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With its primary goal to be the worlds most competitive and prestigious soccer league, along with one of Americas premier sports and entertainment properties, Major league soccer is a large part of worldwide soccer news and is making great strides toward accomplishing its objective. With 6 teams making up the Eastern Conference and an equal number featured in the Western Conference, Major league soccer is going strong with 12 clubs in only its 11th season.

However, soccer news recalls that the league has made great achievements since its inception in 1993. Its inaugural season began in 1995 and soccer news stirred around the new formation of teams, event locations and new players. In 1996, soccer news reported the Leagues first player draft and spring training. As attendance continued to grow, ESPN began televising soccer news and popularity soared across the nation. During this year, more soccer news reports and members of the media began covering MLS events. Supporters turned out in large fashion to catch a glimpse of their favorite teams and players.

In 1998, Major league soccer underwent its first expansion season, which meant big changes for the league. With the addition of two teams, which brought the club count from its original 10 to the 12, soccer news introduced the latest league members as chicago and miami. Both teams proved powerful during their first year as they advanced to the playoffs. The following year, in 1999, Columbus Crew Stadium officially opened as the first major league stadium in the United States that was constructed specifically for soccer. Its presence paid off as thousands of fans packed the house to watch featured competitions.

In 2002, Major league soccer removed 2 of their 12 clubs from the roster and once again returned to 10 teams. Tampa Bay and miami were no longer league teams, but were replaced in 2004 with other expansion teams. Real Salt Lake and Club Deportivo Chivas USA joined the league and brought the club number back up to its current 12 teams.

The clubs of Major league soccer consist of both domestic and international competitors. With such a diverse roster, players are constantly being featured in soccer news magazines, soccer news televised programs and interviews.

# posted by 89048 @ 7:06 PM 0 comments

The results are in: yoga breathing can significantly improve memory. In particular, yoga breathing can improve spatial memory. This is the part of memory responsible for recording information about your environment. Spatial memory keeps track of where things are that you can see, where things are that you cant see, where you are, and how that all fits together. If you tend to have difficulty remembering where you put your keys or finding your way around large cities, then you may benefit from some intentional breathing.

What exactly is meant by yoga breathing? Several types of yoga breathing were included in the studies that revealed the astounding improvement in spatial memory. These included pranayama (voluntary regulation of breathing), nostril breathing (left, right, or alternating), and simple breathe awareness.

Heavy breathing during aerobic exercise wont cut it. One study of 85 elderly adults found that 16 weeks of aerobic training yielded no improvement in memory retrieval scores. Yet, a study of 108 individuals practicing nostril breathing or breathe awareness, found that they experienced an average 87% improvement in spatial memory scores after only 10 days. Another study had 30 children practice yoga breathing for 10 days. The children experienced a 43% increase in spatial memory scores.

yoga breathing is easy to do and can be done just about anywhere at any time. The following is a simple nostril breathing exercise. Try this exercise for at least a week to experience the benefits of intentional breathing:

-Try to sit with your head, neck and spine in a straight line.

-You will inhale through one nostril, hold the breath, then exhale through the other nostril in a ratio of 2:8:4 counts.

-Use the thumb and ring/pinky fingers of your right hand to close the right and left nostrils respectively, and close both nostrils when you hold the breath.

-Once each nostril has had a chance to inhale and exhale, this is called a round. Start with 3 rounds a day and build up slowly to twenty rounds, extending the count within the 2:8:4 ratio (for example, 4:16:8).

There are many other benefits ascribed to breathe awareness besides improved memory, including stress relief and increased attention span. Improving your mental health can have significant positive effects on your physical health as well. As the above studies show, we all have the power to create profound results for our own well-being.

References:

Madden DJ, Blumenthal JA, Allen PA, Emery CF. Improving aerobic capacity in healthy older adults does not necessarily lead to improved cognitive performance. Psychol Aging. 1989 Sep;4(3):307-20.

Manjunath NK, Telles S. Spatial and verbal memory test scores following yoga and fine arts camps for school children. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2004 Jul;48(3):353-6.

Naveen KV, Nagarathna R, Nagendra HR, Telles S. yoga breathing through a particular nostril increases spatial memory scores without lateralized effects. Psychol Rep. 1997 Oct;81(2):555-61.

Nicole Evans is an alternative medicine researcher/developer turned medical student. She also enjoys working with King Bio, a homeopathic company dedicated to empowering people to safely and naturally improve their health. For cutting edge water-based homeopathics visit http://www.kingbio.com .

# posted by 89048 @ 11:26 AM 0 comments