An All-Around Yoga Exercise: 12-Steps Salute To The Sun

One of the all-around yoga exercises is the 12-step salute to the sun. Do it once or twice when you get up in the morning to help relieve stiffness and invigorate the body.

Multiple repetitions at night will help you to relax; insomniacs often find that six to 12 rounds help them fall asleep.

1. Stand with your feet slightly apart, palms together, thumbs against your chest.

2. Inhale deeply while slowly raising your hands over your head, and bend back as far as possible, while tightening your buttocks. Hold for three seconds.

3. Slowly exhale and bend forward, keeping your knees straight, until your fingers touch the floor outside your feet. (If you can't touch the floor, go as close as you can.) Bring your head in toward your knees.

4. Slowly inhale, bend your knees, and if your fingertips aren't outside your feet on the floor, place them there. Slide your right foot back as far as you can go, with the right knee an inch or so off the floor, (a lunge position). Now look up as high as possible, arching your back.

5. Before exhaling again, slide your left foot back until it is beside the right one, and with your weight supported on your palms and toes, straighten both legs so that your body forms a flat plane. Make sure your stomach is pulled in.

6. Slowly exhale, bend both knees to the floor, bend with your hips in the air, lower your chest and forehead to the floor.

7. Now inhale slowly and look up, bending your head back, then raising it, followed by your upper chest, then lower chest. Your lower body - from the navel down - should be on the floor, and your elbows should be slightly bent. Hold for three to five seconds.

8. Exhale slowly and raise your hips until your feet and palms are flat on the floor and your arms and legs are straight in an inverted V position.

9. Inhale slowly and bring your right foot forward as in position 4. The foot should be flat on the floor between your fingertips. The left leg should be almost straight behind you, with its knee slightly off the floor. Raise your head, look up, and arch your back.

10. Slowly exhale and bring your left foot forward next to your right one. Straighten your legs and stand, trying to keep your fingertips on the floor, and try to touch your head to your knees as in position 3.

11. Slowly inhale, raise your arms up and stretch back as in position 2. Don't forget to tighten your buttocks. Hold for three seconds.

12. Slowly exhale, lowering your arms to your sides. Relax. Repeat the series.

Simple Modern Ways To Whiten Your Teeth

Everyone desires to have a great smile. For a killer smile, one should have sparkling, bright, and shiny teeth.

Today, a lot of people are spending more money just to have their teeth whiter. They make use of the best teeth whitening treatments and undergo procedures to achieve the brilliant white teeth.

Teeth whitening had been an effective procedure to lighten the color of the teeth, without taking away any of the tooth surface.

It will not completely whiten the whole set of teeth; it will just lighten the existing color of the teeth.

Only a few are blessed with pearly white teeth, and our teeth normally become discolored as we grow up.

Our teeth can also be stained on the outer part because of the food and drink. Coffee, tea, blackcurrant and red wine have effect on the discoloration of our teeth.

Smoking is another cause of teeth discoloration. Most people may encounter staining beneath the surface which is caused by tiny cracks in the teeth or certain antibiotics that absorb the stains.

But what are these teeth whitening treatments and procedures? And are these done?

Bleaching. This is most common form of teeth whitening procedure. Your dentist will advice you if this is the best teeth whitening treatment suitable for you.

Bleaching is done by placing a gel or rubber to shield the soft tissue of your gums. Then, the whitening product will be applied on your teeth by using a special tray which shapes into your mouth like a gum shell.

The teeth whitening product usually contains carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide as the 'active ingredients'

. When these ingredients break down, the oxygen enters the enamel of your teeth thus, making the color lighter. The entire treatment can be completed in three to four weeks time.

For those who wish to undergo to this treatment, you will need at least three visits to the dentist. On your first visit, the dentist will create a mouth-guard and take a caricature or impressions of it.

 Once the treatment has started, it is recommended that you continue it at home. You have to regularly apply the teeth whitening product over four weeks, for at least 30 minutes at a time.

Most of the known and best teeth whitening products can be applied for up to several hours at a time. The treatment can be done even while you're sleeping. Ideally, a good result can be attained in as little as one week.

Laser Whitening. This is also called the "power whitening". Though expensive, a lot of people especially artists consider it as the best teeth whitening method.

During this process, a rubber dam is placed over your teeth to shield the gums, and the whitening product is then painted on your teeth.

A laser will be used to stimulate the chemical. The light will help boost the chemical reaction of the bleaching product, thus the color change can be attained more rapidly.

Dentists believe that the result of laser whitening treatment is good. It can make your teeth up to six shades lighter.

Unfortunately, not everyone can get a chance to undergo laser treatment. The dentist will have to check your teeth and ensure that you are fit for the treatment. The total procedure is usually done in an hour.

The effects of this power whitening is said to last up to three years depending on the person. The dentist still advice not to smoke, eat and drink products that may cause a stain in your teeth.

Others may find their teeth vulnerable to cold after the treatment. But these symptoms usually vanish within a few days.

These are just two of the famous and best teeth whitening methods available. Despite the fact that they may cost a lot, the effect is still worth it.

Through these methods, you'll surely flash everyone a perfect smile.

Stop Snoring: Ways To Treat The Night Time Dilemma

The most often question raised to any condition is - can it be cured? Well, that actually depends on the nature of the disease, disorder, or syndrome and what knowledge do the medical and scientific communities have with regards to the problem.

Luckily, snoring is not much of a difficult condition to treat. The nature of which is also well-known that most consider it normal. So normal that many tend not to get bothered of its effects, especially when mild.

Treatments for snoring depend on the diagnosis gathered. While snoring may appear to have no types, it must be understood that there are certain kinds of snoring that excessively disrupts sleep and there are those that do not cause any harm at all.

Examination of the physiology and anatomy of the throat and the underlying tissues will reveal where the problems root. Usually, snoring stems from loose muscles that flaps back and forth when air runs through the throat. However, this is not always the case.

 Sometimes, snoring can also be due to allergies, deformities, infections and abnormal enlargement of adenoids and tonsils. All of which, if carefully examined, will lead us back to the obstruction of air passage.

Normally, prevention of the main causes can treat snoring. This includes abstinence from smoking, drinking alcohol and other relaxants, and maintenance of an ideal weight. All these have adverse effects not only on the body but can directly cause loose muscles to vibrate abnormally.

Treatments to stop snoring can include lifestyle-changing habits, use of stop snoring aids and more intensive surgeries. The choice is normally set for the snorer to take, depending on the aggravation of the condition.

As we have mentioned earlier, simple measures can contribute largely to the treatment of the condition. Stop snoring aids, on the other hand, would require patience to find what fits for you.

The market offers a great variety of snoring aids including nasal breathing devices, adjustable beds, oral and dental appliances and pressurized masks.

Nasal breathing devices normally aim to keep your nasal passages open or your jaws from dropping. You may find nasal strips, nasal clips, chin up strips and chin straps under this category. These products normally require you to breathe using your nose rather than your mouth since mouth breathing typically ends up to snoring. It has been observed that a switch from mouth to nasal breathing can eliminate a number of snoring types.

Mouth pieces or oral devices aim to position the tongue away from blocking the air passage. You should seek dental specialist if you are considering the use of such devices as solutions to nighttime dilemma.

Surgery, on the other hand, is an irreversible decision. Therefore, you should be careful if you truly are considering this option. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP is known to be the traditional method of trimming excess tissues in the throat. A more modern approach uses laser thus the name Laser-Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty or LAUP.

Removal of unnecessary tissues in the throat enlarges the air passage which helps reduce the collapse of the muscles.

Approaches to be used in line with your condition vary according to your personal preference and the immediate need to cure your condition. It is best to seek medical help first or get yourself educated with your options before running under the knife or strapping your mouth with some device.