Here I was, 52 years old and a long-time meditator. I took a good look in the mirror. To my total dismay - gravity was well at work!
Since I was 19 years old, I had eaten organic foods, taken supplements, gone through natural childbirth with my son and practiced Yoga at least three times a week. I even meditated on a regular basis. Yet, when I looked into the mirror in my early fifties, I saw deep lines in my forehead, crow's feet that testified to lots of laughter in my life (at least I could acknowledge that part!), hanging jowls, lines around my lips and rings around my neck. Help! It seemed that vanity was alive and well and thriving in me !
I confess: I found myself on a quest to "correcting" (what a great word) the ravages of time showing up as wrinkles and bags in my face and neck.
Surgery was not a consideration for me - no, no! At age 65, my beautiful mother looked permanently surprised from too many face-lifts. Besides, I'm the organic type. What to do? I was on a search to look younger - some how, some way - naturally!
First I bought the electronic gadgets. I found myself holding this one contraption to my face for an hour a day - getting little electric jolts to the muscles in my face. Well, I lasted five days. I understand staying even this long with such a device was some kind of record. No way was I going to spend so much time doing this. Besides, my arms were also getting tired holding this thing to my face. Next, (yes I did shame on me!) I bought the electronic mask! This was a 45-minute-a-day regime. Forget it. I found that I wouldn't spend the time doing this either. Besides, the results were really not forthcoming. I looked just as "baggy" and tired as ever. Sigh?
There just had to be another alternative to isometrics and electric shocks! I then discovered face exercises. Yes! To make a long story short, I ended up buying all 12 programs offered out there on the market at the time. I discovered, to my dismay, that these programs were either too long, too short, incomplete, "incompetent," or they also took 40 minutes a day. However, some of these exercises were showing results on my face .
I discovered that the old belief that touching or rubbing your face caused wrinkles was false. Actually, I had stumbled upon muscle resistance training for the face. This made sense to me. After all everybody knows that through exercising in a gym or through doing Yoga, you can firm up the body and skin. Naturally, the same could be true about the muscles and skin on the face. I was about to find out for sure.
Since I am a teacher at heart (I taught school for years) I developed my own program and I got amazing results. My wrinkles flattened out and then disappeared. The muscles in my face got bigger and created lift, giving me the appearance of youth. The papery skin under my eyes and on my neck smoothed out and became firm. The rings around my neck completely disappeared. The lines around my mouth were evaporating. I had my young, plump lips back. My upper eyelids were showing, again. In short, my exercises were working. I was regaining that youthful, dynamic look I had when I was young!
The next thing I knew, all my girlfriends wanted to know what I was doing to look so good. I told them, and my workshops were born.
Okay, okay - I knew from past experience I wasn't going to spend 40 minutes a day on this stuff, no matter how young it made me look. So I consulted my long-time family doctor, and together we developed a program that covered all 57 muscles in the face and neck in a 15-minute session.
I admit it. I have a bit of a perfectionist residing in me. It took me three years to perfect this workshop program. As I worked on the exercises, I found I got sick of counting and trying to remember everything SmarTone. So, I made cassette tapes and CD's that teach, pace and count for me. Maybe I'm a lazy perfectionist? Sigh?
Since I was 19 years old, I had eaten organic foods, taken supplements, gone through natural childbirth with my son and practiced Yoga at least three times a week. I even meditated on a regular basis. Yet, when I looked into the mirror in my early fifties, I saw deep lines in my forehead, crow's feet that testified to lots of laughter in my life (at least I could acknowledge that part!), hanging jowls, lines around my lips and rings around my neck. Help! It seemed that vanity was alive and well and thriving in me !
I confess: I found myself on a quest to "correcting" (what a great word) the ravages of time showing up as wrinkles and bags in my face and neck.
Surgery was not a consideration for me - no, no! At age 65, my beautiful mother looked permanently surprised from too many face-lifts. Besides, I'm the organic type. What to do? I was on a search to look younger - some how, some way - naturally!
First I bought the electronic gadgets. I found myself holding this one contraption to my face for an hour a day - getting little electric jolts to the muscles in my face. Well, I lasted five days. I understand staying even this long with such a device was some kind of record. No way was I going to spend so much time doing this. Besides, my arms were also getting tired holding this thing to my face. Next, (yes I did shame on me!) I bought the electronic mask! This was a 45-minute-a-day regime. Forget it. I found that I wouldn't spend the time doing this either. Besides, the results were really not forthcoming. I looked just as "baggy" and tired as ever. Sigh?
There just had to be another alternative to isometrics and electric shocks! I then discovered face exercises. Yes! To make a long story short, I ended up buying all 12 programs offered out there on the market at the time. I discovered, to my dismay, that these programs were either too long, too short, incomplete, "incompetent," or they also took 40 minutes a day. However, some of these exercises were showing results on my face .
I discovered that the old belief that touching or rubbing your face caused wrinkles was false. Actually, I had stumbled upon muscle resistance training for the face. This made sense to me. After all everybody knows that through exercising in a gym or through doing Yoga, you can firm up the body and skin. Naturally, the same could be true about the muscles and skin on the face. I was about to find out for sure.
Since I am a teacher at heart (I taught school for years) I developed my own program and I got amazing results. My wrinkles flattened out and then disappeared. The muscles in my face got bigger and created lift, giving me the appearance of youth. The papery skin under my eyes and on my neck smoothed out and became firm. The rings around my neck completely disappeared. The lines around my mouth were evaporating. I had my young, plump lips back. My upper eyelids were showing, again. In short, my exercises were working. I was regaining that youthful, dynamic look I had when I was young!
The next thing I knew, all my girlfriends wanted to know what I was doing to look so good. I told them, and my workshops were born.
Okay, okay - I knew from past experience I wasn't going to spend 40 minutes a day on this stuff, no matter how young it made me look. So I consulted my long-time family doctor, and together we developed a program that covered all 57 muscles in the face and neck in a 15-minute session.
I admit it. I have a bit of a perfectionist residing in me. It took me three years to perfect this workshop program. As I worked on the exercises, I found I got sick of counting and trying to remember everything SmarTone. So, I made cassette tapes and CD's that teach, pace and count for me. Maybe I'm a lazy perfectionist? Sigh?
Even penguins celebrate Christmas.
Animal carers in a Japanese park kitted out their birds in some adorable Santa outfits.
They waddled through the gardens in their red and green robes Neo skin lab, complete with white frills.
One intrepid penguin, however, got a bit distracted by some rustling in a nearby bush and broke away from the group to inspect.
The video has attracted more than 100,000 likes on Facebook from amazed penguin fans.
But others have questioned the ’cruel’ treatment of the birds.
One user wrote: ’This is not cute, poor things haven’t got a choice here Neo skin lab, ditch the jackets and let them be natural cute penguins.’
Another viewer added: ’Disgusting...these are or should be wild birds not toys reenex facial!’
The most common religion in Japan is Shintoism with only 2.3 per cent identifying as Christians but Christmas is widely celebrated.
Animal carers in a Japanese park kitted out their birds in some adorable Santa outfits.
They waddled through the gardens in their red and green robes Neo skin lab, complete with white frills.
One intrepid penguin, however, got a bit distracted by some rustling in a nearby bush and broke away from the group to inspect.
The video has attracted more than 100,000 likes on Facebook from amazed penguin fans.
But others have questioned the ’cruel’ treatment of the birds.
One user wrote: ’This is not cute, poor things haven’t got a choice here Neo skin lab, ditch the jackets and let them be natural cute penguins.’
Another viewer added: ’Disgusting...these are or should be wild birds not toys reenex facial!’
The most common religion in Japan is Shintoism with only 2.3 per cent identifying as Christians but Christmas is widely celebrated.
Game of Thrones - the record-breaking fantasy drama TV series - will end after its eighth season, American broadcaster HBO has confirmed.
HBO programming chief Casey Bloys made the announcement at the Television Critics Association’s conference .
The seventh season - made up of seven episodes instead of the usual 10 - is expected in summer next year, while the final season will be in 2018.
Game of Thrones is based on novels written by George R R Martin.
Now the programme has overtaken the source material, meaning producers are telling a story no-one has read before.
Spin-off ’possible’
Speaking on Saturday in Beverly Hills, California , Mr Bloys said the number of episodes for the final season was yet to be determined.
"We’ll take as many as the (producers) will give us," he said.
Mr Bloys did not rule out a spin-off, saying that "we’re open to it, (the producers) aren’t opposed to it, but there’s no concrete plans right now".
Last year, Game of Thrones won a record 12 Emmy Awards for a series in a single year.
The series has picked up 23 nominations - another record - ahead of this year’s annual ceremony to be held in September .
HBO programming chief Casey Bloys made the announcement at the Television Critics Association’s conference .
The seventh season - made up of seven episodes instead of the usual 10 - is expected in summer next year, while the final season will be in 2018.
Game of Thrones is based on novels written by George R R Martin.
Now the programme has overtaken the source material, meaning producers are telling a story no-one has read before.
Spin-off ’possible’
Speaking on Saturday in Beverly Hills, California , Mr Bloys said the number of episodes for the final season was yet to be determined.
"We’ll take as many as the (producers) will give us," he said.
Mr Bloys did not rule out a spin-off, saying that "we’re open to it, (the producers) aren’t opposed to it, but there’s no concrete plans right now".
Last year, Game of Thrones won a record 12 Emmy Awards for a series in a single year.
The series has picked up 23 nominations - another record - ahead of this year’s annual ceremony to be held in September .
From dancing frogs to cheeky geckos, there is little that escapes 28-year-old Mr Roem’s camera.
The full-time nurse started photography only three years ago as a part time hobby.
Now the Batam-based photographer spends whatever free time he has chasing down his subjects in the wild Neo skin lab.
"I follow the insects in order to capture exact expressions. Sometimes from more than a dozen photos there will only be one photo with a good expression. Other days I don’t get anything," he tells the BBC.
Many people don’t know or see much into specific parts of an animal," Mr Roem says. "I try to showcase one specific part, for example if you look at their eyes- it’s awesome."
"I first started learning photography by myself, then later started getting feedback from a teacher," Mr Roem says. "I mostly go around Batam taking photos, but when I have free time I try to travel around Indonesia bull market."
His busy work life means he has little time to take photographs, but when he does he spends up to a week editing a single shot.
"I take around one full day to take one photograph," he says . "But up to a week to finish the photograph, including editing and processing."
The full-time nurse started photography only three years ago as a part time hobby.
Now the Batam-based photographer spends whatever free time he has chasing down his subjects in the wild Neo skin lab.
"I follow the insects in order to capture exact expressions. Sometimes from more than a dozen photos there will only be one photo with a good expression. Other days I don’t get anything," he tells the BBC.
Many people don’t know or see much into specific parts of an animal," Mr Roem says. "I try to showcase one specific part, for example if you look at their eyes- it’s awesome."
"I first started learning photography by myself, then later started getting feedback from a teacher," Mr Roem says. "I mostly go around Batam taking photos, but when I have free time I try to travel around Indonesia bull market."
His busy work life means he has little time to take photographs, but when he does he spends up to a week editing a single shot.
"I take around one full day to take one photograph," he says . "But up to a week to finish the photograph, including editing and processing."
As summer is just around the corner, I happily put on my cute sundress to show off my sexy, toned calf and arm muscles that I have been working on all winter. I eagerly wait for compliments. Nothing. Nobody said anything.
Finally, one of my colleagues said to me, "Oh my God, your muscles are so big, so scary ."
There it is, my long-awaited "compliment." Thank you.
Just because I choose to have a different body type from what most Chinese find aesthetically pleasing, I am scary?
You know what I find scary? Those skinny and weak chopstick legs that many Chinese women dream of having. I am afraid they might break when they run.
Yes, my muscles are above average, but that doesn’t mean I am fat. In China, girls often ask each other how much they weigh, but that measurement doesn’t take into account how much of your weight is muscle and how much is fat Service Learning.
People who work out ask each other about body fat percentage. Mine is 18, which puts me in the athlete category. That’s to say, even though somebody weighs the same as me, our bodies might look very different.
In many Asian countries, people find big muscles scary. Whenever I try to talk my girlfriends into fitness training, most of them say they want to look fit, but they are scared of getting muscular.
"I don’t want to look like a man," they say.
Even though I explain that it is harder for women to build muscle than men, the fear of building too much muscle runs so deep that they don’t want to risk it.
Like me, many of my muscular guy friends are not getting positive comments about their body.
One of them keeps getting rejected by girls because they think he might be a violent person. My friend, despite his strong and tough appearance, is in fact like a teddy bear in temperament.
"I believe he is a nice guy and will not hit me, but I am scared of the damage he can do," one of the girls said to me.
Other girls told me that they think most bodybuilders are playboys dermes. "They must want to hook up with many pretty women," they assume.
Another muscular friend of mine always wears a loose T-shirt to cover his body in summer.
I asked him why, and he said he is afraid that people might think he is all brawn and no brains, a Chinese discrimination that looks down on muscular men.
I get it. People have a lot of issues regarding body image.
But we can either sit back and let people judge or stand up and tell the world that we are proud of our body, just like the ongoing body positive movement that encourages women all over the world to love their body just the way it is.
Honestly, when I build muscle I also build self-esteem and self-confidence, and I believe that it’s the new sexy.
Finally, one of my colleagues said to me, "Oh my God, your muscles are so big, so scary ."
There it is, my long-awaited "compliment." Thank you.
Just because I choose to have a different body type from what most Chinese find aesthetically pleasing, I am scary?
You know what I find scary? Those skinny and weak chopstick legs that many Chinese women dream of having. I am afraid they might break when they run.
Yes, my muscles are above average, but that doesn’t mean I am fat. In China, girls often ask each other how much they weigh, but that measurement doesn’t take into account how much of your weight is muscle and how much is fat Service Learning.
People who work out ask each other about body fat percentage. Mine is 18, which puts me in the athlete category. That’s to say, even though somebody weighs the same as me, our bodies might look very different.
In many Asian countries, people find big muscles scary. Whenever I try to talk my girlfriends into fitness training, most of them say they want to look fit, but they are scared of getting muscular.
"I don’t want to look like a man," they say.
Even though I explain that it is harder for women to build muscle than men, the fear of building too much muscle runs so deep that they don’t want to risk it.
Like me, many of my muscular guy friends are not getting positive comments about their body.
One of them keeps getting rejected by girls because they think he might be a violent person. My friend, despite his strong and tough appearance, is in fact like a teddy bear in temperament.
"I believe he is a nice guy and will not hit me, but I am scared of the damage he can do," one of the girls said to me.
Other girls told me that they think most bodybuilders are playboys dermes. "They must want to hook up with many pretty women," they assume.
Another muscular friend of mine always wears a loose T-shirt to cover his body in summer.
I asked him why, and he said he is afraid that people might think he is all brawn and no brains, a Chinese discrimination that looks down on muscular men.
I get it. People have a lot of issues regarding body image.
But we can either sit back and let people judge or stand up and tell the world that we are proud of our body, just like the ongoing body positive movement that encourages women all over the world to love their body just the way it is.
Honestly, when I build muscle I also build self-esteem and self-confidence, and I believe that it’s the new sexy.
