Enter into His gates with thanksgiving!

Have a great holiday filled with family, friends, good food, and FOOTBALL!

BREATHE RELAX IT'S THE HOLIDAYS!

The Holiday Stretch
No time to work out? Our fast yoga routine firms, de-stresses, and even banishes cravings.

By Holly St. Lifer, Prevention

Cocktails and cookies aside, your workout routine often gets lost in the holiday shuffle, so you're not only eating more, you're burning less. Not to mention the usual stress, which can trigger the body to release excessive amounts of cortisol, the "cravings" hormone that makes you reach for comfort foods high in fat and sugar.

The perfect antidote? Our quick and easy yoga routine.
"Yoga not only reduces stress, but it may also help lessen emotional eating," says Bruce W. Smith, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico. His preliminary study found that yoga diminished binge eating by 51 percent, with participants losing an average of six pounds in eight weeks. It may also help on a biochemical level. Researchers at Jefferson Medical College drew blood samples from 16 yoga novices and found that cortisol levels dropped by about 15 percent to 20 percent as early as day one.

Start today and you'll be ringing in 2009 calmer, happier, stronger, and untouched by holiday weight gain.

Workout at a glance:

What you need: A yoga mat or carpeted space

How to do it: This 30-minute plan is designed to flow from one pose to another, so do the moves in the order given, taking time to breathe evenly and fully. When Downward Facing Dog is used as a transition, hold the pose for just a few breaths, then ease into the next move. Repeat the routine three times through. You can do this practice daily, but try to do it at least three times a week. (In a pinch, do our "10-Minute Stress Buster," detailed below.) Begin with the Main Move. If it's too tough, do the "make it easier" option.

The expert: Tom Larkin, owner of Sanctuary for Yoga, Body and Spirit in Nashville, created this workout. He teaches Vinyasa yoga, which focuses on the integration of breath and movement to help reduce stress.

The moves

1. Active Cat
Firms arms, chest, back, abs, butt, legs
Kneel on all fours with arms straight, wrists beneath shoulders, and knees aligned under hips. Inhale and extend right leg behind you, parallel to floor. Exhale, bend elbows, keeping close to body, and draw torso forward, lowering upper body toward floor. Inhale, and in one motion with abs tight, press torso back, rounding spine while bringing right knee to chest. Repeat six more times; switch sides.
Make it easier: Don't raise leg at beginning of move; keep both knees on floor while drawing torso forward.

2. Downward Facing Dog
Stretches and firms shoulders, torso, legs
Kneel on all fours with knees beneath hips, hands 3 to 5 inches in front of shoulders, and toes tucked. Keeping abs tight, tuck pelvis, inhale, and straighten legs by lifting hips until body forms an upside-down V. Exhale and lift hips higher by pressing back from hands; lower heels toward mat. Hold for five breaths. Inhale, look forward, and walk feet up to hands. Exhale and roll up to stand.
Make it easier: Keep heels lifted and knees bent while in upside-down V position.

3. Extended Side-Angle
Stretches and firms shoulders, chest, back, abs, butt, legs
Stand with feet about 3 ½ feet apart, right foot pointing out, left one turned in slightly. Inhale and lift arms out to sides at shoulder level. On an exhale, bend right knee 90 degrees and hinge to right from hips, extending torso over right thigh. Inhale and place right hand on floor behind right foot, extend left arm overhead, palm facing down. Look toward left hand; hold for 5 breaths. Inhale and return to center, straightening right leg. Repeat on opposite side, without standing back up. Transition: Place both hands on floor on either side of left foot. Step left foot back toward right. Exhale and press hips up to Downward Facing Dog. Move to Side Plank from here.
Make it easier: Place elbow on knee instead of bringing hand to floor.

4. Side Plank
Stretches and firms arms, chest, back, waist, abs, legs
From Downward Facing Dog, inhale and lower hips into plank (forearms on floor, elbows under shoulders). Exhale as you rotate to right, turn left arm forward, stack legs, and extend right arm. Hold for five breaths, then rotate back to plank. Repeat to left. Transition: From plank, exhale, lift hips, and straighten arms into Downward Facing Dog.
Make it easier: Bend bottom leg and rest foot on floor behind you.

5. Warrior 3
Stretches and firms arms, chest, lower back, butt, legs
From Downward Facing Dog, inhale, look forward, and walk feet up to hands. Exhale and roll up to stand with feet together. Bend forward and place fingertips on floor. Inhale and lift right leg behind you, abs tight.
Inhale and lift chest and arms. Hold for 5 breaths, trying to lift leg and chest higher. Switch sides.

Make it easier: Keep fingertips on floor, and slightly bend standing leg.

6. Yogic Bicycles
Firms arms, chest, back, abs, butt, legs
Lie faceup on floor with hands behind head, knees bent 90 degrees, and head and shoulders off floor. Exhale, twist right shoulder toward left knee, and extend right leg (be careful not to pull on neck).
Inhale and return to start; repeat to left for one rep. Do 10 times.
Make it easier: Keep knees bent.

The secret to calm
Why is yoga such an effective stress buster? It's all in the breathing. "Long, slow exhalations can quiet the sympathetic nervous system, which is part of the flight-or-fight system, and activate the parasympathetic one, an important part of your body's relaxation response," explains Roger Cole, Ph.D., a scientist based in Del Mar, Calif., and a yoga instructor at Yoga Del Mar.

10-minute stress buster
No time for a full workout? That's just when you need it most. Our mini routine will help you recharge and unwind—without having to slip into workout clothes.

1. Head-to-Knee Pose
Targets lower back, legs
Sit on floor with right leg extended in front of you, foot flexed, left leg bent so sole of foot gently presses into right thigh; arms at sides, palms down. Inhale, lift chest, and lengthen torso. Exhale, twist torso slightly to right, and fold forward over leg. Hold and breathe for about 1 ½ minutes. Inhale and sit back up. Repeat on other side.

2. Cobbler's Pose
Targets abs, lower back, legs
Sit with soles of feet together, hands on floor behind hips. Inhale and lift chest without arching back. Take 10 breaths, then relax, hugging knees to chest. Do four times.

3. Child's Pose
Targets back, shins, tops of feet
Begin on all fours, then sit back on heels. Lower forehead to floor, bringing hands next to feet, palms facing ceiling. Rest for 10 breaths.

4. Corpse Pose
Targets entire body
Lie faceup, legs extended, arms at sides, palms up. Breathe deeply as you focus on and relax one body part at a time from your legs to your head. (If thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them, then let them drift away.) Relax in this pose for at least three to five minutes.

Three more ways to conquer cravings
"Stress can affect how you sleep and eat, and binge eating may be a result of your body's natural rhythms being disrupted," explains Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., author of Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop (Walker & Company, 2009) and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

These three strategies will keep your body in sync:

Visualize your last meal

. A recent British study found that women who were asked to write a detailed description of what they'd eaten for lunch that day snacked significantly less in the afternoon than those who didn't focus on their last meal. Researchers speculate that recalling a specific, vivid memory activates the hippocampus, an area of the brain believed to be responsible for both decision making and memory recall, giving would-be snackers better appetite control.

Try meditation. It not only increases activity in parts of the brain associated with positive emotions, research shows, but it may also boost production of the crave-controlling neurotransmitter serotonin. New to this relaxation technique? Sit in a quiet place with legs crossed, palms on knees, chest lifted, shoulders back and down. Close your eyes. Inhale and exhale five to 10 times, focusing on your breath. Shift your attention to your back. Inhale, visualizing your breath rising up your spine to the crown of your head. Exhale, watching it fall back down. Repeat for five to 30 minutes.

Get enough shut-eye. Researchers at the University of Chicago found that just two sleepless nights (four hours or less) dropped the satiety-signaling hormone leptin by 18 percent and boosted levels of gherlin, an appetite trigger, by about 30 percent. Those two shifts caused participants' cravings for starchy foods like cookies and potato chips to jump 45 percent.

Aim for at least six (ideally eight) hours of sleep regularly.

Diet on the Down-Low
By Jennifer Benjamin, Women's Health
Women's Health

Sunday-afternoon football, Thanksgiving dinner, meeting up at the bar for a "baby, it's cold outside" drink—November is a cruel month for any woman looking to drop a few pounds. Even if you have the willpower to avoid nachos, pecan pie, and the Cider Jack special, diet saboteurs can make you feel like a party pooper just for ordering dressing on the side. Bypass the peer pressure and the fat traps with these under-the-radar tips.
Your mission: Get through T-Day without consuming a week's worth of calories.
Your opponent: Pushy, plus-size Aunt Ruth, who eyes your looser-fitting pants and passes you the smoked-bacon stuffing and cheesy mashed potatoes.
Your game plan: Pile on the vegetable sides and white meat. Then, put a scoop of sweet potatoes or stuffing smack-dab on top. It'll give the illusion that your plate is loaded with high-carb goodness, even though it's mostly low-cal fare, explains Lisa Young, Ph.D., R.D., an adjunct professor of nutrition at NYU and the author of The Portion Teller Plan (Broadway Books, 2006). Skipping the dark meat and buttery potatoes will save you a few hundred calories.
Your mission: Maintain your party-girl cover without sucking down more martinis than James Bond.
Your opponent: The co-worker who claims that wine spritzers are for hockey moms.
Your game plan: Order an extra-spicy Bloody Mary and no one will dare call you a pansy. The old-school beverage delivers just 110 calories, and studies show that the Tabasco kick may actually help curb your appetite. Just don't let anyone catch you nibbling on the celery stick.
Your mission: Kick back and watch the game with your man and his friends without listening to comments about eating "rabbit food."
Your opponent: Your guy, who feels emasculated if he can't have something deep-fried with his beer.
Your game plan: Score a smaller butt while you rack up points with his crew by whipping up your own game-time munchies. "Seven-layer dip or onion dip, made with healthier ingredients like low-fat sour cream and cheese and ground turkey instead of beef, can be just as delicious as the full-fat variety," says David Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life (Bantam, 2007). "The guys will have no clue it's healthy." For onion dip, follow the directions on the package but sub in low-fat plain yogurt for sour cream. Serve it with chips for them, and crudités and a light beer (or two) for you, and the boys will keep their heckling directed toward the screen.
Your mission: Stick to your diet at a restaurant without making your friends feel guilty for splurging.
Your opponent: The unsupportive friend who keeps telling you that a little cream sauce and butter-fried calamari never hurt anyone.
Your game plan: "Order two appetizers—one a healthy dish, like broth-based soup—and explain that so many things on the menu look good, you just can't decide," suggests Cynthia Sass, R.D., co-author of Flat Belly Diet (Rodale, 2008). According to a study at Penn State last year, having soup as a first course can help you shave about 20 percent of the calories off your meal. And who can accuse you of being a food prude when you've ordered two dishes?

Third Day In Clinton Concert

Third Day to perform at Mississippi College
Special to The Herald

TO LEARN MORE

For more information, call Star 93.5 at 601-925-3460, or visit http://www.star93fm.com/.

Billboard magazine rates Third Day(www.thirdday.com) "not only one of the best Christian bands of the '90s, but one of the best rock bands, period."With that kind of reputation, the multi-platinum-selling band is sure to draw a huge crowd for a Nov. 23 concert at Mississippi College's A.E. Wood Coliseum.The visit to MC is part of the group's LIVE Fall Tour with special guests Needtobreathe and Revive. Winners of numerous Dove and Grammy Awards, Third Day has attracted millions of fans around the globe over their 15-year career.The visit to the Christian university follows a number of college stops this fall, including the University of Illinois on Oct. 31 and the University of Indiana Nov. 7. The group performs at First Baptist Church in Lafayette, La. on Nov. 22 before their Sunday evening stop on the Clinton campus. The concert at MC begins at 6 p.m.Tickets are now on sale at http://www.tickets.com/ <http://www.tickets.com/> , LifeWay Christian Stores on County Line Road in Jackson and in the MC Cafeteria. Tickets are $25 for general admission.Making concert plans is MC freshman Jake Cole, 18, who owns six of their albums. A resident of Star in Rankin County, he's seen the band in concert twice in Gatlinburg, Tenn. and once each in Jackson and Hattiesburg. "Third Day never does the same concert twice. Any band that can do that is incredible."A DJ on Star 93.5, MC's campus radio station, Cole is also a believer in the band's message. "All their songs have a really strong Biblical message, a strong God-center in every song."MC's college radio station is one of the concert sponsors. "I forsee a packed house at the coliseum," said Cole, a communication major with a minor in Christian Studies. Normally the home base for Choctaws basketball games, the Gold Dome seats about 5,000 fans.Third Day performers say the group's success surpassed all expectations. "Our career is like a dream I didn't even know I had," said drummer David Carr.South Carolina-based Needtobreathe and Revive, a group with roots in Australia, are also coming to Central Mississippi with a growing and enthusiastic fan base.

Thank You Yesterday, Today, And Forever More!

Let's Go Walking In Downtown --------

50 Mississippi Cities;

1 Mile;

1 Message!

The message of the day was basically ----
GET FIT MISSISSIPPI!
One excellent way to get fit is to move your body! 30 minutes of exercise a day that is all-----
So lets go walkin' Mississippi!

(In photo from left to right are: Emily Bonelli, Mayor Laurence Leyens, Kim Hopkins, and Tracye Prewitt.....)

Lets Go Walkin Vicksburg

On Saturday, November 8,
Mississippi is goin’ walkin’!
Communities across the state will show
their commitment to living healthier lives.
Join Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi
and the Mississippi Main Street
Association as we take the first steps
toward a healthier life.
Join us at 9 am at the Riverstage Plaza in downtown, Vicksburg… A FREE and fun one mile trek is a great way to start your day! Hope to see you all there!
For details, contact your local
Mississippi Main Street office at:
601-634-4527 or Vicksburg Main Street at:
601-634-4527

One Day. 50 Towns. One Goal.

HONORING OUR VETERANS

Thank you for your service and sacrifices but most of all thank you for insuring to my children the blessings of liberty!

The Total-Body Benefits of Berries
Learn about the surprising ways berries boost health.
By Brierley Wright, EatingWell.com

When it comes to health, berries have a fabulous reputation. Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, called anthocyanins, that may help keep memory sharp as you age, and raspberries contain ellagic acid, a compound with anti-cancer properties. All berries are great sources of fiber, a nutrient important for a healthy digestive system. But if you need more reasons to dig into these sun-kissed little fruits, look no further than two new studies, which suggest that berries may be good for your heart and your bones as well.
In a study of 72 middle-age people published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating just under a cup of mixed berries daily for eight weeks was associated with increased levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and lowered blood pressure, two positives when it comes to heart health. Included in the mix were strawberries, red raspberries and bilberries—similar to blueberries—as well as other berries more common in Finland (where the research was conducted): black currants, lingonberries and choke berries.
"At the moment we do not know which berry, or berries, could have been the most active," says Iris Erlund, Ph.D., senior researcher at the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki and lead author of the study. But, in fact, the diverse range of polyphenols—a broad class of health-promoting plant compounds that includes anthocyanins and ellagic acid—provided by the mix of berries is likely responsible for the observed benefits. Polyphenols may increase levels of nitric oxide, a molecule that produces a number of heart-healthy effects. One is helping to relax blood vessels, which subsequently results in lowered blood pressure, says Erlund.
Polyphenols may also help preserve bone density after menopause, according to new research in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. Our bones are constantly "turning over"—breaking down and building back up. After menopause, when estrogen levels plummet, bone breakdown outpaces bone formation, and the result is bone loss, a risk factor for osteoporosis. In the study, rats that had their ovaries removed (to mimic an estrogen-deprived postmenopausal state) and were fed blueberries every day for three months significantly increased their bone density, scientists at Florida Study University discovered. "We believe that polyphenols in the berries slowed the rate [of bone turnover], ultimately saving bone," says Bahram Arjmandi, Ph.D., R.D., the study’s lead author and professor and chair of the department of nutrition, food and exercise sciences at FSU. More research is needed to know for sure whether the benefits translate to humans but, says Arjmandi, the data suggest that eating even a small amount of blueberries each day—perhaps as little as 1⁄4 cup—could be good for anyone's bones.
Bottom line: Dig into a variety of berries regularly to reap the "total body" benefits of their polyphenols.

AAAUUUURRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Chronic Stress
by Rich Maloof for MSN Health & Fitness

Do you have stress—or does stress have you?

Chronic stress compromises the immune system.

Chronic stress is described by the American Psychological Association (APA) as "the stress of unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly interminable periods of time." It's the ever-mounting, everyday tension that has become of symptom of modern life. The APA further notes that stress is linked to the six of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide.

Stress correlates with these and dozens of additional medical conditions—from a ringing in the ears to ulcers, stroke and even AIDS—because it compromises the immune system, increasing susceptibility to illness. Among the most compelling evidence of this is a landmark study from 1991 by Sheldon Cohen, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University, who exposed subjects to viruses that cause the common cold. He found that the frequency and severity of colds were directly related to the amount of stress the subjects reported.

Read the APA's description of different kinds of stress here.

Hyper-tense job environments are probably not to blame for hypertension.

It is well known that an acutely stressful situation can precipitate a brief spike in blood pressure. However, the assumed link between job stress and chronic high blood pressure, or hypertension, has been called into question. In an article published in the May 2006 issue of Current Hypertension Reviews, Dr. Samuel J. Mann of Cornell University stated that "after decades of research, the evidence for a relationship between job stress and blood pressure is weak." Mann reviewed 48 studies involving more than 100,000 subjects and found the results too inconsistent to identify job stress as a dominant and direct cause of sustained high blood pressure. Now, stress at work may lead to problems such as overeating, weight gain, or alcohol abuse—all of which increase the risk of high blood pressure. But these are indirect causes, whereas Mann addressed the direct relationship between pressure in the office and pressure in the bloodstream.

Stress reactions are highly individualized.

"There's nothing you can say about stress that’s generic or applies to everybody," says Dr. Paul J. Rosch, president of the American Institute of Stress. For instance, deadlines at work may be daunting for one person while the pressure spurs creativity in another. One mother may regard a baby's cry as beautiful and life affirming while the sound literally drives another to drink. Dr. Rosch explains that people manage identical situations differently using the analogy of a roller coaster ride. "Some of the people are in the back seats with their eyes shut, jaws clenched, and they can't wait for the ride to end. But up front you have the wide-eyed thrill-seekers yelling and relishing every steep plunge—they race to get on the very next ride. And in between you might find a group for whom the ride was just boring. So, was the roller coaster ride stressful?"

Stress is a control issue.

As described in the roller coaster scenario, stress is perception. What distinguished the people in the back from the people in the front was the sense of control they perceived. Stress is all about the subjective response to loss of control.
That's not to say a mortgage payment, a traffic jam or Thanksgiving dinner with the extended family doesn't present a real problem. The way stressful circumstances are ultimately perceived and managed determines whether they adversely affect your health.

Exercise only helps if it’s the right exercise for you.

There’s no sure-fire exercise that reduces stress in everyone. When seeking any stress-reduction technique, pay attention to what promotes the therapeutic response you seek. A physiological result of healthy exercise is the release of endorphins, which reduce pain in the body and counter the effects of hormones identified with stress. But while one person benefits from the endorphin release following an aerobic workout, another may be soothed by the rhythmic movement of a rowing machine, and another may simply enjoy the escapism of wearing headphones while walking around the block. Others engage in group sports and activities, supporting the widely held theory that social interaction is an excellent stress buffer.
To learn more about chronic stress, see the news and overviews on stress from the National Institutes of Health. The National Institute of Occupational Safety has posted several pages concerning stress at work. Also search the pages at American Institute of Stressand here at MSN Health & Fitness.

Thank you to Dr. Paul J. Rosch, president of The American Institute of Stress, for providing background and guidance.

Just Do It!