Feeling stressed during the Holiday Season?

All the family gatherings, activities and gift buying has a tendency to leave us with a little extra stress. Try keeping some of it at bay with meditation. Meditation will help you relax while letting your mind float away from your every day life if only for a minute. Here's a quick lesson on how to meditate:

Sit up straight with your hands folded gently in your lap, or lay down on a flat surface. Just relax. Don't try to stop the thoughts from coming into your head, acknowledge them and then let them drift away. Breathe in deeply using your stomach instead of breathing through your chest, keep one hand on your chest and one on your belly to check your breathing. Meditation is all about having a blank mind, so don't focus on anything except your breath. Within a week your thoughts will begin to slow down. Start slowly, do 5 minutes a few times a week and build yourself up. At first your body will try to fight you and you'll probably get anxious and bored but just stick with it and the benefits you'll read are endless. 

How long does it take to burn off a doughnut?

Ever wonder how many calories you're burning doing every day things? You might be surprised how some simple things add up to some serious calorie burn. Here's a list I found in Fitness magazine:

Riding a bike (12 mph) for 29 minutes : 247 calories

Shopping till you drop, 1 hour 38 minutes: 241 calories

Rollerblading, 18 minutes : 243 calories

Going for a hike, 38 minutes : 243 calories

Jumping rope, 12 minutes : 128 calories

Running 2.3 miles in 23 minutes : 246 calories

Raking leaves, 53 minutes : 243 calories

Walking while holding a baby, 1 hour 5 minutes : 243 calories

Yoga, 45 minutes: 120 calories

Packing a suitcase for vacation, 30 minutes: 64 calories

Chasing your kids around the house, 28 minutes : 120 calories

Vacuuming, 1 hour 5 minutes : 243 calories

Laughing at a funny movie, 23 minutes : 61 calories

Walking the dog, 20 minutes : 64 calories

Clear the table, do the dishes and straighten up, 45 minutes: 120 calories

Writing e-mail, 1 hour: 115 calories

Playing touch football, 29 minutes: 247 calories

Dancing to 4 of your favorite songs, 13 minutes : 62 calories

Walking briskly around the office, 15 minutes: 61 calories

Making your own doughnuts from scratch, 1 hour : 128 calories