Monthly Archives: July 2017

Why tax exemption on personal hygiene products for women is crucial The Hindu I have argued in Parliament on many an occasion to deliberate on issues of women's empowerment using data on the dismal percentage of women in the workforce, the high percentage of school dropouts among girls, and the rise in gender crimes. and more »

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Why tax exemption on personal hygiene products for women is crucial - The Hindu

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The number one killer of Americans under the age of 50 isnt cancer, or suicide, or road traffic accidents.Its drug overdoses. They have quadrupled since 1999.More than 52,000 Americansdied from drug overdoses last year. Even in the UK, where illegal drug use is on the decline, overdose deaths are peaking, havinggrown by 10% from 2015 to 2016 alone. The war on drugs continues but its a war were losing.

Most drug-related deaths result from the use of opioids, the molecules that are marketed as painkillers by pharmaceutical companies and heroin by drug lords. Opioids, whatever their source, bond with receptors all over our bodies. Opioid receptors evolved to protect us from panic, anxiety and pain a considerate move by the oft-callous forces of evolution. But the gentle impact of natural opioids, produced by our own bodies, resembles a summer breeze compared to the hurricane of physiological disruption caused by drugs designed to mimic their function.

Most street opiates (including heroin) are now laced or replaced with fentanyl thedrug that killed the singer Prince and its analogues, far more powerful than heroin and so cheap that drug-dealing profits are skyrocketing at about the same rate as overdose deaths. The UKs National Crime Agency said that traces of fentanyl have been found in46 people who died this year. Users dont know what theyre getting and they take too much. Fentanyl is recognised as a primary driver of the overdose epidemic.

Societys response has been understandably desperate but generally wrongheaded. We start by blaming addicts. Then we blame the pharmaceutical companies for developing and marketing painkillers. We blame doctors, for overprescribing opiates, which pressures them to underprescribe, which drives patients to street drugs cheaper, home delivery via the internet, and zero quality control. We say were going to reignite the war on drugs, recognised by experts as a colossal failure from the 1930s onward. We also continue to view addiction as a chronic brain disease, so the benefits of education, social support, psychological intervention, and personal empowerment receive far too little attention. Yes, addiction involves brain change, butongoing medicalisation does little to combat it.

There has been some progress: There are pockets of activity here and there where prescribed opiates like methadone and Suboxone are made more easily available to addicts. Thats a good thing, because increasingly desperate addicts are often driven to the street, where theyre most likely die. The availability of naloxone, which works as an antidote, is slowly wending its way through the drug policy jungle, providing a simple resource todeal with an overdose on the spot. But in most segments of most communities in the US and elsewhere, it is still too difficult to obtain.

There are smarter answers at hand but also smarter questions to be asked. The overdose epidemic compels us to face one of the darkest corners of modern human experience head on, to stop wasting time blaming the players and start looking directly at the source of the problem. What does it feel like to be a youngish human growing up in the early 21st century? Why are we so stressed out that our internal supply of opioids isnt enough?

The opioid system evolved to allow us to function, not panic or shut down, when we are under threat or in pain. Support from other humans also helps us cope with stress, but that support is underpinned by opioids too. Our attachment to others, whether in friendship, family or romance, requires opioid metabolism so that we can feel the love. Opioids grant us a sense of warmth and safety when we connect with each other.

You get opioids from your own brain stem when you get a hug. Mothers milk is rich with opioids, which says a lot about the chemical foundation of mother-child attachment. When rats get an extra dose of opioids, they increase their play with each other, even tickle each other. And when rodents are allowed to socialise freely (rather than remain in isolated steel cages) theyvoluntarily avoid the opiate-laden bottlehanging from the bars of their cage. Theyve already got enough.

In short, mammals need opioids to feel safe and to trust each other. So what does it say about our lifestyle if our natural supply isnt sufficient and so we risk our lives to get more? It says we are stressed, isolated and untrusting. Thats a problem we need to resolve.

Many have proposed targeted education, community support and interpersonal bonding through group activities. Johann Haris powerful book,Chasing the Scream, reviews how such initiatives have worked in diverse societies. An intriguing example is the compassionate, blame-free dialogue that has evolved among high-school students in Portugal, highlighting the dangers of hard drugs and urging the most vulnerable to abstain not because theyre going to get in trouble, but because addiction is miserable and dangerous. This dialogue has paralleled the decriminalisation of drug use.

Portugal had an astoundingly high heroin addiction rate 16 years ago. It now boasts thesecond lowest overdose rateon the continent. Social inclusion actually works against addiction while punishment only fuels it.

But the peculiar appeal of opioids tells us more about ourselves as a society, as a culture, than the tumultuous ups and downs of addiction statistics. Todays young people come of age and carve out their adult lives in an environment of astronomical uncertainty. Corporations that used to pride themselves on fairness to their employees now strive only for profit. The upper echelons of management are as risk-infected as the lowest clerks. Massive layoffs rationalised by the eddies of globalisation make long-term contracts prehistoric relics. I ask the guys who come to the house to deliver packages how they like their jobs. They cant say. They get up to three six-month contracts in a row and then get laid off so the company wont have to pay them benefits.

People pour out of universities with all manner of degrees, yet with skills that are rapidly becoming irrelevant. But people without degrees are even worse off. They find themselves virtually unemployable, because there are so many others in the same pool, and employers will hire whoever comes cheapest. The absurdly low minimum wage figures in the US clearly exacerbate the situation. As hope for steady employment fizzles, so does the opportunity to connect with family, friends and society more broadly, and there is way too much time to kill.Opioids can help reduce the despair.

The opportunity to settle into a viable niche in ones family and ones society is being blown away by the winds of unregulated capitalism in aglobalised world. As for the intimacy and trust we humans have always sought in each other, in friends, colleagues, and lovers, the bonds are shaky these days. Even if we have the opportunity to connect were still too stressed and depressed to get to know each other well, to develop trust, to give and receive compassion. Urban life requires juggling high-stress relationships past the point of mental and emotional exhaustion.

The early 21st century offers less structure and stability through religion or extended family than we humans have experienced in millennia. And maybe thats just the way it is. But we dont have to throw away the basic currency of security and interconnectedness entirely. We can build social structures governments, corporations, community organisations, and systems of education and care that encourage stability, hope, and trust in our day-to-day lives. Like the school kids in Portugal, we can offer compassion and inclusion as an alternative over heroin. If we fail to do that, we may as well hook ourselves up to an opioid pump. Just to endure.

Marc Lewis is a neuroscientist and recently retired professor of developmental psychology, at the University of Toronto from 1989 to 2010, and at Radboud University in the Netherlands from 2010 to 2016. His latest book isThe Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease(2015-16). He lives in the Netherlands.

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Why Are So Many People Dying from Opiate Overdoses? It's Our Broken Society - AlterNet

Thedisempowerment of women does not happen all at once; it is a continuous, often insidious process that begins early in the life of a female child and goes on to infiltrate almost every aspect of her life. The girl who isnt allowed to play boys games. The teenager who is told a girl shouldnt talk too much. The young woman whose sole goal is viewed to be marriage. The mother who is expected to build her life only around her family.

An upcoming Indian classical dance drama, Saa Shakti, seeks to disrupt and question this process by telling the story of a womans journey to empowerment. The shows title, which evokes not just the Sanskrit word for power and empowerment but also the Hindu goddess Shakti, is an apt metaphor for a show that uses the classical traditions of odissi to express contemporary thoughts and ideas.

Saa Shakti plays at the Shantanand Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur on July 15.

For odissi exponent Leena Mohanty, the show is an opportunity to engage with issues of gender equality through the art that has become her lifes passion.

Mohanty, who trained under preeminent odissi guru Deba Prasad Das and his disciple Durga Charan Ranbir, is a renowned performer and choreographer in her own right, and a familiar face to odissi audiences in Malaysia. Her previous performances here include Anjali (2009), Leela Purushottama The Supreme Absolute (2011) and Sharanagati (2013).

While the award-winning dancer has presented many critically-acclaimed odissi performances around the world, this will be her first to take on specifically contemporary themes.

Gender equality has been an issue that continues to be relevant and is always a big topic of discussion. We have sent women in space, women in the armed forces. Yet, we still live in a world where women are exploited, treated unequally and not allowed to make their own choices. I realised that this was an opportunity for me to explore a topic that isnt commonly done in the traditional Indian dance format, says Mohanty, who is currently based in Bangalore, India.

Odissi-trained dancer/choreographer Leenas works will be featured in Kalpana Dance Theatres upcoming dance fusion performance Sharanagati. Photo: Ricky Lai/The Star

The show, presented in Kuala Lumpur by Kalpana Dance Theatre (KDT), will tell the story of a female child as she grows into adulthood, looking at the challenges and struggles she faces along the way. Performing alongside Mohanty will be Malaysian dancers Daisyga Rani Vijayakumaran, Nritta Ganeshi Manoharan, Lawrence Sackris, Kunaratnam Velautham and Muneeswaren Palsamy. The cast will be rounded out by 40 other local dancers in various supporting roles.

KDT founder and artistic director Shangita Namasivayam says there is much potential in Indian classical dance to engage with modern themes and ideas. These traditional forms are so well-codified and have such a strong language. We have the rasas (emotions), mudras (hand gestures), abhinayas (expressions) all of which can add so much richness to any story.

To help flesh out the initial idea behind Saa Shakti, Mohanty and Shangita turned to Indian writer, poet and art critic Kedar Mishra, as well as musician Kumar Mohapatra for the original music score. From there, despite it being relatively unfamiliar territory, Mohanty says the odissi simply flowed.

When it came to the choreography, Mohanty found inspiration in nature. By using the language of odissi to depict flora, fauna and natural landscapes, she discovered a way to break free of the constraints of modern life and instead depict femaleness in an equal footing.

Nature doesnt segregate between male and female; each are given an equal and important place. I linked this to the concept of gender equality through classical odissi gestures and postures that evoke nature, she says.

The culmination of Saa Shakti, says Mohanty, is the womans discovery of her own identity and inner power.

During the course of the show, she realises that she has become defined by the roles she plays to different people daughter, wife, mother but has lost her own identity. And so the story becomes about her learning who she is through her own eyes, she says.

As mothers of female children themselves Mohantys daughter is 12, while Shangitas are 19 and 20 the two women behind Saa Shakti are keenly aware of how important the message of female empowerment is.

This is of course an issue that is personal, something we have actually experienced. And sometimes you just have to say something, says Mohanty.

Empowerment is not about negating the roles associated with women, or putting men or marriage down. It is about freedom, the freedom to make choices, says Shangita.

Saa Shakti will be staged at the Shantanand Auditorium, Jalan Berhala, Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur on July 15. Showtime: 7.30pm. For invitations, call 017-672 5672, 012-650 7226 or 012-787 7467.

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Odissi dance drama focuses on female empowerment - Star2.com

I have been reading a great deal lately about breath and its applications in Yoga, for example, as it is promoted in business; mindfulness training to help relieve stress and much more. But, nowhere do I read about integrating breath as profoundly, simply, as we do in Vocal Awareness.

Vocal Awareness is a technique that teaches Empowerment through Voice and Personal Mastery Through Communication. One of its primary techniques in mindfulness through breathing. I have been teaching this transformational and mindful Work for over five decades. After having trained for many years as a classical singer and voice teacher, I created this discipline and in doing so recognized that in all forms of mastery, there is what I call an off switch. For example, many practice yoga assiduously but do they actually apply the mind/body/spirit connection to the rest of their lives?

I have trained great numbers of artists and elite athletes who clearly are in mastery in their skill set but, once they leave the stage, the field, the courtthey are no longer in mastery. They are simply behaving as the rest of ushabitually in a less consciously aware statewhat we might call normal every day behavior. Once again, when great athletes/artists are in performance mastery, average would never be tolerated.

With Vocal Awareness, however, there is a truly important opportunity through a unique breathing technique called Conscious, Loving Breathing, to incorporate mindfulness Conscious Awareness a sense of empowerment and, ultimately, masterynot just through what we do, but in who we are and with no off switch.

A number of years ago I taught the noted motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, who referred to the 7 Rituals of Vocal Awareness as pattern interrupts. He said to create a new pattern you had to interrupt an old one, focus and effectively repeat the desired behavior to rid yourself of the unwanted pattern.

This article is focused on breathing and the new pattern I want to instill is this: breath has strategic value.

It is not only necessary for life, but the point is, this new breathing system will enhance your lifeintra and interpersonally. Our ability to breathe is regulated by the autonomic nervous system. It is a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions. This new pattern is called a Conscious Loving Breath, what I often refer to as CLB.

When we engage in Conscious Loving Breathing, an integrative process begins to emerge which can help you energetically achieve multisensory integration. Through this technique, we can begin to shift our behavior from unconscious to consciously aware and systematically and energetically initiate a fundamentally new pattern that instills in us the ability to integrate and claim personal mastery through mind/body/spirit mindfulness in every breath, enabling you to tap into something truly inspiring that you are likely never to have experienced before.

The root of the word spirit means to breathe. The root of the word inspire, inspirare is to to breathe into. The Hebrew word, neshama means both soul and breath. I share this observation because a breath is not only physical but also emotional. I share the above observations about mastery and mindfulness because to achieve mastery requires the integration of mind/body/spirit. Once again, however, we tend to leave it in the yoga studio or in our meditation period. We do not take it with us everywhere we go. In Vocal Awareness we do. The following is a simple technique to begin to integrate this transformative breathing technique into your daily life.

1. Begin by standing or sitting comfortably in Stature, erect and relaxed with a certain sense of dignity. The concept of Stature helps us spiritually/emotionally claim our aspirational Self. First, experience what it is like to simply take a deep breath, as though it is the top of the morning and Its great to be alive. Notice how it feels to inhale like this. Does your chest rise? Does your larynx and tongue constrict? Then, exhale and relax. Refrain from judging the process.

2. Next, I would like you to experience a very different kind of breath. Please do not rush. This inhalation will take 5-7 seconds. As you inhale, please respond to this thought: Allow a slow, silent, Conscious Loving Breath. Now exhale.

Notice the difference from the breath you first took. When you allowed a breath, your abdomen and rib cage both expanded as a bellows and you felt more open and relaxed. Your internal and external space are instantly quieter. Please take time to observe what changes occurred. The shifts may be subtle or obvious but they are taking place.

As you get comfortable with this transformative breath, experiment. For example, notice what happens when you speak without a breath. What do you sound or feel like? Then, take a breath and speak. Lastly, when you experience a CLB speaking at the apex of your exhalation, please notice that your pitch will be lower; your voice stronger, more resonant and emotionally warmer.

Initially, please commit to practicing a Conscious Loving Breath for a total of 7 minutes a daya couple of minutes at night while in bed before you go to sleep, a couple in the morning before you get out of bed, and 3 minutes throughout the rest of your day at work or playbefore an important phone call, a meeting, PowerPoint presentationany time there is a critical opportunity to claim your power.

I will leave you with one final Vocal Awareness axiom: breath is fuel. If we dont put gas in the tank of our car, we will never reach our destination. By extension, please remember that if it is important enough to say, it is important enough to breathe before you say it and please do so integrating a Conscious Loving Breath to engage mind/body/spirit. CLB and this axiom are the pattern interrupts that I want you to retain. This breath will create the opportunity for you, not only to do but to be your best. As I say to all my students/clientsenjoy the Journey.

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Mindful Breathing For a Stress Free Life - HuffPost