Yoga for Clean Lungs 對肺友幫助的瑜珈

Deep breathing, Yunlin’s most dangerous exercise 深呼吸，雲林的最危險的運動

Members of the Yunlin County Physician’s Group on Monday last week gather in Yunlin to demand that the public gets clean air.
雲林縣醫師團體上週一在雲林站出來，要政府還給人民乾淨新鮮的空氣。

Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Liberty Times 照片： 自由時報記者詹士弘攝

Deep breathing has become Yunlin County’s most dangerous exercise. On April 27, the spokesperson of Yunlin County Physician’s Group stated that he used to think Yunlin’s air was the cleanest in Taiwan, but now knows that there is a risk with each breath. If the government still does not address the pollution problem, no matter how much is spent on health insurance, it will never be enough.

Taiwan’s air quality has already worsened to the same level as China. The invisible nature of the hazard makes it only more worrying. PM2.5, which refers to particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, is an invisible killer, making air pollution in Taiwan a matter of national security. The government must take more proactive measures, regulate the sources of pollution and control and manage overall pollution levels.

A doctor from Yunlin said, we can choose not to drink tea beverages from chains like 50 Lan or Stornaway, but we can not go a minute without breathing air. PM2.5 will raise the chances of the public getting asthma and lung cancer. Even foreign research indicates that dust under PM2.5 can be transferred to the brain through the alveolus and even lead to dementia.

The doctor said that when he found out that Yunlin had Taiwan’s worst air quality, it left him quite shocked. Big factories only create pollution for Yunlin; their taxes do not contribute anything to Yunlin. Yunlin used to have the best air quality, and now taking a deep breath has become the most dangerous exercise in this county. The government really must face up to this problem.

(Liberty Times, translated by Zane Kheir)

「深呼吸成雲林縣的最危險的運動」，雲林縣醫師團體發言人四月二七日表示，原本他以為雲林縣空氣最乾淨，現在才知道每吸一口氣都有風險，政府再不正視空污問題，健保費再多也不夠花。

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. worsen v. 惡化 

例: Relations between Japan and China have worsened recently.

(近來日本與中國的關係已經惡化。)

2. proactive adj. 積極 

例: Proactive students can easily improve their English.

(積極的學生可以輕易的提升英語能力。)

3. contribute v.貢獻 

例: I hope my work will contribute something to the team.

(我希望我的工作能對團隊有所貢獻。)

台灣的空氣品質已惡化到與中國同等級，看不到的傷害，讓人更為恐慌，pm兩點五是無形殺手，空污在台灣，已是國安問題，政府必須有更積極的作為，要從源頭、從污染總量管制起。

雲林的一位醫師表示，我們可以選擇不喝五十嵐、英國藍，但就是不能一分鐘不呼吸空氣，pm兩點五將提高民眾罹患哮喘、肺癌機率，甚至有國外研究指出，小於pm兩點五的灰塵，可透過肺泡轉移至腦部，甚至導致失智。

醫師說，得知雲林縣空氣品質全國最差，讓他相當震驚，大工廠對雲林只會製造污染，繳稅對雲林一點貢獻也沒有，原本空氣最好的雲林，變成「深呼吸成最危險的運動」，政府真的要正視問題。

〔自由時報記者詹士弘〕

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Quitting smoking reduces anxiety 戒菸降低緊張感

Smokers who successfully quit feel less anxious afterwards — despite the belief that smoking relieves stress, researchers say.

The British Journal of Psychiatry study followed nearly 500 smokers attending National Health Service Stop Smoking Clinics in England. It found a “significant” decrease in anxiety levels among the 68 smokers who had quit after six months.

The effect was greater among those who had mood and anxiety disorders than those who smoked for pleasure.

The researchers — drawn from several universities including Cambridge, Oxford and King’s College London — said the findings should be used to reassure smokers attempting to quit that concerns about increased anxiety levels were unfounded.
(Liberty Times)

研究人員說，雖然一般認為吸菸可舒緩壓力，但吸菸者成功戒菸後，反而比較不會覺得緊張。
《英國精神病學期刊》刊登的這份研究，追蹤在英格蘭向「國民保健服務處」戒菸診所求助的近五百名吸菸者。研究發現，六十八名在六個月後戒菸的吸菸者，緊張感「顯著」降低。
戒菸對有情緒與緊張失調者的影響，比為了愉悅感而吸菸者來得大。

選自劍橋、牛津與倫敦國王學院等大學的研究人員說，這項研究發現應該用來說服欲戒菸者，戒菸會增加緊張感的憂慮並沒有根據。

（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. afterwards adv.
後來 (hou4 lai2)
例: We had tea, and afterwards we sat in the garden for a while.
(我們喝了茶，然後在花園裡坐了一會兒。)

2. relieve v.
舒緩 (shu1 huan3))
例: She was given a shot of morphine to relieve the pain.
(她打了一針嗎啡舒緩疼痛。)

3. unfounded adj.
無根據的 (wu2 gen1 ju4 de5)
例: I’m pleased to see that our fears about the weather proved totally unfounded.
(我很高興我們對天氣的擔心最後是多慮了。)

Links:
http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/stop-smoking-with-kundalini-yoga/

Humming Bee Breath/ Bhramari Pranayama

90 percent less bees this year worries beekeepers 蜜蜂少九成　養蜂人家苦

Chang Ching-po, head of the beekeeper class at Keelung Farmers’ Association, holds up a beehive in Keelung on March 21.
基隆市農會土蜂養蜂班班長張清波三月二十一日在基隆市拿養蜂箱。

Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者俞肇福

With flowers not blooming due to a climate in chaos and a long rainy season, only 150 of 500 hives kept by the 19 beekeepers at Keelung Farmers Association’ are left. Chang Ching-po, head of the beekeeper class there, said that each hive originally had 20,000 bees but now only has 3,000, leaving only a million of the usual 10 million bees, which is a big loss.

Chang said there are still two months until the spring honey is harvested during the fourth month of the lunar calendar, and that all they can do now is hope for normal weather and that it will stop raining so much. This way the number of bees increases, they have a normal harvest, and can lower their losses.

Chang also said it has been raining nonstop in Keelung since October last year and that there have been very few days with nice weather, which is a huge thorn in the side for beekeepers in the Keelung area. Abnormal weather coupled with low temperatures is making bees unwilling to leave their hives.

He said the main problem is that it keeps raining, which has affected the blooming of flowers in the Cidu mountain area. Flowers are now withering before they even begin to bloom because of the heavy rains. While they wait in their hives for good weather, the bees do not go out to get pollen and nectar, seriously affecting the amount of honey being produced. Chang said the scope of beekeeping at Keelung Farmers’ Association includes the Cidu mountain area, and Nuannuan and Anle districts, all of which are facing the same problem. Chang originally had 110 hives, which should each have 20,000 bees, but now there are only 20 hives left with less than 4,000 bees in each one.

Chang also said he has not seen such strange phenomena in over a decade. If bees are not freezing to death, they are dying outside. Aside from affecting the honey harvest, it will also influence the price of honey. He just hopes good weather comes quickly and things return to normal in the remaining two months.

(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY KYLE JEFFCOAT)

氣候亂、雨季長花不開，造成基隆農會土蜂養蜂班十九戶養蜂人家五百箱土蜂，僅剩下一百五十箱；土蜂養蜂班班長張清波說，每箱本來有兩萬隻土蜂，現在剩下三千隻，造成大約一千萬隻土蜂只剩下不到一百萬隻土蜂，損失慘重。

張清波說，距離農曆四月底春蜜採收還剩兩個月，現在只能希望天氣正常、雨不要再下個不停，讓土蜂數量再增加，採收能夠如常，以減少損失。

他說，基隆地區從去年十月下旬迄今，一直持續下雨，好天氣屈指可數，讓基隆地區的養蜂人家十分頭痛。天氣異常加上氣溫低，養蜂箱中的土蜂都不願出門採蜜。

他表示，最主要就是雨一直下，讓七堵山區的樹木開花受影響，花還沒開就被大雨給淋到凋零，等到好天氣時，土蜂出門身上都黏不到花粉也吸不到花蜜，更影響到蜂蜜產量。他說，基隆農會養蜂範圍包括七堵山區、暖暖區、安樂區，大家都面臨同樣問題；以他自己為例，本來有一百一十箱，一個蜂箱原本應該有兩萬隻的土蜂，但是現在只剩不到二十個養蜂箱，而且剩下的養蜂箱每個箱子剩不到四千隻。

他說，十幾年來從沒見過這樣怪異的現象，蜜蜂不是凍死，就是在外面死亡；除了影響蜂蜜採收外，連帶也會影響蜂蜜價格，他只希望趕快好天氣，在剩下兩個月時間恢復正常。

（自由時報記者俞肇福）