Sure yoga has had more than its fifteen minutes of fame and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be over any time soon, and pilates is still a popular offering for those looking to add a bit more intensity to their workout, but there is a new type of “miracle exercise” popping up in magazines, gossip rags, and newspapers over the last few years. Have you ever wondered why Friends Courteney Cox Arquette and Jennifer Aniston are able to keep their figures and their friendship so tight? If you enjoy yoga but are also in love with the high-intensity kickboxing class across the hall, try a fusion class like Budokon (bu-do-kon) and get hip with the Hollywood crowd. Budokon is spiritual rhythmic class involving the poses of yoga with the quick, cardio aspect of martial arts training that is quickly sweeping the red carpet.

Although “The Way” sounds like a connection to a religion or another structured practice, Shayne emphasizes that it is merely a zen way of approaching your life and is not meant to be taken as enlightenment. There is a specific philosophy attached to the practice of Budokon as a way of connecting spirituality to the physical and mental stages of the art, but it primarily focuses on the individual and letting go of attachments and being true to yourself above all else.

Of course the steps are aquired over time and beginners are not obliged to be graceful right away, as Ellen McCarthy of The Washington Post learned when she experimented in a class taught by a student of Shayne’s. McCarthy later calls the experience, “A hell of a workout.” On her recommendation alone, I would volunteer to try out a class or two and challenge my body to work outside of its comfort zone for a bit, I think it sounds like fun regardless of whether or not the rest of the Budokon lifestyle fits me. Budokon may end up being another fad exercise trend that celebrities will wear out soon, but it seems to be gaining strength for now. If it makes you feel good and helps to make your body look like you could be a starlet’s body double, more power to founder Cameron Shayne and the refreshing style known as Budokon.

Sexuality is often defined simply in terms of sex, but sexuality encompasses many different aspects of our lives beyond just sex alone. Sexuality is determined in part by our genetics and in part by the social expression of our underlining heredity and interaction with others. Three common ways in which sexuality has been described are in terms of: sexual behavior, sexual orientation, and sexual identity. However sexuality like many other aspects of our lives can be best understood holistically whereby both the internal  and external factors that influence sexuality can be addressed.

The majority of educational resources available on sexuality focus on internal factors such as sexual behavior, sexual identity, and sexual orientation. These factors are important to sexuality given that they are responsible for influencing how we think, feel, and act out our unconscious expressions of sexuality. Although the internal factors related to sexuality are in part genetically determined (also referred to as biological determinism), human beings are rational beings and therefore have the ability to exercise choice in determining whether or not these internal factors get expressed publicly. Moreover, internal factors are not necessarily static and thus can change over time as we age and experience new places, situations, and people.
However what often gets neglected in discussions on sexuality is a dialogue on the diversity of external influences on sexuality. The most well known external influence on sexuality is gender socialization, which occurs in almost all aspects of our community including our family, school, media, and even politics. Some external influences that are less often associated to the development and expression of sexuality are sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, the presence of conflict or war, and spirituality, which could be thought of as both internally and externally influencing.

Of course the two greatest influencing factors on sexuality throughout history have been culture and religion. Culture is one of the central ways human beings define and express themselves including in terms of how we develop sexually. Cross-culturally sexuality means different things, and the expression of sexuality has different restrictions (or none at all) depending on where you go and who you talk to. Generally speaking, culture carries the most weight in sanctioning the expression, suppression, misuse, and even loving gesture of sexuality.
Despite what some people might think religion’s influence over sexuality is not about restrictions instead religion acts as a means by which sexuality can be channeled for the purposes of expression and even celebration. Although different religious doctrines propose a diversity of mandates when it comes to the ways in which sexuality should be channeled, most religions produce specifications on the basis of martial status, sex, and one’s personal spiritual growth.

A British study has found that food advertisements in magazines promoting healthier lifestyles are often contradicting the messages they are trying to put across.

“Nearly every magazine contains advice on a healthier lifestyle, yet we found the food adverts were for products high in sugar and salt and low in fibre such as ready meals, sauces and confectionary,” said Dr Adams.

“Obviously, it’s up to each of us to decide what we eat but if we’re constantly bombarded with images of unhealthy food every time we pick up a magazine then we’re going to be swayed in what we choose,” she adds.

For the study, the researchers analysed the data on the nutritional content of the foods advertised in 30 most widely-read weekly magazines during November 2007.

The findings revealed that foods in the adverts found that the products advertised were generally much higher in sugar and salt, and lower in fibre than the World Health Organisation  recommendations.

that many of the magazines, especially those targeting lower-income families are full of adverts promoting food that is largely unhealthy,” said Adams.

“Families are facing so many social pressures that it’s a constant battle to stay on the right track when choosing and preparing meals and these adverts are doing little to help,” Adams added.

The study has been published in the European Journal of Public Health.

A 27-year-old woman in northern China has died from bird flu in the country’s second death from the disease this year, the Health Ministry said.

The woman, surnamed Zhang, lived in Jinan city of Shandong province and died Saturday after falling sick on Jan. 5, the ministry said on its Web site late Sunday. The notice did not say how Zhang contracted the virus.

Earlier this month, a 19-year-old woman died from the bird flu virus in a Beijing hospital after contact with ducks in a market in a neighboring province. That was the first death from bird flu since February last year.

Health officials worry that the H5N1 bird flu virus could mutate into a form that could spread easily among people. China, which raises more poultry than any other country, has vowed to aggressively fight the virus.

The case comes at a worrisome time for authorities as tens of millions of people are on the move between cities and rural hometowns for Chinese New Year, which begins on Jan. 26. The Agricultural Ministry has said it will step up checks before the holiday.

A 2-year-old girl in northern China is currently in critical condition after testing positive for bird flu. She fell ill on Jan. 7 in central Hunan province and was taken to a hospital by her grandparents four days later after she returned home to Shanxi province, the Health Ministry said.

All the people who had close contact with the girl were under medical observation, the ministry said, and no one else has been found ill.

According to the latest World Health Organization figures, bird flu has killed 248 people worldwide since 2003, including 21 in China. The two deaths in China so far this year did not appear to be reflected in the tally.