Tag: #junemagazine2022

FAMILY-FRIENDLY HIKING TRAILS IN THE US

 Hiking is a fun way to spend quality time with your clan, since it appeals to people of all ages. Whether you’re an amateur hiker or just getting started with young children or a swarm of adolescent siblings, there’s an appropriate hiking trail in the U.S. for everyone. Hiking is so much more than just a practical workout; it’s also a way to improve your mental well-being while simultaneously interacting with nature.

Perhaps hiking has been on your wish list for a while; but you simply couldn’t decide on an appropriate trail. If so, we’ve selected seven great summertime trails for families in the United States based on scenic beauty, ease of walking, and proximity to main cities. To that end, happy exploring.

Photo by Mercedes Mehling on Unsplash

SAN FRANCISCO’S RAINBOW-HUED SPLENDOR

One of the most prominent figures to make San Francisco home was Harvey Milk, the city’s mayor who was assassinated on November 27, 1978. 

Milk, remembered as one of the first political activists for the LGBTQ+ community, made the pride flag a potent symbol for the community. As the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, Milk convinced those that came after him of his vision for a more inclusive future. A lot has changed in the 44 years since his death. There as many as 1,000 LGBTQ+ officials in the US, according to The New York Times. So much so that President Biden appointed as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black person, and one who is openly LGBTQ+.

6 TIPS TO GET A SUMMER READY BODY

Can you get a summer body in time for those beach days?

Summer is around the corner, and we all dream of a sassy summer-ready body. This article will provide you with some insights into getting your body ready for the warm season. It will also give you some tips on what to do to get that beach-ready body this season.

Key focus points for achieving that summer body include:

  • Working on an exercise regimen (cardio, weights, stretches)
  • Planning your healthy meals
  • Track what you eat (aim for eating clean and less processed foods)
  • Enjoy the sun and spend time outside
  • Don’t obsess about weighing yourself – forget about the scale
  • Practicing mindfulness and lowering stress levels (meditation, yoga, mindful living)
  • Not all bodies are the same

The Queer South Asian Life

Creating awareness around gender, sexuality and coming out issues among the South Asian community is not easy. But Alex Sangha and Jag Nagra have done just that, despite the oft conservative nature of South Asian families, particularly around LGBTQ+ rights.

“There is a lot of pressure in the gay South Asian community, whether you are Sikh, Hindu, or Muslim, to get married and have children,” says Alex Sangha, a registered clinical social worker in Vancouver, Canada. “Living in intergenerational families with our parents and grandparents, we must fit into the family structure. How is a gay man going to bring a boyfriend home and have him accepted by the family?”

For Our Father, Who Art at Home

My father is an inspiration. To express my gratitude to him for all the sacrifices he has made is not something I will pass. For all the times he did not go to sleep so he could console me when I cried, the times he woke up early in the morning to get me ready for school despite working late nights, being always ready with a scrumptious cake and loving wishes on my birthdays… For every other thing he did for me and my family. 

For me, Father’s Day is aside to express my gratitude to my dad in the fullest manner. It is the time for me to put my feelings for him at the forefront of my mind and heart.

To my father, that is a day filled with the feeling of accomplishment and happiness. It is a day he is reminded of all he has done for his family. His children are his pride and joy, and getting a day to embrace the feeling of being a father thrills him.

Aman Advani On Changing Office Wear For Good

Often innovations are a result of dissatisfaction. Some people are perplexed by issues that others don’t give a second thought; they can’t believe no one else has come up with a better way to do things.

Aman Advani is one of those people. Born in the state of Georgia to immigrant parents, Aman started with a consulting job that required him to fly multiple times every week. He found the formal clothes he wore bafflingly restrictive and uncomfortable but there were no alternatives. To make things better, he literally sewed the soles of Nike socks into his dress socks.

When he joined MIT as a postgraduate student in 2012, he met Gihan Amarasiriwardena. Both engineers, they discovered that they shared a common passion: hacking their clothes. Turns out that while Advani was working on his frankensocks, Amarasiriwardena had been adding the backs of running shirts to his dress shirts. It was a match made in corporate heaven.

ADITI SHAH IS THE NEW STAR IN THE YOGA FIRMAMENTS

Woodstock 1969 is synonymous with a weekend in upstate New York with a legendary status in music history. The first-ever mega music festival, it quickly spiraled out of control, with an almost 450,000-strong crowd turning up despite the rain. To calm the crowd, the organizers called in yoga guru Swami Satchidanand, who gave the opening address, setting a tone of peace that lasted through the three days of the festival.

Unlike in the East, and more specifically unlike India, yoga in the US does not go back too long. The credit of bringing this idea to America is attributed to Swami Vivekanand, who gave a famous speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. In just over a century, yoga has become a mainstream path to wellness among everyday Americans and celebrities alike. A practice that was unheard of in the West is now being promoted, practiced and taught by modern day gurus – such Aditi Shah.

Aditi, is a Peloton instructor for whom yoga goes beyond movement and a practice that can bring freedom and joy to life. She has lived and practiced yoga both in India and New York City. She has been named one of New York City’s best instructors and helped launch Peloton yoga and meditation in 2018.

She is an extraordinary young yoga instructor whose popularity stems from her lifelong relationship with yoga.

Bismah Ahmed is Breaking Barriers …while wearing a crown!

Bismah Ahmed, a Pakistani American, is the new Miss District of Columbia. She now has a shot at becoming Miss America when the competition is held in August.

Ahmed, the first South Asian Muslim to win the Miss DC for America crown, spoke to SEEMA about her Pakistani heritage, her road to Miss Washington DC and what that win means to her.

Tell us about a little about your background, Miss Ahmed?

My parents are both from Pakistan. My mom went to college in Turkey and then came here. My dad came here when he was in elementary or middle school, so he was younger. Yeah, so then they met after college and got married. And they’ve always been in Virginia.