articles about meditation more than I should. I found this article at Psychology today and thought I would post it in its entirety.

In the highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, people look at life differently. Upon entering the local Buddhist monastery, there is a spectacular sculpture the size of a large oak. The intricate carving of clouds and patterns are painted in powerful colors. But as soon as winter gives way, this magnificent work will melt to nothing. The sculpture, in fact, is made of butter, and it is one of the highland people’s symbols of the transient nature of life.

And life here is not easy. Villagers bicycle to work before dawn and return home long after sunset. Many live with nothing more than dirt floors and rickety outhouses. Upon entering these modest mud-brick homes, you’ll find no tables or chairs — just a long platform bed, which sleeps a family of eight. However, when the people invite you in for tea, their smiles are wide and welcoming. How do they possess such inner calm in conditions we would call less than ideal?

When villagers cook, sew or plow the fields, they do so in a tranquil state. As an approach to life, weaving meditation seamlessly into almost every action throughout the day seems unfamiliar to Western cultures. Is there something we can glean from this way of life that will improve our own? The romantic notion of quitting everything and joining Tibetan monks on a mountaintop is not the only way to meditate. You don’t need to quit your job, give up your possessions and spend 30 years chanting. Recent research indicates that meditating brings about dramatic effects in as little as a 10-minute session. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects who meditated for a short time showed increased alpha waves (the relaxed brain waves) and decreased anxiety and depression.
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