Tag Archives: fashion

A Lower Body Workout And Less Back Pain – Just By Wearing Different Shoes?

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Karl Muller, a Swiss engineer, noticed whilst walking barefoot through a rice field in Korea that his back pain, which he suffered with, was very much better. After a little further research he learned that the Masai tribesmen of Africa do not suffer from back pain. They also display excellent posture.

Muller concluded that walking barefoot on soft, yielding ground was significantly better for your back and joints than walking on hard surfaces. He decided to develop a shoe which would reproduce the effect of walking on a soft surface such as sand or grass.

The end result was the Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoe. According to the company website, it is so different to conventional footwear that it merits the name of “anti-shoe”.

The secret of MBT footwear is the specially designed curved sole which has no heel. This promotes a gentle rolling action when your foot hits the ground. It’s like walking over lush grass in your bare feet. Different materials, of different densities, are used in different areas of the sole and this helps to minimize jarring and reduce impact shock.

Independent scientific studies have verified that this is genuinely better for your back and joints. There are further proven benefits in addition to better posture. For instance, whilst engaged in normal walking in MBT shoes, the wearer’s muscles will be in use for longer (in comparison with similar walking in traditional shoes). The muscles are in use for approximately 16% longer. Wearers also tend to take slightly shorter strides. Both these effects raise the amount of work done.

The result of this is that each step you take wearing MBT shoes will provide you with additional exercise. It’s like a lower body workout when you walk around. So, as well as improving posture and lowering back pain, MBT shoes can help to firm up your buttocks and tone your legs.

You might think that that would be enough. In spite of all these benefits, some people find MBT shoes to be a bit chunky and less than pleasing to the eye. They also cost a little more than standard shoes – although you might be more than happy to pay a little extra if you suffer with back pain of course. Luckily, there are now other options available which work along the same lines and which are more pleasing to the eye. Both Fitflops and Skechers Shape Ups use similar curved soles which promote increased muscular activity and help to trim and tone both legs and buttocks whilst engaged in nothing more exhausting than normal walking activity.

Whichever brand of footwear you go for, the opportunity to reduce back pain and trim your lower body at the same time – all whilst doing nothing more energetic than walking normally – seems to be very attractive.

Check out MBT shoes or have a look at the Fitflops range.

StorkSaks – Which Will You Choose?

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The designer baby changing bags are amazingly popular due to their sheer style combined with an array of practical features. But how can you decide which StorkSak to buy when there are such a lot of choices?

Your baby diaper bags will be carried everywhere with you while your baby is small, so choose one you really think is great, and this means both in terms of style and practicality.

Elizabeth – The Elizabeth bag is a luxury bag, made of hard wearing leather with chunky metal rings, clasps and studs it looks and feels like a top of the line hand bag. It has a wide range of pockets inside, as well as a removable insulated bottle holder; outside there are more pockets and a phone holder.

The Elizabeth has classic looks, and is slimline enough to be carried with ease over your shoulder with the perfect leather handles, or across your body with the removable canvas handle. It can house most laptops, and the internal bottle holders are removable to make more room. This is ideal to use for the office once you’ve finished carrying baby items around.

Julie The StorkSak Julie is slightly less expensive than the Elizabeth, and has a cutting edge look. With nylon satin, leather and metal hardware, this looks more like a luxury handbag than a baby bag. It has the usual amazing amount of pockets, but is slightly less high than the Elizabeth, so has a squarer, more compact feel. The Julie baby change bag has the same handy accessories (insulated bottle holder, change mat and mini bag) as the Elizabeth.

Mia – I have fallen in love with the Mia bag, which has all the style of a cool handbag, with the usual StorkSak practicality. This bag has a long adjustable handle and a magnetic clasp to fasten.

Emily – Hugely popular is the lovely Emily bag. Similarly shaped to the Mia, the Emily baby changing bag has more external pockets which are great for storing bits and bobs you want to access quickly. With brushed gold metal hardware, this is a really stylish bag!

Jamie Alternatively known as the Brad Pitt Bag (after he was spotted with it), this is a cool unisex bag your man wont mind carrying (even my bag hating man likes it!). Large enough to carry most laptops, and with the normal useful features, you’ll find the Jamie bag is handy for a long time. With subtle style features such as the cool canvas strap, contrast stitching and inline pockets, your pals will never guess its full of diapers.

Joanne Garrett adores StorkSak bags and offers advice on baby changing bags from her website, Cecily Plum.

Easy Baby Nursery Decor Ideas

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by Stephanie McLain

Every mother to be wants a nest built with love, but most, especially new mothers, don’t have a clue when it comes to decorating a baby nursery. Chances are that you are going to have some questions like, “What colors should my nursery be?”, “What is the best theme for baby?”, and “What about safety for baby?”. This is to be expected and is usually a good start. In this article my aim is to give some answers to these questions so you can build a baby nursery that will be perfect for your little bundle of joy. When decorating baby’s nest I find the best place to begin our journey is to first decide on the colors, which lead to our theme, and are followed up with baby safety.

Colors, colors, colors. It all starts with the colors. With the advancement of color psychology, science has shown that soft colors are the best route to go for your little guy. Remember, baby is new to this whole big place full of different sites, sounds, and touch. The best thing for your baby is to provide soft colors that will sooth and calm baby as he ventures into this big world of ours. Now I’m not saying its all gotta be peaches and creams. You can use bold and exciting, but just remember to use it as an accent around the baby nursery in things like the trim or design patterns on fabric.

If you have ever got stimulation from a color then you know for yourself that color will stimulate your baby. The key is to use colors that stimulate baby in positive ways. This may seem a little overboard, but you should always keep baby’s development on your mind when designing the room baby will be using to sleep and play in. Here are to example colors and what impact they may or may not have on your baby.

A popular color that would look great in any baby nursery decor is none other than blue. Blue is the color of the sky that baby will see from walks in the stroller and if you live by the coast the color of the big vast ocean. Blue is often used in bedrooms because of its calming, tranquil stimulation and has been shown to produce soothing chemicals in the body. Is there anything better than a calm baby? Consider using blue as a main color in your nursery decor theme.

White is a wonderful color to use in your baby nursery decor. White symbolizes purity and innocence. What better way to represent a new life on earth? The added bonus of white is that it is a neutral color and goes with everything.

When deciding on a theme think of it as the first learning experience that you want to give your baby. After all, this room is to help baby to learn, develop, and grow so keep that in mind when deciding on what theme fits best for baby and not you. Keep your personal likes and dislikes at bay and save them for decorating your master bedroom. A good rule of thumb to use is if you find something that is cool or just right for you, find something one step behind in simplicity so baby’s brain is not warped into overdrive from day one. You can always build up to your ideal theme as baby grows. Just don’t rush it. Some good themes to kick start your baby nursery are animal shapes, silly frogs, beautiful simple butterflies, or good ole fashion shapes and colorful dots.

Before you dive right in and get covered with paint, there is one more important thing you must include in babys room. The news is pack full of stories of the past of crushed familys that lost baby all because of an unfortunate mishap that could have been prevented. Even though baby is brand new you should still go ahead and prep the room for safety now by doing things like covering light sockets, buying a crib that is safe and secure, removing any small items that may have come with your theme like buttons or beads, and buy a baby monitor so you can hear baby when he sleeps. Like I always say, Better safe today then sorry tomorrow.

Hopefully now I have given you a great and powerful head start on planning and designing your nest for baby to enjoy. Remember to start off with soft, calming colors that will not over stimulate baby. Simple themes are the way to go so baby doesn’t feel overburdened in this new journey called life. And finally, keep baby proofing always on the back of your mind when decorating your baby’s nursery.

About the Author:
Stephanie writes articles that help people with baby nursery decorating and also wedding reception centerpieces.