Raise your arms over your head as you inhale. Keeping your sternum in the same position, lower your arms as you exhale. Another technique is to layer your hands on your lower back, palms outward. Practice the posture of singing with a lifted sternum until it becomes natural.  Singing with good posture will help you sustain high notes. Your sternum should be raised, and your chest should stay in the same position. Sing in front of a mirror to monitor your posture. Avoid letting your ribcage and shoulders collapse as you run out of air; engage your stomach muscles even more at this point. Lift your ribcage and stand up straight to stay in control of your breath. Before you sing, spend a moment flexing and noticing the muscles of your lower abdomen, lumbar spine, and pelvic floor. As you sing, check in again with these muscles, and engage them if they are relaxed. The air flowing through your diaphragm is controlled by these muscles, and engaging them allows you to control the flow of your breath.  Use your lower abdomen, lumbar spine, and pelvic floor muscles whenever a vocal coach tells you to "use your diaphragm." Use this technique rather than that of contracting your abdominal muscles. This will cause uneven pressure and result in injury. When you sing long notes, which are often high notes, you need your tongue to be relaxed. As you sing, check if your tongue is tense. Push your thumb underneath your chin, which is where the bottom of your tongue is rooted. If you feel tension, massage under your chin while continuing to sing.  This will help you practice relaxing your tongue as you hold those long high notes. Note that the tongue is connected to many small muscles in your neck and throat, so keeping it relaxed is essential for holding long notes and releasing air slowly.
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One-sentence summary -- Raise your sternum. Engage the muscles that affect your diaphragm. Check for tongue tension.


Prior to making any dietary changes or adding in supplements, talk to your doctor about the safety and efficacy of your diet or supplements.  Many supplements interact with over-the-counter or prescription medications.  It's important to get an OK from your doctor prior to making any changes or starting any supplements. Keep track of the names of the supplements in addition to the exact dosages recommended.  This information will be helpful to your doctor. Also, always follow your doctor's advice and take all prescription medication.  Do not discontinue medication without appropriate advice to do so. When you're shopping for any type of vitamin, mineral or herbal supplement, it's important to read the entire label to educate yourself about what it is you're buying.  Supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  So it's important to be educated about the supplement, your health conditions and any possible side effects it may cause.  Spend some time researching the supplement using reliable sources. Check your supplement label to see if the ingredients have been verified by an independent quality control organization like USP, NSF, or ConsumerLab.  Read the ingredients, supplement fact panel, and instructions.  This will tell you what's in the supplement and how to appropriately take it.  Follow the instructions on the label, unless directed otherwise by your doctor. Also be sure to read any warnings or lists of possible side effects.  Keep track of these in case you notice any changes or side effects. Eating cinnamon either in its natural form or in supplement form has been shown to improve symptoms of PCOS.  This is especially true for those experiencing insulin resistance.  The typical recommended dosage is 500-1000 mg capsules or 2 tsp of the ground spice, taken daily. Although not all studies showed significant benefits of using cinnamon to help reduce insulin resistance, some show that cinnamon is especially effective for insulin resistance combined with PCOS. Another supplement that may help manage insulin resistance associated with PCOS is chromium.  Chromium supplements may help reduce insulin resistance, help regulate blood glucose levels, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.  Those who have insulin resistance and PCOS may choose to take chromium picolinate daily.  The recommended dosage is 200 mcg daily. This herbal supplement may regulate menstrual cycles, decrease breast tenderness and help improve fertility.  The recommended dosage is 20 mg to 40 mg daily for up to 3 months.  It's not clear whether or not chaste tree berry works to improve symptoms of PCOS, since studies have had contradictory results. However, it has not been associated with any serious side effects. This supplement is thought to have anti-androgenic effects which lower the production of male hormones thought to produce the side effect of excess hair growth associated with PCOS.  Recommended dosages range from 160 mg to 320 mg 1-2 times daily. Ask your doctor which dosage is best for you. Studies on saw palmetto show very few serious side effects. This is a spice typically used in Eastern style cuisine.  A few studies have shown this may help lower blood sugar.  Dosages typically recommended are 5 g of fenugreek seeds or 1g of fenugreek extract daily.  Some mild side effects can include:  gas, bloating and diarrhea.
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One-sentence summary -- Talk to your OB/GYN. Read the labels. Consider cinnamon supplements. Include chromium supplements. Take chaste tree berry. Supplement with saw palmetto. Use fenugreek.


Go through the unloading process as usual, even if you believe the gun to be empty already.  With the gun pointing in a safe direction, turn it over and look for the elevator--a lever that moves up and down, located at the receiver. Use your dominant hand to hold the elevator in the up position. Use your non-dominant hand to simultaneously push back on the slide. Any round inside the magazine should naturally eject from the gun through the bottom of the receiver. Make sure that the bolt of the shotgun or the breech face of the gun is closed before you try to measure it.  The length of the barrel for this type of gun does not include the length of the entire barrel piece. Instead, the length is a measurement of the distance between the muzzle end of the barrel and the face of the bolt or breech face when that portion of the gun is closed. Close a bolt by pushing it forward and down. Close a non-bolt breech face by pushing the slide forward. Insert a dowel into the muzzle end of the barrel, pushing it down into the barrel until it stops against the bolt or breech face.  Use a dowel rod with a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the barrel. If the barrel has a permanent choke tube attached, include that in your length measurement. If it has a removable choke tube attached, remove the choke tube before sliding the dowel into the barrel and do not include the choke tube in your measurement. Draw a line on the dowel rod, placing it just above the muzzle of the gun.  You can use a pencil, pen, or marker to do this. Regardless of the instrument you use, keep the line as close to the muzzle as possible. If the gun is not already lying flat on a working surface, you should lay it down while marking the dowel rod. Doing so will likely make the process easier and safer. Slide the dowel back out of the barrel. Set it down in front of you on your work surface. Set the gun aside. Make sure that it is pointed in a safe direction. Measure the distance between the line on your dowel rod and the end of the dowel rod previously inside the shotgun barrel. This distance is the length of your gun barrel.
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One-sentence summary -- Empty the gun. Close the bolt or breech face. Slide an appropriate dowel rod into the barrel. Make a mark just above the muzzle. Carefully remove the dowel rod. Measure the correct distance.


Fill it with comfy stuff, like pillows, blankets and cushions. Add a comic/book or a tablet, some snacks and a drink. Tumble inside and relax away reading or playing games. Even if you're not tired, it's a way to kill time, and you never know what you'll dream of. Try some lucid dreaming for a change.
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One-sentence summary --
Build a fort. Take a nap.