All posts tagged: loosen

Why did Michigan loosen rules for parents wanting vaccine exemptions? : NPR

Why did Michigan loosen rules for parents wanting vaccine exemptions? : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

During a measles outbreak this spring in Washtenaw County in Michigan, local health officials worked to contain cases by ramping up contact tracing and testing efforts. People could take a measles test outside the Washtenaw County Health Department offices in Ypsilanti. Kate Wells/KFF Health News hide caption toggle caption Kate Wells/KFF Health News State health officials urged parents in several counties to vaccinate babies against measles ahead of schedule this spring as cases multiplied in Michigan. The outbreaks of the highly contagious virus — which can lead to brain swelling, deafness and death — came as parents are opting school-age kids out of vaccinations at a record-high rate. It’s a situation state officials have spent more than a decade trying to avoid. For years, they’ve been trying to make it harder for parents to send their kids to school unvaccinated. But those efforts have backfired in places like St. Clair County, in Michigan’s conservative Thumb region. Dr. Remington Nevin, the county’s medical director, has proudly declared “a new era of vaccine choice.” Local parents there …

Strengthen your lower back, loosen your hips and offset the effects of prolonged sitting with a beginner-friendly alternative to the 300-rep kettlebell swings workout

Strengthen your lower back, loosen your hips and offset the effects of prolonged sitting with a beginner-friendly alternative to the 300-rep kettlebell swings workout

Published by Jenni Sidey

Part of my duty as a fitness writer with a background in personal training is to try workouts and interrogate fitness fads so you, dear reader, don’t have to. At the start of the year, I undertook the 300 kettlebell swings a day challenge, which involved, you guessed it, doing 300 daily kettlebell swings every day for 30 consecutive days. Before going any further, I want to highlight that this is an advanced challenge and not one I’d recommend a beginner or even intermediate-level exerciser embark on. Article continues below You may like Even with my background I approached the challenge cautiously, starting with an extra light weight, breaking up the 300 swings with lots of rest, stretching thoroughly before and after, and resting and refuelling adequately when not performing kettlebell swings. Caveats aside, after 30 days, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Performing daily hip hinges, the movement pattern that underpins the kettlebell swing, strengthened my glutes and loosened my hip flexors, helping reinforce my slightly weak and injury-prone lower back, while offsetting …

Trump proposes to loosen rules for cancer-causing gas from sterilizer plants

Trump proposes to loosen rules for cancer-causing gas from sterilizer plants

Published by Sam Flores

The Trump administration proposed Friday to loosen rules surrounding emissions of a cancer-causing gas from sterilizer plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule to loosen requirements for sterilizer plants that emit a gas known as ethylene oxide. The EPA says ethylene oxide can cause lymphoma, myeloma and lymphocytic leukemia, as well as breast cancer… Source link

Trump seeks to loosen environmental regulations to ‘unleash’ nuclear energy

Trump seeks to loosen environmental regulations to ‘unleash’ nuclear energy

Published by Sam Flores

The Trump administration is making moves to loosen the environmental rules for nuclear energy. Earlier this month, the Energy Department published an exclusion to environmental reviews for the reactors under its jurisdiction. And it could be loosening other rules, including radiation limits.  But the biggest changes could be still to come from the relatively low-profile… Source link

My osteopath told me to do this one type of daily movement to strengthen my glutes, loosen my hips and protect my lower back from prolonged sitting

My osteopath told me to do this one type of daily movement to strengthen my glutes, loosen my hips and protect my lower back from prolonged sitting

Published by Jenni Sidey

Face down on my osteopath’s treatment table after a long, sedentary day in the office, I recently asked if anything can be done to offset the harm caused by prolonged sitting. Without hesitation, associate osteopath Andy McIntyre BOst MSc from The Livewell Clinic in London, fired back: “Hip hinge, hip hinge, hip hinge—all day long.” Mastering this simple movement, the kind of pivoting motion involved in bowing forward then returning to an upright position with a flat back, “will undo a lot of the damage caused by sitting,” he tells Fit&Well. You may like “When seated for long stretches, our hip flexors can become very tight as they get used to holding us in that 90˚ posture,” McIntyre explains. “At the same time, our glutes get very long and very weak.” As a consequence, when we need to perform hinging movements, like lifting something off the floor, we can end up using our back too much or, when squatting, straining our knees. Often, McIntyre finds, when people present in his clinic with lower back or …

If you work at a desk, a Pilates teacher recommends these three yoga strap moves to loosen up hunched shoulders

If you work at a desk, a Pilates teacher recommends these three yoga strap moves to loosen up hunched shoulders

Published by Jenni Sidey

Do your shoulders feel stiff or achy? Do you struggle to turn your head or touch your chin to your chest without feeling a twinge? Are your shoulders tender to the touch or knotted and rope-like under your hands? You may like These are all signs that your shoulder muscles may be tight. Pamela Paley, a Pilates master trainer for Club Pilates, says that tight shoulders can be a symptom of our busy lifestyles. “Most people have tight shoulders from hunching over a computer, driving, and carrying things like computer bags, suitcases or even small children,” she says, but stretching regularly can bring some relief. For these movements, you’ll need a yoga strap that is six to eight feet long and made of non-stretch material. If you don’t have anything purpose-built on hand, a packing strap or even a scarf will do. Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox. “A flat straight strap can help with control, better form and posture, and assist in gaining flexibility throughout …

I’m a yoga teacher and this is the stretch I rely on to loosen up stiff muscles in the shoulders and upper back

I’m a yoga teacher and this is the stretch I rely on to loosen up stiff muscles in the shoulders and upper back

Published by Jenni Sidey

Most of us know that nagging feeling of stiff, unhappy shoulders. This discomfort can be caused by all kinds of things, but hunching over a laptop all day is a common culprit. I’m a yoga instructor and my go-to move for relieving tight shoulders at the end of the day is eagle arms. You may like You can instantly feel your muscles releasing as you enter the pose, which targets the shoulders, upper back and arms. How to do eagle arms How to Do Eagle Arm Pose – YouTube Watch On Eagle arms, known in Sanskrit as garudasana, can be practiced either sitting or standing. I like to do a few shoulder rolls before entering the pose. Here’s how to do it. Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox. Inhale and lift your arms out to the sides to shoulder height. Exhale and bring your arms in front of your chest. Inhale and bend your elbows. Exhale and cross the right elbow over the left. If comfortable, …

Trump Officials Loosen Strings on Federal Education Money for Iowa. More States Could Follow

Trump Officials Loosen Strings on Federal Education Money for Iowa. More States Could Follow

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is giving Iowa more power to decide how it spends its federal education money, signing off on a proposal that is expected to be the first of many as conservative states seek new latitude from a White House promising to “return education to the states.” Iowa was the first state to apply for an exemption from certain spending rules after Education Secretary Linda McMahon invited states to request the flexibility last year. Such waivers have been offered for years but are finding new interest as Trump officials leverage all available tools to remove the federal government from local education. McMahon formally approved Iowa’s plan Wednesday at an event in the state. Indiana and Kansas have also applied to be exempted from certain parts of federal education law, and leaders of other states have expressed interest. McMahon told The Associated Press that the new flexibility will free up time and money now devoted to ensuring compliance with federal rules. With fewer strings attached, states can pool their federal dollars toward …

Is democracy always about truth? Why we may need to loosen our views to heal our divisions

Is democracy always about truth? Why we may need to loosen our views to heal our divisions

Published by Sam Flores

We find ourselves in the midst of a crisis of truth. Trust in public institutions of knowledge (schools, legacy media, universities and experts) are at an all-time low, and blatant liars are drawing political support around the world. It seems we collectively have ceased to care about the truth. The nervousness of democrats before this epistemic crisis is partly based on a widespread assumption that the idea of democracy depends on the value of truth. But even this assumption has a cost. Sadly, the democratic tendency to overemphasise the value of truth enters into conflict with other democratic demands. This leads us into contradictions that become fodder for the enemies of open societies. Philosophers have presented several arguments for this connection between truth and democracy. The most widespread is also the crudest: democracy stands for all the things we like, and truth is one of them. But there are more sophisticated ways to make the point. The German philosopher Jürgen Habermas argues that a healthy democracy has a deliberative culture and deliberation requires “validity claims”. …