Sometimes, life just doesn’t go your way. The situation might not be detrimental to your life, but for most people, the first instinct might be to think a lot about it and try to understand what happened. However, in reality, if the issue is out of your control, it’s best to let it go and move on. That’s not easy, though, is it? While everyone could be telling you not to worry and that everything’s going to be alright, if you’re like me and live for structure, that can be a hard thing to deal with. What do you do when you just need to relax and let it be? I’ve been reading a book (which is coming out as a movie next month) called Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and it deals a lot with just freeing your mind and accepting your life as it is. A line from the book best summarizes what I’m trying to say: “Try dropping it…sit quietly for now and cease your relentless participation. Watch what happens.” Letting your mind wander when the going gets tough can be hard, but what if regaining control means releasing your hold on the negative? Here are five steps to helping with that process:

1. Reorganizing your thoughts. It can be hard to see things the way they really are if your mind is focused on the “what ifs” and “should haves.” Letting go of the negative energy and focusing on what the upside of the situation is can really be a strong asset to your mind. Only you can take control of who you are, what you do, and what you think. So, keep your optimism up and shuck the negative, as focusing on something you can’t control just relinquishes your hold on life. Worrying doesn’t change a thing – so why not take control of your thoughts?

2. Staying on schedule. Getting back into your daily routine can help you regain some of the control you have lost. If you’ve been feeling like everything has been changing, keep yourself in check by going about life as normal. It might just give you the confidence you need to move forward!

3. Giving yourself a positive mantra. Maybe you have a favorite song that you find uplifting or there’s a quote that just gets to you. All you need sometimes is a positive reinforcement of the good things in your life to keep you going. A cliche line that I’ve heard thousands of times that never changes is “Life goes on.” Remembering that line or anything else that seems to ring true with you – it’s important to make sure you’re always keeping the faith.

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4. Surrounding yourself with positive influences. If there are some people who are not being understanding of what you’re going through, they’re not worth it! There are a ton of others who will listen or help you regain your hold on life. Life is too short to let others bring you down or keep the negative in your life. You’re never alone, so embrace who and what you have – it’s never too late to ask for help!

5. Being yourself. Never forget who you are and where you came from. If being in control of yourself has always been your mantra and stronghold, get yourself back to where you came from with the past four steps. It’s important to see yourself for who you are than to think that the one in control isn’t you. You’re always in control of your own destiny, so sister, keep it up!

Retaking control of your life can be a process, but it’s not hard if you have a positive attitude and strong people around you to help – keep the faith and never let yourself go! You only have one life, so don’t waste it worrying or keeping your feelings inside. Take control of what you have and ask for help if you need it. The first step may be the hardest, but also the most fulfilling – don’t ever give up and the power is yours!

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It’s summer time and with that comes the young folks out and about doing their thing. I’m all for having fun and enjoying your summer  but what I’m not for is anyone participating in any behavior that devalues them or their growth. Not to mention could lead to violence.  Here are a few habits that I noticed that young people engage in and it intensifies when the summer time hits.These is a short list. Please feel free to add on and spread the advice. If you see young people engaging in this, feel free to tap them on the shoulder. Especially if the young ones are your kids.

Having your young child dressed like a thug

I hate to see toddlers and young boys walking around in the summer time with their pants sagging and no shirt on. Now, having your pants sag is a style that transcends cultures and age groups so I can let that one slide. But make your little boys put a shirt on.  I do not care how hot it is. There is no need for a 5 or 6 year old to be shirtless in front of his house. At this point you probably choose his clothing. He does not need to mimic the older boys in this fashion.  The truth is many of the older boys who do dress in this way are not the best role models to mimic.

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At a certain time of night, there is no need for your child to be outside hanging with you and your homies/girls. This type of erratic schedule is what limits children and prevents them from being able to maintain a regular schedule when they are older. Or prevents them from assimilating into a responsible member of society. They are unable to adjust to going to bed at a certain time and waking up in time to start their day because you never showed them how.

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The Corner

Get your teenagers away from the corners of streets late at night. I repeat please forbid your kids from hanging on the end of the block at all hours of the night. Why? This is the time and place where foolishness jumps off. Sometimes that foolishness leads to fighting or even gun violence. I lived on the corner of my block when I lived in Chicago and as soon as the summer time hit naturally people came out to enjoy the weather. With that warm weather came teenagers and young adults hanging on the corner, playing loud music from their cars, arguing, drinking, doing drugs etc… It would not be such an issue if they were not out so late into the night, keeping their neighbors up. Also, if they knew how to have a good time without becoming violent or hostile and some people do. Then there are those who like to let loose as soon as the moon comes out so does the foolishness.

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Among more than 120,000 adults, those who sat more than six hours a day in their leisure time were significantly more likely to die in a 14-year period than those who sat less than three hours, according to Alpa Patel of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues.

The association was stronger in women than in men, the researchers reported online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

SOURCE

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According to the Associated Press, this fall, CBS is replacing the soap opera As the World Turns with an hour-long daily talk show with six co-hosts — all women, all mothers.

Those hosting the as-yet untitled daytime show include Holly Robinson Peete (we love her!), Sharon Osbourne; Leah Remini of The King of Queens, Julie Chen (host of The Early Show and CBS’ Big Brother), Sara Gilbert of TV’s Roseanne fame, and Broadway actress Marissa Jaret Winokur.

CBS said today that the new show will take a moms’ view of entertainment and news stories. And it looks like it’ll be rivaling its fellow woman’s roundtable discussion show “The View.”

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FROM SHINE.COM:

Everyone is aware of the obvious dangers in the home, such as rat poison, pest sprays, etc. But there are other dangers lurking in your home that could be damaging to your family and pets. Read on for the top dangers in your home and the protective measures you could take.

1. Dust Mites

You can’t see these with the naked eye, but they can be extremely harmful to your health. Dust mites are the most common cause of allergies and asthma. They feed off the dead skin cells that fall off out body. They mainly hide in beds, pillows, and mattresses. While there’s no way to completely get rid of dust mites, there are ways to reduce their impact. Wash your bedding in hot water every couple of weeks. Try to avoid going to bed with wet hair because dust mites feed off the moisture. Vacuum floor and rugs regularly. Put items that you cannot wash in a machine, like stuffed animals, into the freezer for a few hours to kill the mites. You can purchase allergy covers for your bed. They are woven so dust mites cannot slip through them.

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2. Medications

While you absolutely need to take a pill of so-and-so twice a day, medications are dangerous if you have small children around that may mistake the various shapes and colors for candy. Here are some protective measures to make sure you little ones can’t get to your stash. Store your medications where your kids can’t find them (perhaps use a lock), never leave meds within reach (ie. purse, countertop), make sure your bottles have child resistant caps, have the number to the poison control center available at all times (ie. refrigerator door).

READ THE REST HERE

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Find out how to correctly perform a hamstring stretch while laying down, and in the process possibly ease your lower back strain and /or pain.

Your hamstrings attach from your knee to your ishium (your butt bone). Therefore, when your hamstrings are tight, they can pull on your ishium which then pulls on your lower back, flattening it. This takes out the natural inward curve, which can be harmful to your lower back.

Hamstring Stretch Laying Down

Lay flat on your back.

Bend one leg up and put your hands behind that thigh. ( Or use a strap, as demonstrated in the video below) Position your thigh so it is perpendicular with the floor.

Straighten your leg until a stretch is felt in the back of your thigh. If you bend your toes up, you will also feel a stretch into your calf.

To make the stretch greater, pull your thigh to your chest.

Hold 20-30 seconds, repeat this hamstring exercise 3 times twice daily. Repeat on the other side.

Discontinue if pain increases and stays worse longer than 1-2 hours. If your pain increases into your thigh or lower leg, discontinue this stretch and consult your health care professional.

Here’s a taste of this week’s Yoga Flava TV Snack, “Hamstring Stretch”, and check in weekly for new episodes on Elev8:

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Like this video and pictures in the gallery? Please leave a comment below and let me know if it worked for you. Also, let me know what else you would like to know about yoga and spirituality.

Join Robin Downes on BlackPlanet.com

In the New York tri-state are? Then join us for:

Robin Downes’ Yoga Flava Summer Series Sessions
Monday Nights – 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Get Your Sensual Summer Body!

Location: The New Seminary Center For Interfaith Studies, 2672 Bway @ 102nd St. 2nd floor, NYC 10025
For Reservations and Information:
E-Mail: robin@yogaflava.com

www.YogaFlava.com

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That’s right. Epanya went all out in his campaign to make “Vogue Africa” a reality.

Vogue is currently published in 18 countries and one region, but Africa has never been selected to play home to the mag.

In order to get publisher Conde Nast to see the potential in the magazine – that would pay homage to African women – Epanya created fake covers, with beautiful models and styling.

But all his hard work did not pay off. Conde Nast has turned down his bid for the magazine.

He posted on his Facebook page,

“DEAR ALL. The Wait is over. Condé Nast said NO to an African license of VOGUE. So this is the last cover. Enjoy, but it’s a beginning of something,”

Although their “Black Issue” flew off the magazine racks in 2008, are you really surprised that Conde Nast rejected the idea?

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Hey everyone, we’re asking that you stand in prayer for Darwin Hobbs who is in the hospital with 4 blood clots in his lungs. We know that we serve a God who is ABLE to heal us! We are believing God that He will restore Darwin to perfect health and send comfort to his wife Traci during this time.

Darwin is in good spirits and has sent a tweet to update his Twitter followers.

Here is his latest tweet:

“Can’t sleep..not allwd 2 walk..might as well TWEET! thnx ALL 4 standing w/Traci & I! Pls pray tht the clots in my lungs DISSOLVE! With long life, He will satisfy!!!”

via: Rocspace news

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