Yoga |When a Modern Approach Meets Ancient Fitness

Modern Yoga pose.

The Fromgirltogirl is a healthy lifestyle consultant and trusted news source for audiences of all ages. Read more informative articles today.

Today, yoga may seem like it has been around forever, but it is a relatively modern newcomer to the western world, having only gained popularity in the 1950s, according to YogaOutlet.com but yoga has been around for thousands of years. And you can use modern approaches when it comes to yoga practice. In fact, you can bring yoga into the 21st century more easily than you might think possible with the addition of just a few key tools. Fromgirltogirl shares some here.

Smartphone Support

The most ubiquitous symbol of 21st-century technology is undoubtedly the smartphone. Thanks to its iconic ability to improve our lives through connectivity, it can boost your ability to practice yoga. From guided meditations and pose instruction to the ability to stream soothing sitar music to your exercise studio, Marie Claire points out that yoga apps of all kinds are available in both free and paid options, making them perfect exercise companions. 

If you are in the market for a smartphone, make sure the one you pick is packed with all the features you want to fuel your yoga practice. With a reliable device, it is like having a personal yoga assistant right in your pocket. If you are going to practice yoga in an area without Wi-Fi (e.g., outdoors), look for a wireless carrier with far-reaching coverage and a reputation for high-speed connectivity. 

Stream from Home

Of course, not everyone wants to use their phone to support their yoga practice. But what if you want to practice at home and need guidance? Turn to your streaming device to connect you with a variety of yoga streaming classes. They cost a fraction of what you would spend on a studio session, and some are even free. Best of all, you can sneak in some asanas. Just remember to set aside some space in your home where you can practice without distraction — and remember to keep it stress-free by eliminating clutter and chaos.

Analog Adaptability

Smartphones are great tools to support your yoga practice, but there are plenty of modern tools you can use that do not require a charging cable. These tools are modern with decidedly low-tech origins. An excellent example of this is the humble yoga towel. You would think that a towel is a towel, but this simply is not the truth. Yoga towels are engineered with ultra-absorbent materials and can cleverly provide you with additional grip as they become more damp, making sure you do not slip, fall, and possibly hurt yourself during hot, sweaty Bikram yoga sessions.

Other modern approaches to yoga tools include the yoga bolster, designed specifically to provide stability and support for yoga practitioners recovering from mobility injuries. A yoga bolster is so much more than a pillow, thanks to its careful design and construction. Many yoga pillows are specifically shaped and use specific types of memory foam to provide just the right amount of back support to keep you from doing yourself harm while you seek to heal. Such a tool would have been impossible to design without modern approaches to ergonomics and orthopedics, making it as 21st century as a smartphone.

Opening Yourself to Infinite Possibilities

It often feels as if there are as many ways to practice yoga as there are drops of water in the ocean, and that can be intimidating. Yet getting a handle on this ancient fitness art does not mean you need to become a master overnight. Embracing modern approaches to practicing yoga through things like smartphone apps or other tools scientifically engineered to make yoga easier can help your confidence soar. These 21st-century tools can open yourself to the infinite possibilities yoga provides to you, helping you live the happy, healthy life you deserve.

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How Tech Gadgets make Healthy Cooking a joy for anyone – from Beginners to accomplished Culinary Masters

Eat Well Nutrition Healthy Food Organic Concept. Photo credit: Rawpixel

Fromgirltogirl.com is a healthy lifestyle consultant and trusted news source for audiences of all ages. Read more informative articles today.

Whatever the scope of the remodel, the cost varies widely depending on factors like where you live and the size of the kitchen. Smaller kitchen makeovers can cost just $4,000 while larger and more upscale renovations can be $50,000 and more, according to HGTV. You will want the job done right, so definitely hire this out to professionals. Sites like Angi can help you find “plumbing companies near me” that have received high ratings from previous customers — never forget to read those reviews.

Healthy cooking is an experience that should be fun, but so many people fall into a rut with cooking or avoid it altogether. Do not worry. Healthy cooking is a process that takes time and energy. Here is the good news for today’s wellness-focused cooks: Technology gives us tools to work around the barriers that make cooking a chore. Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned chef, you can grab your tech devices and find the best resources for spicing up their mealtime repertoire.

Read on for some advice, brought to you by Fromgirltogirl.com

Master Your Favorites

If you are learning to cook healthy dishes, the best place to start is by learning some basic techniques. We suggest bringing a tablet, laptop, or your smartphone into the kitchen to follow video tutorials when you are first learning. Nutrition Stripped is also an excellent source for cooking how-tos, along with Food & Wine’s recommended list of dishes that every cook can master.

Explore New Ideas

Once you master the basics, the next step is to try making your favorite healthy meals. This is the best way to make cooking fun because of how rewarding it is to be able to enjoy your favorite recipes whenever you want. Another fun way to reach next-level cooking is to borrow inspiration from a restaurant you love. This is something that both new and experienced cooks can do. 

Professional chefs and bartenders specialize in going beyond the basics. Part of being a pro is in the technique and the creativity of the craft. The great thing for home cooks is that you don’t have to be a professional to recreate chef-inspired meals. Many chefs are happy to share their healthy recipes if you contact them through social media. They will likely appreciate your love of their food and be happy to help you out. Even if they are not willing to let you in on their secrets, try your hand at making these meals on your own. Consider it a fun test of your cooking skills, and invite friends to sample your creation by coming to dine at your “restaurant.”

Along with trying chef-inspired meals, another way to get more out of cooking is to try ditching the recipe. Once you have gotten the hang of basic skills, Bon Appetit recommends trying new spice combinations. This is the easiest way to get comfortable with cooking creatively, even without a recipe. 

We also love the tip from Cooking Light to add a bouquet garni to your dishes, which is a combination of herbs and spices wrapped into a cheesecloth. This is a simple but elegant French technique that adds a tremendous amount of flavor. If you are not sure what to include, it may help to download an infographic about spice combinations that you can keep on your device and reference whenever you want to try something new.

Streamline Shopping

For many cooks, coming up with meal ideas and shopping for ingredients is more tedious than actually preparing a meal. One way to make this chore easier is to use an app like MealBoard, which keeps your favorite healthy recipes in one place and creates your shopping list. If you are really short on time, you can also use your devices to order groceries online or use a grocery delivery service.

Other Kitchen Considerations

You may discover that your kitchen isn’t big enough to cook all of your meals, or you’re hoping to change up the layout to better accommodate your cooking needs. In any case, a kitchen remodel might be the perfect solution for you, especially if you plan on spending a good deal of time in it. For example, would meal prep be easier with a deeper sink or a taller faucet? Or could you do with a new under-cabinet range hood to keep grease and cooking exhaust off surrounding cabinets, the walls, and the ceiling? 

From meal planning to grocery shopping, prepping and preparing, healthy cooking is definitely a process that takes some time. Thankfully, the best apps, services, and videos can help at any stage. Making use of these tech tools is how any modern cook can cut out the frustration and truly enjoy spending some quality time in the kitchen.

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Pandemic Weight Gain & Beauty Insecurities – An American Story

Woman crying because of her depression.

Have you gained weight during the COVID-19 pandemic? How about your significant other? The infamous “Quarantine 15,” continues to be a heavy discussion. While others are more concerned about pandemic stress accelerating aging.

Now, the data is in. 57% say they’re less attracted to their partner now than they were before.

  • 2 in 3 say their partner looks worse than they did before the pandemic started.
  • 79% say their partner needs to lose some weight (22 pounds on average).
  • 55% have been embarrassed by their partner’s appearance in social situations.

Beyond just weight gain or aging, Americans are noticing their partners are slacking when it comes to appearance, including excessive casual dress and spending less time on hygiene (46% of survey respondents confirmed), impacting sex lives – 56% say they are having less sex because of their partner is neglecting self-care.

Read the full study ‘Pandemic Is Making Us Less Attractive To Our Partners,’ for more information.

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New music: Better For You | Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez

Check out this new single ‘Better For You’ from New York’s Jazz, R&B artist Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez.  This song grapples with the gaze of being objectified and the ambiguous response to this reality. The song is most explicitly about sex and the ways in which heterosexual dynamics often prioritize men’s pleasure.

Raina has recently been profiled by the Complex, New York Times, The Wire Magazine, NPR, and The FADER.

About Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez

Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez is a singer/composer based in Brooklyn, New York. Rooted in Jazz and R&B, the songwriter invites us into her unique sonic world with harmonic nuance and lyrical poetry. 

Portrait of jazz singer Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez.


Raina’s cross-genre style is built from the bottom up. With improvisation as a starting point for her songs, she draws on her emotionality and leans into her perception of the world around, uncovering hidden depths within daily life and articulating personal truth with vulnerability and bravery. Songwriting is her way of processing and understanding life in all its complexity.

‘Better For You’ highlights the ways in which women contort themselves physically and emotionally to be more desirable. Raina shares, “It also depicts the flip side of this, where we become or can become hooked on being the desired one; the way we come to need it, the way our identity becomes tied to this positioning. This is the ambiguity, the grey.” 

Drawing on her Latinx heritage, the rhythmic piano phrases, dynamic instrumentation and a grooving rhythm section provide a hypnotic backdrop for Raina’s clear and concise vocals. 


The accompanying video is a depiction of different aspects of self and their varied responses to the same encounter. The parallel progression of the character in the orange world untying the ribbons and the character in the yellow world becoming emotionally undone, represents an unraveling, a release from the constraint of the gaze, a coming into her own rawness and vulnerability, co-existing with her strength all at once. 


She has performed for 3-time Grammy Award winning singer Marc Anthony, who took a strong interest in her music, as well as having had the honor of working with Jazz composer William Parker, performing with him on stage and appearing on his albums.


“Better For You” is the first single to be released off of the upcoming album IF THEY’RE MINE, that debuted spring 2021

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Inspirational Quotes from Creative Women

The women who came and conquered before us have left shoes to fill and words of wisdom to infuse into our lives. Inspirational quotes from creative women could hold the answer to your questions and help you tackle your next adventure. 

Women have power in the way they see the world and how they choose to maneuver it to their advantage. The designer and sculptor Maya Lin said, “I try to give people a new way of looking at their surroundings. That’s art to me,” Lin’s advice tells us to explore new perspectives in seemingly mundane situations. 

Before women can shape their perspective, they first have to be confident in their abilities, as architect and designer Zaha Hadid advises. She says, “Women are always told, ‘You aren’t going to make it.’ They need confidence in themselves and people around them to help them get on,” by taking her advice, women can reach deep in themselves and find the resolve needed to express their creativity freely. A sound support system never hurts either.

When women discover they can shape their perspective through their confidence, they lean into the freedom of life and create their own path. Florence Knoll modernized the American office by turning her husband’s modest furniture business into an $11 million design powerhouse. She said, “I needed the piece of furniture for the job and it wasn’t there, so I designed it,” When Knoll found the missing piece, she didn’t stop. Instead, she found a way to create her own path.

Everyone struggles to find their creative freedom. It can be challenging to picture the outcome before it’s born. Photographer Cindy Sherman said, “If I knew what the picture was going to be like, I wouldn’t make it…The challenge is more about trying to make what you can’t think of,” Sherman proves that you don’t have to know every detail of the final product to start. It’s about the journey and not the destination. 

These women are only the tip of the iceberg of famous creatives that have paved the way for women everywhere. These inspirational quotes from creative women could be the catalyst for discovering your own creative freedom. In a world filled with rigid expectations and social norms, don’t be afraid to embrace your feminine fluidity. As furniture designer and architect Eileen Gray says, “to create, one must question everything.”

For more powerful quotes from creative women, check out the infographic by 1stDibs below. 

Please include attribution to 1stdibs.com with this Empowering Advice from Famous Creative Women infographic.
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Join the Conversation: December 3 #OwnYourVote – Georgia on My Mind Zoom with Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey Zoom conversation on the Georgia Senate Runoff Election

This Thursday, Oprah Winfrey is hosting a virtual town hall in Georgia to encourage, inspire, and support Georgia voters ahead of the Special Election. The #OwnYourVote: Georgia on My Mind Zoom meeting is a free event and open to public in partnership with Kapor Center.

The event will take place live this Thursday, December 3 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Registration is available in advance at zoomwithoprah.com. 

Oprah Winfrey’s Network ( OWN TV) continues with its nonpartisan OWN YOUR VOTE get-out-the-vote initiative as Oprah speaks with local voters from throughout the state of Georgia to ensure as many as possible are prepared with resources, information and inspiration ahead of the Special Election. Those joining the town hall will include local voters, along with national thought leaders, voting rights experts, and those who can provide resources and information for voters.

Speakers include:

·     Latosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voters Matters

·     Nse Ufot, Executive Director, New Georgia Project

·   Stefanie Brown James, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Collective Education Fund

·     Cheryl Lowery, The Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute

Additional, representatives from women’s organizations including Dr. Glenda Glover (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated); Beverly E Smith (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated); Melanie Campbell (Black Women’s Roundtable); Glynda Carr (Higher Heights Leadership Fund); Dr. Johnetta Betsch Cole (NCNW); Dr. Kimberly Leonard (The Links, Incorporated); Rasheeda S. Liberty (Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated); Valerie Hollingsworth Baker (Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated).

About OWN Your Vote

The OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network OWN YOUR VOTE initiative is a bipartisan registration and get-out-the-vote campaign, partnering with national and local grassroots and voting rights organizations to provide tools and resources that will empower Black women to vote. Black women powerfully influence election outcomes and OWN YOUR VOTE will support this group of voters to show up to the polls and help friends, family, and their community to do the same. 

OWN Your Vote is designed to help Black women make a voting plan for this critical 2020 election cycle, by recognizing obstacles to voting including challenges around COVID-19, mail-in ballots, voter suppression, transportation, and changing protocols and poll locations; connecting the everyday issues critical to Black women to the issues appearing on the ballot;  empowering this key voting block to own their voting story, and make a plan to ensure success at the polls; encouraging local community activism and leveraging personal networks; and collaborating with the voting rights partnership community to support mail-in voting, voter registration, volunteerism, transportation, and safety procedures. 

About Kapor Center

Kapor Center aims to enhance diversity and inclusion in the technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem through increasing access to tech and STEM education programs, conducting research on access and opportunity in computing, investing in community organizations and gap-closing social ventures, and increasing access to capital among diverse entrepreneurs. As part of the Kapor Center family of organizations’ 100 Days of Action for Racial Justice Campaign, the Kapor Center supports the mobilization of Black and Brown communities in local, state, and national elections in the 2020 election cycle.  Learn more about Kapor Center at: https://www.kaporcenter.org/

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What are the Safest States for Schools to Reopen? – WalletHub Study Reveals

Little girl reading a book

The new school began with some students participating in online learning while others are experiencing a hybrid of online and in-person classes due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The personal-finance website Wallethub this week released its report on the Safest States for Schools to Reopen to help parents and guardians identify which states have the safest conditions for reopening schools.

In the study, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 15 key metrics. The data set includes such things as the number of child COVID-19 cases per 100,000 children, the average public-school class size, and the ratio of students to school nurses. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Safest States
1. Vermont
2. Maine
3. Pennsylvania
4. Massachusetts
5. New Hampshire
6. Rhode Island
7. Ohio
8. New Jersey
9. Connecticut
10. Nebraska

Least Safe States
41. Florida
42. Louisiana
43. Utah
44. Missouri
45. Tennessee
46. Nevada
47. Arizona
48. Arkansas
49. South Carolina
50. Mississippi

Best vs. Worst
Vermont has the fewest child COVID-19 cases per 100,000 children, 140.60, which is 10.2 times fewer than in Tennessee, the state with the most at 1,430.60.

California has the lowest share of K-12 public school students transported through school transportation, 10.04 percent, which is 9.4 times lower than in Minnesota, the state with the highest at 94.26 percent.

 Vermont has the lowest pupil/teacher ratio, 10.50, which is 2.2 times lower than in Arizona, the state with the highest at 23.53.

North Dakota has the lowest share of seniors living with school-age children, 0.91 percent, which is 16.6 times lower than in Hawaii, the state with the highest at 15.12 percent.

Vermont has the lowest share of children living in crowded housing, 5.00 percent, which is 6.4 times lower than in Hawaii, the state with the highest at 32.00 percent.

Vermont has the lowest student-to-school nurse ratio, 323.30, which is 13.8 times lower than in Utah, the state with the highest at 4,474.52.

New York has the highest total current spending on elementary & secondary schools per pupil, $24,040, which is 3.2 times higher than in Utah, the state with the lowest at $7,628.

View the full report to see your state’s rank: 
https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-states-for-schools-to-reopen/79230/


Q&A with WalletHub

Why is in-person schooling so important for the economy?

“In-person schooling is vital for the economy because it both provides temporary supervision for children during the day and most importantly helps students have a better chance of achieving future economic success.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the most immediate concern is that when a child has to stay home to do online schooling, one parent will need to also stay home if the child is not old enough to be left alone. This puts a particularly high burden on single parents who can’t work from home, who may not be able to earn a living while their child remains home,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.

“In the long term, studies show that in-person schooling provides more effective learning for students, in addition to better social development and mental health, compared to online learning. Students who get instruction in the classroom therefore may have better economic futures. Of course, we should put everyone’s safety first, and only open schools in a safe way.”
 
How can schools that are conducting online learning support low-income students with fewer resources at home?

“Schools that are conducting online learning have a responsibility to make sure low-income students have access to the same resources as their peers, including reliable devices and Wi-Fi.

School districts should provide laptops to students who cannot afford them, as well as set up Wi-Fi hotspots that ensure all students have constant internet access,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.

“Low-income students may also need free lunches each day, and parents should contact their school or visit the USDA website to see where they can pick up those meals while schools remain closed.”

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Senator Debbie Stabenow Endorses Joe Biden’s Plan to Revitalize Rural America

Senator Debbie Stabenow discussing her support for Joe Biden’s plan to revitalize Rural Michigan.

Today the Biden Campaign and Senator Debbie Stabenow, who is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a Democrat from Michigan, hosted a virtual discussion on Presidential Candidate Joe Biden’s plan to revitalize rural Michigan. This plan includes tackling the climate crisis by creating clean energy jobs for Rural America. Here is a further look into why Senator Stabenow is endorsing Joe Biden.

The Biden Plan for Rural America includes:

  • Creating well paying jobs in Rural America to help rural communities position themselves for middle class stability, including the ability to find quality jobs right in their hometowns, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic origination. But more importantly, it helps rebuild the middle class for Rural Americans right in Rural America – living, working, and raising families generations to generation in thriving hometowns. Learn how revitalizing rural economies benefit all Americans.
  • Strengthen the Agricultural Sector by passing a trade policy that truly benefits American farmers. They currently pay heavy tariffs, even though farmers make more than 20% of all crops grown and products raised in the United States. The Biden strategy for Rural America economic development is to establish a partnership with the community by investing in unique assets of farmers and generating wealth created in Rural America that stays in Rural America.

But what really excites me about Joe Biden’s Rural Outreach Initiative is supporting beginner farmers. There is no secret that it is hard to start a farm when an individual does not inherit the land. There is not only a historical socio-economic injustice found in America but also a racial injustice underlying of why there are so few black farmers and latino farmers. But these groups have historically labored the land and reaped no profits from it.

The Biden Administration will expand the Obama-Biden Administration’s microloan program for new and beginning farmers, doubling the maximum loan amount to $100,000. And, it will increase funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s farm ownership and operating loans that typically serve beginner farmers who grew up on a family farm but need low-cost capital to add to their family’s operation to support another household. This can improve quality of life for many rural residents by opening access to get started in a industry otherwise inaccessible to them.

Learn more about Joe Biden’s plans for Rural including renewable fuels and wind and solar energy, read here.

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Best States to find a Job as a Doctor in America

healthcare jobs for doctors

As doctors and nurses combat the coronavirus, here are the best states for Doctors 

when it comes to starting their careers or finding some where to move to advance their careers.

Best States for Doctor Jobs

According to Zippia.com ’s research, Nevada is the best state for Doctors in America. The most common pay for doctors in Nevada is $157,658.

The highest paying city in America for Doctors is Malden, MA. As for the worst state, it is New York, with its median pay at $102,478.

Check out Zippia’s search tools if you are seeking employment as a doctor. The site will help you find open job positions.

Source: Zippia.com Zippia Logo

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For Employers – What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus

coronavirus prevention tips for employers

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading throughout the world and it has officially made it to the United States. From small business to corporate America, here is what employers need to know about the upper respiratory infection that has spread internationally from Wuhan, China to the United States and worldwide:

Maintain a Safer Workplace

Employers can increase workplace safety by following the coronavirus guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and the influenza pandemic guidelines published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). 

According to the CDC and OSHA guidelines, employers should take precautions like encouraging sick employees to stay home and modifying policies to liberalize leave.  Employers should also provide resources to employees, including keeping hand soap and sanitizer stocked and available.

Avoid Discrimination Claims and Workplace Leave Law Violations

Employees may have a need to know if someone in the workplace has been diagnosed with coronavirus.  The identity of a person diagnosed with coronavirus however should be kept confidential under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  Employers covered by the ADA (and state or local disability protections) should be careful to avoid discrimination claims by ensuring confidentiality for an employee who contracts the disease.

Moreover, eligible employees of covered employers should be granted available leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, if they or family members contract coronavirus.  Leave may also be available under state and local laws.  For example, the New York Paid Family Leave Benefits Law would apply if an employee’s family member contracted coronavirus.

Curtail Non-Essential Employee Travel

As a corollary to maintaining a safer workplace, employers should curtail non-essential travel to reduce the potential of employee exposure to the coronavirus while traveling for work.  The CDC has issued travel notices discouraging non-essential travel to China and certain other countries abroad in Asia and Europe.

Remain Informed

Employers should remain informed by reviewing the CDC coronavirus guidelines Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), February 2020 which are available online here.  Employers should also review the OSHA influenza pandemic guidelines, entitled Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic,” available online here.

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