3 tips to improve your posture

If you ask 10 people if they think good posture is important, almost all of them would agree that it is. A back-straight, chest-up, head-up posture is attractive, projects confidence and happiness (you don't see depressed people walking like that), and is good for your joints and muscles.
Good posture "stacks" your joints naturally one on top of the other so that the muscles work less against gravity to hold you upright. This leads to less strain and joint pain, as well as fewer tension-based headaches and back aches.

Here are three tips to improve your posture. 
1. Correct breathing
Correct breathing turns on the correct nervous system responses you want in your body to stay relaxed and in the right position.Because of constant stress most of us tend to stay in a chronically tense state.This is reflected in breathing through our mouth, and into our chest. When a person is stressed or scarred or startled (imagine being frightened by a wild animal), we "gasp" and breath through our mouth, and into our chest, activating the fight or flight response.Instead, in most situations (except high intensity exercise or fear) we should breathe in through our nose and into our tummy.The best way to learn this is by lying face up on a bench or bed. From this position, place a light object like a small book on your tummy. When you breathe, use your nose, and breathe into your tummy so the book rises up and breathe out through your mouth so the book goes down.If you do this wrongly, you will use your chest and the book will hardly move at all.Practice this lying down as it is the easiest way to learn.Once you can make the book go up and down, then start to integrate the chest into the breathing. Breathe in (nose) to tummy, then once the tummy is full, continue breathing in to fill the chest. Exhale gently through your mouth.That's the way to train breathing. 

2. Correct habits
Tall - Make yourself as "tall" as possible. You know like in your school days when you were made to check your height each year? Yup Just like that, we all made ourselves as "tall" as possible. This cue opens up the chest, gets rid of slouching, rotates your upper arms externally (as opposed to internally when we are driving, typing, reading etc), points our chest forward and get our head up and straight. 
Thin - Make yourself "thin". Imagine you are buttoning tight pants. You suck your belly button in slightly to make your tummy smaller. This activates the deep muscles of the abdominal that keep your hip and spine alignment good. It prevents lower back problems and helps keep your pelvis level so that all the muscles around your hips can work in the most efficient way. 
Double Chin - I would say that the majority of people have rounded upper backs and a forward head position. That means that when they enter a room, their head enters before their chest. No matter your gender or pectoral development, your chest should enter a room before your head. To help fix this, make yourself a "double chin". This will be HARD for those of you who have been having the forward head position for a long time but work at it. 

3. Take a relaxing position using a foam roller
Take up this position for 20 mins continuously. We are trying to reverse the slouched, head forward, chest slumped position of daily life. It takes at least 20 mins for your connective tissue to make physical changes to its structure. This "opened up" position is properly done as below:

• Chest up
• Head and butt supported by the foam roller
• Hands out and chest mildly stretched apart
• Hands open with a light weight on the thumb side holding them open

It should not be a violent stretch, it should be gentle enough that you can fall asleep or relax in this position.
Get up after 20 mins or more continuously in this position, and see how much more upright you feel.
This is also excellent to do before exercise because good posture leads to good nerve signals down your spine, and thus stronger signals into your muscles which lead to better performance


By Coach Jon | Fit To Post Sports

Safety Tip For Your Back Pain (Guys)

This is something which we are not focusing in our daily
life, but can produce multiple problems in spine especially
for those who have long sitting hours. Make sure that when you sit in your office chair your wallet should be not in your back pocket
(not only wallet, don’t sit with anything in your back pocket).

Do not Sit on Your Wallet!!!
 

Your wallet can be real pain for your back and the waist,
and it can even lead to shooting pains down the legs.
Sitting on a wallet for prolonged hours every day can compress sciatic nerve which passes beneath piriformis muscle and leads to piriformis syndrome, low back pain & self-inflicted sciatica. 

The wallet acts as a wedge that forces the pelvis, spine and body out of alignment. Just as you would not sit on a brief case or a rock for an extended period of time, you should not sit on your wallet. Anyone who drives more than a half hour
sitting on a wallet is a candidate for sciatica or back pain.

The healthiest option is to move the wallet to your front pocket.  
If it’s must to keep your wallet in your back pocket, you should remove it before you sit down.



Info: Chain Mail

Angry Birds Space

Stay tuned 

New Angry Birds Space... Will be available on March 22 for download.

Smartphone : Galaxy S II Ice Cream Sandwich Update

Galaxy S2 ICS Upgrade

 You can upgrade your mobile to Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) thru KIES 2.0 or FOTA.

 To upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, you must upgrade KIES to the latest version.

(KIES 1.5 does not support upgrading to ICS)

To upgrade mobile OS thru FOTA, large firmware file must be downloaded in your mobile.

So it's strongly recommended to use high speed WI-FI connection when you upgrade your mobile to ICS thru FOTA

 1. Major Improvement

      - Platform upgrades Android 2.3 Gingerbread → Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

       ㆍ Face Unlock and Android Beam are added

       ㆍ Mobile Network Data usage function is added

       ㆍ Usability of multi-tasking and some applications is improved

       ※ Because of ICS OS feature, Adobe flash and Bluetooth 3.0 HS will not be supported in

ICS OS (Bluetooth 3.0 is supported still)

 2. Caution

(1)   Initializing a few user data

·         After ICS upgrade, important user data (like phone book, message, and picture) will be maintained. But due to the changes in the software, few user data or setting value will be initialized.

·         Home screen and sequence of applications

·         Setting value of a few applications which are improved.

Note: To prevent unexpected data loss, please back-up your data thru Kies before upgrading.

(2)   Internal memory space

·         To upgrade to ICS OS, enough device memory is needed

        (Thru Kies: 60MB at least, Thru FOTA: 350MB at least)

·         If device memory is not enough, please delete downloaded applications, SMS/MMS or E-Mail

·         How to check device memory : Applications - Setting - Storage - Device memory -   Available space

(3)   Application compatibility

·         In ICS OS, few applications which are downloaded from Android market or other will not work because they are not optimized in ICS OS

·         If the application from Android market is not working in ICS,  you may notify application developer

(4)   Customized firmware

If unofficial or customized firmware is installed in the mobile, unexpected problem can happen during upgrading

 

Check out when ICS upgrade will available in your region at here :  http://www.youmobile.org/blogs/entry/SGSII-ICS-CRS

Source : http://skp.samsungcsportal.com/integrated/popup/FaqDetailPopup.jsp?seq=422548&cdsite=ph

8 Home Remedies that Actually Work

Nobody is deny saying the wonders of modern medicine-what would we do without a medication like penicillin to treat infections? But, as it turns out, everyday items have secret curing powers, too. Next time you don't want to fork over money to get a common wart removed, consider using duct tape. Already popped two aspirin but can't get rid of the headache? A pencil could do the trick. Below, get medical explanations behind a few bizarre-albeit brilliant-MacGyver-esque home remedies.

Duct Tape to Remove Warts

In 2002, a group of doctors compared duct tape's effectiveness with liquid nitrogen in removing warts. After two months of wearing duct tape on a daily basis and using a pumice stone about once a week to exfoliate the dead skin, 85 percent of patients' warts were gone, whereas freezing only removed 60 percent. "The question is whether there is something in the chemical adhesive itself, or if the occlusion (suffocation) causes the destruction of the wart," says New York City-based dermatologist, Robin Blum, MD. "The other thinking is that the duct tape causes irritation, which stimulates our body's immune cells to attack the wart." Photo: Thinkstock

Vapor Rub to Cure Nail Fungus

While there are no studies to prove coating infected toenails with vapor rub once or twice a day is an effective treatment for nail fungus, a basic Internet search results in a number of personal testaments to the medicinal ointment's fungus-killing powers. "I've heard many patients say that vapor rub does help, but I'm not exactly sure why," Dr. Blum admits. While some argue it's the menthol in the balm that kills the fungus and others say it's the smothering effect of the thick gel, if used consistently, vapor rub has been shown to get rid of not just the fungus, but the infected toenail, too, which will turn black and eventually fall off. When the new nail grows in, it should be fungus-free. Photo: Thinkstock

Oatmeal to Soothe Eczema

"This is absolutely true, as oats have anti-inflammatory properties," Dr. Blum says. Whether it's used as a paste or poured into a bath, most experts recommend choosing colloidal (finely ground) oatmeal and soaking the affected area for at least 15 minutes. In addition to reducing inflammation, oats are thought to have an antihistamine effect, Dr. Blum says. By lowering levels of histamine, which triggers inflammation as part of the immune system's recovery response, she explains, oats prevent or reduce the redness. Photo: Thinkstock

Yogurt to Cure Bad Breath

Bad breath comes from a number of places, the two most common being the mouth and the stomach. The neutralizing powers of yogurt and other probiotics treat the latter cause. "Yogurt shouldn't have any effect at all on the bacteria that live on the tongue because it's not there long enough," says Robert Meltzer, MD, a New York City-based gastroenterologist and attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital. However, it likely has a neutralizing effect on the acid that resides anywhere between the mouth and the stomach, including the back of the throat and the esophagus, he explains. "I think almost any milk product or food that contains live cultures would have the same effect." While yogurt can get rid of bad breath that results from gastrological conditions, like acid reflux, it won't have any real effect on bad breath that is the product of gum, liver or lung disease, says Ohio-based dentist Matthew Messina, DDS. Photo: Thinkstock

A Spoonful of Sugar to Cure Hiccups

In 1971, Edgar Engelman, MD, conducted a study to find out if a spoonful of sugar really is an effective cure for hiccups. He assembled a group of 20 patients who had been experiencing intractable hiccups for more than six hours, eight of whom had had them anywhere from a full day to six weeks. Each of the test subjects was given one teaspoon of white granulated sugar to swallow dry, and for 19 of the 20 hiccup patients, the cure was immediate. André Dubois, MD, a gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland, noted in The Doctors Book of Home Remedies that "the sugar is probably acting in the mouth to modify the nervous impulses that would otherwise tell the muscles in the diaphragm to contract spasmodically." Photo: iStockphoto

Bite a Pencil to Cure a Headache

While doctors aren't sure why we do it, clenching our teeth is a common side effect of stress. According to Fred Sheftell, MD, director of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut, when we clench up, we strain the muscle that connects the jaw to the temples, which can trigger a tension headache. By placing a pencil between our teeth-but not biting down-we relax our jaw muscles, which eradicates tension and reduces pain. Just remember, the remedy really only applies to tension headaches-not migraines or headaches caused by sinus pressure, etc. Photo: Thinkstock

Olives for Motion Sickness

According to the National Library of Medicine, there are a number of symptoms that present themselves as a result of motion sickness, including increased salivation, which is the body's way of protecting the teeth from the high doses of acid accompanied by vomit. Enter olives, which contain tannins that, when released in the mouth, work to dry saliva-first eliminating the symptom and then the body's instinct to follow suit. However, the treatment is only effective during the early stages of nausea, when the salivation changes first appear. Photo: Thinkstock

Gargle Salt Water for a Sore Throat

When you were a kid and had a sore throat, your mom likely made you gargle warm water with salt in it...and she was definitely on to something. According to Douglas Hoffman MD, PhD, author of the website The Medical Consumer's Advocate, a sore throat is an inflammatory response of the infected tissues, and the salt helps draw out the excess fluid to temporarily decrease swelling and the pain it causes. Most remedies call for a ratio of 1 tablespoon salt to 8 ounces of water, but it's always better to opt for more salt rather than less. Just keep in mind that you are treating the symptoms-not the illness. As Dr. Hoffman notes on his website: "The relief is very real, but also tends to be short-lived, since the gargle has done nothing to remove the cause of the sore throat." Photo: Thinkstock 

Info : Chain Email 

Ipad 3 Sneak Peek

Hong Kong’s Apple Daily received photos and information on the new iPad 3 over the weekend. The tabloid claimed its tipoff came from “special channels.”
The photo below is of the alleged new iPad 3 back enclosure and a comparison shot of the iPad, iPad 2 and iPad 3.

The changes to the rear shell suggest a larger battery and a redesigned logic board. It is also possible that the iPad 3 will share the same Smart Cover as the iPad 2.

There is also a gradual taper to the edges of the iPad 3’s enclosure, and the camera now rests on this taper. The former seems to have a larger lens, and may, according to Apple Daily, be upgraded to a 8 megapixel camera. The current iPad 2 has a back camera with just 1 megapixel in resolution.

Other expected changes are an improved display, a quad-core CPU, and a March 7^th announcement date.
The March 7^th announcement date is hardly a surprise, since it’s the week after the Mobile World Congress. The display, however, might shock users. While the iPad 2 debuted with a resolution identical to the iPad’s (1024 x 768), there are rumours that the iPad 3 is going to double that resolution to 2048 x 1536!

The processor is likely to be a step up from the dual-core A5 chip that’s in both the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S. Industry experts are expecting the iPad 3 to contain the quad-core A6 chip. However, it is also possible for the iPad 2S to be unveiled instead…

The latter means that the iPad 3 will be under-powered compared to its quad-core tablet rivals, but it’ll take time to see if it can stand up to the test, just like the iPhone 4S’s iOS optimisation.
Fun fact – the industry was initially preparing for a Feb 24^th announcement date, since that’s Steve Jobs’ birthday. We doubt that, though.


Info : http://sg.yahoo.matchmove.com/news/article/ipad3-sneak-peak  

Top 10 hangover foods

Realbuzz

http://www.realbuzz.com/ 

Marmite

One reason many of us feel so bad the morning after a drinking session is because alcohol depletes your system of essential nutrients, including B vitamins. A lack of B vitamins can cause anxiety and depression, so try munching on Marmite - a rich source of the vitamin B complex - to lift your mood. As an added benefit, Marmite has a high sodium content which can help replace the salts lost through drinking alcohol. Try the savoury spread on toast for an added fix of carbs.

Watermelon

Not only does alcohol deplete your body of nutrients, it can also lead to low blood sugar levels, which may leave you feeling weak and shaky. To counteract this, try snacking on watermelon, which is not only high in fructose but is also water-rich to boost hydration. On top of this, watermelon is high in many essential nutrients, including vitamin C, B-vitamins and magnesium.

Ginger

If too much alcohol has you feeling queasy, ginger is the perfect food to help settle your stomach and relieve nausea. While you may not feel much like chewing on the food in its original form, you could try adding some grated ginger to hot water for a ginger tea, blending into a fresh fruit or vegetable juice, or snacking on ginger biscuits for a stomach-soothing treat.

Eggs

Scrambled, fried or boiled, eggs are a popular hangover breakfast, and the good news is they are a great choice for beating the nastiest of hangovers. Firstly, eggs are extremely rich in protein, which helps raise mood-boosting serotonin levels as well as helping to reduce nausea. Furthermore, eggs are rich in an amino acid called cystine, which helps fight against the alcohol-induced toxins that contribute to your hangover.

Bananas

Bananas are packed with potassium and magnesium, two of the minerals often depleted in our bodies when alcohol is consumed. A lack of potassium in the body can lead to nausea, weakness and tiredness, so stocking up on bananas can help reduce these classic hangover symptoms. As an added bonus, bananas are natural antacids so great for reducing stomach acid, and are good for providing a boost of energy if you have a busy day ahead.

Soup

One of the most important steps for beating a hangover is getting your body rehydrated, and this can be done through what you eat as much as what you drink. To up your fluids and sodium levels and get a shot of nutrients all at once, try some health-boosting vegetable or miso soup. As an added benefit, soup is easy on the stomach so good if you're feeling a bit queasy.

Oats

Due to the diuretic effects of alcohol, the body loses many essential minerals and vitamins during a heavy drinking session. Luckily, oats can provide you with many of these nutrients, including B vitamins (good for the liver and mood) and essential minerals magnesium, calcium and iron. On top of this, oats can help neutralise acidity levels in the body, cleanse the liver, absorb toxins and slowly raise blood sugar levels, making a bowl of porridge the perfect hangover breakfast.

Fruit juice

If you're feeling a bit queasy at the thought of food, then this is the cure for you. While it's great to line your stomach with food if you can, to replace lost vitamins, raise blood sugar levels and rehydrate your body, you can't do much better than a glass of fresh juice. Not only is juice good for immediate relief, the fructose will also help speed up the removal of alcohol from your blood.

Sardines

If you're craving something savoury, sardines on toast could be the perfect morning-after breakfast. A major cause of hangovers is an imbalance of electrolytes, and sardines are rich in many of these vital minerals, including sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium. In addition to this, sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for protecting the liver as well as lifting the mood.

Coconut water

Many hangover sufferers swear by sports drinks as a way to hydrate the body and help rebalance electrolytes. However, sports drinks are often carbonated, which can irritate the stomach, and packed with refined sugars. For a natural alternative to sports drinks, try sipping on some coconut water, which contains essential electrolytes (including calcium, potassium and magnesium) to boost hydration, and is also soothing for the stomach.