Categories
Tutorials

Websites for your Health and Wellness

Wellness refers to the state or condition of an individual or group. It means being aware of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, routines and behaviors, and being able to overcome stress and daily issues that are a part of life. A higher level of well-being typically means that a person is making decisions and life choices that are physically and emotionally enhancing their quality of life. There are many ways to use the resources available on the internet to become more active by doing cardio exercises, for example, thus improving your wellness and well-being. Some of these resources are paid while others can be enjoyed free of charge depending on the variety of activities you want to do.

Yoga

Yoga is not just a physical exercise. It is an activity that transcends the senses and invites you to enter a world of well-being and relaxation. The benefits of yoga for your physical health are well known, it increases flexibility, fights pain, relaxes you, and improves breathing and posture, among others.

For free yoga video tutorials, there are several pages used for all different levels, (beginners and advanced) as well as journals to keep up to date with the latest news.

YouTube is an excellent place for free yoga videos. By typing “yoga” in the search bar, you will find thousands of videos. The more popular, and potentially better quality, yoga tutorials will have more views and will likely be found on the first page of the search results.

The website “Do Yoga With Me” offers videos of classes and yoga positions for all levels. It offers 3-month free subscription and a variety on online videos to start learning if you are a beginner or continue your journey if you are more experienced. To access this webpage, you can either search on google with your favorite browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera) and type “do yoga with me” or go to their web page https://www.doyogawithme.com/. Additionally, there are a number of free and paid for apps on your mobile device’s app store that you may want to look into!

Photography

For those interested in the art and technique of obtaining long-lasting images due to the action of light there are a free online lesson offered by academies dedicated to online learning. Open your browser and type www.udemy.com or just “udemy” on google and you will find a variety of photography tutorials and courses. At the top of the webpage, you will see that there is a search bar so you can type in anything that you’re interested in to see if they have any resources to meet your needs. If you type “Free Photography Courses and Tutorials” in the search bar on the website, you will see a variety of courses for everyone. To gain access to the videos and the resources, you will have to sign up by clicking the “Sign up” button in the top right-hand corner. After you sign up, you are ready to go and can become an expert in photography in no time!

“Adorama” is another great website for those who want to learn how to take great pictures and also learn the story behind every picture with simple readings on their website. Login to https://lifehacker.com/basics-of-photography-the-complete-guide-5815742 and you will find a manual/guide that will help get you started with quick and easy steps.

Home Workouts

What better way to get rid of that extra quarantine weight than to do some simple workouts within the comfort of your own home! You can find some great at home exercise routines and online classes with a click of a button. There are a variety of routines that are perfect to tone different muscle groups and keep fit.

Fitness Blender (https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos) gives you a variety of options for home training. There are different training videos ranging from 10 minutes to 1 hour, so you can choose the workout that works best according to your schedule.

YouTube is also a great resource to find home workouts that are free of charge and require no subscription. Type “home workouts” in the search bar at the top and you will find a workout that suits you best.

Banana bread is oh so great!…until you hop on the scale and see that you’ve gained some weight. You can start saying goodbye to those extra few pounds by doing some home workouts. Working out has never been so easy!

Categories
Tutorials

A Guide for Online Shopping

Online shopping has become one of the most popular ways of getting the products that you need. Whether it is for fashion, housewares or grocery shopping, online shopping is high in demand in this new technological era.

An online store refers to a type of business that uses a website or an application connected to the Internet as the means of carrying out its transactions. It constitutes the main tool of electronic commerce.

The sellers of products and services make available to their clients a web page (or computer application) where they can see images of the products, read their specifications and, finally, purchase them. This service gives the client a quick purchase, the possibility of doing it from anywhere in the world and at any time of the day. Some online stores include user manuals on the product page so that the customer can get an idea in advance of what they are buying. Similarly, many online stores offer shoppers the ability to rate and evaluate the product. These evaluations can be carried out through the page itself or through third-party applications. They are also a good resource to use as a shopper if you’re interested in what other people thought about the product.

Typically, these products are paid by credit/debit card or through payment services such as PayPal. The purchased good is then sent to the purchaser by mail or courier. Some stores may give you options during checkout, for example, you may be able to pay online and have it delivered to your home; you may be able to order it online but pick it up and pay for it in person at the physical store or alternate location; or you may have to pay for the item once it is delivered to your home.

One advantage of online shopping is that you have easy access to every item available from the comfort of your home. You can avoid the physical act of going shopping and waiting in lines! However, the disadvantage to this is that you are relying on the description of the product and potentially other customer reviews of the item in question to make your purchasing decision.

To shop online you will need to open your favorite web browser on your computer (i.e. Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) and search for the store you are interested in by typing the name into the address bar. You can either type in the specific address for the store (i.e. www.amazon.ca) or you can search for the store name and select one of the options that appears (i.e. type in “Amazon” in Google). NOTE: When searching on Google, be sure to select the official company website and be wary of look-alike websites that are not trustworthy and may try to steal your personal information or payment method.

Navigating the Online Store

Every website has a different layout or way of showcasing their products, however, the actual process of purchasing something online is very similar. You browse each store’s website to find the products that you want to buy, then add them to your cart, and checkout. Checkout usually involves the use of your email address, phone number, mailing address and payment method.

Here is a list of some popular online stores in Canada:

All Categories

Amazon – https://www.amazon.ca/

Fashion

Roots – www.roots.com

Hudson’s Bay –https://www.thebay.com/

Marks – www.marks.com

Housewares

Canadian Tire – www.canadiantire.ca

Kitchen Stuff Plus – www.kitchenstuffplus.com

Ikea – www.ikea.com

Electronics

Canada Computers – www.canadacomputers.com

Best Buy – www.bestbuy.ca

Dell Canada – www.dell.com

Apple –  https://www.apple.com/ca/

Groceries

Walmart Canada – www.walmart.ca

Loblaws – www.loblaws.ca

Metro – www.metro.ca

Fortinos –  https://www.fortinos.ca/

It is important to also mention that depending on your needs and time restrictions, there are third-party companies that offer faster delivery for your online shopping. However, these come with extra costs for using these websites. Companies like InstaCart (www.instacart.ca) or Cornershop (www.cornershopapp.com) offer 1 hour rush delivery option when you checkout with them.

Lastly, there are food delivery services that pick up and deliver the food you have pre-ordered from your favorite restaurant. These include DoorDash (www.doordash.com), SkipTheDishes (www.skipthedishes.com)UberEats (www.ubereats.com), just to name a few!

Online shopping gives you increased flexibility and may help you take advantage of online discounts and current store sales while avoiding crowded malls/stores and long wait times!