Archive for 'religon'

Mar200905

admin

0

Indian Fry Bread Recipe

The Indian fry bread is part of the Navajo tradition, and comes with a story of pain and loss of freedom. Though the tradition of the Indian fry bread recipe is common to many Southwestern tribes, it is the Navajo who developed it.

The story behind the fry bread recipe is to be found in the Long Walks of the 19th century. At the time, the Navajo were placed in camps meant for four thousand to five thousand people; nevertheless there were more than nine thousand people living there, and attempts were made to starve them to death.

The government sent supplies of flour, lard, salt, sugar or yeast which were often rancid. Fry bread came from these few foods provided during the Navajo captivity. Ever since, it became a popular recipe for most tribes living in the Southwest. Nowadays, the fry bread is sold at festivals, carnivals, flea markets and fairs. It is used as base for taco meat, chicken, cheese and chopped tomatoes.

There are as many different Indian fry bread recipes and ways to cook the fry bread as there are Indian aunties and grannies preparing the famous dish; some is thick, some is thin, some is yeasty, some is soda based. Nevertheless there are a few things that are important no matter what recipe one uses.

The first thing is to be sure that the dough is moist enough; in order for the dough to pass the test it should slither off one’s hand if turned sideways. In case it drops off quickly, it means that the dough is too dry; if it sticks to the hand, it is too wet.

A funny thing to do and a good way to check the quality of the dough is mixing it with one’s hands.


Read more

Mar200904

admin

0

Yoga Wear

Although one could wonder why yoga wear is so important, practice shows that the comfortable clothes especially designed to be worn during yoga classes make a difference from the t-shirt and training suit you’d normally use in sports.

The principle that the yoga wear concept starts from is that one’s body needs to be comfortable for the mind to reach a comfort state too.

There are some features that such clothing requires above other things: first of all, yoga wear has to offer plenty of room for maneuvers, as you’ll move the body a lot while performing the postures or the asanas.

There are two possible choices of yoga wear here: you can either go for loose clothes that are usually made of cotton, or for stretchable elastic materials.

The problem with the latter is that they may not absorb perspiration as well as the cotton ones and you may start to feel uncomfortable while performing the asanas.

The idea is not to look great but to feel great because relaxation is the first achievement one expects and accomplishes with yoga practice. Softness is the next criterion to judge yoga wear by, never put on clothes that feel stiff when you prepare for yoga practice.


Read more

Mar200903

admin

0

Yoga Routines

Yoga routines usually refer to the amount of exercises that one integrates in the life style pattern on a daily basis. Most of the time, by yoga routines we imply to exercises meant to train both body and spirit and thus promote a very good physical and mental health.

Yoga trainers usually try to create yoga routines with their students that cover daily and extensive practice too. The immediate benefits of yoga routines include a better anatomical flexibility and a peace of mind that improves the concentration and work capacity.

It takes some time before the creation of the workout training program but once you set it going, you’d better stick to it.

It is a common fact that beginners find it more difficult to develop yoga routines, as complex exercise performance comes with practice and lots of patience. Individuality plays an immense role in the practice of yoga if we think about how difficult it is for an overweight to perform any of the yoga poses. Therefore, for such a case, the first stage is preparatory for the creation of the yoga routines: weight loss, vegetarian diet, lots of physical exercises and proper hydration.

The process will often take longer than expected but with enough perseverance it can be done. Hence, you will never see a fat yoga practitioner, but a harmonious person both spiritually and physically.

Yoga routines come in time, this is the most important element to stress out.


Read more

Feb200923

admin

0

Indian Dance

Indian dance is a new umbrella term used for different forms of art having their roots in Natya, or the sacred Hindu musical theater style, and whose theory can be traced back to the Natya Shastra (400 BC).

These forms of Indian dance are the following: Agama Nartanam, or the spiritual dances performed inside the sanctum of the temple according to the rituals; Carnatakam, the intellectual dances or the dances performed in the royal courts to the accompaniment of classic music; Darbari Aattam form of dance appealed more to the common people and it was a means of education about their religion, culture and social life.

Lacking a good equivalent for these performing arts in the European culture, the British colonial authorities called them Indian dance. Even though the art of Natya includes nritta, or the dance properly, Natya can cover singing and mime acting, beside dancing.

These are common features for all the Indian classical styles. A very important characteristic of the Indian dance is the use of the mudra or the hand gestures by the artists as short-hand sign language used to narrate a story and to demonstrate certain concepts such as objects, weather, nature and emotion.

According to the Sangeet Natak Akademi there are several classical Indian dance forms: Bharatanatyam – Tamil Classical Dance; Odissi – Orrisa Classical dance; Kuchipudi – Telugu Classical dance; Manipuri – Manipur Classical Dance; Mohiniaattam – Kerala Classical Dance; Sattriya – Asamese Classical Dance; Kathakali – Malayalam Classical Dance.

When talking about Indian dance there should, nevertheless, be mentioned the dance in the Bollywood movies. This dance was modeled after classical Indian dance styles, more precisely those of historic northern Indian courtesans, or folk dances.


Read more

Feb200917

admin

0

Zebras

African mammals from the horse family, zebras owe their world fame for the black and white stripes on their bodies that represent the very label of their individuality.

From small groups to very large herds, zebras are part of the African landscape and no one likes to come to the black continent and not see these splendid animals.
There are three major species of zebras, the mountain zebras, the plains zebras and the Grevy’s each with specific features and behaviors additional to the common traits.

There are large parts of Kenya where Grevy’s or imperial zebras coexist with plain zebras for instance; they are the most similar to their horse relatives unlike the mountain subspecies that resembles asses most.

Though living only in Africa, zebras are adapted to a very wide range of habitats from mountains and hills to woodlands, savannas and grasslands.

Presently, the number of zebras roaming in the wild is definitely smaller than a century ago since the development of human civilization has had its impact on the zebra population, not to mention that for quite a while they were abusively hunted for their skins.

The zebras color pattern functions as some form of print, every individual is unique and the members of a group are able to identify each other thanks to these very patterns. Moreover, the stripes have a very important camouflage function against predators like lions.


Read more

« Older Entries   Recent Entries »