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"Intermediate Yoga," a special health report from Harvard Medical School, includes a Strengthening Practice routine with multiple exercises that help develop both mental and physical strength. Among them is "bellows breath." To learn additional intermediate yoga exercises, visit: www.health.harvard.edu/iy

The Energizing Practice routine described in "Intermediate Yoga"—a Harvard Medical School special report—involves vigorous breathing to bring more oxygen to your body and brain. The result: physical and mental energy. Breath of joy is among the featured exercises. To learn additional intermediate yoga exercises, visit: www.health.harvard.edu/iy

"Lion's breath," because of its starting position, is also called "five-pointed star into goddess with lion's breath." It's among the Energizing Practice routines in "Intermediate Yoga," a special health report from Harvard Medical School. To learn additional intermediate yoga exercises, visit: www.health.harvard.edu/iy

This example of a Calming Practice yoga exercise can be done any time of day. If you're anxious or worked up over a stressful situation, the ujjayi breath exercise can center and relax you. It's among dozens of exercises featured in "Intermediate Yoga," a special health report from Harvard Health Publishing. To learn additional intermediate yoga exercises, visit: www.health.harvard.edu/iy

The pleasure of eating a candy bar lasts but a few minutes. Burning off the calories it delivers can take nearly an hour. So this is definitely not a simple way to lose weight! 

To lose one pound by exercising, you need to burn approximately 3,500 calories. It can take days of moderate exercise to do this. A better strategy for weight loss involves a two-pronged approach: exercising and cutting calories.

The basic practice yoga exercises in "Intermediate Yoga"—a special health report from Harvard Medical School—includes sun salutation. Within this three-minute routine, you'll assume multiple positions, including lunge, plank, child's pose, upward-facing dog, downward-facing dog, and forward fold. To learn additional intermediate yoga exercises, visit: www.health.harvard.edu/iy

Harvard Medical School's "Intermediate Yoga" health report offers one routine known as Balance Practice. Among the exercises described is "alternate-nostril breath." This deep breathing exercise takes just a minute, but it helps balance both mind and body. To learn additional intermediate yoga exercises, visit: www.health.harvard.edu/iy

Most plant-based diets emphasize foods associated with heart benefits. However, some plant foods, such as fruit juices, refined grains, processed cereals, and potatoes, can be harmful. The goal is to emphasize heart-healthy plants.

The shift from this condition to dementia is not necessarily inevitable.

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Will I get dementia? That common question takes on urgency if you have mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a slight but noticeable change in memory and thinking skills. But the progression from MCI to dementia is not automatic. In fact, MCI is not always permanent. "It depends on the underlying cause," says Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

What are the causes of MCI?

MCI is not dementia (see "What is dementia?"), but it's not normal thinking, either. It often stems from disease or treatments for disease, including

Listening to music may boost exercise ability, ease stress and anxiety, and enhance recovery from strokes.

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Whether you prefer Stravinsky's symphonies or the Beatles' ballads, you probably listen mostly because you simply like how they sound. You might not realize that music engages not only your auditory system but many other parts of your brain as well, including areas responsible for movement, language, attention, memory, and emotion.

"There is no other stimulus on earth that simultaneously engages our brains as widely as music does," says Brian Harris, certified neurologic music therapist at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. This global activation happens whether you listen to music, play an instrument, or sing — even informally in the car or the shower, he says. And it helps to explain how and why music therapy works (see "Singing — and striding — stroke survivors").