A lot of us wonder why there are more women shopping in any given natural foods store at a certain moment than there are men. Some questions that are asked are whether or not this is due to the shop being a natural foods store or whether it is an indication that women are still doing the majority of the grocery shopping. While both positions can certainly be argued, most women will tell you that not only do they do more of the grocery shopping, but also that they are much more concerned about healthy lifestyles than the men they know are. In the 1980s, having a healthy lifestyle meant doing aerobics; in the 21st century it means doing yoga and eating organic foods.
Women are so concerned with this type of a healthy lifestyle because they read much more about health and fitness than men do. Of course, these are generalizations and there are plenty of exceptions to the rules, but in general, as can be predicted by counting the number of women’s health and fitness magazines and the corresponding number of men’s health and fitness magazines, more women are reading about this topic than men are. Of course, in today’s day and age, just as many people are reading online as are reading in magazines (perhaps even more) but many websites for health and fitness are more geared toward female readers.
Standing comfortably with your spine straight and feet about shoulder distance apart, open your left hand and place the thumb on your belly button so the palm of your hand is against your lower abdomen. Now place your open right hand over your left, also palm open and over the back of your left hand. Breathe in slowly and feel this part of your lower abdomen expand, which will naturally push your hands outward with your belly. Hold the breath for four seconds and then exhale slowly and feel your lower abdomen contracting inward as the air is released. Thoughts are recognized without judgment and concentration is brought back to breath.
