Going naked is the latest yoga trend, and those who have done it can swear by its benefits. Shedding one's clothes brings a new level of honesty and authenticity to yoga — an authenticity that can sometimes get lost in the fashion and branding surrounding yoga, said Isis Phoenix, a yoga instructor at Naked Yoga NYC in New York City.

And the practice helps people let go, offering freedom from the constraints of life, which might include your job (or even just spandex), Phoenix said.

Some might feel self-conscious at first, but Phoenix has seen participants undergo a metamorphosis of sorts, a change only made possible by baring it all, she said.

Naked yoga gives a chance for participants to "lay down their armor, in a sense," and breathe, stretch and mediate, she said.

Some people become more familiar with their own bodies, such as discovering a mole they never knew they had, Phoenix said.

"[There's] a level of living with your body your whole life and then really, truly seeing it for the first time," she said.

However, experts agree there are psychological benefits to naked yoga, but not physical ones.

"If you're wearing loose clothing or spandex, there''s nothing to stop you from doing all the postures or stretches or movements in yoga with the proper clothes," said Janet Konefal, assistant dean for complementary and integrative medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"The sense of freedom is not a physical, it’s a psychological,” she added. "You don’t want have a cut or nick and risk of infection," Konefal said.

The Chinese construction company Broad Group have one-upped their previous record of building 15 stories in one week with this 30 story hotel built in just 15 days.

Erected near Dongting lake, in Hunan Province, the hotel was assembled from pre-fabricated sections shipped to the work site. The finished product has all the comforts you’d expect from a modern hotel, and is also expected to be extremely earthquake resistant thanks to its unique design.

Of course, one wonders how “complete” the building is with that crane still standing in the middle of it. Read on after the break for a longer, more in-depth look at this lightning fast construction project.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) keeps track of the things that they confiscate, though, and among the nail files, water bottles, and cosmetics there are a few contraband items that really stand out.

Birds. According to the TSA, agents in Los Angeles discovered two birds wrapped in socks and taped to the leg and chest of a woman who was en route to China. The birds were found during "a pat-down that was being administered due to bulky clothing," the TSA reported on its blog.

A science project. A college student's metal-and-wire science project prompted agents to shut down an checkpoint in Omaha after they saw it on the X-ray monitor.

Knives and swords. Not just a plastic picnic knife or a Swiss Army knife, mind you, but tree saws, a 14-inch sword hidden in a cane, a brass-knuckle knife, and even a "non-metallic martial arts weapon" called a Tactile Spike, which agents found stashed in a passenger's sock -- while he was wearing it. One passenger was carrying two sharp throwing knives in a hollowed-out book. The title? "Ninja: The Shadow Warrior." Of course.



Snakes and turtles. In August, TSA agents in Miami caught a man with seven -- that's right, seven -- snakes hidden in his pants. He was not happy to see them. The reptiles were coiled up and stashed inside pantyhose that the man had tucked into his trousers along with three small turtles; agents found them using "imaging technology" (yup, one of those full-body scanner things).

Grenades and land mines. Both inert, the TSA reports, but still... if a bottle of shampoo isn't OK, why would anyone assume that a grenade would be?

Guns and ammunition. Passengers are actually allowed to carry firearms as long as they're in their checked luggage and have been declared to the airline. But here's a list of the things that TSA agents found in a single carry-on bag in Wichita, Kansas, recently: "A tree saw with a 13-inch blade, a pocketknife with a 3-inch blade, two throwing knives with 8-inch blades, eleven individual 30-06 rifle rounds, one 12-gauge shotgun slug, five count of buckshot, and five boxes, each containing 25 rounds of 12-gauge shotgun shells and a partridge in a pear tree." All in all, TSA agents confiscated 1,200 guns in airports throughout the US in 2011.


A stun-gun disguised as a bright pink smart phone. "Law enforcement authorities responded to the incident and allowed the passenger to continue on her flight, after surrendering the item to TSA," according to the TSA's blog.

C4 explosives. A soldier flying out of Arizona thought it would be cool to bring a few small chunks of C4 explosives home to show his family. We would suggest an alternative souvenir next time.

240 (or so) live fish. According to the TSA, "The passenger didn't have a little baggie with a goldfish in it, they had 4 large hard-sided suitcases each filled with only fish and water."

Oddly not on the list: The red-velvet cupcake that TSA agents in Las Vegas confiscated just before Christmas, when a woman tried to bring the snack on the plane. The cupcake had been baked inside a glass jar and, according to Rebecca Haines, the TSA agent who stopped her said that the treat's vanilla-bourbon frosting was "a gel-like substance" and, therefore, forbidden.

"We also had a small pile of hummus sandwiches with creamy fillings, which made it through, but the cupcake with its frosting was apparently a terrorist threat," she told ABC News. When she left Boston, TSA agents at Logan Airport let her go through security with two of the treats, saying that they "looked delicious and told us to have a great trip," she said. "But in Las Vegas, they were dangerous. They shouldn't be delicious in one part of the country and a security threat in the other."

French fashion chain La Redoute has been left red-faced after it forgot to airbrush a naked bather from a promotional photograph for its children's clothes.

The image, which appeared for several hours on its website today, showed a group of four children running on the sand.

But, in the background, a naked man can clearly be seen wading behind them up the sea-shore.

Web users spotted the 'faux pas', which has since been taken down, and immediately took to Twitter to poke fun at the clothing company.

One tweeter labelled it a 'SCANDALE' while another highlighted the 'EPIC FAIL de la Redoute!'.

La Redoute immediately apologised for the mistake, but its website has now come under intense scrutiny from users who also discovered a spelling mistake on one of its T-shirts.

Instead of having 'Enjoy Holidays' written on the garment, it actually says 'Enjoy Holydays'.

The bather's identity has not yet been revealed, but he has already sprung to fame across the web with a series of mocking images being produced.

Some keen photoshoppers have cut and paste famous people into the original image, which has seen President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni, and even late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, taking his place.

Others have placed a cut-out of the naked man in other situations, including a music festival and in someone's house.

CALL it the iCEO mini - three months after his death, late Apple Inc co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs has been immortalised as a 12" (sixth-scale) action figure.

Toy companies in icons and Dragon in Dream unveiled the figure on New Year's Day in tribute to the tech visionary who gave the world the Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod.

The figure (don't call it a doll!) features a realistic likeness and Jobs's trademark black turtleneck, jeans and sandshoes. But while publicity photos feature a miniature Mac, iPhone and iPad, they sadly won't be included.

The figure is due for release in late February for $US99.99 plus shipping.


Apple or Jobs's family might take action to block the use of Jobs's likeness, as they did in 2010 when a company called MIC Gadget attempted to sell Jobs action figures on eBay.

However DID has released unauthorised figures in the past, depicting such famous people as US President Barack Obama.

Twins Beckett and Freya Humenny will grow up together, but they will never share a birthday -- or even a birth year.

Beckett was born at 6:40 p.m. on New Year's Eve 2011. His sister, Freya, was born six hours later, at 12:26 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2012, and the nurses at Hennepin County Medical Center threw confetti to celebrate the new year and the extraordinary birth event.

"It was a party when she came out," said their mom, Stephanie Peterson, 30, of Wayzata. There will come a time, she said, when Beckett will probably tease his sister that she's a year a younger, but "I'm excited that they will have two birthdays," she said.

Hospital officials and birth center staff said they could not recall another time when twins were born just before and just after the new year.

Born at 34 weeks, both babies are small but healthy. Beckett was 4 pounds 11 ounces, and Freya was 5 pounds 2 1/2 ounces. They will spend a week in the newborn intensive care unit before going home.

For the parents, from now on the two-day holiday will instead be a two-day birthday.

"It used to be such a long day in the past," said Darryl Humenny, 33, the babies' father.

Rude Hand Gestures of the World by Romana Lefevre is a photographic guide to the many ways of using hand gestures to offend people in different parts of the world. The book’s photography is by Daniel Castro, and published by Chronicle Books of San Francisco.

A hand gesture is arguably the most effective form of expression, whether you’re defaming a friend’s mother or telling a perfect stranger to get lost. Learn how to go beyond just flipping the bird with this illustrated guide to rude hand gestures all around the world, from asking for sex in the Middle East to calling someone crazy in Italy. Detailed photographs of hand models and subtle tips for proper usage make Rude Hand Gestures of the World the perfect companion for globe-trotters looking to offend.

Chin Flick

Meaning: Get lost
Used in: Belgium, France, Northern Italy, Tunisia

In France, this gesture is known as la barbe, or “the beard", the idea being that the gesturer is flashing his masculinity in much the same way that a buck will brandish his horns or a cock his comb. Simply brush the hand under the chin in a forward flicking motion. While not as aggressive as flashing one’s actual genitalia, this gesture is legal and remains effective as a mildly insulting brush-off.

Note: In Italy, this gesture simply means “No.”

Idiota
Meaning: Are you an idiot?
Used in: Brazil

A South American gesture indicating stupidity, this requires improv skills and an actorly flair. To perform, put your fist to your forehead while making a comical overbite. The gesture is most effective when accented with multiple grunts. When executed correctly, you will be rewarded with appreciative laughs, though not, perhaps, from your subject.

Moutza
Meaning: To hell with you!/I rub **** in your face!/I'm going to violate your sister!
Used in: Greece, Africa, Pakistan

The Moutza is among the most complex of hand gestures, as elaborate and ancient as a Japanese tea ceremony. Perhaps the oldest offensive hand signal still in use, the Moutza originated in ancient Byzantium, where it was the custom for criminals to be chained to a donkey and displayed on the street. There, local townsfolk might add to their humiliation by rubbing dirt, feces, and ashes ("moutzos" in medieval Greek) into their faces.

Now that the advent of modern sewage systems and anti- smoking laws means that these materials are no longer readily available, the Moutza is a symbolic stand-in. In Greece, it is often accompanied by commands including par’ta (“take these”) or órse (“there you go”). Over the years, the versatile Moutza has acquired more connotations, including a sexual one, in which the five extended fingers suggest the five sexual acts the gesturer would like to perform with the subject’s willing sister.

Five fathers
Meaning: You have five fathers, i.e., your mother is a whore
Used in: Arab countries, Caribbean

If you are looking to get yourself deported from Saudi Arabia – possibly amid a riot – you can do no better than the Five Fathers gesture. The most inflammatory hand gesture in the Arab world, this sign accuses the subject’s mother of having so many suitors that paternity is impossible to determine. To execute, point your left index finger at your right hand, while pursing all fingers of the right hand together. The insult is extreme and almost certain to provoke violence.

Pepper mill
Meaning: crazy
Used in: Southern Italy

In southern Italy, craziness is indicated by this gesture, in which one mimics the grinding of a pepper mill. The implication is that the subject’s addled brain is whirring as fast as the mill's blades.

Corna

Meaning: Your wife is unfaithful
Used in: The Baltics, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Portugal, Spain

Informing a friend that his wife has been unfaithful is an unhappy and delicate task. Fortunately, in many countries, it is simple to do: one simply gives him the Corna. A very old sign, the Corna dates back at least 2,500 years and represents a bull’s horns (bulls were commonly castrated to make them calmer).

Be warned that while the gesture is used throughout the world, its meaning varies greatly from country to country.Should you be on the receiving end of the gesture, before you cast out your wife, remember that your pal may simply be saying she is a fan of American college football or heavy metal bands.

Write-off
Meaning: I am ignoring you
Used in: Greece

The literal translation of st’arxidia mou, the phrase that accompanies this gesture, is “I write it on my testicles.” And while there may well be people who, out of a strange psychological compulsion or simply boredom, actually write on their testicles, here the threat is simply metaphorical and tells the subject you’re ignoring him. One needn’t possess testicles to use the gesture, which is employed by men and women alike.

Cutis
Meaning: Screw you and your whole family
Used in: India, Pakistan

Should you find yourself in India or Pakistan, wishing to insult not just your host but your host’s entire family, look no further than the Cutis gesture. Its origins are unknown, but its effect is swift and severe. Simply make a fist then flick the thumb off the front teeth while exclaiming "cutta!" (“Screw you!”). In short order, you will find himself ejected from the premises, your mission to offend thoroughly accomplished.

Tacaño
Meaning: You're stingy
Used in: Mexico, South America

Just as the heart is associated with love, so, in many Latin American countries, is the elbow with stinginess. In Mexico the two are so closely linked that a miser is described as "muy codo" (very elbow), the idea being that he rarely straightens it to pay the check. If your compadre makes a habit of failing to pick up the check, you may wish to correct his behaviour with this sharp gesture. For extra emphasis, bang your elbow on the table.

Note: In Austria and Germany the same gesture means “You’re an idiot,” suggesting that the elbow is where the subject keeps his brain.

Fishy smell
Meaning: I find you untrustworthy
Used in: Southern Italy

In business, it is important to let your associates know you can’t be taken advantage of. This gesture informs them you are on to their attempts to deceive. To perform, move your nose side to side with the index and middle finger. The movement suggests that something stinks, and you are trying to rid yourself of the odor.