The Align Method


Book Description

"Celebrity manual therapist and movement coach Aaron Alexander shows readers how posture and body alignment are powerful tools for building strength, achieving peak performance, reducing pain, and approaching the world with a new sense of confidence."--




The Align'd Approach


Book Description

As both therapists and patients, the authors have seen first-hand the huge gap in health care and rehabilitation. Far too many people fall through the cracks. Society doesn't prioritize proper education about our bodies and how to achieve true health. People are left with so many questions about their pain and exhaustion, how to recover and how to feel great again.Too many are left searching for the answers from Google or some Guru. The problem is that the information is wrong or outdated. Unfortunately, this leaves their ability and potential largely trapped or untapped causing struggle and suffering. This book is a must-read for anyone at their wit's end - feeling lost or frustrated about what to do or who to believe.Through working with thousands of clients for over two decades Dana and Sheryl have come to understand that the answers live somewhere else. They believe that the answers come alive in the chemistry of our bodies and brains when our movement and mindset are aligned and optimized. There is a mathematical formula to get you back on track and up-level your high-performance capacity. Often small adjustments will make all the difference. Our posture and movement speak volumes and first impressions create lasting imprints.It is their mission to reach out and teach others how to decipher their own bodies' code. Say good-bye to feeling hurt, helpless and hopeless. With each chapter, you can measure your progress and know precisely how to find the gaps between where you are and where you want to be. It's time to break free of the accumulated tensions, injuries and traumas to perform at your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical peaks with simple, actionable solutions.




Scaling Agile with Jira Align


Book Description

Accelerate business value delivery with Jira Align, the enterprise agile planning platform, by connecting strategy with execution to maximize outcomes Key FeaturesImprove coordination and transparency between multiple programs, products, and business portfoliosIncrease customer satisfaction by responding quickly to ever-evolving customer needsDeliver higher quality products faster and more predictably with real-time insights and OKR trackingBook Description Jira Align is a platform purpose-built for enterprises to connect strategy with execution and drive transparency, consistency, and predictability at all levels of scale. The platform supports business value delivery in agile frameworks such as LeSS, DAD, and SAFe. It also caters to organizations that mix agile with waterfall to support scaled bimodal delivery. Starting with an introduction to the platform and its features, this book takes you through the foundational building blocks of Jira Align. You'll learn how an organization can benefit from implementing Jira Align and understand how to connect dimensions such as people, work, time, and outcomes. The book takes you through the typical steps for implementing Jira Align for maximizing outcomes and helps you solve common team, program, and portfolio-level challenges by enhancing visibility, tracking dependencies and risks, and using reports for real-time, distributed decision making. Throughout the book, you'll explore features such as remote agile ceremonies, live roadmaps, and objectives and key results (OKRs). You'll also get to grips with lean portfolio management, financial reporting, and using the program board for planning and execution. By the end of this book, you'll be well versed in the key features of Jira Align and be able to leverage them to support all levels of agile at scale. What you will learnUnderstand Jira Align's key factors for successFind out how you can connect people, work, time, and outcomes with Jira AlignNavigate and collaborate in Jira AlignScale team agility to the portfolio and enterpriseDelve into planning and execution, including roadmaps and predictability metricsImplement lean portfolio management and OKRsGet to grips with handling bimodal and hybrid deliveryEnable advanced data security and analytics in Jira AlignWho this book is for This book is for portfolio managers, program managers, product managers, product owners, executives, release train engineers, and scrum masters who want to empower their teams to deliver the right things at the right time and quickly respond to changes in the market. Familiarity with agile frameworks and Jira Software is necessary; the book will teach you the rest.




The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values


Book Description

A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them. Today’s “machine-learning” systems, trained by data, are so effective that we’ve invited them to see and hear for us—and to make decisions on our behalf. But alarm bells are ringing. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances. When the systems we attempt to teach will not, in the end, do what we want or what we expect, ethical and potentially existential risks emerge. Researchers call this the alignment problem. Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Algorithms decide bail and parole—and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands. The mathematical and computational models driving these changes range in complexity from something that can fit on a spreadsheet to a complex system that might credibly be called “artificial intelligence.” They are steadily replacing both human judgment and explicitly programmed software. In best-selling author Brian Christian’s riveting account, we meet the alignment problem’s “first-responders,” and learn their ambitious plan to solve it before our hands are completely off the wheel. In a masterful blend of history and on-the ground reporting, Christian traces the explosive growth in the field of machine learning and surveys its current, sprawling frontier. Readers encounter a discipline finding its legs amid exhilarating and sometimes terrifying progress. Whether they—and we—succeed or fail in solving the alignment problem will be a defining human story. The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity’s biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture—and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful.




Mental Models


Book Description

There is no single methodology for creating the perfect product—but you can increase your odds. One of the best ways is to understand users' reasons for doing things. Mental Models gives you the tools to help you grasp, and design for, those reasons. Adaptive Path co-founder Indi Young has written a roll-up-your-sleeves book for designers, managers, and anyone else interested in making design strategic, and successful.




When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics


Book Description

Within riding exists a fundamental conflict of interest: The rider needs to have control—her confidence depends on her ability to control the balance of her own body as well as that of her very powerful horse. The horse, by nature, needs to feel free—free in both mind and body to express himself through movement. In When Two Spines Align, author Beth Baumert, writer and editor at the equestrian magazine Dressage Today, resolves the freedom-control enigma by taking a close look at the individual components that make up riding and dressage and providing practical ways riders can learn to harness the balance, energies, and forces at play. Readers will discover how to use “positive tension” and their body’s “power lines” to become balanced and effective in the saddle. They will then find ways to understand and manage the horse's balance and “coordination challenges.” Ultimately, the rider learns to regulate and monitor the horse's rhythm, energy, flexion, alignment, bend, and line of travel by properly aligning her spine with his. When the center of gravity of a balanced rider is over the center of gravity of a balanced horse, that place where two spines align becomes the hub for rider and horse harmony.




The Power of Relaxation


Book Description

This book describes Yogi Ashokananda's unique, down-to-earth approach to meditation - one with strong connections to ancient Indian traditions but that is also fully adapted to the demands of modern Western living. Using evidence from medical and scientific research, Yogi explains the importance of relaxation, and draws on the wisdom of tantra to guide the reader to understanding the energy we control within our body. Unlike other meditation techniques, Yogi's method starts with the body rather than the mind as the centre for meditation, since his emphasis is on embracing our human side as well as our higher self. Challenging the body physically and focusing attention on the lower chakras allows us to bridge the gap between our material and spiritual self, to heal any conflicts or splits arising from living in today's society and to explore all aspects of our personality. The link between the body and the emotions is scientifically well-established, and the exchange and union between the body and mind that takes place in Yogi's meditations is particularly effective for relaxation. By using breath control and simple arm movements to channel and direct energy flow, Yogi also demonstrates how to create perfect balance in the body and rid it of samskaras, the energetic residue of our emotional scars, which can make us lethargic, depressed, stressed and anxious. The benefits of distributing breath and energy evenly are felt at every level: the essence of the five elements within the body's organs is balanced; emotional and spiritual renewal and transformation occurs; self-awareness, vitality, clarity, and a sense of calm, balance and harmony are increased; and the digestive, cardiovascular and nervous systems are all positively affected.




Pain Free


Book Description

Starting today, you don't have to live in pain. “This book is extraordinary, and I am thrilled to recommend it to anyone who’s interested in dramatically increasing the quality of their physical health.”—Tony Robbins That is the revolutionary message of this breakthrough system for eliminating chronic pain without drugs, surgery, or expensive physical therapy. Developed by Pete Egoscue, a nationally renowned physiologist and sports injury consultant to some of today’s top athletes, the Egoscue Method has an astounding 95 percent success rate. The key is a series of gentle exercises and carefully constructed stretches called E-cises. Inside you’ll find detailed photographs and step-by-step instructions for dozens of e-cizes specifically designed to provide quick and lasting relief of: • Lower back pain, hip problems, sciatica, and bad knees • Carpal tunnel syndrome and even some forms of arthritis • Migraines and other headaches, stiff neck, fatigue, sinus problems, vertigo, and TMJ • Shin splints, varicose veins, sprained or weak ankles, and many foot ailments • Bursitis, tendinitis, and rotator cuff problems Plus special preventive programs for maintaining health through the entire body. With this book in hand, you’re on your way to regaining the greatest gift of all: a pain-free body!




Personalized Hip and Knee Joint Replacement


Book Description

This open access book describes and illustrates the surgical techniques, implants, and technologies used for the purpose of personalized implantation of hip and knee components. This new and flourishing treatment philosophy offers important benefits over conventional systematic techniques, including component positioning appropriate to individual anatomy, improved surgical reproducibility and prosthetic performance, and a reduction in complications. The techniques described in the book aim to reproduce patients’ native anatomy and physiological joint laxity, thereby improving the prosthetic hip/knee kinematics and functional outcomes in the quest of the forgotten joint. They include kinematically aligned total knee/total hip arthroplasty, partial knee replacement, and hip resurfacing. The relevance of available and emerging technological tools for these personalized approaches is also explained, with coverage of, for example, robotics, computer-assisted surgery, and augmented reality. Contributions from surgeons who are considered world leaders in diverse fields of this novel surgical philosophy make this open access book will invaluable to a wide readership, from trainees at all levels to consultants practicing lower limb surgery




Taller, Slimmer, Younger


Book Description

There’s a new buzzword in the fitness world: fascia. It’s the connective tissue that wraps around your muscles and organs and helps keep everything in place. But in our increasingly busy and often stressful lives, tension and toxins are often stored within our fascia, resulting in serious long-term consequences, such as excess weight, acute anxiety, chronic pain and poor posture. Fitness and alignment expert Lauren Roxburgh – who has worked with such stars as Gwyneth Paltrow, Gabby Reece and Melissa Rauch – has the solution to keep your fascia supple, flexible and strong. Using only a foam roller, you can reshape and elongate your muscles, release tension, break up scar tissue and rid yourself of toxins for a leaner, younger look. In just 15 minutes a day, Roxburgh’s 21-day programme will guide you through a simple series of her unique rolling techniques that target 10 primary areas of the body, including the shoulders, chest, arms, legs, hips, bottom, back and stomach. The end result is a healthy, balanced, aligned body that not only looks but feels fantastic. Includes over 80 photographs to help guide you through the exercises.