Breathing

Yogis know that breathing is more than a necessity, it's a luxury, especially in times of stress. Just five minutes of deep breathing can calm your mind and diminish the stress-related cortisol hormone coursing through your body. What it does The seated eagle variation, demonstrated here by Tamal Dodge, co-founder of Santa Monica's Yoga Collective and the yogi behind Element's "Hatha & Flow Yoga for Beginners" DVD, shuts down the fight-or-flight mechanism in the body, taking the edge off so you can make it through that stressful day without losing it. What to do Sit in a cross-legged position, one leg folded over the other.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether motorists suspected of drunk driving who refuse to take a breath test can be forced to have their blood drawn at a hospital. The ruling in a Missouri case, expected early next year, will help define the powers of the police and the rights of motorists when they are stopped for driving while intoxicated. In most states, as a condition of obtaining a license, applicants must consent to submit to a test of their breath, blood or urine if stopped on suspicion of drunk driving.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court will decide whether a police officer who stops a suspected drunk driver can force him or her to take a breath test or have blood drawn at a hospital. Judges across the nation are split over whether forcing someone to undergo a blood test constitutes an "unreasonable search" prohibited by the 4 th Amendment. The decision, due early next year, will define the powers of the police and the rights of motorists who are suspected of driving while intoxicated.

USC defensive back Brian Baucham remains hospitalized because of an unspecified breathing issue that occurred after the fifth-year senior played in Saturday's game against California, a person close to the situation said Monday. Baucham, from Torrance, was in intensive care and on a ventilator Saturday and Sunday, but he was removed from the device Monday and his condition was improved, said the person, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

This week's Culinary SOS request comes from Mike Hough in Highland, Calif.: "We recently visited the Hog's Breath Inn at Carmel by the Sea, Calif. Our party particularly enjoyed what surely must be its signature soup, made from artichokes. It was so delicious that I'd be surprised if you hadn't already obtained the recipe and shared it with your readers. If you could coerce the recipe from the inn and share (perhaps again), we would be so thankful. Thanks. " Artichoke lovers, rejoice!

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Mark Trumbo found his long-lost power stroke, and five relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday as the Angels held on for a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium. After Saturday night's meltdown, in which Ernest Frieri gave up two homers in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss, the Angels used three relievers - Garrett Richards, Scott Downs and Jordan Walden - to get three outs in the eighth inning. With Frieri unavailable after pitching the previous two nights, Kevin Jepsen allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.

The three most common ways to begin a joke: Two guys walk into a bar . . . A traveling salesman spends the night at a farmer's house . . . The NFL is coming back to Los Angeles . . . Since the Raiders and Rams uprooted and moved in 1995, the football world has predicted and projected and pontificated on when the nation's No. 1 sport would return to its No. 2 market. If this game were being officiated, we'd be knee deep in false-start flags. And here it comes again, competing stadium proposals elbowing for the spotlight, teams making it known they are unhappy in their current cities, and now the head of the league's stadium committee, Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II — typically shy to crank up the hype machine — predicting an imminent NFL return to L.A. "I would think that, within five years, L.A. would have a team," Rooney recently told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Matt Kemp is scaring the hell out of the Dodgers. For the second consecutive game, Kemp crashed hard into the center-field wall. Only this time it forced him out of the game. [ Update at 7:33 p.m.: The Dodgers said Kemp left the game with a right knee contusion and was taken for precautionary X-rays on his jaw. They said he was not suffering from any concussion-like symptons.] Kemp was running full speed in an attempt to chase down a triple by Josh Rutledge in the first inning Tuesday at Coors Field when he ran hard into the wall.

Admittedly, I am in the 50th percentile of everything - looks, intelligence, sex appeal, strength. My core muscle group is mostly pudding. I have the muscle tone of $1.99-a-pound sirloin. When I exercise vigorously, I emit the faint aroma of fresh-baked muffins. If it's a summer morning, you might also get a whiff of the previous evening's margarita mix. You could hang me on a tree to attract hummingbirds. I don't say that to brag. I say that so that you'll know what a well-sunscreened physical specimen I've become.