(Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)

Who knew a detergent could be so helpful outside of the laundromat?

Tide, the P&G super soap mega brand, has launched a contest aimed at moguls-, artists-, and professional successes-in-the-making aged 18-to-30 years old. The Rising Tide Contest will give one winner two tickets to Los Angeles, $5,000, a brand new tablet (nine finalists will also get this prize), and the chance to have lunch with mogul, entrepreneur, and yoga devotee, Russell Simmons. For details and to enter, click here. You have until May 3rd. And after the jump, you can check out another clip (besides the one below) that gives a sample of what lunch with Uncle Rush would be like.

We had the chance to sit down for a chat with Simmons also, albeit over the phone. “It all depends on the individual,” he told us when we asked him what sort of advice he would give to the contest winner. “What you know to be true is true. People don’t really have faith because of all this noise on the outside. But all this promise is useful.”

We all know that Simmons is dedicated to practicing yoga, but it’s still a little jarring to hear him speak in such spiritual terms when you know he’s also so rooted in the business world. From Def Jam to Global Grind, Simmons has made a name in earthly enterprises.

“Smile and breathe,” Simmons says when he talks about the practice of yoga. “You have to have the clarity to be present. When we’re in the present, we access our creativity.”

And having that clarity is tied to his business success. So all you have to do is sign up for a class, stretch, breathe, find your deeper self, and the path to moguldom will be laid before you. Simple right? (Not.)

“These things are simple. It can be complex if you want to make it that way,” Simmons continued. “The goal is to give without expectation. Having faith in our journey.”

In addition, we have to take advantage of the modern conveniences that we’ve been afforded. For example, Simmons says he’s working on a television project focused on Frederick Douglass (he couldn’t reveal any further details). Douglass reached great heights without the benefit of anything even remotely like the Internet, where information is at our fingertips.

“It’s the choices you make… to change your position. Blame isn’t an option,” Simmons continued.

Speaking of technology, we asked about his new digital agency, Narrative, which he’s launching with his longtime business partner, Tricia Clarke-Stone. The goal, Simmons has made clear, is not to be an ad agency, but to help agencies with their work. Again, there was no mention of business success per se (until I brought up the whole making money thing), but rather the success that comes with following your path and a job well done.

“When you do a good job you start making money. Think about being smart and having fun,” he said. “One when you’re fully engaged can you be successful.”

And with that, I might dust off my mat and head down to the yoga studio.

Meditation and practices related to it have taken the world by storm. There have been all sorts of benefits linked to meditation, including relieving stress, improving concentration, and becoming more patient. Since meditation has become so popular, it’s no surprise that celebrities have jumped on the band wagon as well. Here are 15 celebs who practice some form of meditation.

WENN.com

Tina Turner

Tina Turner is one of the many celebs who has used meditation in order to overcome a tough obstacle in life. For more than 30 years, she has been an avid follower and supporter of meditation, especially due to her strong support of Buddhist beliefs. Tina Turner even credits meditation for allowing her to gain the inner confidence and courage that she needed in order to leave her abusive ex-husband, Ike Turner.

Source: Tia Mowry

From Style Blazer

We grew up adoring cuties Tia and Tamera Mowry with their fun ’90s style and sisterly antics on the hit comedy, Sister, Sister. And now, they’ve invited us on their journey through motherhood with their new lifestyle site, TiaAndTameraOfficial.com, which is just as popular as their hit reality TV show, Tia & Tamera on Style. They’ve created an interactive community to reach out directly to their fans, as they share lifestyle tips, beauty and fashion picks, and of course photos of those adorable babies, Cree and Aden!

We recently got to chat with Tia, and she is one busy mama! She filled us in about her new yoga DVD series, Calm Yoga and Core Yoga with Tara Stiles, and tips on how the fit mom keeps herself looking so great post- baby. Of course, she dished on her “twindividual style” and that super sweet pixie cut we love.

Check out the interview on StyleBlazer.com.

Source: Instagram

Amber Rose let it be known this week that she’s making a baby not Ramen Noodles in response to comments that it seems like she’s been pregnant for forever now, but it looks like her little dog Frankie thinks there’s something tasty inside the soon-to-be Mrs. Khalifa’s belly.

Although Wiz’s lady looks like she’s going to pop any day now, it’s not slowing Amber down one bit. Earlier, she tweeted this pic of her doing yoga in “one of the positions that got me here in the first place,” Aand later she posted this image of her dog Franky “giving his little bruva kisses.” I’m no dog expert, but lil Franky looks hungry to me. Still, I can’t deny that this is a super cute pic. Caption it for us and tell us what’s going through Franky’s mind.

Source: ebonix.tumblr.com

From BlackVoices

After one of the most epic snubs in Grammy Award history and a less-than-legendary release of her album ”Testimony” in the summer of 2006, singer India Arie says she was compelled to look inward for acceptance.

“I had to leave the road and get myself together,” Arie told Yoga Journal magazine in an interview for their September 2012 music issue.

According to the magazine’s contributing writers Neal Pollack and Mary Bolster:

When she returned home to Atlanta after touring, the first thing she did was kneel down and press through the balls of her feet. “It was profound how good it felt,” she says. “I just started balling my eyes out.”

Arie went on to explain how she has traveled with a yoga mat everyday since, practicing daily, changing her diet and fine tuning both herself and her music in the process.

Read more about how yoga helped India through her creative process on BlackVoices.com.

More on Madame Noire!

• Things That Freak Me Out: Men Who Pretend to Be Perfect
• Reality TV Repeat Offenders: 8 People Who’ve Been On Multiple Reality Shows
• Jasmine Diaz, Founder of the Shawn Mackenzi Agency, On the Business of Matchmaking
• “You’ll Find Love When You Stop Looking” And Other Advice To Ignore
• Cut It Out! The Ridiculous Discussion Surrounding Gabby Douglas’ Hair
• Did You Know They Dated? Part II: 11 MORE Surprising Secret Lovers and Boos We Didn’t Know About
• Where Are They Now: The Men of “I Love New York 1 & 2″

Source: thenetng.com

When you think about it there are several similarities between a good, genuine laugh and sex. The release you get, the euphoric feelings that linger once you’ve finished. Plus sex isn’t supposed to be some stuffy obligation. It can actually be quite fun.

See how else these two seemingly unrelated activities come together at Your Tango.com.

MORE ON MADAME NOIRE!

• That’s My Cousin! Famous Black Celebrities Who Are Related
• Why I’m Concerned about Lala and Her Fake Full Court Life
• Before the Money, Honey: Women Who Stood By Their Men Before and After the Fame
• Where Are They Now? The Cast of “A Different World”
• Confessions of a Loud Black Woman
• Is He Dating Other People? 7 Signs You’re One Of Many
• Trayvon Martin, His Witness and What We Should Be Teaching Our Children About Racism
• Should Black Folks Feel Obligated To Speak To Each Other?

About This Episode

The New Year is here, and you know what that means–getting your health and sanity back on track! In this episode, our featured guest is Latham Thomas of Tender Shoots Wellness, and she will share her thoughts on staying healthy, while also giving you some great yoga tips!

About Latham Thomas

Born and raised in California, Latham is a graduate of both Columbia University, where she earned a degree in Visual arts and Environmental science, as well as the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is a certified holistic health counselor, who mixes her passions of plant physiology, botany, holistic nutrition, fitness, yoga, and green cuisine into a lifestyle program that supports the various needs of her clients. Specializing in maternal and child wellness, Latham served as Program coordinator for the Healthy Moms-Healthy Babies project for the B-Healthy organization. She is the co-founder of Panela Productions, a company that educates parents and children about food, through cooking classes, and events. Latham has developed partnerships with Vogue Magazine, Destination Maternity, Jurlique, and Euphoria Spa to produce events for expectant and new moms.

About Karyn Parsons

Karyn Parsons is best known as the character “Hilary Banks” on the long-running television show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” Today she is a wife and mother of two. Parsons is also the Founder and President of the Sweet Blackberry foundation after being inspired by the true tale of a determined slave and the remarkable lengths he travelled to find his freedom.  While growing up, Parsons’ mother, a librarian in the Black Resource Center of a library in South Central Los Angeles, would share stories of African-American accomplishment with her daughter.  A mother and activist, Karyn created Sweet Blackberry to use the power of stories to inspire youth. Follow her on Twitter @Karyn_Parsons.

Want More Mommy In Chief? Watch these episodes:

As the year comes to an end many of us find ourselves reflecting on past events and lessons learned with pen and paper in hand to write down our top new year’s resolutions. We write down the plans and goals we would like to accomplish in the New Year…and hope to follow through.

This year Forbes offers a list of only 3 tips that should be simple enough to accomplish in 2012. Although simple, Forbes says that they should help you give your career an extra boost.

First on the list: create a special project. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated, just something you enjoy doing that relates to your career. For instance, a freelance writer could create an online blogging projects with a fun topic as writer Susannah Breslin did, “Letters From Men Who Go to Strip Clubs.” With this project, Breslin posted 22 letters and earned one of her highest rated online projects. As a freelance writer, this project is something that also relates to her career.

Perhaps for the business professionals, you could create a community financial literacy program on Saturday mornings, or for those who aspire to change the world, you could start by implementing a street clean up.

The next tip on the list: revamp your resume. If you’re having trouble finding a job or reaching that next career level, recreate your image. Ask your mentors and human resource professionals where you could improve your resume to make it stand out from the hundreds companies go through everyday. In addition, create an about.me page or update your linkedin.

The last tip: try yoga. While it may not seem to have an immediate effect on your career, Forbes writer Alice G. Walton says that it helps strengthen the body and mind; both are needed to help you succeed in your next steps.

Just after the newborn stage of life, everyone starts to feel stress inch it’s way into their lives. In school, it is the stress of a big test, pimples and finding a prom date. In college, it’s about the big test, dates and getting a decent job after graduation. And while at the time it all seems very stressful, it is just the beginning. It isn’t until you get a job, start earning your own way and, eventually, supporting a family and moving up the career ladder, that you not only get to know stress, but stress moves right in, takes your favorite chair and even raids your refrigerator in the middle of the night.  So how can you handle it all?  Take a look at these proven stress relievers and give yourself a 10-minute break to relax and learn how to de-stress.

Pampering isn’t just about lying back and relaxing. We love a good massage as much as the next girl, but when money is short that’s when we’re all most stressed and a spa day might not be in the budget. Ultimately, pampering is about getting a moment to forget about the hectic nature of everyday life and soothe the brain. This list of 20 ideas is dedicated to working women, unemployed women, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives, daughters and every other type of women who deserve to feel like queens every now and then. That means — You! Here’s how to nurture your body, mind and spirit.