【推荐1】Looking down at your phone or laptop can cause ongoing neck pain. When you hold this posture (姿势) for long periods of time, you may develop a repetitive stress injury or muscle strain. This is commonly referred to as tech neck.     1     Here are a few simple steps you can take to prevent the pain:

    2    

Hold your phone up close to eye level to avoid tipping your head forward or bending your neck down. If your arms get tired from holding the screen higher, buy a holder to elevate your device or rest your elbows (肘部) on a tabletop to support your arms comfortably.

Take breaks often.

If you have to look at a screen for an extended period of time, take breaks.     3     Use these breaks to change your posture and move around, keeping your muscles loose and spine (脊柱) straight.

Sit in a chair with a headrest.

The design of your chair can help you maintain a correct posture and avoid tech neck. Switch to a chair that has a headrest and keep the back of your head against the headrest while you use your screen.     4    

Strengthen and stretch your muscles.

    5     To prevent these imbalances, it helps to strengthen and stretch your chest, neck, and upper back muscles. Keeping these muscles in good shape helps support the weight of your head and minimize strain on your spine.

Try all or some of the above methods and see which ones work for you. If your neck pain symptoms don’t improve, it may be time to seek help from a qualified health professional.

【推荐2】Five Easy Ways to Feel Your Best

During the busiest days, people often withstand great stress. Stress is no good for your mind or your body. Studies have found that your chance of a heart attack increases 9.5 times after an intense event. Anxious feelings can also lead to sore skin.    1    

One: Make Time for Meditation (冥想)．

You don’t need to meditate for hours to reap the benefits — just ten minutes a day can make a difference. The key is to find quiet moments you can commit to. Whether you opt (选择) for the moment in the morning or just before bed, you’ll feel calmer in no time.

Two:     2    

Essential oils smell amazing, and they’ve also been associated with reduced stress levels and may even be able to kill the flu virus. Whether you prefer peppermint or lavender, fifteen minutes is a great way to keep your mood on the up and up.

Three: Listen to Music.

    3     What’s even more interesting, though, is that the type of music may matter less than the act of listening. From classical to heavy metal, music of all sorts can help ease tension. Pick a song, kick back, and tune out.

Four: Take a Walk.

Plenty of research has shown how bad sitting all day can be for your productivity and your overall health, but it also turns out a lunchtime stroll may be even more beneficial than it’s thought previously.    4     It’s just another reason to keep flats in your desk drawer.

Five: Take Vitamins.

When we are under great pressure, we tend to desire sugary and fatty foods. Stocking up on better­for­you snacks is one way to avoid diet problems.    5    

【推荐1】Lion dance is a valued tradition deeply rooted in South China’s Guangdong province and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries. Historically, this art form was only practiced by men. However, a unique team consisting entirely of teenage girls stands out among all the male groups — they are the Nanxing Hexingtang Women’s Lion Dance Team from the town of Ren he in Guangzhou.

Nearly every village in Guangzhou has its own lion dance team. Yet as of 2018, Hexingtang had only male participants. As there was a decline in the number of young people practicing lion dance, it accepted a few young girls. The journey was far from smooth for the girls. They were once hired to perform for a family on the first day of Chinese New Year. When the family realized that it was the girls who would be performing, they erupted in anger and chased them away. Then Hexingtang decided to formally establish a women’s team to make the female lion dance leagal. They customized flags and banners printed with “women’s team”, crafted pink and purple lion heads, which are rarely seen in male lion dance, and even fashioned a lion head looking like the image of the female general Mu Guiying, a famous figure in Yue Opera.

It was hoped that after the girls won awards and proved themselves, they might be accepted by more people. Their breakthrough came in 2021 when the girls beat all-male teams and won the first prize in a competition in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district. The following year, at the 16th Guangdong Provincial Games, the girls once again got the top prize in the junior group, representing Guangzhou. Since then, they have continued to win awards. In the recent Maofeng Mountain competition just before Spring Festival in Guangzhou, the team performed a routine titled “Tramping Over Mountains and Hills Step by Step”, which mirrors the growth journey of these girls themselves as they navigate through numerous challenges. Behind this near-perfect performance is girls’ dedication and hard work.

Lion dance is not easy, especially for girls, as it demands significant strength and mastery of martial arts movements. However, girls possess unique advantages and can cultivate a distinctive style. Girls typically have a keen understanding of music, performing perfectly in both lion and instrument roles. Furthermore, their superior physical flexibility allows them to complete difficult moves. Most importantly, their sensitivity enables them to capture the expressions and behaviors of lions.

【推荐1】The Best Workout Apps in 2021

Take a look at our picks for the best workout apps to find a program that fits in with your exercise goals and daily routines.

Fitbit uses the daily activity logged by your fitness tracker to recommend workouts and activities, which adjust not only to what you've done，but your fitness goals and feedback. It offers hundreds of routines so there's bound to be a workout in there for you. Users can even hire one-on-one trainers with different fitness specialties. But you will have to pay for the privilege.

All the day-to-day demands on your schedule make Seven one of the best workout apps for squeezing a quick workout into your daily routine. All you need is 7 minutes a day. The app comes complete with detailed instructions, exercise log, and progress tracker. While the app offers many features for free, a subscription unlocks more exercises.

Shred lets you choose between different types of training, which serve up different exercise routines that push you toward meeting your goals. The app features interactive visuals and activity logging, so that you can see your progress on a daily basis. The free version of Shred is ad-supported, while a pro version offers more features and removes advertising.

The PEAR Personal Fitness Coach apps provides users with a broad range of guided workouts. The app plays well with a variety of fitness trackers and devices, allowing you to keep track of your performance. PEAR comes with a free 14-day trial, after which you'll need to subscribe for access to the workouts.

Starting exercise

You want to start doing exercise? Congratulations! You have just taken your first step towards a new and improved you!

Most people assume that regular exercise does wonders for the body and mind—but what exactly are its health benefits? To start with, physical activity increases the efficiency of your heart and lungs. During exercise, your heart and lungs must work harder. This extra effort makes them grow stronger over the long term. Moreover, exercise is good for your mental health. Working out can help you reduce stress and get over negative feelings.

Exercise is any activity that gets your body moving. Exercise doesn’t have to mean breaking a sweat at the gym or running a marathon. Any physical activity counts towards improving your health — something is always better than nothing. If you are just starting exercise for the first time, remember to start at a level that is comfortable for you.

Scientists have long known that what you eat can make or break a workout and possibly affect your fitness results. Like cars that run on petrol, your body burns carbohydrates (碳水化合物) for energy. Foods like noodles, rice, fruit and vegetables give your body plenty of carbohydrates to keep up your energy during a long workout. To help your muscles recover and repair themselves after exercise, you need to eat foods rich in protein, such as fish, eggs and milk products.

Choose the right clothing and shoes for the exercise and physical activity you plan to do is also important. To prevent injury, make sure your clothes and footwear are both comfortable and safe. What’s more, remember to warm up before exercising and stretch at the end of your workout.

So, now you know the benefits of exercise and how to do it safely and effectively. What are you waiting for?

【推荐3】Exercise is good for physical and mental health, but with coronavirus cases surging across the country, exercising indoors with other people could increase your chance of infection. So, as gyms reopen across the country, here are some things to consider before heading for your workout.

Assess your own risk

It starts with you. You have to make your own assessment of how risky it is based on knowing your medical situation and whether you are someone who’s at high risk of infection. People aged 65 and over are at higher risk of getting a severe case of COVID-19.     1    , it may not be worth the risk.

Consider alternatives for working out

Exercise outdoors is a great low-risk alternative. When you are outside, it’s easier to control how close you get to other people.    2    . Outdoors you have sunlight which has been shown to quickly inactivate the virus. And outside airflow and humidity (湿度) help weaken it.

Assess your gym’s safety measures

There are things gyms can do to help decrease the risk of infection.    3    . Are they taking your temperature? Are you seeing them regularly clean equipment? And are staff and other clients in the gym wearing a mask?

Pay attention to air flow

Your best bet is going to be a gym that is larger, able to have windows open or have multiple floors or levels to allow for physical distancing. That’s because more space and more air flow decrease the concentration of the virus in the air and likely reduce the risk of transmission.    4    .

Location, location, location

    5    . Exercising indoors in hot spots where cases are surging is riskier than in areas with low infection rates, says Bruno Murtha. So check out this color coded tracker to look up the COVID-19 risk in your county, and nearby counties.