What A Yoga Pose Can Tell You About The Strength Of Your Relationships

Is standing on one leg a piece of cake for you? That could be a good sign for your relationships. In what can only be described as a poetic finding, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and University of Waterloo found a connection between physical wobbliness and perceived relationship instability. 

Their study tested the relationship between physical sensation and emotional feeling — part of a field of inquiry called embodied cognition. They wanted to see if a physical sensation of instability would lead to an emotional perception of the same.

First, the researchers asked college students in romantic relationships to sit at either a stable work station or a subtly wobbly one. They also asked each student to rate the stability of his or her relationship. The students sitting at unstable workstations viewed their romantic relationships as being of lower quality, while the stable workstation cohort felt significantly better about their partners.

To test this idea in greater depth, researchers reached out to a larger group and asked people who were in longterm, committed relationships to stand on one leg in front of a computer screen. People who wobbled on one leg were more likely to perceive their relationships as unlikely to last than those who stayed steady.

Intrigued? Relationship stability isn’t the only thing related to balance. If standing on one leg is easy for you, you may be at lower risk for stroke and brain disease, according to a 2014 study. And a 2010 study found a link between this type of balance and living longer. 

Who’s ready to get their tree pose on? 

H/T The New York Times 

Also on HuffPost:

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Albert Street, Camden, NW1, London

Located in one of London’s most sought-after districts, this five bedroom terraced house, refurbished to the highest standard, offers all amenities and exceptional transport links.

Spanning over six floors, the property, with its exceptional garden, private terrace and summerhouse, makes for a charming family home.

The state-of-the-art kitchen and breakfast room offer enough space for grand-scale dinner parties.

A spacious kitchen and breakfast room take up most of the lower ground floor, with a garden room and plant room completing the floor’s layout; to the back, a small terrace can be used for breakfasts al fresco.

Stairs lead up to the upstairs terrace, from which the garden and summer house can be accessed; the floor layout is dominated by a drawing room and a sitting/dining room.

The decked garden and private summer house present a welcome change from Camden’s busy streets.

A small study enjoys views over and direct access to the garden.

The first floor is dedicated to the master bedroom, which has access to a private, front-facing balcony, and its spacious en-suite facilities; on the second floor, two smaller bedrooms share an en-suite.

Bedrooms four and five are located on the third floor, also sharing a bathroom; a staircase leads up to the fourth floor, which only houses a small utility room.

A warm color scheme and light coming from large windows give the house its homely character.

High windows mean the property is flooded with light; soft carpets and walls painted in cream, brown and beige tones prevent it from feeling clinical and cold.

Instead, its neutral color scheme and the combination of contemporary kitchen and bathroom designs invite buyers to make bolder choices and use the house’s charm.

Mosaic tiles and contemporary appliances give the bathrooms an exclusive flair.

Located in Camden Town, the property is at the heart of a culturally diverse, vibrant area benefiting from a vast number of independent shops and cafés.

From Camden Town Underground Station and Mornington Crescent Underground Station, both within easy walking distance, the Northern Line connects Camden to Central London.

The Eurostar Terminal and national rail services from King’s Cross and St Pancras International stations just a short ride away; the green spaces of Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath can also be easily reached on public transport.

Priced at £3.5 million (€4,858,865, $5,378,372) the property is sold by Knight Frank.

The post Albert Street, Camden, NW1, London appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/albert-street-camden-london/

New Russian Flag Tries to Combat Momentum for LGBT Equality

Ahead of Russia’s annual Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, the ruling Russian party has created a new flag.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/new-russian-flag-tries-to-combat-momentum-for-lgbt-equality?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

2016 GOP Long-Shots Fighting to Ensure Their Anti-gay Bigotry Makes It Onto the First Primary Debate: VIDEO

The first 2016 Republican Party presidential primary debate is less than a month away and the GOP long-shots have started their frantic pushing and shoving to secure one of the ten coveted spots on the anti-gay dais.

Politico reports:

Allies of at least four long-shot Republican presidential hopefuls are planning to blitz Iowa and New Hampshire with paid advertisements in the coming week with the hope of cutting through the clutter of a 17-candidate field.

The ads are being paid for by super PACs with one thing in common: The candidates they support are in danger of failing to qualify for the first presidential debate, scheduled for Aug. 6. The bet is that the ad buys will lead to a rise in poll numbers in one of the key early states. And that, in turn, is expected to help the candidates break through and generate enough positive news coverage to boost them into the top 10 — the threshold for earning a spot in the first debate. Even if they fall short of the goal, each candidate at least will have invested in a state that is central to his or her candidacy.

The four long-shot Republicans taking part in the ad blitz are Louisiana Gov. Bobby “Don’t Waste Your Breathe Trying to Talk to Me About Anti-LGBT Discrimination” Jindal, former Texas Gov. Rick “Homosexuality = Alcoholism” Perry, Ohio Gov. John “I’ll Go to a Gay Wedding, But I Won’t Like It” Kasich, and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly “Tim Cook is a Hypocrite for Speaking Out Against Indiana’s Religious Freedom Law” Fiorina.

Earlier this week, Rachel Maddow also discussed the GOP’s jockeying, including Lindsey Graham’s attempt to secure a spot at the first debate with some help from Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt.

The post 2016 GOP Long-Shots Fighting to Ensure Their Anti-gay Bigotry Makes It Onto the First Primary Debate: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

2016 GOP Long-Shots Fighting to Ensure Their Anti-gay Bigotry Makes It Onto the First Primary Debate: VIDEO

I Am a Camera: Images of LGBT Communities

camera_leadx400.jpg

Christopher Harrity

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/photography/2015/07/09/i-am-camera-images-lgbt-communities

Same-Sex Couple Denied Marriage License In Kentucky Because Of Clerk's Religious Beliefs
On June 26, the Supreme Court made the landmark decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide. At the time, the court said it was granting same-sex couples “equal dignity in the eyes of the law.”

But as this recent video of two men being denied a marriage license in Kentucky shows, not all couples are being granted this right.

David Moore and his fiancé have been together for 17 years, and have lived in Rowan County, Kentucky for 10. “We feel it’s our right as citizens, according to the Supreme Court and according to the governor of Kentucky, that we should be able to get married,” said the couple in a video uploaded to YouTube Tuesday.

The video, which has been watched more than a million times to date, shows the couple going to the Rowan County clerk’s office in the hopes of acquiring a marriage license. They, however, are told by an employee behind a counter that because of a “choice” made by Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, they would not be able to get a license there.

“You can go to any other county and get your marriage license, we’re just not doing it at this time,” she said to the couple, as a police officer looked closely on.

Davis has said that her Christian beliefs prevent her from abiding by the Supreme Court ruling. The clerk told The Associated Press that she will no longer be issuing marriage licenses to couples — gay or straight.

“It’s a deep-rooted conviction; my conscience won’t allow me to do that,” she said. “It goes against everything I hold dear, everything sacred in my life.”

Davis herself appears at the end of the video, which was filmed Monday. As a screenshot from the clip shows, the clerk insisted that the camera be switched off — a demand that Moore (pictured below) complied with.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky has filed a lawsuit against Davis on behalf of two homosexual and two heterosexual couples who were denied marriage licenses.

“Ms. Davis has the absolute right to believe whatever she wants about God, faith, and religion, but as a government official who swore an oath to uphold the law, she cannot pick and choose who she is going to serve, or which duties her office will perform based on her religious beliefs,” ACLU attorney Laura Landenwich said.

Davis is among a small number of clerks and judges across the South who have refused to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“Officials have … warned that the defiant clerks could be risking criminal charges,” the AP writes. “Warren County Attorney Ann Milliken, president of the Kentucky County Attorneys Association, said clerks could be charged with official misconduct, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Munich introduces gay traffic lights for Pride

Munich has introduced same-sex couples on their traffic lights for Pride this weekend.

The new lights at pedestrian crossings show gay, lesbian and straight pairings waiting or walking hand-in-hand.

They were inspired by the Vienna traffic lights, which introduced them during this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Harold Klink, of German Engineering News, was one of many to praise the new lights.

‘I like the gay traffic lights in Munich!’ he said, and referencing the curved backs: ‘I think the boys should urgently go to the physio though!’

Green party politicians launched the measure, according to The Local, overcoming resistance from the Christian Social Union group.

The post Munich introduces gay traffic lights for Pride appeared first on Gay Star News.

Joe Morgan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/munich-introduces-gay-traffic-lights-for-pride/

Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Implies Gay Parents Are Pedophiles

Angela Marie Costanza and her wife, Chastity Shanelle Brewer, were legally married in California. They were in the process of suing to have their marriage recognized in their home state of Louisiana and for second-parent adoption when the U.S. Supreme Court made marriage equality a constitutional right.

Yesterday, the Louisiana Supreme Court dismissed their case, ruling that SCOTUS’ ruling “solved the matter.”

But not all the justices agreed.

In a two paragraph dissent, Justice Jefferson D. Hughes III, who was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2012, began by saying he couldn’t resist sharing his “honest convictions” over such an important matter. (What is the purpose of getting up on one’s soapbox if not to share their “honest convictions,” after all?) Then he got right to the point.

Related: Bobby Jindal’s Twitter Q&A Goes Horribly And Hilariously Wrong

He didn’t bother providing any legal arguments to support his position that the state should not be forced to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. “Marriage is not only for the parties,” he wrote. “Its purpose is to provide children with a safe and stable environment in which to grow.”

“This case involves an adoption,” he continued. “The most troubling prospect of same sex marriage is the adoption by same sex partners of a young child of the same sex.”

Why is this so “troubling”? Hughes stops just short of saying, but the implication is clear. That old gays-as-pedophiles slander. But not all of Hughes’ colleagues are complete idiots.

Justice Greg Guidry responded to Hughes’ allegations by pointing out: “[t]he dissenting opinion appears to be unaware of the facts of the case before us, which involves the intra-family adoption of a boy by the female spouse of the boy’s biological mother.”

Related: The Craziest Damn Shiz Conservatives Have Said About Gay People

Graham Gremore

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