How to Overcome Bike Commuting Concerns (Infographic)

How to Overcome Bike Commuting Concerns (Infographic) | Third Monk image 3

bike-commuting-safety

Biking can be extremely beneficial for our well-being when being done safely. Bike commuting concerns don’t have to be a potential stumbling block when it comes to your ability to enjoy a ride through the city.

So instead of taking a big picture approach to biking, let’s take it one step at a time. Through information and knowledge we can alleviate some of the stress that accompanies a new activity. This infographic about Overcoming Bike Commuting Concerns is a shining example.

Overcoming Bike Commuting Concerns Info-graphic

Don’t forget to also make sure your bicycle is in proper form and will offer you a safe ride. This infographic comes from the collaborative community GOOD and offers some solid advice for checking your bike before heading out. Enjoy and have a safe ride!

Pre-Ride Bicycle Checklist

How Perception Of Time Influences Behavior and Health, RSA Animate (Video)

How Perception Of Time Influences Behavior and Health, RSA Animate (Video) | Third Monk image 2

Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our personal perception of time affects our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we interact with the world.

Time Zones of Time Perception

So what we have discovered in 30 years of research is there are six main time zones that people live in: two focus on the past, two on the present, and two on the future.

Focusing on the Past

The people that focus on the past remember the good ole times, successes, happy birthdays, and nostalgia. These are the people who keep the family records, family books and have the family rituals.

There are other people who focus only on regret, only on failure, only on all the things that went wrong; so we call those focuses past positive or past negative.

Focusing on the Present

There are two ways to be present-oriented: the obvious one is to be hedonistic, that you live for pleasure and avoid pain; you seek knowledge, you seek sensation.

There are other people who are present-oriented because the say it doesn’t pay to plan: my life is fated, fated by my religion, fated by my poverty, fated by the conditions that I’m living under.

The closer you are to the equator the more present orientated you are; the more you’re in an environment that doesn’t change it gives you a sense of sameness rather than change.

Focusing on the Future

Most of us are here because we are future-oriented; we have learned to work rather than play, to resist temptation.

But there is another way to be future-oriented. Depending on your religion, life begins after the death of the mortal body. To be future-oriented you have to trust that when you make a decision about the future it’s going to carry up. If you have inflation you don’t put money in the bank because you can’t trust the future. If there is instability in your family, adults can’t keep their promises to you.

The Pace of Life in Relation to Health

So he has a bunch of these measures and it turns out you can identify cultures as having different paces of life, and now cities. And he shows that in America you can rank 60 cities according to high pace of life and low pace of life. The ones with the highest pace of life, men have the most coronary problems. It becomes part of your whole way of life.

Universal Life Hacks – Domestic, Productivity, Health, Free Stuff (Infographic)

Universal Life Hacks - Domestic, Productivity, Health, Free Stuff (Infographic)  | Third Monk image 2

Life Hacks are ingenious ways to do everyday things that make life easier, more convenient, more fun, or otherwise better. They require little effort, and can cumulatively make a big difference.

Universal LifeHacks – Domestic, Productivity, Health, Free Stuff  Text Transcript

Domestic Hacks

1.) Reverse your hangers!
Put your clothes in your closet with the hangers reversed once a year. As you pull your clothes out, reverse the hanger. Every year, gie away any clothes that you never took out (hangers facing the original direction).

2.) Get out of the house in time!
Make your playlist exactly as long as you have to get ready in the morning. Go from chill songs to more energetic ones. You will be able to tell how you’re doing on time by the song that’s currently playing.

3.) Unlock a chain lock from outside!
Find a rubber band. Attach the rubber band to the chain lock, then to the inside door handle. As you close the door from the outside, the rubber band will pull the chain and the lock will dislodge. Works like a charm.

4.) Open a banana the RIGHT way!
Instead of tearing open the banana at the stem (which can be a real struggle). just flip the banana over and open it by pinching the stem. There’s a reason monkeys do it this way!

5.) Remember to Bring the Important things!
When you need to remember to bring something with you, put your car keys on it the night before, or put the item you need to remember on your shoes.

6.) Use aluminum foil correctly!
On the ends of every box of aluminum foil there are tabs to push in that keep the foil from popping out, same for cling wrap.

7.) Ice cold drinks in 3 minutes flat!
If you want to cool a warm beer or soda to ice cold in 3 minutes put the can or cans in a pot and cover with ice. Next, add 2 cups of salt and fill with water. It will be cold in 3 minutes.

 

School, Education Hacks

1.) Sources for your Thesis!
If you are charged with writing a lengthy research paper, find one very solid source that directly pertains to your thesis, and then you can use that source’s bibliography to back into locating new sources. Alternatively, use the bibliography of a Wikipedia entry.

2.) Buy some Time!
Need more time writing that paper? Grab a jpg, mp3, or some other media file and rename it “My Awesome Essay.doc” and send to professor. The “paper” will “corrupt” and it’ll buy you a day or two more.

3.) Get your Thumbdrive box!
Put an “identification.txt” file in your flash drives. Include all relevant contact info so you can get it back if you lose it.

 

Work, Productivity Hacks

1.) Get paid to poop!
You’ll be using less of your own time and more of your company’s time. If you poop for an average of 10 minutes per day, your company will have paid you for more than 40 hours of pooping by the end of the year. That’s half as long as most paid vacations!

2.) Keep motivated!
If there’s something big you need to get done, tell all your friends you’re going to do it. The fear of looking like an ass helps keep you motivated.

3.) Work as a beer taster!
When you’re about to be born press up, up, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and select. If you did it correctly, you’ll later get a job as a beer taster. (Ok, this one is a lie)

 

Free Stuff Hacks

1.) Free phone chargers!
Next time you lose your phone charger, don’t buy another one! Go to a hotel and say you think you lost it there. It’s the #1 most left behind item at hotels, so most places have a big bin filled with every phone charger imaginable.

2.) Free hotel porn!
Next time you stay in a hotel that uses a Nokia TV system, enter the following code using the remote control: 2-2-1-Down Arrow then push and hold the OK button.

3.) Free air!
At Shell gas stations, press the button on the side of the pump three times. The pump will start without you having to insert any coins!

4) Free hotel reservation cancellations!
If you’ve got hotel reservations and need to cancel, but you’re already within however many days prior to the cancellation policy stated, just reschedule for a future date (for which there is no charge or penalty), call back, get a different representative, and cancel free of charge!

5.) Free Wi-Fi at Airports!
For those that have “for pay Wi-Fi” by adding ?.jpg at the end of any URL. Often, Wi-Fi at airports do not redirect images, allowing this hack to work.

 

Health, Body Hacks

1.) Don’t lose your hair!
If you are losing your hair, get Propecia for $2.50 a month instead of $189.00. Go to your doctor. Get him/her to prescribe you something called Proscar which is 5 mg of Finasteride (for prostate health) while Propecia is only 1. The good part about this is insurance covers proscar (because there is a medial purpose for it) so instead of paying 189 bucks a month you pay roughly $10 a prescription. Then cut it up into quarters. So it’s a 4 month supply for $15 bucks.

2.) Change your Circadian Rhythm!
Your circadian rhythm can be manipulated by your eating schedule. Stop eating during the 12-16 hour period before you want to be awake. Once you start eating again, your internal clock will be reset as though it is the start of a new day. Your body will consider the time you break your fast as your new “morning.”

3) Prevent “Splashing”!
You know you hate it too. When you have to go number two in a public restroom and you get “splashed”. Before pooping in a public toilet, put a couple sheets of toilet paper in the landing zone. This usually prevents splashing.”

4.) Save a life with coconut water!
Coconut water is sterile, works extremely well as a sports/hydration drink, is nearly isotonic to human blood, and in an emergency can be used as an IV fluid.

5.) Speed up 911!
When calling 911, the very first thing you should state is your location. Cell phone triangulations is imperfect and sometimes landline info is out of date. The moment an operator has an address or intersection, the police can be dispatched.

6.) Cure brain freeze!
Pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth cures brain freeze fast! It also makes the urge to sneeze go away.

7.) Sneeze fast!
If you’re about to sneeze, but it isn’t happening as fast as you would like, look into a bright light and you will sneeze.

8.) Combat acne!
Persistent acne can be almost universally cured or substantially reduced by sleeping with a freshly washed towel over ones pillow at night. This works better than any acne medication. No lie.

9.) See in the Dark!
When you wake up in the middle of the night to do something, cover one eye with your hand and leave it there until you return to darkness. The eye that was covered will have retained its ability to see well in the dark so you will not run into the dresser on your way back to bed. This advantage is the reason pirates wore eyepatches so they could see in the darkness below deck after being in bright sunlight.

10.) Avoid sinus congestion!
If you have sinus congestion and steam just isn’t doing the trick, there’s another body hack you can try to relieve the pressure. Thrust your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then press between your eyebrows. Repeating these two things rocks your vomer bone back and forth and loosens up the congestion, allowing your sinuses to drain.

 

Miscellaneous Hacks

1.) Extend a remotes range!
If you are opening a gate with a remote and you are a bit out of range, put it under your chin pointing upward. Your skull is a close enough approximation to a parabolic reflector to direct some extra energy forward giving you extra distance.

2.) Use your hand as a ruler!
Measure your hand from your fingertips to palm and memorize it. Now you can judge the size of anything without a ruler. Try to pick a finger that is pretty close to a standard length (1 inch). You will never need a ruler to estimate again.

3.) Reboot the credit card machine!
To piss off an annoying customer behind you in the checkout, hold down all 4 corner buttons on the credit card machine to reboot it. It will take a while to restart.

4.) Go straight to your Floor!
To go directly to your floor on an elevator, even if other floor numbers have been pressed, simply press the desired floor number and door close button at the same time and you will go directly to that floor!

5.) Spend less time in the cold!
If your lock is frozen, use instant hand sanitizer on it. With its heavy alcohol content, it can break down ice. Squirt some in a resistant lock and get out of the cold!

6.) Test a remote!
If you point a TV/DVD remote at a cellphone camera and press any button you can see the infared light. This trick will also let you see if IR security cameras are on in the dark!

7.) Extra batteries!
9 Volt batteries contain six AAAA sized cells that can be used in electronics that take AAA batteries. Small sized 12 volt batteries contain eight 1.5 volt batteries which retail for $3 – $5 dollars each.

Test and Fix Your Posture to Maximize Muscle (Guide)

Test and Fix Your Posture to Maximize Muscle (Guide) | Third Monk

Almost everyone has a posture problem. Over time, your poor posture takes a tremendous toll on your spine, shoulders, hips, and knees. In fact, it can cause a cascade of structural flaws that result in acute problems, such as joint pain throughout your body, reduced flexibility, and compromised muscles, all of which can limit your ability to burn fat and build strength.

But don’t worry—all these problems can be corrected. The first step to fix your posture is to analyze your alignment by having a friend take a full-body photo of you (with your shorts on) from the front and from the side. Keep your muscles relaxed but stand as tall as you can, with your feet hip-width apart.

Now compare your photos with the illustration below to diagnose your posture problems.

Posture Repair Plans

 

1. Problem: Forward Head

Where pain strikes: Your neck

The problem: Stiff muscles in the back of your neck
Fix it: Stretch with head nods daily: Moving only your head, drop your chin down and in toward your neck while stretching the back of your neck. Hold for a 5 count; do this 10 times.

The problem: Weak front neck muscles
Fix it: Do this neck “crunch” every day: Lying faceup on the floor, lift your head so it just clears the floor. Raise your head, and hold for 5 seconds; do 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.

 

2. Problem: Elevated Shoulder

Where pain strikes: Neck and shoulders

The problem: Your trapezius (the muscle that starts at the back of your neck and runs across your upper back) is shortened.
Fix it: Perform an upper-trap stretch. With your higher-side arm behind your back, tilt your head away from your elevated side until you feel the stretch in your upper trapezius. Apply slight pressure with your free hand on your stretched muscle. Hold for 30 seconds; repeat 3 times.

The problem: A weak serratus anterior, the muscle just under your pecs running from your upper ribs to your shoulder blades
Fix it: Try chair shrugs. Sit upright in a chair with your hands next to your hips, palms down on the seat, and keep your arms straight. Without moving your arms, push down on the chair until your hips lift off the seat and your torso rises. Hold for 5 seconds. That’s 1 rep; do 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.

 

3.  Problem: Rounded Shoulders

Where pain strikes: Neck, shoulder, or back

The problem: Tight pectoral muscles
Fix it: Try a simple doorway stretch: Place your arm against a doorjamb in the high-five position (that is, forming an L), your elbow bent 90 degrees. Step through the doorway until you feel the stretch in your chest and the front of your shoulders. Hold for 30 seconds. That’s 1 set; do a total of 4 daily.

The problem: Weakness in the middle and lower parts of your trapezius
Fix it: Use the floor L raise: Lying facedown on the floor, place each arm at a 90-degree angle in the high-five position. Without changing your elbow angle, raise both arms by pulling your shoulders back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold for 5 seconds; do 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily

 

4. Problem: Hunched Back

Where pain strikes: Neck, shoulder, back

The problem: Poor upper-back mobility
Fix it: Lie faceup on a foam roller placed about midback, perpendicular to your spine. Place your hands behind your head and arch your upper back over the roller 5 times. Adjust the roller and repeat for each segment of your upper back.

The problem: Weak muscles in your back
Fix it: Perform the prone cobra. Lie facedown with your arms at your sides, palms down. Lift your chest and hands slightly off the floor, and squeeze your shoulder blades together while keeping your chin down. Hold for 5 seconds; do 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.

 

5. Problem: Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Where pain strikes: Lower back (because of the more pronounced arch in your lumbar spine). The tilt also shifts your posture so that your stomach pushes outward, even if you don’t have an ounce of belly fat.

The problem: Your hip flexors, which allow you to move your thighs up to your abdomen, are tight.
Fix it: Kneel on one knee and perform a front hip stretch. Tighten your gluteal (butt) muscles on your kneeling side until you feel the front of your hip stretching comfortably. Reach upward with the arm that’s on your kneeling side, and stretch in the opposite direction. Hold this position for a count of 30 seconds, and repeat 3 times.

The problem: Weak glutes
Fix it: The glute bridge is your solution. Lie on your back with your knees bent about 90 degrees. Squeeze your glutes together and push your hips upward until your body is straight from knees to shoulders. Hold for 5 seconds; complete 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.

 

6. Problem: Pigeon Toes

Where pain strikes: Knee, hip, or lower back

The problem: Tightness in the outer portion of your thigh (your tensor fasciae latae)
Fix it: Stand up, cross your affected leg behind the other, and lean away from the affected side until you feel your hip stretching comfortably. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.

The problem: Weak gluteus maximus and medius muscles
Fix it: Use an exercise called the side-lying clamshell. Lie on one side with your knees bent 90 degrees and your heels together. Keeping your hips still, raise your top knee upward, separating your knees like a clamshell. Pause for 5 seconds; lower your knee to the starting position. Perform 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.

 

7. Problem: Duck Feet

Where pain strikes: Hip or lower back
The problem: You lack flexibility in all the muscles in your hips.
Fix it: Drop to your hands and knees and place one foot behind the opposite knee. Making sure you keep your spine naturally arched, shift your weight backward and allow your hips to bend until you feel the stretch. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times, and then switch sides.

The problem: Weakness in your oblique muscles and hip flexors
Fix it: Try the Swiss-ball jackknife. Assume the top of a pushup position but rest your feet on a Swiss ball. Without rounding your lower back, tuck your knees under your torso by rolling the ball with your feet toward your body. Roll the ball back to the starting position. Do 2 or 3 sets of 12 reps daily.

> Principles of Good Posture | Men’s Health

The Truth About Sunscreen and Sunlight Exposure

The Truth About Sunscreen and Sunlight Exposure | Third Monk

Ask somebody about sunscreen and you’re likely to receive an earful of disinformation from a person who has been repeatedly misinformed by health authorities and the mainstream media. Here’s a quick guide to the 5 most important things you need to know about sunscreen, sunlight and vitamin D:

 

#1) The FDA refuses to allow natural sunscreen ingredients to be used in sunblock, sunscreen products

If you create a truly natural sunscreen product using exotic botanicals with powerful sunscreen properties, you will never be able to market it as a “sunscreen” product. That’s because the FDA decides what can be used as sunscreen and what can’t, regardless of what really works in the real world.

This whole monopoly over sunscreen chemicals is designed to protect the profits of the chemical companies while marginalizing the natural product companies which could easily formulate far better solutions.

 

#2) Nearly all conventional sunscreen products contain cancer-causing chemicals

Read the ingredients of any sunscreen product sold at any mainstream store and you will not be able to pronounce most of the chemicals found in the ingredients list. That’s because most sunscreen products are formulated with cancer-causing fragrance chemicals, parabens, harsh alcohols, toxic chemical solvents and petroleum oils. A typical sunscreen product is actually a chemical assault on your body. That’s why research shows that using sunscreen actually causes more cancer than it prevents

 

#3) You can boost your internal sun resistance by changing what you eat

You can boost your internal sunscreen by eating antioxidant-rich foods and superfoods. The supplement astaxanthin, for example, is very well known for boosting your skin’s natural resistance to sunburn. Its fat-soluble carotenoids are actually transported to skin cells where they protect those cells from UV exposure.

Nearly everyone mistakenly believes that a person’s sunlight burn response is purely a genetic factor. They’re wrong. You can radically improve your resistance to UV exposure through dietary changes.

 

#4) UV exposure alone does not cause skin cancer

It is a complete medical myth that “UV exposure causes skin cancer.” This false idea is a total fabrication by the medical community (dermatologists) and the profit-driven sunscreen companies.

Skin cancer can only be caused when UV exposure is combined with chronic nutritional deficiencies that create skin vulnerabilities.

To create skin cancer, in other words, you have to eat a junk food diet, avoid protective antioxidants, and then also experience excessive UV exposure. All three of those elements are required. Conventional medicine completely ignores the dietary influences and focuses entirely on just one factor: Sunscreen vs. no sunscreen.

 

#5) Not all “natural” sunscreen products are really natural

Be careful when shopping for so-called “natural” sunscreen products. While there are some good ones out there, many are just examples of greenwashing, where they use terms like “natural” or “organic” but still contain loads of synthetic chemicals anyway.

A good guide for checking on sunscreen products is the Environmental Working Group guide

Some of the products that are truly natural include Loving Naturals sunscreen and Badger All Natural Sunscreen. Don’t use any sunscreen product containing ingredients that sound like chemicals: Methyl,  Propyl, Ethyl, etc.

Always buy unscented sunscreen, a typical sunscreen product is made with over a dozen cancer-causing fragrance chemicals, and they’re absorbed right through your skin.

> Surprising Things You’re Not Supposed To Know About Sunscreen | Natural News

The Fluoride Deception Animation (Video)

The Fluoride Deception Animation (Video) | Third Monk

The Fluoride Deception is the latest mini documentary from Mike Adams, executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center. Through the use of animation and motion graphics, it exposes the truth about where fluoride really comes from: The toxic byproducts of the phosphate mining industry.

Fluoride is an unapproved drug, being used in a highly illegal mass-medication scheme that provides an excuse for the real agenda of disposing of a highly toxic hazardous waste chemical.

Over the last several decades, an astonishing twenty-four studies have established a statistical link between fluoride exposure and low IQs in children. One study conducted by the Center for Endemic Disease Control in China found that each additional milligram of fluoride detected in every liter of a child’s urine was associated with a 0.59 point decrease in their IQ score. Another study found that fluoride exposure slashed the number of children achieving “high IQs” by more than 70 percent.

Fight Water Fluoridation

First, for your dental needs, always seek out a holistic dentist who understands the toxicity of fluoride and mercury. They will advise you NOT to drink toxic fluoride chemicals from your tap water.

Secondly, don’t drink unfiltered tap water. In addition to the toxic fluoride chemicals, tap water is also usually contaminated with chlorine and even dangerous elements from old water pipes. Buy a good countertop water filter from a company like Aquasana. Or get a whole-house filter to remove chlorine and fluoride from the water entering your home.

Thirdly, help fight water fluoridation in your local city or town. If your city is like most cities, water fluoridation policies have been pushed by dentists and doctors who are technically ignorant of the origins and the composition of fluoride, and yet they seek to assert power over the composition your local water supply.

Learn more at NaturalNews.com. Join the Facebook group “No Fluoride.” Visit FluorideAlert.org and other fluoride truth websites that are working to end the fluoride poisoning.

> Fluoride Deception | Natural News