Motivations Of Greed In Civil War Politics Essay

Motivations Of Greed In Civil War Politics Essay Civil war is a form of conflict and security threats which causes poverty and impedes growth and development, Civil war is the most common form of massive violence and is highly destructive to society, life and the economy. James D. Fearon (2006) explained civil war to be a violent conflict between organized groups within a country that are fighting over control of the government, one sides separatist goals, or some divisive government policy, it is an intrastate war fought as a result of a rising insurgence against the government. Most writers believe that not all conflicts are civil war, for a conflict to be recorded as a civil war, 1000 people must have been killed with at least 100 from each side. Every society is characterized by certain degree of conflict over economic services, political and civil rights, access to social services and employment opportunity. These conflicts are triggered by discrimination against specific group, region, religion, social class, ethnicity or a c ombination of any of these factors (Murshed and Addison). Civil wars are characterized by wide spread losses of lives more of which are civilian women and children, cases of rape and lawless society as the state power falls, powers are only with those holding weapons during war. Civil war has a huge economic impact on a nations economy as most of the resources are directed to destruction, skills are lost and the damage on the infrastructure cripples economic development and activity. For instance the loss of electricity supplies during war hinders production activities and transportation, the uncertainty that war brings, discourages investment, studies have shown that countries grow at approximately 2.2 percent slower during war than during peace. (Heo, 2007, p.11) The impact of civil war is largely influenced by the nature of the countrys economy. Countries with strategic resources such as diamonds and oil would have a higher impact on global economy compared to countries with limited resources i.e. the conflict in Iraq reduced oil production and caused the international price of oil to increase. Civil war is much more common than international war; most conflicts have occurred within the confines of a sovereign state and put two or more groups against the government or against one another, (Heo, 2007 p.12 and Collier and Sambanis, 2005). Civil war has been a major conflict since World War II, especially after decolonization of the British empires in certain region i.e. Africa. Since 1990s, there have been a large body of research on the causes of civil wars, the most popular understanding of the causes of civil war and results analyzed by economist are termed Greed and Grievance. In this paper we are going to look at some civil war since post -world war II, causes of civil war and the greed and grievance cause of civil wars. Some Civil Wars since Post- World War II Civil wars have been a major conflict since World War II. A total of 225 armed conflicts from 1946 to 2001 were recorded of which 163 were conflict that occurred between the government of a state and internal opposition groups without the intervention from other states. According to Heo (2007), full scale civil war started in Costa Rica in March 1948, when President Teodoro Picado Michalski prolonged the transfer of power after he lost the presidential election; there was a war with an estimated death of 1,000. 1956 to 1959 Cuban communist revolution and civil war took place, 5,000 lives were lost during the war. The fighting in Lebanon between several religious and political factions took place in 1958 and ended in 1959 with 1,300 deaths. After independence in 1960, tensions between the Turkish minority and the Greek majority increased in Cyprus, inter communal conflict and civil war took place from 1963 to1967, an approximate of 1,000 people died, (Heo, 2007, P.2-3). Nigeria also experienced civil war in the late 1967, an intrastate conflict between the self-proclaimed republic of Biafra and the Nigerian military government (Uppsala). Another war returned to Lebanon in 1975 to 1976 between the Christians and the Muslims, an approximate of 60,000 people died, the war continued in Lebanon at irregular intervals with many serious violent outbreak until 1992. Uganda experienced civil war from 1981-1994, as the revolt against the government established after the overthrow of Major General Idi Amin grew, it was the precursor for the war in Uganda, the war caused more than 500,000 lives. The insurgence against the Papua New Guinea government which started in Bougainville island in1988 took many lives, this crisis originated as a result of the growing concerns over the operation of the Panguna gold mine and copper. War continued in Cambodia when the extreme communist group was overthrown in 1979 by Vietnam, the nature of the war changed when the Vietname se withdrew in1989, (Heo, 2007, 3-4). Civil war continued throughout the world at different time in different region, but is said to be more common in some regions particularly the developing Asia (east and south Asia and Oceania), they have had a very high incidence of war from 1950 -2001. Latin America also witnessed a severe conflict in the 1980s and former Soviet Union in the 1990s. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was more bloodshed in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. But by the end of the 1990s, more people were being killed in sub-Saharan Africas war than in the other parts of the world put together, (Croker et al, 2007). Source: Uppsala conflict data programme 18/02/2010 Causes of Civil War Data has shown that conflicts are more common in low income Africa; Collier (2007) developed the notion of the conflict trap to understand why conflicts are highly centered in low income Africa. This traps which are: natural resource trap, the trap of being landlocked with bad neighbors, the conflict trap and the trap of bad governance in a small country, shows how different economic, social and political factors make a country vulnerable to civil wars. Global data analyzed by Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler covering forty years to understand why some country at most times have overcome civil war, and why others could not, they used statistical approach to see what factor in a society can trigger civil war; this includes social factors (like inequality, ethnic and religious composition of the society), politics (the level of democratic political rights), history (like decolonization time) and economic factors (Collier 2004). The most dominant of all are economic factors, according to Collier (2004), there are three factors that could trigger civil war; a countrys rate of growth, the level of income and structure. If a country is poor and is dependent upon natural resource exports, the country is likely to experience a civil. Africa is one region with such economic characteristics and explains the reason for the high rate of civil war in Africa. Africa also has a large ethnic difference as most of the wars are fought amongst ethnic group e.g. the hutu and the Tutsi war in Rwanda. These conflicts can be traced to the power structure created by the colonial rulers as they grouped long-feuding tribes under the same national identity. The power passed on from the colonial masters made one group to rule over the other group which later turned to severe inter-tribal rivalry and has now turned into conflict. As tribalism grew, the fight for central power and control of natural resources increased, this was the c ase of democratic republic of Congo, Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone as their greed grew for the control of natural resources (Rupesinghe and Anderlini, 1998) The greed cause of civil wars The greed causes of civil war are common amongst countries with lootable natural resource and are dependent on these resources. Collier (2004), explained that these natural resources yield what is termed rents- meaning making more profits that are higher than the normal level needed. The selfish desire to control these natural resources creates a politics of corruption and a politics of violence as these natural resources can also be used to finance opportunistic rebellions. According to Collier (2004), there are six ways by which natural resource rents can increase the risk of violence, four of which involves political economy and the other two are straight economy. The political economy involves the struggle to control the revenues from the natural resources, these rent-seeking shifts public funds from its original purpose of achieving all the necessities for the supply of public goods, providing low or no social and economic infrastructure that the society needs. The society loses twice as other resources are used frivolously in the struggle for resource rents and the provision for public goods drops. Nigeria provides a good example of this kind of politics for oil rents. Natural resources can also cause civil war by detaching the government. This is because governments that are rich in natural resources do not need other tax revenue from their electorates, unlike in some societies where electors pay high taxes and they question the government on how the tax money is used. (No taxation without representation). But this is indeed not the same with countries rich in natural resources; the government is able to disregard the interest of the population (No representation without taxation). Some society believes that the resource rents does not belong to the common people, hence the detachment. Mobutu of Zaire is a striking example of this detachment. Natural resources also leads to secessionist political movements as the inhabitants of that area might feel that their resources are being embezzled by corrupt and alien elite. Most African secessionist war has often been associated with natural resources; Kanga, Biafra and Cabinda are examples of such wars. The last political route by which natural resources can advocate civil war is that it provides funds used to finance rebel groups. Leaders can purchase arms and also pay recruits from the revenue gotten from these resources. Rebel groups have access to natural resources in different ways. One is to protect the company or exporters, to have their own extractive businesses; another is the concession of natural resource rights in anticipation to finally have control over the territory. The gangs in the Niger delta region of Nigeria, the rebels of Laurent Kabila in Zaire, the RUF in Sierra Leone, and the Sasson-Nguesso in Congo Brazzaville, are examples of rebels financed from the proceeds of natural resources. The work of Fearon (2004) concludes that civil war resulting from coup or revolutions tends to be short because the technology for coup depends on the weakness of the security apparatus. Whereas civil war involving natural resources or land tends to last longer, it can also last long if rebel groups have access to contraband goods like cocaine. The grievance cause of civil war This is a popular view that rebels are motivated by genuine and intense grievance; rebels are heroes fighting for justice. Based on analysis, rebellions are seen as a form of organized violence; both parties to civil war have different explanations for their actions. The rebel organization hires a public relations firm to help push their explanation for their movement and the opposition party would also hire a public relation firm. Most explanation from rebels groups are usually what Collier (2007) called the litany of grievances against the government for its oppression, unfairness, and perhaps victimization. This victimization could be on some area of the population that the rebel organization represents. Rebel movements are driven by intense violence, by the intense conditions of the rebels or the group they represent (Cited in Crocker et al, 2007). Berdal and Malone (2000) explained that rebels litany or narratives as they may call it are based on four factors which are; first economic inequality this involves unequal distribution of income, unequal allocation and ownership of resources and assets, unequal distribution of resources and anything that has to do with increasing poverty rather than reducing it would provide a fertile ground for insurgency and readily available combatants, this case was common in central Africa (Berdal and Malone, 2000; Murshed and Addison). The second narratives of grievance is based on religious or ethnic hatred; this also depends on the ethnic and religious composition of the state (ethnic and religious diversity), civil war caused by ethnic and religious difference has always been based on power, where the other group does not want the other group to rule over them as a result of perceived discrimination in public office, this was the case of the Northern Nigeria and self proclaimed Biafra in th e late 1960s, the Tutsi superiority and the Hutus inferiority in Rwanda as they both struggled to gain a place in the emerging democratic institution of the country (Uppsala). This can also be mere religious hatred, the war in Lebanon 1975 to 1976 between the Christians and the Muslims, such religious conflicts are happening in Nigeria till now. The third narrative of grievance is based on lack of political rights; if a government of a state is perceived to be autocratic, people would want to overthrow the government and this result to war in the fight for democracy, the insurgency in Romania is often regarded as a fight for democracy. The final narrative of grievance is based on government economic incompetence; according to Berdal and Malone (2000) if a government is seen to inflict sufficient economic misery on its population, it may face an uprising. This was the case in Uganda in the early 1980s; this is usually a case of mismanagement and a fallen state, Latin America, the for mer Soviet Union has suffered economic mismanagements. Corruption in these countries has also helped fuel conflict and prolonged misery on the population. The failure of the government to provide the needs of its people and security could lead them to rely on more ethnic ties which can trigger civil war as they fight over economic resources (Berdal and Malone, 2000; Murshed and Addison pg. 5). The interaction of greed and grievance Government and rebel groups may exploit civilians in other to fight a war or may fight a war in order to exploit civilians. The misery inflicted on civilians gradually creates their own justification like in Sudan; the misery inflicted on the civilians strengthened the civilians. The idea of civil war provides a suitable disguise both for greed and grievance. Rebels are thought by some economist to be opportunist and their grievances are most times deliberately forged. Some economist use the term predators of productive economic activities they believe that rebels are not heroes fighting for a reasonable cause but lust for powers and loots. Rebels use war as a means to exploit civilians, they may hope for government to commit atrocities which give them an opportunity to fight for a true or false cause. This group including the government officials, soldiers, and traders uses conflict period as an opportunity to plunder, Democratic republic of Congo and former Yugoslavia only to name but two among many are examples of such practice. For most people, conflict time is a time for them to make more money apart from their usual salaries, during warfare; money is gotten from those whose lives are spared from being massacred. War time may also lead to inflation which is very profitable for some as there may be trade restrictions from government and only those officials who are able to infraction the law can have their businesses going but at a very high cost. On the other hand, there might be no trade restriction as the states power falls during conflict, goods like drugs which were not allowed to be traded in the state would be traded during war, Cambodia and Burma in Asia, Sudan, Angola, Sierra Leone, and Somalia in Africa, Colombia and Peru in Latin America. War may also bring about exploitation as people are threatened to work cheaply or for free, there were cases like this in Sudan and Burma (Berdal and Malone, 2000 p. 29-30). It is very obvious that not all griev ance are true, some are just an end to a means. Conclusion Greed and grievance do play a major role in contemporary civil war, but one cannot truly measure between greed and grievance. Both greed and grievance work simultaneously to trigger civil, they both interact no matter which comes first greed or grievance the other follows, this is to say that greed triggers grievance and grievance triggers greed. Civil wars motivated by greed can be followed by genuine grievance as rebels fight for justice. people who do well out of war will not be particularly concerned at restoring peace while those who do not do well or are hurt badly will have an interest in restoring peace. As individuals in pursuit of different goals and objectives, there would always be a misunderstanding and conflict in one form or the other, Institutions have emerged to resolve civil conflicts and restore peace. Greed and grievance would therefore be irrelevant as long as these institutions called the social contract exist (Murshed).In Africa, conflict has helped bring about slow growth, poverty and underdevelopment, especially countries with natural resources which according to Fearon James are the reasons for the last longing conflicts in such countries especially in Africa. Countries should work hard to have strong institutions to restore peace within their state and international level as economic development is somewhat dependent on the level of peace and tranquility within the state.

Split Identity and Change in F. Scott Fitzgeralds Babylon Revisited :: Babylon Revisited Essays

Split Identity and Change in F. Scott Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited In F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited," there are several major themes that are prevalent throughout the story. One of these themes is that of split identity the other is the sense of solidity and change. Both of these themes are something most readers can identify with. Fitzgerald also makes the reader sympathize with the protagonist Charlie Wales. Throughout the story the reader must decide whether Charlie is reformed or whether he is indeed "the old Wales" (10). Some readers may empathize with Charlie, as I did the first time I read "Babylon Revisited." Although, after I reread the piece I began to feel differently about "poor" Charlie, and came to the realization that he may not be what he appears to be at all. The protagonist Charlie Wales is on the brink of rectifying his life. The first time I read this short story I had great pity for poor, poor Charlie Wales. On the surface it looks as though Charlie continues to be the brunt of bad luck. He looks like a man trying to resolve his past who just so happens to hit some complications. On this level I empathize with Charlie, but, after examining the story a bit further I began to question my previous thoughts. I questioned whether Charlie was consciously or possibly subconsciously sabotaging his opportunity to get his daughter, Honoria back before she is tainted for life. It is evident that Wales is not merely a man with very bad luck, but, in fact creating his own luck. The first time this is apparent is in the beginning of the story when Charlie left Lincoln and Marion Peter's address for Duncan, an old party buddy (6). If Charlie really wanted to turn his life around, he would not have taken such an action. The reason why he does is simp le; Wales is a creature of habit. It is obvious that Charlie has not reformed because he is still torn between his previous life and his present one. One of the major themes that tie in with this is that of Charlie's split identity. There are many times in the story where the reader can see that Charlie is having a hard time staying away from his past. This is evident from the first paragraph where Charlie begins to ask about all of his old party friends (6).

Cultural Industries and Globalisation Essay

This essay will aim to include my understanding and perception of the cultural industries, how it developed into the creative industries and how globalisation has impacted this sector through looking specifically at exampled from Sheffield. Originating from the 1940’s the Cultural Industries was known as ‘The cultural Industry’ taken from a book written by Adorno and Horkheimer called ‘ Dialektik der Aufklarung’ from the chapter ‘Dialect of Enlightenment’. They thought of the Creative Industry as ‘ art with special, exceptional forms of Human creativity’ (Hesmondhalgh 2007). By the late 1960’s the Cultural Industry became comodified and was intertwining with other industries such as film, television and music as these were socially popular, the cultural Industry was re-named ‘The Cultural Industries’. Through new service industry growth and new labour, the Cultural Industries was turned into ‘The Creative Industries’ in the 1990’s and is still known as this in current society. ‘The creative Industries are those Industries that are based on individual creativity, skill and talent’ (DCMS). These creative industries include 13 categories: Advertising, architecture, arts and antique’s, computer and video games, crafts, design, designer fashion, film, and video, music, performing arts, publishing, software, TV and Radio. From when the cultural/ creative industries were first produced they have achieved huge industry growth rates for example: between 1997 and 2001 the UK’s creative industries grew by 8% per annum, with the most popular sector being TV and Radio and around about 122,000 organisations traded in the creative Industries since 1997( Montgomery, J 2007). This service Industry growth is mainly down to Globalisation which is defined as ‘ the world becoming more interdependent and integrated’ (Moynagh and Worsely, 2008). Globalisation links with economic power and consumption for mass markets and making them become global. They do this by customizing products, making them innovative and unique, and by using sub-contractors hope to get the products known globally. For example; in the fashion industry a designer will create a product that they want to produce globally to a specific target market, once they have created the product they will need to manufacture the product, ship the product and make it available for a global market to purchase. They will do this by having products made in countries such as Turkey or China as this method is cheaper and quicker, and have it shipped over to other companies to make it global. Through the virtual innovations such as the internet, and communication systems, the product can be marketed globally. ‘Globalisation also involves the global integration of production factors and services. ‘National’ industries ‘selling abroad’ are increasingly giving way to the organisation of production and distribution on a global scale, sourcing materials, labour, services etc. across borders with little or no attachment to particular places’ (Brown et al 2000). There are many Pro’s and Con’s regarding Globalisation, due to its features and tensions. Globalisation features; to name a few include aspects such as transportation and distribution: getting the goods to the destination from the manufacturers as quick as possible, Growth of Cities: Many Cities are moving from rural areas to urban areas through the growth of industries and trade, Free trade: to allow companies to trade without government barriers or trade policy, Multi Nationals: Different nationality companies will be working along side one another in one country and Global Culture: the development of standardisation and the idea that everything will start to look ad feel the same. Although this means that buying and selling overseas will become more integrated and connected through fast distribution and manufacturing, it also creates problems known as tensions of globalisation. A few of these tensions are; Poverty: Globalisation may mean that in poorer countries there are increases in ‘sweat shops’ where poorer people are made to work long hours top help manufacture products to help the fast trade of Globalisation. In poor Asian economies, such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, large numbers of women now have work in garment export factories. Their wages are low by world standards but much higher than they would earn in alternative occupations’ (Bardhan, P 2006). Economic Growth: many traders have fled poorer countries in order to gain more trade in multi-national, urban areas. Oligopoly: There will no longer be one current market brand leader, as everything will be integrated and manufactured the same, causing competition in market bran ds. Global vs. Local: The idea that local economies will be decreasing through products no longer being unique, through the speed of communication, how fast the brand becomes global. An article by Shah, A 2009 says: ‘Following a period of economic boom, a financial bubble—global in scope—has now burst. The extent of this problem has been so severe that some of the world’s largest financial institutions have collapsed and local manufactures have been bought out by their competition at low prices’. This demonstrates the impact that globalization has had on small businesses and how competition between organizations is becoming increasingly tougher. These features and tensions need to be considered in order to gain an understanding of the impacts of Globalisation and the positive and negative points that need to be considered in terms of the struggling economies and inequalities that may occur in parts of the world. Globalisation also works off economic, political, social, cultural and environmental aspects and entails better communication; through social networking sites, developing relationships; through computer and internet innovations which link people together, and the decline in human contact; people are no longer conducting meetings as they can have video conferencing with people on the other side of the world. One example of a globalised cultural Industry in the UK would be The Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site which is known as a place for worship and healing. This tourist attraction sees thousands of visitors pass it every year, visiting from all over the world. The world Heritage site’s include The great Barrier Reef, Great Wall of China, Galapagos Islands and many more, their mission’s include is to promote public awareness of the sites and encourage international cooperation in the conservation of the World heritage sites (unesco. rg). After looking into globalisation; it’s positive and negative aspects in gaining a deeper understanding of the subject, I can now establish an understanding of how globalisation has impacted Sheffield’s Cultural Industries and weigh up affects it may have had on this industry. The growth of the Cultural Industries meant that in the UK a huge amount of employment was generated, which was extremely beneficial to Sheffield as it meant that 7. 2% of people were working for the creative Industries, this ame at a good time following the collapse of the steel industry after Britain let a failed trip to Japan to buy machinery to cater for the Steel industry needs. After a strike from the workers the Steel Industry closed in Sheffield and meant a loss of 50,000 jobs were incurred. Today in the Sheffield region of South Yorkshire, the Cultural Industries employment rates are above 20% of the average employment, rating above hotels and catering, and below the retail and education i ndustries. It is continuing to expand through the Cultural Industries Quarter located in the city centre which contains BBC Radio Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, Perishable Works, and Exchange works. A quote from a BBC News report 2006 shows: ‘All very much in keeping with the new Sheffield. The area near the train station has been re-dubbed the cultural quarter, a loose collection of creative and multi-media firms with the Showroom Cinema and Workstation Cultural Industries Business Centre at its heart’. The CIQ is a non-profit organisation with a ‘ wide ranging powers to support and promote the growth of the cultural industries in Sheffield’ (CIQ Agency 2006). These establishments are all in short distance from each other creating a business community, a range of building sizes, university connectivity and transport links (CIQ Online 2006). Other creative industries around the city include; Botanical Gardens, Peace Gardens, Sheffield Museum and art Gallery and the Crucible. One organization that was established though the cultural Industries Quarter is the Workstation, a creative Business Centre combined with the Showroom Cinema, an independent picture house showing contemporary, classic film, and film from different cultures. It is now an internationally significant cultural centre which hosts annual events and festivals such as The Children’s Film Festival, Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, Sensoria Festival of Music & Film and Celluloid Screams. The Showroom regularly hosts festivals and creative events which give a chance to meet experts from different media, learn new skills and cultivate new ideas. Globalisation has had huge affects from the Cultural Industries being successful through the determination of the company becoming globally recognised. According to a journal article written by Brown et al 2000, it states that there was a four stage development plan to move the CIQ from being local, regional, national to internationally known by 1) Nurturing local music/ cultural businesses, 2) create a tourist attraction to bring people to Sheffield and 3) Using these points to create a better image of the city. The creative director of the CIQ stresses that â€Å"We don’t want it to be seen as a Sheffield centre, but a national one†. Through working on these plans Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter have seen visitor numbers up to 500,000 per year which is proven to be a success. Through speaking to the manager of the Showroom in Sheffield, it is clear that through times of the recession and the ‘credit crunch’ the independent cinema has to market its events and showings carefully to ensure that the visitors are still attending. As the venues most frequent visitors are older people who tend to have a lot of disposable income, they already have a captive audience. However, to gain awareness they have to capture various other market groups to expand it’s global awareness for example; they can target different ethnic groups and communities through showing different nationality and religious films to attract the certain audience. To conclude, through researching the Cultural Industries and how it has developed through time into the Creative Industries I now have a deeper insight into the background knowledge of the subject and can link it to globalisation and how they have positive and negative affects on one another. From researching Globalisation and the pro’s and con’s it brings to the economy, I can now realise that Globalisation can create as much poverty as it can capital, and the affects it has on local businesses, trades, and workers. The Cultural Industries Quarter in Sheffield has impacted from globalisation through the development and infrastructure of its diverse buildings and content. For example; the showroom has attracted audiences internationally as well as regionally through its specific showings at the cinema and it continues to grow by making Sheffield a ‘Music City’ by building more buildings to help expand the Cultural Industries Quarter. Finally, globalisation has shaped a mass market for the global economy as a whole and has profoundly meant that the cultural Industries are expanding and recognisable.

The Art of Yoga - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1295 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category Sports Essay Level High school Tags: Yoga Essay Did you like this example? Many people have stressful lives and relaxing might mean coming home and sitting on a couch in front of the television eating pizza or falling asleep. Some people go from work to a gym, or a studio to relax. These people achieve their relaxation through the art of meditation, breathing, stretching, and helping them find inner peace. With yoga, people can fight stress and live their life in peace and harmony on a daily basis. So on Sunday April 8th, 2018, I attended a hot yoga class at 7:00 pm at the Dragonfly Studio. I walked into the small building that is connected to Buffalo Wild Wings, and a liquor store. When I walked into the yoga studio, I was greeted by a young lady working at the desk. She had this big smile and then another young lady came out and greeted me with a warm hello and a big smile. The first lady who greeted me asked me if this was my first time taking a hot yoga class. I replied with a no and asked if it was obvious as I was standing in front of her with no yoga mat or any towels. Other women have walked into the studio for the hot yoga class and had their own yoga mat and towels with them. The receptionist then handed me a form to fill out for reliability as she stated and it was an agreement to respect others in the class. I was then handed a yoga mat that they had in the back. Hot yoga is a form of yoga that is performed in a climate controlled room with heat and humidity that ma kes the entire room feel like its in a tropical environment. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Art of Yoga" essay for you Create order When I walked into the room, I was immediately hit with warmer temperature from the class before. I went ahead and placed the yoga mat in an area I found to work for me. The instructor who taught the class was a lovely, energetic woman name Brookyln. The class started some deep breathing poses and followed by I believe it was seven different standing poses, I might have miscounted but I know there were so many of them that were similar to one another. Before we went ahead to the floor pose, we ended the standing pose with what the instructor called was a corpse pose. We stayed in that position for about 4 minutes, maybe longer. The corpse pose was where we laid on our mat as if we were a corpse of just sleeping and with our eyes closed, we focused on our breathing and our self. The class consisted of standing poses, floor poses, breathing exercises (2 different breathing techniques), and one relaxation pose. The class was 90 minutes in an intense temperature such as 105 degrees Fahre nheit. In this yoga class, it was different because there were mirrors all around the room. The instructor throughout the class, constantly told us to focus on our self and to keep our eyes open. We were to keep our selves focused in front of the mirror to help promote our presence and to be mindful. Another thing I noticed about this class that made it different from other yoga classes was that the lights were not turned off or dimmed. The lights remained on and there wasnt any music playing during this 90 minutes session of hot yoga. After class, I immediately asked about the lights and the music, and was told that the lights remain on and the absence of music helps enhance the mindfulness of the movements done by our body and it helps our mind and body connect. Practicing yoga has been proven to improve health physically and mentally. The heat in hot yoga is been said to help relax the muscle and induce sleepiness. So technically, hot yoga helps to improve sleep. In 2014 there was a study done with a result of 94% of the participants who did Bikram (hot yoga) reported that their sleep habits had improved after a year of engaging in Bikram. In another article done by Harvard Medical School, it was stated that 20% more likely to have a positive image of their own physical and mental health, including a stronger sense of mental clarity, physical fitness, flexibility, and strength (Wei, 2016). Hot yoga has also been known to help participants lose weight. Participants have experienced induced lower body fat and an improved physique. Due to the hot temperature in hot yoga, the temperature helps to elevate the bodys heat/temperature and boost the bodys energy consumption. This will then cause the body to use more of its energy, causing a result of weight loss. Bikram (hot yoga) focuses on the mind and the body of an ind ividuals development regarding to oneself. Today, it seems that everyone is embracing yoga and what it can provide the participants in the end. Women in the United States are participating more in yoga practices than men are. Yoga has targeted the younger adults between that are still in college or adults between the ages of 18-30. Yoga also targets adults between the age of 35-54 and over 55. It is a mix of age groups but it is said that 71% of those who regularly attend yoga classes have at least one college degree (21 Staggering Yoga Demographics, Brandon, 2015). These yoga participants seem to have an annual household income to participant in yoga. Yoga is not cheap, so whether you are paying for class by class or a yearly membership, yoga is quite expensive. So yoga targets participants who make a good amount of annual household income. Yoga as of today, still is dominated by female. There isnt a lot of male participants in yoga practices. I believe that due to the advertisemen ts of yoga all over America, more females are attracted to this sort of practice. Yoga uses thin, white, and elegant women to sell their practice as well as their products. This type of advertisement creates an ideal image of a woman in the wellness-obsessed culture. It is quite difficult because Yoga teachers today still struggle to balance the practice for both males and females. Since most of the classes are filled with females mostly, females are practicing and their bodies have adapted to the movements. When a male joins the class, the amount of flexibility that a woman in the class can do is not the same as the amount of flexibility a male body can take or do safely without modifications. Our physical features and our bodies are different from one another. Certain movements are not going to be performed with the same amount of power or flexibility on a male body versus a female body. This can cause males to stay away from yoga because they may think that their bodies cannot or is not made for this type of practice. In conclusion, Bikram (hot) yoga is considered to be a safe healthy practice for participants who practice yoga to improve their health and reduce stress. It is a way an individual can create harmony within themselves. It is another way to physically and mentally connect your body and mind by engaging movements to understand oneself in a way that you have never done before. It is about building a relationship with our self and our inner beauty. Everyone wants to be happy and to find happiness in our self. Everyone should find a lifestyle that creates an environment in our mind that leads us towards a path of happiness and self-developing. Yoga is an experience of turning self-awareness to something beautiful and can create a new self. It is a process of transforming yourself externally and internally. Yoga is an art of improving the quality of your mind by improving your relationship with your mind and body.