Lake Country 7:08 a.m. CT March 10, 2017

Volunteers Meghan Shannon (left) and Julia Van Horn load up a plate during Friday fish fry at St. Charles Catholic Church and School in Hartland on March 3, 2017.(Photo: Scott Ash/Now Media Group)Buy Photo

To have Sunday entertainment events listed in Sunday Happenings, fax 262-367-1136 or email news@jrn.com. Make sure the time, date and place are included. Deadline is noon Monday.

Live music:11 a.m. Sunday, March12, Mama Ds, 102 W. Main St., Wales.MiLow performs. Free.

A look at Landscapes:Noon Sunday, March 12,Almont Gallery, 342 W. Main St., Waukesha. Featuring artists Audrey Casey, Mark Mueller and Lucien Woodring. Three different artists, three types of media, three different approaches to the world around them.www.almontgallery.com.Free.

Series on end-of-life subjects:1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12,Hales Corners Library,5885 S. 116th St.,Hales Corners. Part two of afour-part series on end-of-life subjects every other Sunday through March 26. Topics include palliative, hospice care and health directives with Sarah Meyer, palliative care social worker with Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin. Free.

The Children's Playhouse presents "Charlotte's Web": 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12,West Performing Arts Center,18695 W. Cleveland Ave., New Berlin. General seating tickets can be purchased online or at the door: adults $7, seniors over 60 $5, students $3 and children under 10 $2.www.nbexcellence.org/community/westpac.cfm.

"A German Requiem" presented by Waukesha Choral Union: 3 p.m. Sunday, March 12,Carroll University Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave.,Waukesha. Other vocalists will be featured, WCU will partner with the Jubilate Chorale, another longtime Waukesha choral group, as well as independent community singers who are invited to participate annually in the WCU early spring concert. Free.

Full Moon Meditation with Sound Helming: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12,Pathways of Light Wellness Center,W314 N720 Highway 83,Delafield. An evening of focus on the full moon,gentle stretches,education about the energies of the moon this month and resting while listening to gemstone alchemy bowls and Tibetan singing bowls. RSVP toMary Beth Rezek, ProfoundlyPeaceful@massagetherapy.com,216-849-8462.$20.

Winter farmers market:9:30 a.m. Sunday, March 19,All Saints Lutheran Church,705 W.Tomlin Road, Wales.Food, Faith, and Farming Network collaborates with All Saints Lutheran Church for a winter farmers market. Brunch tickets in advance are $6 per adult and $7 at the door,$3 for children ages3-10. Free.

Lake Country Orchestra:2 p.m. Sunday, March 19,Oconomowoc Arts Center,641 E. Forest St., Oconomwoc. $6 to $12 .

Mrs. Lincoln - The First "First Lady":2 p.m. Sunday, March 19,Delafield Public Library,500 Genesee St.,Delafield. Historical reenactor Laura F. Keyes will play Mary Todd Lincoln.Free.

The Ricochettes fundraiser for Wauwatosa West High School:2 p.m. Sunday, March 19,American Legion Post 449,3245 N. 124th St.,Brookfield.The Ricochettes will perform "The Best of The British Invasion" era music to benefit students at Wauwatosa West High School. Raffles, door prizes and fun. $5.

Master Singers of Milwaukee present "Between Two Worlds":3 p.m. Sunday, March 19, St. John's Lutheran,20275 Davidson Road,Brookfield.Guest Slovenian Conductor Marko Vatovec and the Carthage College Choir will join the Master Singers of Milwaukee in presenting choral music from Slovenia and the countries that share borders with Slovenia. mastersingersofmilwaukee.org or 888-744-2226.$20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $10 for students.

Irish, folk, acoustic music:4 p.m. Sunday, March 19,Hawks Inn Visitor Center,426 Wells St.,Delafield. The lively sounds of Irish music with Bill and Lin O'Connor at the Delafield History Center. $17.

Read or Share this story: http://www.lakecountrynow.com/story/news/local/living-sunday/2017/03/10/lake-country-sunday-happenings-farmers-market-meditation-orchestra-concert/98916888/

Originally posted here:

Lake Country Sunday Happenings: Farmers market, meditation, orchestra concert - Lake Country Now

On clique ... Synnve Karlsen and Aisling Franciosi. Photograph: Mark Mainz/BBC/Balloon/Mark Mainz

What is it? Skins paints its bedroom black and graduates with a BA Hons in very bad things.

Why youll love it: The accidental investigator is such an irresistible narrative trope. Holly (the excellent newcomer Synnve Karlsen) is just your everyday university fresher, but when her best friend, Georgia (The Falls bad babysitter Katie, Aisling Franciosi), is sucked into a sinister-looking group of alpha girls, Holly must probe their untoward activities in the hope of saving her friend. But is it really just altruism that drives her on, or a desire to move in on Georgias new clique? Theyve been close since childhood, but can their friendship endure this turbulent ride into adulthood?

This glossy six-parter, another smart commission from the bold types at BBC3 (Thirteen is nominated for all the awards this season), features a beauteous cast of demographically appealing youngsters, going about their financially uninhibited university social lives, taking drugs, smoking and drinking till theyre sick. Students are not poor any more well, not these students at any rate.

So far, so Skins writer Jess Brittain is a former alumnus with much pumping trance and slo-mo hair-flicking. Then our heroines meet the enigmatic economics professor and walking inspirational-feminist-quote generator Jude McDermid (Sherlocks Louise Brealey). The pair vie for a place on her internship scheme with the aforementioned alpha females, but its never made clear what will qualify the successful candidate apart from amazing grooming and total confidence. Get in with this ultra-beautiful, poised crowd and a big-money job awaits. No more baked bean-stained coursework for these thoroughbreds. They spend their days and nights schmoozing important clients for McDermids Solasta Finance corp, drinking free champagne and snorting lines of massive, nameless success.

Theres a lot of vaguely weak-sounding business talk about landing the Steiner account without any specifics on what that actually means. But the corporate stuff is just a sinister backdrop to this tightly strung story of female friendship, what it is to be a young woman in the capitalist idyll we have created and how far competing uni students will go to secure themselves a minted future.

This is not university as I remember it, and it makes me sad for times past, of brown sauce on noodles for dinner and day-long sessions on the pool table lubricated with dry cider. These girls dress their slight frames in edgy, tiny, garments, straighten their hair till they can see their faces in it and have an obedient driver permanently on call to ferry them to enormous, brutalist houses overlooking the sea, there to enjoy furlongs of coke by a beautifully lit basement pool.

Its part teen fantasy, part meditation on youth, and all horribly, horribly moreish. As Holly falls deeper down the rabbit hole, champagne glass in hand, her past swims into focus and the consequences of all this Thatcherite excess begin to float to the surface.

Clique is a madly seductive thriller that, once you get past the glare of all that young, perfect skin, will hook you whatever age-box you happen to tick. And as Brittains first series-creator credit, its a cause for great excitement about her future work.

Where: BBC3 on iPlayer

Length: Six 45-minute episodes, one already available, with a new episode released each Sunday.

Stand out episode: The three that I have seen have all been very strong and never tell where they can more effectively show. But episode one wins for the punctuation mark at the end.

If you liked Clique watch: Pretty Little Liars (Netflix), Search Party (All4).

Original post:

Clique: part teen fantasy, part meditation on youth, and all horribly moreish - The Guardian

Every Sunday morning, in the quiet back room of the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, Wonchull Park teaches a community tai chi class. I arrived a couple minutes early, but about 15 older members were already there, conversing in the back of the room. Park allowed me to observe from the sideline and quietly take notes. Beginning with several minutes of seated meditation, the class focuses on breathing slowly and rubbing muscles gently to warm up. Eventually, Park stands up and starts leading the class through circular motions of his hands in coordination with his body. He then begins to speak.

Park is a longtime physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and a longer-time practitioner of tai chi. Learning from masters of ancient lineage, Parks pedigree contributes to his enduring relationships with his learners. Feng Chen, a professor at Rider University who learned tai chi when she was a college student in China, recognized Parks style as one passed down from one generation to another. Park also teaches tai chi with a unique approach, Chen said.

Park emphasizes comfort and the effects of relaxation while seeking to demystify the martial art. Approaching tai chi with his physics background, Park decouples the esoterica from the profoundly simple truths of tai chi.

To some, said his assistant, Mackenzie Hawkins 15, this may be a little too simple. She humorously posed the question: How far can you go with Newtons three laws? But Park asserts that it really is that simple, and points to tai chis application in everyday life.

The effects of tai chi are noticeable and immediate, but can take a lifetime to perfect. During class, Park explained the concept of qigong, what he describes, in part, as understanding the reality of now.

Hawkins helped unpack it for me: In the narrow sense, qigong is a breathing-related exercise, but in a broad sense it is mind-body cultivation. Understanding the natural cycles of breathing centers ones emotions and attunes ones conscious mind to the whole positive feedback cycle of being and perceiving.

Fundamentally, breathing is a movement, according to Park, and like any motion, most of us should work on our form. Park pointed out that I held my breath as I typed and that I had several issues with my posture. These are details we are prone to ignore in daily life. Breathing sharpens the mind, which is good for school work or advanced physics, Park noted. Hawkins attests to the recuperative powers of tai chi from her personal experience: As an undergraduate, she struggled with illness and found recovery in the practice of meditation.

Hawkins and Park have begun working together to publish books and teach more classes to introduce tai chi to a younger generation. Together they teach classes for kids at the Princeton YMCA, called Super Kid Tai Chi, and their books in progress will demonstrate different benefits of tai chi in the modern life.

On Saturdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Park teaches club tai chi in the studio of the New South Building, free to all students and faculty. In contrast to the Sunday classes, these offer smaller, more direct learning with Park. In a moment of humor, Park encouraged all to take up this lifelong practice: like the Nike commercial, just do it!

Follow this link:

Meditation in Movement - The Daily Princetonian

Sonora Thomas laid out patterned scarves along her office floor. Each acted as a checkpoint along the road of life. Thomas stood beside a scarf, acting out a technique she uses with her clients at MCLAs Counseling Services.

They get more information if they do it versus just talking about it, Thomas said. So, I find getting up and being active, is helpful, as you start to learn more information rather than just thinking hypothetically.

When students come in and talk about the possibility of switching majors, Thomas pulls out her plastic bin full of scarves and has students practice the different aspects of deciding to do a career in a certain field. They start out from doing ten years down the road, to 20, and so on. Sometimes students realize the difficulties that may come with a different major, and they may decide to just stick it out with their current major.

Thomas enjoys working with college students because many are beginning to understand themselves and forming ideas and different viewpoints that may be different from the same ones their parents held onto. Students are discovering how they want to live their lives, and what they want to fill their lives with.

Its such a great age and a time in peoples lives, Thomas explained, and theyre moving away from their families and getting to see that things are different, and not everybody does things the way their families do it. Its a big eye opener theres so much going on at this age. Its a total kick to be around all of that, and supporting people on that quest of self-discovery.

Since joining the College, Thomas has been working to get students involved in the act of meditation. She has participated in different events held in all three of the residence halls and last semester she even began to have a weekly session where students can get together in one big space to sit down and relax via the power of meditation. These sessions do not focus solely on completely clearing ones mind as she knows this can be hard for beginners but just giving people a moment during the day where they can just stop and relax.

Initially, her meditation sessions were held in Sullivan Lounge, a space she quickly realized was not the ideal spot for meditation. This semester, she holds the weekly session in Bowman Hall room 201 between 12 and 12:30 p.m. Thomas has had a much better student turnout this semester; she said shes had as many as nine people show up.

I put on relaxing music, we do about tenminutes of movement to help people slow down, feel their body and breath, turn their attention inward, she said, and then I guide them through about 15 to 20 minutes of meditation.

Thomas is an Austin, Texas native who joined MCLA in 2016 from Austin Riggs, a psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, Mass. She holds a masters degree from Lesley University in clinical mental health counseling. Over the course of her time as an undergraduate student, Thomas went to six different colleges. She first started off at Simmons College for a year, before she decided to take a year off and go to Barcelona, Spain. Thomas remarked that going into college right after graduating high school was not the best decision at the time for her.

After a year and a half, I thought well I really should get my life together, she said. I decided to come back [to the United States] and went to a community college in Oregon for two years, and then the closest college, for me, was in Boise, Idaho.

At Boise State University, she studied voice performance. While preparing to go to graduate school for music, she taught at a high school for a year. As she taught voice lessons and took graduate courses, Thomas found herself talking about people and their lives in an hour-long music lesson.

She soon realized singing wasnt what she wanted to do with her life. Thomas found herself much more interested in learning about peoples stories; she knew she wasnt in the right field for her and decided to switch into studying to become a therapist. It took her about fiveyears to decide on a graduate program; she ended up at Lesley University.

Its such a good experience to do something completely new, said Thomas, and as an older student, I appreciated it so much more and I wasnt burnout. After being in the work world it was so much fun to go to classes, and to learn, write papers, read and to do group projectsI was a much better student in my 30s than in my 20s.

Thomas participated in an internship at Lesleys counseling center; her husband moved out to the Berkshires to take on a job at Williams College. Thomas joined him a year later, taking a position at Austin Riggs before joining MCLA. She had been looking for a while to move back into a college setting.

In her free time, Thomas loves to be outside hiking with her dog and even snowshoeing.

Read more:

Sonora Thomas: Healing minds through meditation - The Beacon

At a time when there is an uneasy, sometimes even volatile, divide between some communities and the police officers who are sworn to protect them, one police chief is encouraging her department to practice meditation as a way to help ease the stress of policing.

Chief Sylvia Moir, who has been the head of the Tempe Police Department in Tempe, Arizona, for the past year and has nearly 30 years of policing experience, believes teaching and practicing meditation should be a key piece of police officer development.

In policing, its essential that we respond. We dont react, Moir told ABC News' Dan Harris in an interview for his 10% Happier podcast. Without a doubt I think the [meditation] practice shows promise, getting us to be present, not take triggers, not take the bait that makes us react and if the practice can get us to see the perspective of another to enhance our compassion, then I think it does lend itself to broader application in policing.

Its important for officers to be tactically sound and physically fit, Moir said. She practices mindfulness, a series of meditation techniques that are designed to slow the mind, focus on the breath and bring attention back from distraction, as well as gratitude -- focusing on positive emotions.

I really practice gratitude a lot, she said. I say thank you for the people that come at me with anger, I say thank you for things I used to fight against, and its given me a really interesting kind of path.

Moir said she usually practices meditation in the early morning for about 10 minutes while sitting in a chair.

The great thing about meditation is that it takes no equipment, she said. Im a runner and Ive run, in the past, full marathons and I need my shoes and nowadays I need my GPS and I need my fuel and I need all my stuff and meditation really offers you this equipment-free practice that enriches your life.

Download and subscribe to the "10% Happier" podcast on iTunes, Google Play Music and TuneIn.

Moir spoke at length about benefits of meditation, including how it not only helps officers make smarter decisions in the field but also how it makes them more thoughtful people who see tense situations from all perspectives, not just their own.

It takes courage because theres this narrative around police officers that we are hard and tough and cynical, she said. [But] I have found police officers to be incredible people, and we view our responsibility, our duty and this call that we are guardians always and warriors when we need to be.

Moir admitted that some of her officers will grumble about whether it will make them lose their edge, but she doesnt see it that way.

Were really good at -- I call them perishable skills, the shooting, driving, defensible tactics, she said. And what were doing with mindfulness practices is were saying, Look, were going to give you a set of tools, you take it, you use it for the whole you, personal and professional, make it what works for you. Maybe a little quirky. Maybe different from what somebody else does but you make it yours.

As chief, Moir said mindfulness helps her deal with the public in high-stress situations and also lead her fellow officers. The practice has been useful, she said, in helping her realize micro-cues she may be unintentionally sending, such as a raised eyebrow or a squint, when shes meeting with an officer or a grieving family member.

I meet with a lot of people who are really angry, she said. I meet with people who are suffering, who dont feel like they have been served by the justice system ... with family members who have lost someone, [with] officers that have done wrong and Im holding them accountable ... its in those moments where I have to really engage but also listen.

Download and subscribe to the "10% Happier" podcast on iTunes, Google Play Music and TuneIn.

See the rest here:

Arizona police chief says meditation should be a key piece of officer ... - ABC News

Between stressful deadlines, family responsibilities, and countless social media notifications, modern life can leave many of us feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and even unhappy. If this sounds like you, meditation may provide an answer - and with meditation apps, you can now carry your own personal mindfulness trainer in your pocket. But which app should you choose? We review our pick of the best meditation apps available.

A national survey from the American Psychological Association reports that overall stress levels have increased in recent years, and a considerable number of people in the United States think that they are not doing enough to manage their stress.

So what can we do to relax and lead healthier, more fulfilling lives? One answer may come from meditation - the ancient, holistic practice that aims to bring us into the present, soothe our worries, and improve our overall well-being.

Evidence suggests that meditation is good for our health; it lowers our blood pressure, alleviates several gastrointestinal disorders, and helps to relieve anxiety and insomnia.

Smartphone users can now install their own meditation trainer with a tap of the finger. With almost 1,000 apps to choose from, however, knowing which one is right for you can be challenging. To help narrow down the choice, we tried some out for ourselves.

All the apps we review here are available on both Android and iOS.

Probably the most popular meditation app, Headspace was also ranked first in a comprehensive review of meditation apps regarding functionality and user satisfaction. We were therefore thrilled to give it a go and see what the hype is all about.

The app offers a 10-day free trial that takes you through the entire foundation level, called Take 10. Throughout, you are guided by Andy's reassuring voice - that is, Andy Puddicombe, the former Buddhist monk, inspirational TED speaker, and founder of the app.

We loved how friendly this app is, with a pastel-colored interface that feels lively without being intrusive, enchanting illustrations, and an introductory video great for those who have never tried meditating before.

Take 10 is peppered with colorful animations that motivate and bring you back on track when you feel you have lost your focus, as well as creative analogies that support and sustain you in your journey: "Imagine yourself sitting by the side of a busy road. The passing cars representing the thoughts and the feelings."

For $7.99 you can access the entire app, but only if you have completed the foundation level - a great way to ensure that users actually go through the motions and fully benefit from the training. After unlocking the first level, you are rewarded with a message of kindness and self-love: "Be kind to your mind, don't be too self-critical." After this, you are granted access to everything that Headspace has to offer, and it is a lot.

The app has a wide array of purpose-specific series, covering almost every aspect of life: health, relationships, sports, and performance. Each series has themed subpacks of up to 30 sessions. Add to these the one-off meditations - tailored to needs as specific as "fear of flying" or "commuting" - and the result is a vast universe of mindfulness, with hundreds of different sessions to choose from.

With a sleek business feel to it, Whil is primarily aimed at companies wishing to bring an extra bit of focus and happiness to the workplace.

Whil provides personalized, goal-centered training programs for each employee. Companies can choose from four training options: the teen-focused "Grow," the adult-centered "Thrive," the Google-born "Lead" - which centers on emotional intelligence, teamwork, and leadership - and finally "Move," a yoga program intended to exercise the mind and body.

Each option includes tens of programs, adding up to hundreds of sessions. Additionally, individual, on-demand "Whilpower" sessions are available for relieving negative emotions or boosting positive ones, as well as for improving sleep.

A distinctive feature that we found appealing is the HIPAA-compliant analytics dashboard. Whil allows individuals to track their own progress like any good app, but in a couple of weeks, they will also be rolling out the administrator analytics dashboard, enabling companies to track the well-being of their workplace community.

The focus on quantifying the employees' well-being with the ultimate goal of increasing productivity might seem cold and off-puttingly programmatic. But Whil grounds its approach in rich scientific data: economically, stress costs the U.S. approximately $300 billion per year in absenteeism, medical costs, or low productivity; statistically, 83 percent of people rank work as their primary source of stress; and, finally, from a neuroscientific point of view, the brain's ability to rewire itself offers amazing opportunities for improvement.

Whil seems to have put the science to good use, as we tried out the sessions designed for individuals - which are completely free - and found them very effective. The app allows you to set very specific goals, making it easier to stay motivated. We chose "Sleep better and feel rested," completed the breathing exercises, and started yawning within minutes. Overall, Whil comes across as an efficient and uncomplicated tool, capable of providing immediate results.

A self-titled "Meditation Timer & Tracker," Sattva seems to be aimed at more experienced and autonomous meditators. It does not offer sessions specifically designed for beginners, and the overall experience feels less "gamified" compared with some of the other apps.

On iOS, Sattva integrates seamlessly with the Health app, pulling information on your heart rate and blood pressure. Apple Watch lovers will be happy to know that the app is also available on their device. You can choose to do a "Quick start," a "Guided meditation," or a "Chant."

Before and after the sessions, you can have your heart rate measured with a simple tap; Sattva uses your phone's camera to take your pulse using just your fingertip.

You can download most of the meditations and chants for free. We tried "Transforming emotions," which starts gently with breathing exercises, transitions smoothly toward a nonjudgmental acceptance of your negative emotions, and ends with a smile. For $1.99, we found "Happiness with Sri Sri" - that is, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spiritual leader and founder of the The Art of Living.

Sattva feels very calculated and data-driven. The dashboard counts the total number of minutes you have spent meditating, averages out your beats per minute, tells you when your last session was, your current and best streak, how many other people are meditating, the number of challenges completed, trophies achieved, and much more.

The dashboard also includes a leaderboard, which informs you where you rank among your meditating friends - a competitive approach we thought to run slightly against the ethos of mindful meditation.

Additionally, we thought that some of the stats were a touch redundant. For instance, the "Total minutes" of meditation can be found in the main dashboard screen, under the "More" button, and in the profile section, as well as under "Community." We did enjoy the small pieces of motivational wisdom sprinkled throughout the app, however, alongside the easy-to-access recommendations.

Both Smiling Mind and Headspace were reviewed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale. Of the 23 apps included, Smiling Mind came out second, so we were very excited to try it out for ourselves.

Every session starts by asking you to assess your mood based on three criteria: happiness, contentedness, and alertness. At the end of the session, you are sent back into the world "with a smile on your mind."

The app offers three modules: "Smiling Mind for Wellbeing" (aimed at adults), "Smiling Mind in Education," and "Smiling Mind in the Workplace." The adult program offers 10 modules making up a total of 42 sessions, along with "Bite Size" sessions of between 1 and 3 minutes, "Extended Meditations", and sessions intended to complement regular sports activities.

What we loved most about the app is the focus it places on children and teens. Smiling Mind offers programs for children of various age groups, centered around their experience of growing up.

From slowly discovering who they are and gaining a sense of independence, to learning how to interact socially and respect others, the app offers support for the potential challenges of being a child. Finally, the program for 16- to 18-year-olds aims to help teens plan for the future as they transition into being young adults.

You may wonder what mindfulness can offer to such a young audience, but the sessions are creative, imaginative, and seem well attuned to a young sensibility. Children are invited "on a journey to the Land of Mindfulness - a place inside you where you are safe and strong." They are asked to imagine that they are seaweed that is being gently rocked by the current, or to "put a smile on their mind" by making a happy wish for themselves in a magical tree.

The app is completely free, but if you feel grateful for it, you can make a donation to help Smiling Mind bring mindfulness to all Australian schools.

Simply called "Breathe" on a smartphone, this app invites you to check in by closing your eyes and dimming the screen for a few seconds. Then, it invites you to assess how you feel - but there is a twist.

What we really liked about Breathe is that it offers a much wider range of feelings to choose from, and harnesses your input more effectively than other apps.

When checking in, you can select up to five feelings from five different categories - ranging from very happy to very sad - and each of these categories has up to 35 different emotions to choose from. Breathe makes you feel that your emotions really matter, as the selections are fed into an algorithm that then comes up with more than 25 meditations tailored to your needs.

Some of these sessions require a premium membership, which costs $4.99 per month. The sessions are a combination of meditations, breathing exercises, yoga, and even acupressure videos. We tried the "Deep Breathing" premium meditation, and we liked that it prepares you for the possibility that you might get lightheaded - something that occurs quite often when you are a beginner, but which has not been addressed by the other apps.

Overall, Breathe is an ultragamified, particularly beginner-friendly app. At the end of each session, you are asked to re-evaluate your state of mind and body, and you are rewarded with unexpected stickers and awards. The app offers a "Learn to meditate" pack that uses simple words and straightforward science to explain what meditation is and how it benefits the mind.

With its friendly interface, simple explanations, and cute illustrations, Breathe is perfect for those wishing to step down the path of mindfulness for the very first time.

Read this article:

Five of the best meditation apps: Which one is right for you? - Medical News Today

Low-slung volumes stretch along either side of central outdoor spaces at this family home in Northern California, by American firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

The project's name, the Los Altos Residence, refers to the Silicon Valley city where the home is located. The family dwelling which consists of a main home and guest house is situated within an established neighbourhood dotted with shade trees.

"Nestled amongst neighbouring houses and a landscape of mature trees, the residence maintains a sense of privacy and offers this young family reprieve from the bustle of daily activities," said Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, which has three offices in Pennsylvania, along with locations in Seattle and San Francisco.

"The simple layout and detailing of this single-story residence, with its numerous connections to the surrounding landscape, create a home that is both calm and restful."

Meant to be a modernist reinterpretation of a ranch-style home, the wood-clad building consists of rectilinear volumes arranged around outdoors spaces. The dwelling takes full advantage of the area's mild climate and verdant landscape.

"While windows and doors fill interiors with air and light, they also frame views of the diverse flora surrounding the home," the firm said.

The front of the home was designed around an existing Japanese maple tree, which serves as "a vestige of the previous landscape and the relationship shared between residence and site".

Totalling 4,151 square feet (385 square metres), the main house is H-shaped in plan. One side houses a garage and office, while the other contains a workshop, an exercise room, a bedroom and the master suite.

"In the master bedroom, one can hear the trickling of water and quiet rustling of trees coming from the meditation garden just outside," the firm said.

The connecting bar houses the kitchen, dining area and living room. This open-plan, double-height zone leads to an expansive terrace, which is shaded by deep roof overhangs.

"In the living room, a wall of sliding glass doors blurs the line between indoors and out, opening to the back patio overlooking a meadow of tall grasses," the studio described. "It is these moments, when the outdoors extend inside, that help anchor the building to site."

The backyard lined with a board-formed concrete wall features a slender pool, a meadow and a "contemplation garden".

Located in the rear of the linear property, the 479-square-foot guest house (44 square metres) contains sleeping quarters and a living room.

The team chose materials to help create a calm atmosphere. "The home is detailed with a natural, crisp palette, reflecting the client's fondness for simplicity and tranquillity," the firm said.

A variety of woods including Douglas fir, Western red cedar, and grey elm were used throughout the dwelling to create a sense of warmth. These contrast with more industrial-style elements, such as polished concrete floors and exposed structural steel columns and beams.

In the dining area, a 10-foot-long (three-metre) table was made using locally sourced walnut. Its natural edge is meant to balance the "clean lines of the living room", which includes a partition and fireplace made of textured concrete.

"Additional furnishings reinforce the client's desire for a minimalist environment," the firm said.

Minimising the project's environmental impact was a major concern for the clients. In response, the team incorporated a number of sustainable strategies, including operable windows, concrete radiant floors, low-flow plumbing fixtures, a well-insulated building envelope and a "cool roof" made using single-ply thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO).

Much of the home's energy and hot water is generated via photovoltaic and solar panels on the roof. The property also features zoned drip-irrigation and native plants that require little maintenance and watering.

Other projects by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson include a series of piste-side cabins in California that allow residents to ski in and out, and a collection of summer dwellings for residents studying at Fallingwater the famed 1930s home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Photography is by Nic Lehoux.

Project credits:

Architect: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Design team: Gregory Mottola, FAIA, design principal; Laing Chung, project manager; Priya Mara, RA, project manager; Joe DiNapoli, RA, team member; Lauren Ross, team member; Michael Waltner, RA, team member General contractor: Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders Civil engineers and surveyors: Kier & Wright Structural: Umerani Associates MEP: Taylor Engineers Electrical: The Engineering Enterprise Landscape: Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture T24 and green building: Integral Impact Green building: Design and Energy Waterproofing: Neumann Sloat Blanco Lighting: BANKS | RAMOS Architectural Lighting AV: Metro Eighteen Geotechnical: Murray Engineers, Inc.

Subscribe to our newsletters

Read the original here:

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson creates Silicon Valley residence with pool and meditation garden - Dezeen

MADISON In addition to Mahjongg, canasta, bridge, ping pong, poker, coloring, trips and movies, the Madison Senior Center inside the Madison Civic Center at 28 Walnut St. has added more fitness programming to its schedule.

Popular instructor Donna Sue Dowton will continue to lead classes in Stretch and Flex, Not Your Daughters Yoga and Balance and Stability. In addition, she has introduced Meditation, a twice-monthly class in the Senior Centers Activities Room, designed to educate adults about the benefits of guided breathing and relaxation exercises.

A classroom setting is less likely to have the distractions of a home setting, and the guided exercises allow students to concentrate on the fundamentals rather than sequence, Dowton explained.

Among the benefits of meditation, Dowton noted, are lower blood pressure, improved blood circulation, lower heart rate, slower respiratory rate, less anxiety, deeper relaxation and better sleep. For an additional charge of $10, a 40-page booklet and CD can be purchased.

The meditation classes is under way and will continue on the first and third Tuesday of each month. There is a $5 fee per class which is billed on a quarterly basis.

Registration is ongoing for Stretch and Flex, Balance and Stability and Not Your Daughters Yoga.

Stretch and Flex is held at 10:30 a.m. Mondays and at 9 a.m. Thursdays, and students can sign up for once-weekly or twice-weekly classes. The yoga class meets at 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays, and the balance class is held at 1:15 p.m. Wednesdays.

The fee is $60 for a 12-week series. Donna Sue Dowton is a certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor who has worked exclusively with senior citizens since 2001. Her training includes certifications in balance, posture, anatomy, chair yoga, and exercise for people with joint replacements, arthritis, and osteoporosis.

All classes are held on the upper level of the Madison Civic Center at 28 Walnut St. For information, call (973) 593-3095.

See the original post here:

Meditation joins fitness classes at Madison Senior Center - New Jersey Hills

Aired 3/7/17 on KPBS News.

Meditation is becoming more common in helping people learn to calm down and worry less. But a six-week Wellbeing for Dogs + Their Humans class in La Jolla is taking the practice a step further, teaching meditation to dogs alongside their human companions.

Transcript

Meditators sat on the wooden floor in a tranquil room. They were quiet. They were peaceful. They were resting in the present moment, with no thoughts of the past or future distracting them.

They were also dogs.

"Breath in, and out," instructor Amanda Ringnalda said softly. "Open your eyes whenever you're ready."

A few of the dogs kept their eyes closed, apparently having drifted off to sleep.

Meditation practice is becoming more and more common to help people from all religious backgrounds, or with no religion at all, learn to calm down and worry less.

But the six-week Wellbeing for Dogs + Their Humans class takes it a step further, teaching meditation to dogs and their human companions.

The class meets in the Balanced Mind Meditation Center at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. Julie Potiker built the meditation room and brought the dog classes to the center.

She's also attending with her big shaggy briard, Madeline, and said she gets quite a reaction when she tells people about the class.

"They think it's a riot and it's super cool, and then they want to do it, too," she said.

Potiker said the class has helped her be more calm, and that Madeline and her other dogs then pick up on her energy.

"If they're running to the door and they're barking, instead of just yelling at them, I think, oh is it anxiety, are you nervous, are you trying to protect me? What's going on?" she said. "I think it's just more of a humane, lovely way to be an animal owner."

The class is meant to help humans better understand their animals and learn how to care for them by understanding their body, mind and spirit, said Ringnalda. She said meditation and mindfulness practice is key to that understanding.

"To open people up to a more expanded understanding of wellbeing for themselves and their dogs," she said. "You can't underestimate the impact and the power of that relationship."

During one recent class, she instructed participants on how to identify their dogs' doshas, or three different energies, or constitutions, believed to govern the body and mind.

"I have no idea what Elloise's dosha is, because she's just whackadoo," Potiker said.

Knowing their dog's energy means humans can provide them with the sounds, smells and foods that best fit their needs, Ringnalda explained.

She demonstrated by allowing the dogs to sniff frankincense, sandalwood and lavender to see what they responded to best. One little dachshund named Noodle turned her nose away from the last two, but licked the paper covered with frankincense, suggesting she may find that aroma balancing for her constitution.

Owners also learned to massage their dogs, which Ringnalda's rescue dog Pepper seemed to especially enjoy.

When it comes to meditation, Ringnalda said dogs are naturals.

"Dogs are kind of in a natural state of presence, because ultimately that's what meditation really is, is having your mind fully in this present moment, releasing any memories of the past and thoughts or apprehensions of the future, but instead just be fully in the present moment," she said. "And dogs are so good and natural and instinctively able to do that."

The dogs in the class were often so present and relaxed that they spent much of the time slowly drifting off to sleep.

But when the dachshund Noodle joined the class late, the dogs' meditative trance was broken. They all got up to sniff Noodle while she made her rounds in the room, checking out the meditation cushions and anything else left on the floor.

Ringnalda said breaks in the dogs meditative states are also a part of being present.

If a dog starts barking or whining during class, "we just go with it, just like any other thought during your meditation," she said.

"I sometimes joke that if our minds would let us just emote more, like dogs would, we would all be barking in class," she added with a laugh. "We've just been taught to be more proper."

She said she's seen big changes in the canine attendees in just the short time they've been meeting.

"I've seen them go from quite reluctant and shy and reserved to much more comfortable in this setting, more comfortable with people coming up to them," she said. "The dogs have been really receptive and open to these new experiences in their life, and you've just seen a calmness come."

But really, the class is more about helping the humans to be calmer, and teaching them to recognize how much influence they have over their dogs behavior and health, Ringnalda said.

Julie Potiker, the human companion to the big shaggy Madeline, said it's boosted their bond.

"It helps me to remember to respect her as a being, as a sentient being," she said.

By the end of class, all the sentient beings, human and canine alike, had explored their senses and sat in the present moment. No one barked or whined, and everybody seemed very calm.

To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.

Read more from the original source:

San Diego Class Shows Dogs Are Naturals At Meditation - KPBS

Transcript for Unplug creator shares her simple guide to meditation

meditation, because meditation guru Suze yalof Schwartz is here. She made a dramatic shift in her life. I knew you when. Giving up a fast-paced life for peace and serenity doing something she describes in her book as just unplugging. Correct. All about unplugging. I love the name for a book. And congratulations. Thank you so much. So talk to me about what we'll see today. We think of meditation as something where you are sitting, sort of quiet. But you also describe an active meditation. Yes, I mean it's called the breath of joy and basically you go. Ah. Now, you guys do it. We're trying to give you it. Ah. Try it, Lara. Okay. Why not. And basically what it says, gives you energy and makes you happy and gets you there pretty quick. How would you best describe meditation to meme at home? Basically it's like this. This is called meditation in a jar. So your mind is the jar. And the glitter represents your thoughts and your feelings so when we're stressed or we're in a rush our brains look like this. I love that. But when we stop, right and we slow down and breathe, just breathe in slowly. They start to dissipate. That did a beautiful thing. It really just signals to your brain everything is okay and then it settles down and becomes clear and that's what happens to your brain on meditation. When you do things like this active meditation which is something that everybody can do in your office how many do you do? How soon do you feel a sense of calm? You can in 16 seconds completely shift your state and you can also sit for 45 minutes. I mean I love also using essential oils, essential oils are great mood shifters. Let's talk about them. A lot of people -- everyone has some essential oils with them. I want everyone to take your hands, rub them together with essential oils in them. Smell your hands, take a deep breath. I'll ask you what do you smell in yours? Calm, relaxing. Focus. Give me some of that. Lavender. We have some for you actually. This is the lavender oil which is great and makes you calm and it also helps with sleep and Jesse you were smelling this, right? How does this make you feel. This Orange makes me feel happy. It reminds me of little league baseball when the moms would bring Oranges at the end. That was the greatest. And that's what it does to your brain. It's the essential oil of happiness and peppermint. Someone has that. So great have young here. "Unplug" out tomorrow. We'll be right back.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

Continue reading here:

Unplug creator shares her simple guide to meditation - ABC News