PHEW! Have you ever felt like a week goes by so quickly that you haven't had a chance to exhale? Maybe it's just a symptom of pandemic life, or maybe I'm just very nervous. In any case, I was recommended a trick called the 4-7-8 breathing technique, considered a simple (and free) way to release tension during the week. Here's how it works:
To begin, inhale through your nose, with your mouth closed, for four seconds.
Then hold that breath for seven seconds. Focus on it. Isn't it strange to think so hard to breathe?
When seven seconds have passed, release this breath slowly through your mouth for eight seconds. Let each puff escape at that time.
The University of Michigan Medicine recommends that you repeat the technique up to seven times, or until you feel relaxed. It is best to run it lying down, eyes closed, in a cool, dark room. And at the end of your breathing rehearsals, you may discover that these circuits fried in your head have been repaired.
Our favorites this week
A friendship proofed by pandemicsYou'd be hard pressed to find someone who isn't sick of Zoom hangouts at this point in the pandemic - but then you wouldn't know Robert Brajer and Ben Goldstein. Goldstein is a 30-year volunteer for DOROT, a not-for-profit organization that links older New Yorkers with younger companions - his eldest is Brajer, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor and recently widowed. The two men met regularly to discuss live music on bagels and lox until the coronavirus struck New York. The pandemic cannot, however, stifle their budding friendship. They are now meeting on Zoom to discuss their activities and what is going on with Goldstein's increasingly long locks. CNN participated in the couple's video call, and what followed was a lively and comforting meeting between two friends tired of the isolation. Although they prefer to discuss politics and pop culture rather than a deli breakfast, they are determined to foster their friendship practically until it is safe for them to meet. "It's a good feeling," said Brajer of his friendship with Goldstein. "You don't feel alone."
"Lasagna Lady" offers delicious charityWith a little grain and a big piece of cheese, Michelle Brenner made the impasta-ble (sorry for that) by preparing nearly 1,300 pans of lasagna for friends, first responders or anyone who was hungry during the pandemic - and for free, nothing less! Brenner was put on leave from her job a few months ago and returned to work on Instacart. She only spent two days working for the grocery delivery app, but that gave her the idea for her now signature dish - all her customers ordered frozen lasagna. But the frozen lasagna would not stand Brenner. In the past 90 days, Brenner has spent up to 14 hours in the kitchen, producing homemade lasagna after homemade lasagna and offering it for free in his front yard, now a contactless pantry. And even if she doesn't charge for her meals, her neighbors have raised more than $ 23,000 to continue cooking until the end of her leave. "People say," Are you tired? "" Said Brenner. "And I say," You know, I don't have time to think about it - I have lasagna to make. "" Words to live!
16, two kidneys and a lifelong friendshipWhen Terri Herrington's husband Bryan died 16 years ago, his organs saved four more people. Jeff Granger was one of them. He obtained Bryan's kidney and pancreas and quickly gained a friend from Terri, who was not allowed to learn his identity for a year after the transplant. The two have remained closely linked for the past decade, but their friendship stabilized last year, when one of Granger's kidneys began to fail. Without a second thought, Herrington offered him one of his own. She promised him his kidney so quickly that he thought she was joking at first. But a year later, Granger got a new kidney, and Herrington's kidney is right next to that of her late husband. "We are back together," she told CNN.
Raise a glass for ..
Ashanti Palmer, who is the promotion major of her high school - oh, and she has never missed a day since pre-kindergarten. She didn't take a single day of illness! Why did she do it? It's simple: "I knew coming to school every day was important, because even missing a day can make you go backwards," she said. Obviously, her perfect presence paid off because she has the best GPA in her senior class, after all. Since delivering an enthusiastic speech at her graduation, she has received over $ 400,000 in scholarships and plans to attend the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. We can only assume that it will continue its sequence of stellar notes and perfect attendance there too - even if the teachers do not follow.
Another cry is for Captain Bob Halicky, the first pilot with diabetes treated with insulin to direct a commercial flight. Halicky spent much of his life in the air, first as an Air Force pilot, then with Southwest Airlines and the Air National Guard. But in 2011, his diagnosis of type 1 diabetes prevented him from flying. The Federal Aviation Administration used to ban pilots with insulin-treated diabetes from flying for commercial airlines, citing the risk if a pilot's health did not deteriorate during flight, according to the FAA. But that changed in tone last year, and Halicky became one of the first pilots to obtain his first class medical certificate which he would need to fly for commercial purposes. This week, he returned to the southwest to fly from Las Vegas to Seattle, a journey of almost 10 years. It was as easy as Halicky remembered - in addition, he landed 12 minutes earlier. Before long, he was back in the air for another flight. "I'm super excited about it," he said, beaming.
A brilliant idea
Black-owned businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic, but there is a simple solution to help them bounce back - patronize them! That's the gist of My Black Receipt, an initiative that encourages customers to share their receipts from black-owned businesses, and ultimately spend $ 5 million on those businesses by July 6. But the goal persists in the summer. Black upStart, an organization for black entrepreneurs who launched My Black Receipt, says the initiative should also encourage customers to buy from businesses owned by black people near them in the future. "When you invest and buy in a black-owned business, what you really do is strengthen the black community," said Kezia Williams of Black upStart.
And if you don't know where black-owned businesses are in your area, start with the My Black Receipt website, which lists over 6,000 to get you started. In addition, the initiative has teamed up with Yelp to make it easier to find them - just look.
You must see that
Of course, this nightmarish eel-like thing looks like the kind of sea creature you feared coming out of your pool drain when you were a kid. But it's cool, everyone, this extremely toothy animal is good for the environment. It is a sea lamprey and has earned the unfortunate nickname "vampire fish" for its many sharp teeth. But the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department says the sea lamprey is native to the state's freshwater ecosystem and keeps the food chain in balance. Although they feed on the blood of other marine organisms, they are not expected to harm humans. However, if you dive into Lake Champlain anytime soon, keep your distance or risk waking up an aquatic vampire.
Do you want to escape?
OK, would you be willing to spend a few months in a large 800 year old Irish castle if you were to keep the place in operation - and you were the only occupant? It was a compromise that two people made in March, when their manager asked them if they wanted to spend their pandemic lockout at Ashford Castle, now a five-star hotel on the north shore of Lough Corrib in County Mayo. Now Laura Jamieson and Michael Smith, castle employees who are also a couple, spend their days walking through the wine-tasting tunnel or hosting movie nights in the hotel's private movie theater. Oh, the horror (they have to vacuum, dust and run showers and toilets regularly to make sure they work, again, compromises!). The two can be evicted when the castle reopens to customers on July 2 - but they avoid the question of continuing to live out their royal fantasy. And we will live it through them.
Impact on your world
Tiny entrepreneur and aspiring jeweler Kamryn Johnson lives near Minneapolis, so she is fully aware of the fight for racial justice that has sparked nationwide protests. And at 9 years old, she does something. She and some of her friends in front of a friendship bracelet stand - their effort is called "Kamryn & Friends: Bracelets for Unity & Justice". Their aspirations were modest - they assumed they might raise $ 50. But since May 30, the group has raised nearly $ 100,000 for Minneapolis businesses and food banks, all because Kamryn wanted to act. "She has a huge heart and just wanted to be useful in every way possible," Kamryn father, former NFL player Ron Johnson, told CNN. "She and her friends find ways to feed families in Minneapolis and give back to their communities the way they know how."
If you want to help like Kamryn but you're not good at making bracelets, check out the CNN Impact Your World guide to help communities get back on their feet amidst nationwide protests.
Shameless animal video
There is always time to make pretty animal videos. This moment is now.The emu is one of the closest animals to a dinosaur on Earth today. Don't these striped plush balls seem fierce to you? No? More comfortable, perhaps? Okay. I envy the dog.
