Men's Health

I Tried Luxury Meditation Classes and Here's What Happened Men's Health It would be easy to call Inscape the SoulCycle of meditation. First of all, it's located in Manhattan's Flatiron neighborhood which has become something of the city's boutique fitness district with sweat-inducing luminaries like Barry's Bootcamp and ...

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I Tried Luxury Meditation Classes and Here's What Happened - Men's Health

If meditation is supposed to help with stress, then it really shouldnt be a surprise the practice is trending in DC. Though the concept of meditation has been in use for ages, its only recently that its been neatly packaged into boutique studios that seem to be popping up all over our city.

If third times a charm, I think we can officially say that boutique meditation studios are a thing in DC now. First, there was Just Meditate in Bethesda, which opened in November with $22 group meditation classes. Then Recharj, a power nap and meditation boutique opened downtown in December. Next week, Take Five Meditation is opening in Dupont with 30 and 45 minute meditation classes for $20 to $30 for a drop-in.

While it was probably only a matter of time before other industries caught on to the business strategy of boutique fitness gymswhy have clients pay $50 to $100 for a monthly membership when you could get $20 to $30 per class out of them?meditation is an interestingevolution of the trend. And the trend isnt just in DC, eithermeditation studio MNDFL opened in New York City 2015andInscape followed this fall.

So whats with all the meditation studios? Its impossible to say that the operators of each of these chains could have predicted the high levels of stress that Washingtonians and Americans at large would be under throughout the 2016 election and under the new administration in 2017. Nonetheless, you cant deny that the timing is pretty perfect: While Washingtonians are running to their therapists with new anxieties, their therapists are preaching self care. And where better to achieve self-care then ina highly branded, aromatherapy-scented, $30-a-pop meditation class?

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Boutique Meditation Studios are Officially a Thing in DC Now - Washingtonian.com

YouTube star and comedian Hannah Hart, best known for her boozy cooking mishaps on her popular series, My Drunk Kitchen, said she turned to meditation while she was working to get her mentally ill mother proper care.

Meditation "helps with my reactivity, Hart told ABC News' Dan Harris during an interview for his podcast/livestream show, 10% Happier. On the outside, Im always seemingly pretty calm unless Im super happy, but on the inside, I can get really anxious really fast and meditation has kind of helped me control that.

Her older sister, Naomi, introduced her to the guided meditation app Headspace, and it has brought meditation into my daily life, Hart said. Im not forcing myself to calm down. I just have more calm in me.

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

Harts bubbly, shiny personality online has earned her millions of fans, many of whom were surprised to learn about her life-long private struggle of dealing with mental health issues in her family, as detailed in her memoir, Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded.

In her memoir, Hart, 30, goes into great detail about her profound family issues growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hart said her parents split up when she was a baby and she and her sister, Naomi, were mainly raised by their mother, Annette, who suffers from psychosis, in a home that Hart described as being in total squalor. She and her sister also spent time with their father, a devout Jehovahs Witness -- something Hart also described as having issues with.

I think my ability to feel compassion for another person has been a great blessing in my life and its something my mother has taught me. My ability to have great optimism is something my mother has taught me. But at the same time she hasnt been the most reliable parent, through no fault of her own, Hart said. Everyones trauma is different, but it really took me a long time to realize, and Im still kind of in denial, I guess, that it was more abnormal than normal.

Harts book is told from her perspective of watching her mothers condition worsen over time, eventually leading Hart to care for her. Last year, her mother was placed in an involuntary psychiatric hold, which eventually led Hart to become her conservator.

The book really deals with kind of my mothers decent, eventually culminating in homelessness, eventually culminating me trying to provide care for her and my journey from a child to an adult trying to provide care for this person that I love, love deeply, and coming against a system that literally told me, Theres nothing you can do, Hart said.

Hart had become an established YouTube sensation when she won her case to be allowed to become her mother's conservator, meaning she can make decisions about her mothers psychiatric wellbeing on her behalf -- something she said is almost never granted. She has become an outspoken advocate for mental health reform.

I can say, with total sincerity, that the only reason I pursued entertainment was to spread this message, Hart said. Im really lucky that Im funny, because it gave me a platform to do this.

Harts most-well known series, My Drunk Kitchen, was started by accident, Hart said. In 2011, she was living in New York City and wanted to cheer up a friend back in California, so she sent her a YouTube video of herself getting drunk while cooking. That video ended up going viral -- today it has over 4.1 million views -- and seeing an opportunity, she began to do more.

Since then, Hart has built an entire Harto YouTube brand that includes videos of candid confessions about coming out as gay, quirky dating and relationship advice, hilarious DIY mishaps and hanging out and drinking with friends.

Her main YouTube channel now has over 2.5 million subscribers. She has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and 1 million followers on Twitter. In addition, she has written two books, starred in two straight-to-VOD movies and hosted several live #NoFilterShows.

Her next project is to switch from the internet to television with a Food Network series, though she said it will not be a TV-version of My Drunk Kitchen.

I want to be able to have that freedom to post and say and do whatever I want, she said. Television, in a lot of ways -- you have to work with a bigger partner, and My Drunk Kitchen is just for me and my friends.

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Hannah Hart of 'My Drunk Kitchen' fame turned to meditation while ... - ABC News

Mindfulness and meditation techniques are being used in schools across the country.

A recent study by the University of California-Davis and the non-profit organization Mindful Schools shows mindfulness actually triples students' ability to focus and participate in class activities.

"They're less impulsive with each other, they think about their words before they speak so it definitely spills to into the daily routines," said Heidi Palmiero-Potter 4th Grade Teacher Harris Hill Elementary School.

"Mindfulness can be different things like meditating, deep breathing," said Adam Elbousty, a 4th grade student.

"Like you breathe really slowly," said Preston Payne, a 3rd grade student.

School psychologist Michelle Braun-Burget began testing these techniques three years ago with students.

Braun-Burget says now students are more self-confident.

"They're just more aware of themselves and what makes them upset, what makes them nervous and they have better control now of how to deal with it," Braun-Burget said. "If someone's having a hard time they give them the strategies also. I've heard students say do your breathing...The point behind the techniques that mindfulness brings is helping those children learn coping strategies no matter what their circumstances are."

Mindful Schools says it has trained teachers in all 50 states and more than 100 countries so far, impacting more than 750,000 students.

If you would like more information, check out the medical breakthroughs on the web at http://www.ivanhoe.com.

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Meditation techniques help students focus, study says - WLS-TV

Its pretty much impossible to ignoreall the information swirling around about how great meditation is for your mind, body and spirit.

Its been scientifically proven in over 3,000 studies that meditationincreases concentration, lowers your blood pressure, improves memory retention, naturally aids the management of ADHD and even improves your bodys immunity to disease.

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The problem is, were so busy in our daily lives that keeping up with a meditation practice can just seem so overwhelming.

But, meditating isnt about having the time.

Its about making the time, and the following apps made it possible for me (a sort-of adult with a full-time job, a relationship, two dogs, a daily exercise routine and a verytime-consuming skin care regime) to keep a daily practice going.

So now, I just sit back and wait formy meditation practice to make me perfect and also very rich.

Thats what youre supposed to do, right?

Sattva is the perfect meditation app for people who want to win a trophy for their calmness.

Really, for someone who enjoys a challenge, Sattva includes daily challenges that you can actually wintrophies for. Hell yeah! I love fighting for peace!

Not only does Sattva give you digital prizes, but it also includes daily guided meditation, a heart rate monitor (so you can check out how peaceful you are before and after your meditation sessions) and daily reminders to help you stay on-track.

Its the all-around perfect meditation app for Type A personalities.

Straightforward title for a straightforward app.

This meditation guide is a good option for someone who isnt trying to make a big thing out of their meditation practice, and who just wants to get through their morning commute without getting arrested for assault.

Guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of three, five, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes, so you can choose the perfect length to fit with your schedule. The topics also range from stress management to deep sleep.

This app can even tell you bedtime stories, and Ive been looking for an app that can effectively do that for literally five years.

Its perfect for beginners.

Meditations guided by Andy Puddicombe have been covered bythe New York Times asa quick, secularized adaptation of Buddhist teachings that have been distilled for a modern, Western audience.

While this is a for-profit mindfulness app, it does have broad commercial appeal.

It raised $30 million in financing last year that included celebrity financiers like Jessica Alba and Jared Leto.

The app also includes a buddy system, so you and your friends can encourage one another in your mindfulness goals, and subscribers get free access to the apps introductory course.

The Mindfulness App is perfect for beginners and advanced practitioners of meditation alike.

It has many of the above meditation apps features, including daily reminders and statistics that can track your progress from week to week.

What sets this app apart? It gives its subscribers access to 200 different meditations and courses for improving your relationships with others as well as yourself.

It also allows you to share you experience on social media, if thats something that will motivate you more.

Get those sweet, sweet likes baby!

First of all, Buddhify is pretty to look at.

Its colorful and easy to use, and it provides a type of meditation for literally every single part of your day,including traveling, being online, taking a work break and going to sleep.

If youre someone who needs to be reminded to just take a breath, or if youre someone who is trying to quit smoking and needs something to get you through those cravings, this app is the one youll want to reach for.

It seems to be perfectly designed for the kind of person who is always doing a million things at once or the type who easily gets bored.

Buddhifyallows you to change things up for every occasion.

With all of these meditation apps, theres no way you cant stick to your practice.

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Rosebud Baker is a standup comic and writer in NYC. Follow her on Twitter, where she desperately seeks the approval of strangers, but will settle for just attention.

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5 Meditation Apps That Will Actually Help You Stick To Your Practice - Elite Daily

EDWARDS Dogma Athletica encourages you to take some time to center yourself and open up your inner world with Karen Anderson on Friday, with a one-hour guided meditation.

Mindfulness meditation has been proven to decrease stress. Practiced regularly, it can transform our relationship with ourselves and others, resulting in harmonious living. This workshop will address what meditation is and provide tips for an enjoyable practice. Questions are encouraged, and no experience is required.

Anderson has been teaching yoga since 1999. Her training in meditation is primarily in the Indo-Tibetan tradition. She is empowered and certified to teach meditation by Noah Levine in the lineage of Jack Kornfield and the Thai forest tradition. Anderson has attended 10, 30-day silent meditation retreats in Asia and the United States.

For more information, visit Anderson's website at http://www.yogavail.com. Call Dogma Athletica at 970-688-4433 to reserve a space; advance registration suggested.

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Meditation 101 with Karen Anderson at Dogma Athletica, Feb. 24 - Vail Daily News

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In a bizarre display of self-determination, agroup of female Chinese divorcees chose to lie down in shallow graves so they can start a new life.

The graveyard meditation, organized by 30-year-oldLiu Taijie, took place on the outskirts ofChongqing City, southwestern China, earlier this week.

A divorcee herself, Liu launched her cemetery class to help other women cope with their romantic breakups,I know how a woman felt when she was feeling abandoned. I had the thought of committing suicide when I got divorced.

Liu got married at 19 and had her first baby at 21. All was well until 2015, when she went through a heartbreaking divorce and failed a business she started the previous year.

Liu also worked hard toimprove her body she dropped from 158 lb to 99 lb, Zaker noted.

As seen in the photos, participants lay down on plastic sheets that linedshallow holes dug in the ground. They closed their eyes and held their hands in a praying position.

Apparently, the idea is to simulate death so they can start over as a clean slate.Liu told Daily Mail:

When a person is desperate, he or she could almost feel theyre near death. By lying in the grave, my students could try to experience death. This will remind them that they have not done many things in their life and that they need to forget about the past and start a new life.

Liu said her graveyard meditation classes are held every two to three months. She does not charge fees participants. Interested individuals mayreach her through her number.

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Divorced Chinese Women Now Use 'Graveyard Meditation' to Get Over Their Exes - NextShark

The second installment of BSN Denvers conversation with Nuggets rookie Jamal Murray. Find part 1 of T.J. McBrides chat with Murray here.

T.J: So the meditation side of things. You have the aggressor side of yourself and the side that is always pushing you to get better but you also get that softer moment of meditation that you can really build on from you dad that goes back to the inspiration of Bruce lee. Do you still meditate before games and practices?

Jamal: Yes, and I meditate at home too.

T.J.: What has that brought to your life? Especially with how chaotic things have been going from Canada, without that media presence, to Kentucky with coach Cal, to being on the NBA landscape and being forced in as a rookie to play bigger minutes and a bigger role. How much has meditation slowed things down and allowed you to grasp what is happening around you?

Jamal:Sometimes you get caught up so focused that you dont see what is right beside you or right in front of you. When I think of all the stuff I have to do like clean up and practice in the morning I start to think of things as a burden rather thana privilege. Like working out. To me, that is a privilege. So I stop thinking of it as a burden, like, damn I have to work out. I just think that alright, I gottato work out. It is something I have to do and something I want to do and I embrace it. Stuff like that. Kinda eases things off and changing the mindset a little bit.

T.J:Has anyone else on the team gotten in on meditating and would you even let them?

Jamal: No. Everyone has their own thing. You cant tell someone to meditate and they feel better. It is something that took me years to get good at and Im still not even close to perfect or where I should be. Everyone has their own way. Some people listen to hype music before games and sometimes I dont even listen to music. I just go with the flow, say hi to people, and go through with good energy and keep everything to myself and keep my spirits high.

T.J.:So where did that love of hip hop start with you. It is known that you didnt have a tv growing up and you had an iPod that you barely used. Where suddenly did this love of J Cole, lyrical hip hop, and conscious thought come from?

Jamal: People see me as someone that is energetic, messing around, talks a lot, and is fun to be around but the crazy thing is that I like to be by myself. I just like to be alone and away fromeverybody and not talk to anybody. So when I find someone that can relate or express words in a certain way that you would never think of is a way for me to get away too.

T.J.: Something new that came out today. Coach Cal put out his top five Kentucky players that he would put on a team.He didnt include you. How do you feel about that? Does that put a little chip on your shoulder?

Jamal: There are a lot of players. Who did he pick again?

T.J.:He ended up picking John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as his x-factor, and Devin Booker at shooting guard.

Jamal:I mean, thats a good team. He chose Booker over me because its Bookerssecond year but Booker is a great shooter and a great player. He is confident and I think we have the same type of confidence when it comes to playing with toughness and grit going against someone else. He is someone I like to play against and I think it is a good choice.

T.J.: He pushes you with that type of stuff doesnt he? He thinks about it like, lets see what Jamal does when I dont put him on this list. Was he always pushing those buttons when you were at Kentucky?

Jamal: Yeah, he did a lot. He always made fun of me for whatever it was but it was from a good heart. He knew what I was capable of and just wanted me to get there. He kind of wanted me to prove him wrong and show it in a game.

T.J.: How is that inspiring force, a guy like Coach Cal, to have around you like that when you are coming from Canada without the media in your face and without everyone watching what you are doing, to having coach Cal help you along that process of becoming a phenom and a lights out shooter and you had him in your corner to really back you up throughout the draft process. The draft process is lethal and people are brutal to prospects. How big was it to have Coach Cal in your corner?

Jamal:It was good. He was a great talker too. A lot of stuff he says is true. Whenever he talks about the media and stuff I know where it is coming from and I know he is not lying either. He is giving you a real perspective of what he thinks and he has the players and the awards to back it up. He knows what he is talking about and is a guy that other people and GMs trust.

T.J: Does Coach Cal ever leave Kentucky?

Jamal:No. No. I dont think so.

T.J.: Here are a couple rapid fire questions. Basics that people might not know. Favorite color?

Jamal:Grey.

T.J.:Favorite player growing up?

Jamal:Vince Carter.

T.J.:Is that a Canadian thing?

Jamal:I used to just watch him growing up dunking and I would copy his dunks on my little net. The passion he played with was everything.

T.J.:If you were not playing basketball what would you be doing?

Jamal:Track.

T.J.: What did you run?

Jamal:800 meters and high jump and my dad said I would be good at the four (400m) because he ran track but that a tough race.

T.J.: That is a short race, man. What is your favorite food you would be eating if Steve Hess was not down your throat about your diet?

Jamal:I still eat whatever I want to eat (laughs) but I burn it off quick. I like chicken wings a lot. Ill eat them before games or after games. So I think chicken wings are my favorite.

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Beyond Basketball Part 2: Jamal Murray on John Calipari, meditation and more - BSN Denver

As stress levels rise and attention spans shrink, consumers are increasingly using technology to tap into Zen. Approximately 18 million Americans practice meditation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and, much like yoga, meditation apps are exploding in the marketplace.

Apps like Calm, Headspace and The Mindfulness App offer both monthly and yearly subscriptions. Meditation sessions, which can be customized by length and according to mood, are dedicated to improving physical and emotional well-being, increasing focus, managing stress and getting a better nights sleep.

Meditation is based on principles of Buddhism and has been practiced for thousands of years, but its current popularity is due, in part, to decreased stigmas around discussing mental health, said Alex Tew, co-founder and co-CEO of Calm, which averaged 30,000 new users per day in the last year.

For a long time, people associated meditation with spirituality or religion or general weirdness, Tew explained. But now, in some places, its almost a badge of honor to meditate, which is a total 180 shift. Especially in Silicon Valley, its surprising if somebody doesnt meditate. Its the same as physical exerciseits becoming a bigger trend because people are realizing that its good for them.

"Especially in Silicon Valley, its surprising if somebody doesnt meditate."

-Alex Tew, co-founder and co-CEO of Calm

Theres also an increasing realization about how emotional well-being impacts physical health. Forty-six percent of U.S. consumers say that keeping a positive mindset is one way they manage their overall health, and 40 percent say that stress is their main source of body pains, like headaches and backaches, according to Mintel.

People are getting more savvy about how chronic stress can lead to chronic ill health, said Carli Gernot, manager of trends, North America at Mintel.

The turbulent political climate is also playing a part in these apps growing popularity. Increasingly, people are dissatisfied with the direction of the country, and if theyre stressed out about whats going on, these apps can help them be more present and manage stress, said Alexis Fragale, director of consumer insights at Mindshare North America. Calms Tew, meanwhile, noted that his apps downloads have doubled in the months following Trumps election.

Each meditation app tends to have its own particular vibe. The Mindfulness App has a global focusits available in 30 languageswhile Headspace aims to stand out through the volume of its content and by emphasizing the expertise of its instructors. Calm offers unique services like Sleep Stories, bedtime tales for adults, as well as ambient background sounds andnature scenery.

The Mindfulness App, which primarily targets urban consumers 35 to 50, promotes itself through Instagram influencers and paid ads on Facebook. The company also partnered with El Al Airlines and Mini to offer meditation sessions on flights and in London traffic, respectively, and tested the app on 100 hospital employees in Sweden and the U.K. to measure its impact on staffers trauma management and interactions with patients. Its been proven over and over again that meditation reduces stress and helps people with compassion, said Magnus Fridh, the apps co-founder.

Headspace has partnered with seven major airlines to offer passengers content on staying calm through flight delays, avoiding jet lag and sleeping better on board, and worked with the British Olympic teams athletes and sports psychologists to improve performance during the 2012 and 2016 games. Partnerships have been key to our success, and the sheer depth and breadth of our content helps differentiate us, too, said Headspace co-founder Rich Pierson.

Calm advertises on Facebook and through search ads in the Apple app store, but reaches 99 percent of its customers through word of mouth. When people have a good experience and feel the benefits of meditation, it turns them into evangelists, Tew said.

Analysts see the meditation trend expanding to include wearables, which could track your pulse and offer ideas on stress management, or expanding in the retail sector. (A recent example is Lululemon, which installed a meditation bus outside of one of its London stores.)

The trend is going to continue to grow, agreed Tew. Weve become good in the West with advances in medicine, but the modern ailments of our time, anxiety and depression, are more about your state of mind than your body.

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Meditation Apps Are Becoming a Source of Zen in an Overstressed World - FishbowlDC (blog)

By the time Brian Stann was interviewing Derrick Lewis in the cage after UFC Fight Night 105 on Sunday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, there was subdued outcry at the fact that referee Mario Yamasaki was late to stop the fight, allowing Lewis to land a few additional strikes on an already unconscious Travis Browne. Lewis did nothing wrong; the strikes werent malicious, just unnecessary, which is an expected occurrence in this line of work. Its just that Lewis hits harder than a 10-foot wave breaking onshore, which makes those extra shots a bit more serious than if it were, say, Jared Rosholt delivering them. Alas, Yamasaki was a little late to intervene, and The Black Beast crashed on the eroded shoreline of Brownes consciousness.

In other circumstances, that may have manufactured some outrage, at least for a few hours until people got bored. Not this time. Browne has become one of the more reviled fighters on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster in certain circles. His association with perpetual punchline Edmond Tarverdyan and his relationship with Ronda Rousey are both part of it, but Lewis made sure to remind people why they shouldnt feel too bad for Browne: He calls himself a man, but he likes to put his hands on women, so forget that guy.

If there was any lingering resentment about the late stoppage, it evaporated quickly at that line. Lewis, of course, was referring to a 2015 domestic abuse allegation from Brownes then-wife. Its important to note that Browne has denied the allegations and no criminal charges were pressed. Some felt the comment crossed the line, while others celebrated it. Either way, it begged some contemplation. What is the role of sportsmanship in MMA? What are the ethical responsibilities of fighters and consumers? Is it OK to feel pleasure from watching bad things happen to bad people or, more accurately, people we deem bad?

Sportsmanship is a strange subject with which to grapple. The word usually evokes images of pity-trophies for the worst teams in youth leagues across the country, which, by virtue of being the least talented, were recognized as the most sportsmanlike. Its important to get over that kneejerk dismissal, though. Sportsmanship is the umbrella term for the virtues of competition. As anyone who has competed knows, sports are not simply a measurement of who is better at a given game on a given day. Games are microcosms of real life, brief encapsulations of the ongoing highs and lows of living in the world.

To view sports as a rote form of entertainment is empty. They are that, but thats not all they are. Our games exist to satisfy our reptilian thirst for entertainment as much as they are here to reflect our values. We live in a society of ethical prescriptivism, where things dont always fall under strict binaries of winners and losers. There are also ways we should win and ways we should lose. The shoulds are up for debate, but youd be hard-pressed to find a sports fan that does not have any opinions on them at all.

This is why people tend to get up in arms about trash talking after a fight. Before a fight, it is usually accepted -- even encouraged -- because it adds intrigue. Its good business. However, trash talking an opponent after a fight, the argument goes, is ugly. Browne had already been knocked out and then some. Did Lewis really need to add insult to injury?

Think of it in a different context. What if an employer fired a coworker of yours and proceeded to send a mass email to everyone in the company airing out their dirty laundry? Or if the same thing happened with someone you know who got dumped? That sort of thing is juicy and inherently attention-grabbing, but it also leaves a sticky residue of voyeurism, even if it is easy to justify our antipathy.

That opens up into a larger discussion. Is there a moral duty of sports? If your answer is no, then sportsmanship is of no concern to you and likely you couldnt care less about how the winners and losers act after a fight. That there is a winner and loser is probably enough. If the athletes themselves have any sort of moral responsibility, however, and if we as consumers share in it, then what exactly are those responsibilities? Should we expect people who inflict violence in a cage for a living to be pillars of righteousness? Are we part of the problem by actively supporting people who destroy their brains and their bodies for low pay for our weekend amusement? Im not sure these questions can be separated from the sport -- the product -- itself.

This is especially tangled territory because unsportsmanlike behavior is naturally captivating. Think how boring it is for fighters to reel off the my opponent is tough and I really respect him line after each fight and compare that to how you felt after hearing Lewis post-fight speech. One type of response blends into an amorphous mass of white noise; the other makes you want to see more. It goes without saying, but the desire to see more is better for business, for both the company and the fighter.

The most pointed ethical question in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 105 was whether or not it is OK to feel good about seeing something bad happen to someone we perceive as bad. Its MMAs version of the Is it OK to punch a Nazi? debate. On one hand, punching someone repeatedly after theyre knocked out is a bad thing on its face. On the other hand, we feel a natural vindication when we see people get what they deserve. Then, is an action itself less bad if it is inflicted upon a bad person? Whether or not Browne is actually a bad guy and regardless how you felt about seeing him get punched in and out of unconsciousness, these are things we have to reconcile as fans; we are complicit in each and every ethical dilemma that intersects with the fight game.

We tend to view MMA through varying Venn goggles, that it exists to some extent as competition and some extent as entertainment. What the Lewis fight showed us, though, was that we really watch through more granular, essential lenses. Its part of the poetry of fighting; we can devour it with animalistic mindlessness at the same time we dissect it with human thoughtfulness. Im not going to tell anyone how they should or should not enjoy themselves on fight night, but Im not going to ignore the food for thought this sport provides, either.

Lewis may not be the philosophical provocateur Im making him out to be, but for a man whose post-fight interview included the word booboo and called feces Number 2 -- the most kid-friendly, potty-talk way to say shit of all euphemisms -- he gave us a lot to think about. Until we see him again, may he enjoy the fruits of bodily rest and steer clear of excess sex.

Hailing from Kailua, Hawaii, Eric Stinton has been contributing to Sherdog since 2014. He received his BFA in Creative Writing from Chapman University and graduate degree in Special Education from University of Hawaii. He is an occasional columnist for Honolulu Civil Beat, and his work has also appeared in The Classical. You can find his writing at ericstinton.com. He currently lives in Seoul with his fianc and dachshund.

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Opinion: 'The Black Beast' -- A Meditation on Ethics in MMA - Sherdog.com