I remember the moment well--the moment where the shooting pain hit me in my back and sent me to my knees, unable to breathe. I remember the numbness and tingling I felt in my right foot, and no matter how much I commanded, my foot would not obey. As a physical therapist, I knew exactly what was happening. I just couldn’t believe it was happening to me.

I was young, healthy, active and a dedicated yoga practitioner. How could it be that I had herniated a disc in my lower back? The fear surrounding any significant injury began to surface. The main question in my mind was, “would I be able to stay active and do the things I love doing, the activities that fulfill my soul and inspire me daily?”

The doctor took one look at my MRI (which revealed a significant disc herniation at L5-S1 with nerve root impingement) and told me I would have to modify my activities for the rest of my life. I said “thank you very much” and hung up the phone. Three weeks later, I was pain-free. Five years later, I am working with others to help them overcome their physical injuries and chronic pain using what worked for me--yoga.

* Yoga Meets Physical Therapy

Yoga therapy is a long-established and recognized healing modality in India and is now an emerging field in the West. A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that yoga was the most effective treatment for chronic lower back pain when compared to conventional exercise. Yoga also was found to significantly reduce pain and improve grip strength in individuals suffering from carpal-tunnel syndrome.

The marriage of physical therapy to yoga is a natural one. With a clear understanding of anatomy and movement science, it became obvious to me that one asana (pose) could accomplish many different things in the body at one time.

Yoga asanas provide a unique method of creating balance in the body and mind where conventional stretching exercises fall short. There is a strong emphasis on alignment and focus on subtle actions that create lasting change from the inside out.

For example, downward facing dog pose (adho mukha svanasana) lengthens the spine, stretches the hamstrings, strengthens the upper body and opens the chest simultaneously. In a traditional physical therapy setting, we tend to focus on one muscle at a time. Yoga can accomplish more with one pose than five separate physical therapy exercises.

The most striking difference between yoga and conventional physical therapy is the attention to breath. Breath is the one thing that connects our minds to our bodies for more conscious movement and awareness. Yoga shifts the body into a more relaxed state by switching from the fight or flight of regular exercise into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the only environment in which the body can heal. For years, I taught patients with back pain “cat/cow” exercises, which gently stretch the spine, and never felt that it provided great relief. Now when I teach the same pose intimately connecting the breath with movement, healing comes naturally.

BEIJING (AP) — A World Health Organization official said Sunday that it wasn't surprising that a new strain of bird flu has spread to China's capital after sickening dozens in the eastern part of the country.

Up until Saturday when Beijing officials reported the capital's first case of H7N9, all cases had been in Shanghai and other eastern China areas. On Sunday, the first two cases were reported in central Henan province, which is next to Beijing.

It's not the case that everyone confirmed infected with H7N9 was "clustered in one small area with the same source of exposure," said Michael O'Leary, head of WHO's office in China. "So we've been expecting new cases to occur ... Furthermore, we still expect that there will be other cases."

A 7-year-old girl was Beijing's first confirmed case of H7N9, which has now sickened 51 people, of whom 11 died.

Health officials believe the virus that was first spotted in humans last month is spreading through direct contact with infected fowl.

O'Leary said "the good news" was that there was still no evidence that humans had passed on the virus to other humans.

"As far as we know, all the cases are individually infected in a sporadic and not connected way," he said, adding that the source of infection is still being investigated.

The girl, whose parents are in the live poultry trade, was admitted to a hospital Thursday with symptoms of fever, sore throat, coughing and headache, the Beijing Health Bureau said.

O'Leary said early treatment can be effective, as demonstrated by the girl who was recovering in hospital and in stable condition.

In the only other reported cases outside of eastern China, health officials in Henan province announced that tests on two men Thursday revealed they had the virus.

They said a 34-year-old restaurant chef who had displayed flu symptoms for about a week was in critical condition in hospital, while a 65-year-old farmer who was in frequent contact with poultry was in stable condition after receiving treatment.

They said 19 people who had been in close contact with the two men had not shown any flu symptoms.

China has been more open in its response to the new virus than it was a decade ago with an outbreak of SARS, when authorities were highly criticized for not releasing information.
 

This magnificent butterfly differs from the other Fritillaries in the fact that the females are so unlike the males that only a skilled naturalist would even guess that they are related. Both sexes are rather rare and are found only in a comparatively narrow range extending from West Virginia to Missouri, northward to Ohio and Indiana, and southward to Georgia and Arkansas.

    This species was first described by Cramer a long time ago from specimens of the male sex. It was later described by Say and other writers all of whom saw only the males. The other sex was first recognized by William H. Edwards, whose account of its discovery as given in his splendid work on the Butterflies of North America is worth quoting:

    "No mention is made of the female by any author," wrote Mr. Edwards, "and it seems to have been unknown till its discovery by me in 1864 in Kanawha County, West Virginia. On the 20th August, I saw, for the first time, a male hovering about the flowers of the iron-weed (Vernonia fasciculata), and succeeded in taking it. Two days afterwards, in same vicinity, while breaking my way through a dense thicket of the same weed, hoping to find another Diana, I came suddenly upon a large black and blue butterfly feeding so quietly as to allow me to stand near it some seconds and watch its motions. It seemed to be a new species of Limenitis, allied to Ursula, which it resembled in color. But on taking it, I saw it was a female Argynnis, and the general pattern of the under wing left little doubt of its affinity to the Diana male, despite its total difference in color and of upper surface. Subsequent captures confirmed this conjecture, and out of the large number that have since been taken the males have been of the known type and the females black, with no tendency in either to vary in the direction of the other.

     "When my attention was called to the species I found it not very uncommon, always upon or near the iron-weed, which is very abundant and grows in rank luxuriance upon the rich bottom lands of the Kanawha River, frequently reaching a height from eight to ten feet and in August covered by heads of purple flowers that possess a remarkable attraction for most butterflies. Both sexes are conspicuous, the males from the strong contrast of color and the females from their great size and the habit of alighting on the topmost flower and resting with wings erect and motionless. It is an exceedingly alert and wary species, differing in this from our other Argynnids. At the slightest alarm it will fly high into the woods near which, upon the narrow bottoms or river slopes, it is invariably found. It is a true southern species, sensitive to cold, not to be looked for in the cooler part of file morning but flying down from the forest when the sun is well up. From eleven to three o'clock is its feeding time."

     The life-history of this fine butterfly is similar to that of the lesser Fritillaries. The butterflies appear from mid-summer onward, the males preceding the females, and the eggs are laid on or near violets in August or September. The larvae hibernate and mature early the following summer. As they approach the chrysalis stage they are rather large velvety black caterpillars with rows of fleshy barbed spines that show an orange tint at their bases. There is thus but one generation each year.

When you put on an Air Jordan for the 1st time, it provides you an unparalleled feeling of achievement. Only a foot wear fanatic can recognize the adore and satisfaction that is obtained by wearing a shoe which is long wanted, no matter how costly is the fact that. The relation among Air Jordans and its followers is analogous to the relation between bread and butter. If they are not together, there is some thing wrong.Newest releases of the Air Jordan's might be browsed on our web site.

According to the markets and requirements, Jordan Retro Shoes are far ahead of other products. Every year these Jordan Retro shoes will set up a benchmark of the whole sneakers industries on designs, innovation, and function. The core of these air jordan retro 8 are the perfect combination of the athlete and the technology-combining the most outstanding superstar among the basketball players, Michael Jordan and his shoes which accompany Michael with his glorious career. These Jordan Retro shoes features Michael’s untiring pursuing to the achievements.

This will help best of all in case you had the ability to receive the New Jordans for sale in particular as well as savings. Each of our air flow Nike jordan sneakers are common affordable and also exceptional attributes along with variations. Air Nike jordan Sneakers 1 is often a celebrated sneaker and is also your ultimate goal on most footwear debt collectors for the record along with mainly because it ended up being the 1st Nike jordan sneakers presented.
 

If you're looking for Air Jordan shoes, you may have realized what a task it can be to find them. Below are some online shoe stores that carry authentic Nike Air Jordan shoes, including hard to find styles and sizes of Air Jordans; used Jordans; retro Jordan shoes and some great deals and sales.

Deputies said the man and another man had just returned to one of their homes from Willowbrook Mall, where they had bought Air Jordan XI "Bred" tennis shoes. As the driver pulled up to the front of his home, two men in a green, four-door vehicle pulled in front of them. An armed man got out of the car, deputies said, approached the men and demanded their new shoes.

Almost every version of the nike air jordan shoes have the outstanding feature in the eyes of people. Such as the air jordan 1 are regarded as the beginning of the legendary buy air jordan shoes. air jordanAt the same time it is seen as a king of culture mark for the sneaker marketing.While the air jordan 7 shoes are regarded as the most comfortable for among the many jordan shoes.

Air Jordan series which belong to the Nike Company are the most famous shoes which are named after the NBA superstar, Michael Jordan. In 1985, Michael Jordan signed a contract with the small company Nike which is a sports goods manufacture. Then Nike put forward these first Jordan Retro shoes that are Air Jordan 1 shoes. Though this Air Jordan 1 with special colorways and unique technology are quite wonderful, they are only the beginning of the fairy tale.