【推荐1】Yoga for Weight Loss

Yoga is a form of exercise that uses your large muscle groups and raises your heart rate, and it is beneficial for weight loss. Practising yoga can help you burn calories long after you hit the mat, even if you don’t do more intense(剧烈的) forms of yoga. That’s because yoga’s other benefits can help with weight loss too.     1    

Yoga helps manage stress, and studies show that high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone(荷尔蒙), can lead to an increase in fat and reduce your muscle mass. Yoga has an effect on the body’s stress response and reduces the production of hormones linked to weight gain, such as cortisol.

One of the key tools used in yoga is the concept of mindfulness.     3     In a 2016 study, people taking part in yoga practice realised that they were able to notice not only how much food they ate, but also what type of foods they ate and the effect of eating those foods.

Doing yoga long term can help people lose weight.     4     “Yoga may help to improve long-term weight loss results through improvements in mindfulness and a more positive attitude.” Jessica Unick says.

    5     The best yoga is the practice that fits you—the one you’ll put your heart into. There are now many styles of yoga that meet you no matter what your size, age, physical challenge or background. Everybody and every body can benefit from a yoga practice.

【推荐3】Duanwu Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. According to traditional Chinese folk customs, the fifth lunar month is called the “poisonous month”, when many evil spirits and poisonous creatures go viral.     1    

A widely used herb to stay safe and healthy on Duanwu is wormwood (艾草). The herb, due to its medical functions, is not only a perfect choice for Duanwu, but also a daily necessity to many Chinese people.     2    

Wormwood incense(香)

Wormwood can effectively drive away mosquitoes and some uninvited insects in your house. Compared to chemical sprays, it is 100 percent safe for adults and children.

Incense is often made from wormwood that has been dried for at least three years.     3     Wormwood dried less than three years will not function as well as you expect.

Wormwood soap, toothpaste and shampoo

    4     It can leave a natural and herbal scent on your body. Unlike common perfume that may attract mosquitoes, the scent of wormwood can drive them away.   

Wormwood toothpaste and shampoo are good for your teeth and hair too, as the herb-based products can protect you in a safer and more natural way.

Moxibustion (艾灸)

Similar to acupuncture (针灸), moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medical therapy to cure some common illness, such as headache, abdominal cramps and pain. Acupuncture can only be performed by professional doctors.     5     That’s why it is so popular with ordinary people in China.

No matter how early she went to bed, Maggie couldn’t fall asleep until the early hours. Though constantly exhausted, Maggie got good grades in school, but she often got in trouble for napping during her morning classes.

After graduating from college, Maggie realized her dream of becoming a teacher. However, waking up for her 8:30 a.m. classes turned her into a zombie (无生气的人) , and she lost her job because she lacked enthusiasm.

Maggie isn’t lazy. She suffers from delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS，睡眠相位后移症候群) --- a disorder that affects one in 750 adults that causes them to be somewhat nocturnal (夜间活动的). DSPS is often confused with insomnia (失眠), perhaps because sufferers seem tired during the day. However, the two disorders are very different. Insomniacs have trouble with the process of falling asleep.     1     They just can’t fall asleep early even if they want to.

Essentially, DSPS means a person’s internal clock is set differently.     2     As a result, they’re out of sync (同步) with the rest of society. People with DSPS struggle to keep their eyes open during morning meetings because their bodies are convinced it’s the middle of the night. They seem less efficient and creative at the office, and make more workplace accidents. DSPS also damages their health, causing depression, anxiety, heart disease and many other illnesses due to sleep deprivation.

    3     Fortunately, that’s not the case. Flexible work schedules are already very common. Traditionally, managers tend to think more people in the office equals more output, but new research shows that people who work flexible hours are more productive and more likely to stay with their company because they are happier and healthier. Thanks to these findings, many European countries have passed laws giving every worker the right to apply for a flexible work arrangement. According to Cary Cooper, a psychologist at Lancaster University, most U.K. employees will be working half from home in five years.

This is great news not just for DSPS sufferers but also for their companies.     4     Consequently, they will be able to save a large sum of money.

【推荐1】In some parts of Africa, there are still big herds of wild animals like zebras, elephants, and giraffes. But today many of these wild animals are in danger and it worries many conservationists. Louis Liebenberg is one of them. He feels that having good information about animals is very important. People need to understand what happens to plants and animals over time. Are they increasing or decreasing in number? What plants are the animals eating?

African Bushmen may be able to help. For hundreds of years, Bushmen have understood the ways of wild animal: what the animals eat; where the animals go; and even where they sleep. However, the Bushmen don’t always speak the same language as the conservationists. This can cause problems when they work together. This is where the Cyber Tracker comes in.

The Cyber Tracker is an invention created by Louis Liebenberg. He hopes that together, the Cyber Tracker and the Bushmen can help protect the animals. The Cyber Tracker is a small computer that helps collect information about animals. It uses pictures, called “icons,” instead of words to record information. There are pictures for drinking, walking, fighting, sleeping, eating and other things. This way, the Bushmen can record what they see even without speaking the same language. The Cyber Tracker can collect very detailed and complicated information very quickly.

However, that’s not the only thing the Cyber Tracker can do. The small computer also contains a global positioning device. Each time a Bushman sees something interesting about an animal or plant, he pushes a button. The Cyber Tracker records exactly where the man is in the world. The Bushman can also record what the animals are eating by pushing different buttons to name about 50 plants.

However, Liebenberg adds that the human factor is also very important. A big part of the project is the Bushman’s ability to understand and correctly report everything he sees. The combination of machine and man seems to work very well. With the data collected by the Cyber Tracker, Liebenberg make maps showing where the animal herds are and what the animals are eating, indicating facts about their health.

【推荐2】In our fiercely competitive society, achievement has become the top priority for many. According to national survey of 10,000 students, almost 80 percent of youth identified individual achievement or happiness as most important to them, while only 20 percent selected caring for others.

Our youth often strive to be successful even if it comes at a cost to their mental health, which may help explain increasing rates of anxiety and depression among the youth.

Actually, youth attitudes about achievement start with adults. Young people follow in the footsteps of adults. They can see how we treat success and productivity as symbols of honor. We reward the youth for being straight-A students. We encourage them to boost their resumes with endless extracurricular activities. We may tell our children that we value kindness and empathy(共情) but do not always promote these values with the same enthusiasm and efforts.

Our current obsession with achievement is likely fueling anxiety while damaging the fabric of our society. If we want to heal individually and collectively then we need to examine some relationships. This process starts by recognizing that success is not equal to sustained happiness. It makes more sense to achieve with the aim of making a positive contribution to the life of others. If you judge success only by individual measures such as money, power, or fame, you will probably be disappointed. Furthermore, let's break the myth that kindness is a barrier to achievement. There is a false statement that kindness is weakness. However, the opposite is true. Evidence suggests that children who care for others achieve more than those who do not. Kindness and achievement are not mutually exclusive. One can strive to achieve their individual goals and be kind to others.

Our drive to achieve is not necessarily a bad thing. It can have a positive impact on the lives of others. The problem occurs when we pursue success only for individual purposes. This may ultimately come at a cost to our mental health, our loved ones, and society.