Do-Sa-Do For Mindfulness

Written by Maya Talisman Frost


When I was 12, one of my best friends was a square dancer. Twice a week, her family would pile intorepparttar Country Squire station wagon and head torepparttar 114893 Grange Hall, where they'd gather with their square dancing club for an evening of music, friendship and do-sa-do. (That'srepparttar 114894 correct spelling, byrepparttar 114895 way. Visit www.dosado.com)

As a regular guest, I was fascinated byrepparttar 114896 form but, inrepparttar 114897 height of my coolness-conscious years, also acutely aware ofrepparttar 114898 overwhelming dork factor. These people lived to square dance.

They skipped around for two or three hours at a time, twirling and smiling and dabbing at their foreheads between dances. They hunted for holiday-themed fabric months before special dances in order to whip uprepparttar 114899 perfect ruffled dress and matching shirt for each occasion. They packed their petticoats and headed to Penticton, British Columbia every summer for a regional square dancers' convergence.

The square dance girls were just as boy-crazy as my regular friends, but they had a built-in way to hold hands withrepparttar 114900 guys they liked. As for me, I had a major crush on my friend's older brother who, at 15, was an articulate, ambitious student body president with piercing blue eyes and blond hair to his shoulders (it was 1972, after all).

In one of our (for me, anyway) excruciating conversations involving much blushing, he told me that square dancing was like meditation. "It's a way to forget about everything except what's going on right now. You have to pay attention to whatrepparttar 114901 caller says, and let your mind and body make sense of it naturally, without trying too hard."

Atrepparttar 114902 time, I had only a fleeting familiarity with meditation, and I didn't see much similarity between these suburban, gingham-clad dancers andrepparttar 114903 Hare Krishnas that offered carnations to passersby on downtown street corners.

Years later, I have to marvel at his insight.

Square dancing IS like meditation. There's no focusing on memories ofrepparttar 114904 past or worries aboutrepparttar 114905 future. Instead, a square dancer must remain in a state of acceptance and anticipation. The caller will determinerepparttar 114906 next move, and no amount of second-guessing or outsmarting will help you become more effective--or more popular.

The Undercover Vitamin

Written by David Leonhardt


The Undercover Vitamin By David Leonhardt

There is a secret vitamin inrepparttar neighborhood, wandering around your body under cover. This "vitamin" has just one single purpose, although some researchers believe he has ulterior motives. He goes byrepparttar 114892 inconspicuous codename of "D" – Vitamin D.

Don't be fooled by his clever disguise. D is no vitamin. He's a steroid hormone, slipping through your body under guise of a vitamin. And he doesn't have dozens of functions, like vitamin C or vitamin E, just one vital mission – to mineralize your bones!

Mineralization is a key objective of every body. Imagine if we all had flabby bones. The world would look like a Salvador Dali nightmare. Vitamin D saves us from having flabby bones.

More importantly, vitamin D saves us from having brittle bones. He prevents us from rickets and osteomalacia by balancingrepparttar 114893 calcium and phosphorous in our blood. Ooh, that D is a clever one. Not only is he a master of disguises, but he is a master chemist, constantly monitoring, measuring and balancingrepparttar 114894 mix so it just right to ensure everybody has strong and healthy bones.

Word onrepparttar 114895 grapevine is that 30% to 40% of hip fractures in elderly people arerepparttar 114896 result of insufficient vitamin D. So we caught up with D, and managed to slip away with a rare interview transcript:

"D, some of your fans can't get enough of you. What should they do?"

"Get plenty of sun. That isrepparttar 114897 key. Whererepparttar 114898 sun touches your skin, that's where I will be."

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