Awesome Stories 362

/ March 31, 2018

This week Awesome Stories brings you forward fashion, vagus nerve, and play.

Forward Fashion

I must admit I’m not big on shopping or feeding our collective consumption, but this line of clothing strives to make a difference in a meaningful way. Founder Shannon Keith was touched by the harsh lives of women, especially those in the sex trade, in India and wondered what she could do to help. She realized they needed living wage work to help them gain independence so she set out to teach them to sew and make clothes. Thus was born Sudara clothing. Since their start in 2006, they have helped hundreds of women with living wages, skills trade, and social services. You can learn much more about their inspiring story on the website or Shannon’s TED Talk.

Vagus Love

Vagus nerve stimulation, VNS, is a fairly new treatment for a variety of health problems. As the central nerve cord that runs along our spine, the vagus nerve controls the parasympathetic nervous system and connects to virtually every organ and many brain functions. With so many connections, VNS been targeted for numerous treatments, including epilepsy, MS, depression, anxiety, inflammation, mood, memory, and heart, and weight issues. Healthy vagus function is critical for our immune system, glucose control, and even brain function. Researchers continue to experiment and find more connections, and benefits for VNS. This article explores more of the research, connections, and natural ways to boost your vagus nerve function like cold showers, deep breathing, yoga, massage, and more. Viva Las Vagus!  🙂

Playtime!kids, play, Awesome Stories

This article on the value of play for children is both inspiring and depressing. Inspiring because it is such a simple and proven way to help children, especially those with behavioral disorders. And depressing because something so basic as play and outdoor activity are considered “radical” educational ideas. The Texas schools that boosted recess time for kids with ADD have had wonderful results with clear increases in focus and decreases in disorderly behavior. The key to their success seems to be four short recesses, breaking up the monotony and structure of classrooms, and giving kids a chance to run and play freely with no structure. Thankfully, this “radical” idea is used widely in Finland for all kids and due to be tried in OK and CA. Maybe we can import play to the US without any extra tariffs.

 

May your week be full of contribution, health, and play.

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14 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 362”

  3. Another set of wonderfully awesome stories. I love all three of them. How sweet that from the first story a whole socially beneficial company started. Wow! And the last story is near and dear to my heart: the school where I work has a philosophy about children spending more time outdoors – they get something like 3 recesses a day and built an enticing playground so students would really want to be outside. It helps everyone so much to be outside…I also hope you had a good week! I bet you’re probably feeling tired, but here’s to great beginnings!

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  4. Viva las Vegas indeed! I liked the story about the Texas school and recess so much that I put it on my Facebook page. Kids need more play, not less. And how uplifting: the story of the initiative to help poor Indian women find employment. Thanks for sharing, Brad.

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