Creative Juicy Adventure

What a funky weekend. As Tropical Storm Danny blasted through Halifax, "Guerrilla Yoga" was transplanted to our apartment. Squeezing five yogis into our living room (spilling into our dining room/hallway) was Guerrilla Yoga-Lulu style. Despite the close quarters (with Andrew using the wall as a balancing prop, the cheater!) it was a blast, finished with some fair trade, organic coffee at JustUs! Spring Garden Road Cafe-YUM. *Update: Andrew just guestimated our yogic area to be 130 square feet (he actually used his measuring tape) and has assured me that it is in fact not a lot of space (which it wasn't).

That afternoon we decided that it was time to finally finish the "project create art" for our living room. Over the past several weeks I've been drawn to Connie's "Dirty Footprints" blog where her motto is living a Creative Juicy Life.

"A Creative Juicy Life Is: Dreaming in full colour

Breating Deep and Feeling Alive

Laughing so loud it scatters fear

Loving so large that there is no room for doubt

Creating each day into your best one yet."

Doesn't that sound FAB? She posts about her beautiful painting, colour, other Creative Juicy Peeps... and I guess I found my creative fairy again! Last summer when we moved into this tiny 600 square foot apartment, before we even bought a couch, I painted some "art" for the dining room. While painting, unsure how the heck it would look, Andrew "assured" me that whatever the finished product

may be... it was going up on the wall. Thank goodness it actually looks like a tree!

Fast forward a year and I've found that my creative little self only has begun to re-emerge with the first tiny hints of Autumn. So strange

that during this gearing down, harvesting season all I feel like doing is create, begin anew and write music. I even read my Tarot (the first time in months) and pulled the Fool... I took that as my hint and yesterday we bought two canvases and some paint. Yellow and Red in fact (I already had blue, green and white).

With those primary colours I began painting... the first two hours

occurred last night. I wasn't exactly pleased with the results, but hey, it was

colourful! A little too colourful, I love greens and blues, but it wasn't a part of my master plan... sooo mashed some more colours together and toned it down. A bit anyway.

Stage Deux of Creative Juicy Life was today for another two and a half hours. In my head the image was of a tiny little seed pod with some fiery LIFE bursting out and twirling into being. I think I was

supposed to have added some more yellow but got a bit carried away

with orange... and now it looks an awful lot like a fire breathing cauldron... lol.

However, like Andrew said, whatever happens it's going up on the wall. Which will be Stage Trois. Demain. Regarless of quality (or lack thereof) the re-emergence of my Creative Fairy has been fun and I'm pumped to see how my music will evolve!

Blessings!

**UPDATE: We put the painting up tonight! Of course, our apartment also only has metal studs (which explained why for the first painting we never found any studs. Picture knocking... measuring...lol) so this actually made it easier to hang! We didn't have to be restricted by stud-guidelines. Ta Dah! (please ignore the PILES of books we have yet to shelve on the floor...) Thank you so much everyone for your oodles of support and kind words for my fire-breathing cauldron pod! The picture was taken from the outermost corner of our two foot hallway :)

Article and photos by EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com (a Creative Juicy Life convert!)

Toilet Greenification- Apartment Style

Living in the city, in an apartment, makes certain eco changes difficult. Urban living does makes it easier to drive less (unless you live in Halifax, where the public transportation is SO abismal), access farmer's markets and I guess these tiny compacted apartment living stacked one on top of another results in leaving more Earth untouched. However, making changes like having alternatively sourced power and hydro, having a garden or replacing appliances for energy efficient alternatives are impossible... or highly unadvisable in case your landperson would get slightly cranky. (view of the Atlantic in Hubbards Nova Scotia that I took pre-yoga class)

We do our best, Andrew and I, in our infinitesimal box we call home and Wednesday we did the unthinkable. We tampered with our toilet.

(the culprit and if you look closely... my red socked-foot)

Living surrounded by the ocean my entire life (except for those few dry years stranded in the middle of the Okanagan) has resulted in some weird, obsessive attachment to water. I love water, I LOVE the ocean. Perhaps as a fisherman's daughter I've also grown up with a keen understanding of just how ruthless and powerful She can be. Many fathers, brothers, sons and even a few friends in my fishing community have been taken throughout the years.

Our oceans are our Earth's life and all Her inhabitants, every single last one, may thank the ocean for our existance. The ocean is where life began and the water cycle continues to nourish and sustain our world. As North Americans we are so wasteful with water, as if it has an unending supply that we can use and pollute.

According to Ecoholic, up to 65% of the water we use in our homes happens in the bathroom (Ecoholic 2006, p.156). One third of that number is from our toilets. If we had our own home, and could save some moolah, Andrew and I would totally invest in a low flow or two flow toilet. Unfortunately, swapping our current beaut and leaving it to hang out in the hall might ruffle a few feathers....

Our lovely toilet uses 13.2 litres with every single flush (3.5 gallons). Wow. Seems a bit excessive, especially for pee. Andrew and I both figure we flush the toilet about three times each a day (erring on the side of caution... we do often "let it mellow"), so in one year that would be 28 908 litres (7636 gallons). Whoa, twenty eight THOUSAND litres a year of water. As letting it mellow isn't always an option and pooing less is also not really an option, and buying a new toilet isn't up... what to do?

A water bottle! Vanessa from Green as a Thistle inspired us to make this eco-change. I know it's weird, but I was a little nervous about altering any appliance that wasn't "ours". The idea, place a filled water bottle in your toilet tank so that it displaces water, giving your tank less water to accomplish the flush. Bricks are a no go as they may eventually break down and damage stuff (I've heard differing opinions on this one, but since we don't have any spare bricks laying around it wasn't really an issue).

I gotta admit, it took a few months of thinking about it before following through. The main issue, we don't buy bottled water or bottled anything. Hardly ever. Strangely enough, I have this aversion to plastic bottles... So I was struggling with WHAT exactly to place in the toilet. Should we...no...BUY bottled water for this one change? Andrew, being the practical guy that he is, picked up an stainless steel water bottle and announced our victory. It had been a "gift" from my job, but it's ugly, made by a no-name company in China with our company's name painted on the side. Who needs to be reminded with every drink where they work? So it's been hanging out in our cupboard for about three months.

And now it is in our toilet- WOO!

Andrew assured me that it wouldn't rust, break anything or spontaneously combust (he's so nice) so we filled it with water and (he) found the perfect spot. It's only a 500ml (16fl oz) bottle which changes our toilet to a 12.7 litre toilet. Which in a year will save 1095 litres. I can't even tell the difference when I flush, in one way a good thing, but a little bit of a let down. SO I'm considering (if it can fit) to put the OTHER stainless steel water bottle (600ml) I got as a present from a client in there as well. If I can make it fit- toilet tanks are pretty darn minimalist. Combined that would mean 1.1 litres less per flush which would more than double my water savings in a year!

Other options include buying a "toilet dam", costing less than ten dollars and can save up to 3 litres per flush or a water bag (the "toilet tummy"- seriously, who came UP with these names??). Because I'm lazy, it made more sense to simply use something we already had in the house (plus it means cheaper, and less eventual waste). I'm not sure how anyone could fit an entire 1 litre juice/milk jug in their toilet tank though... Also, I have read filling the receptical with sand or rocks may help it sink.

The next step: shorter showers.... gah.

Blessings!

article and photos by EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Way to go Ambiguous-Keywords-"doesn't leach" SIGG

As you may have heard, there is quite the SIGG controversy going on in the "ecosphere" right now, and although I was going to blog about my toilet (don't worry- that post is coming!!), SIGG drama kinda trumps my throne greenification (just barely though!).

Over the past few months Andrew and I have made huge leaps in the water bottle usage area. Prior to this spring, I was NEVER a water drinker, least of all from a water bottle. I'm not sporty and don't enjoy drinking water. I drink coffee. YUM. In any case, I decided a while back that it was time for me to jump on the water bottle bandwagon for my yoga practice. I did some research and basically found this:

SIGG although made in Switzerland (not exactly local!) and very pretty, required a coating (as aluminum is toxic) that is sprayed on at extremely hot temperatures which is created from a substance that, on their website at the time, they indicated was a "trade secret" which was not disclosed. SKETCHY. (check out my whole post here).

As a result, Andrew and I both bought Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel water bottles; a North American company that has third party certification monitoring the production of their bottles in China... and seemed much more transparent.

In the past few weeks SIGG has been found out: that "trade secret" lining in their bottles pre-2008? Yep, definitely contained BPA. As water drinkers and yogis cry out in dismay about their "trickery", SIGG claims that they have never claimed that their lining was BPA free...only that it doesn't LEACH BPA. As of 2008, they claim to have transitioned to BPA-FREE liners and that previous information regarding BPA in liners was available to the public. Check out the CEO's statement for more details.

I have to say that for a company whose jump in popularity has been the result of the BPA scare, claiming that they honestly believed they weren't being misleading is a joke. Consumers can see clever marketing and semantics when they read it, and implying that it's the consumers' own fault for falsly interpreting obviously vague wording is insulting. Further, making information available to the public and this information being readily accessible are two completely different things. Due to all the greenwashing going around lately, trusting the information provided so that consumers can make informed decisions is essential.

A spark of light... supposedly SIGG is offering to replace all pre-2008, BPA-lined water bottles for free. Although I couldn't find any information directly on their website, an article in the theconsumerist.com claims that if you send in your old SIGG bottle (you pay the postage) they will replace it. Seems like a fair solution... if you'd like to continue trusting a company who dodges responsibility for obviously ambiguous marketing.

Regardless of the "nice-factor" (re: damage control) of their offer, what are they going to DO with all those returned bottles? As there is no official information regarding this volunteer return program on their website, and the standard form email response doesn't mention anything, how do I know that the returned bottle was recycled? And honestly, how can I recycle a SIGG water bottle myself? Due to their "special" liners (the new and the old) are they accepted in local recycling facilities? I'm assuming that in order to appropriately recycle the aluminum, you'd have to separate the liner... which a SIGG water bottle differs enough from a beer or pop can.

Andrew and I LOVE our Klean Kanteens and I have actually been drinking 800ml of water... a day! There is no "metal" taste (which SIGG claims to happen with stainless steel bottles), they are super easy to clean and not at all heavy. Check out their response to the whole debacle. I am a fan of my Klean Kanteen and I know exactly what it's made of.

(our pretty water bottles hanging out with the strawberries, mine now has a sporty cap which makes a fun sqeaking noise!)

Ok, mini-rant aside, toilet greenification will be coming up shortly! Perhaps some calming Moon Salutations tonight...:)

Blessings and happy Tap Water Drinking!

Consumerism and Non-Attachment; An Eco-Confession

In the spirit of honesty and up-frontness, I feel I need to share this with all of you, my eco-yogi/nis. As much as I am ashamed to admit, I am at least a quasi-shopaholic (pregnant pause).

This problem isn't quite so nilly-willy in that I buy whatever I see. I suck at Frenchy (thrift store) shopping, I don't buy something just because it's on sale and I have a terrible time actually buying shoes or purses. In fact, I only own two purses (both Canadian and handmade). Nope, I'm definitely WAY beyond that fluff-head from the Shopaholic movie, I only own one credit card, the limit would only buy a K-car (IF that) and I have zero shopping debt... lots of student loan debt though. (I couldn't even make it past the 20th page of that book, thank goodness the movie was more entertaining with beer and a slight buzz). (my Tree of Life painting that I painted last summer... with gross non-eco paint).

However, I'd be lying if I said that this whole non-purchase, keep what you have 'till it rusts off, eco strategy was easy for me. I adore sparkly things and buying new clothes. When I'm down my first urge is to go buy something pretty. The M.A.C. store, specifically all those colourful eyeshadows, makes me so happy that it even overpowers Crazy Shouting Eco-Anal voice. I KNOW. To make matters worse, as the environment is so important on an intrinsically moral and political standpoint, justifying paying more for local, handmade, made from eco-friendly materials, organic, sustainably harvested, "no goliath beetles harmed in the making" is easy.

So much so that my wedding dress (down payment PAID two Fridays ago by moi!) cost three times what my budget allowed. No regrets, and I will re-evaluate and be fine, and it's BEAUTIFUL (hand made in Canada without synthetic fabrics!).... but a year ago I would have told you it was crazy to spend THAT MUCH on a dress for one day. Until I researched the ridiculous, polluting, slave labour intensive industry which calls itself "The Perfect Dress". As weird and crazy as it sounds, Ms. Eco-Anal Voice shouted things like "babies made that dress!!", "it only cost that much because they pay their workers shitty wages to work ALL DAY", "you are wearing a black sludge spewing dress". Ok- so seriously, maybe my problem is that voice and not the shopping- but the result was my easily justifying buying the dress. I know there are other options, which I looked into, like buying a second hand dress, buying a dress on Etsy... But I didn't LIKE any of those dresses.

And to be honest, I wanted mine to be... new and special just pour moi. Oh that sentence is shameful. That, my readers, is where the root of this "dress" conundrum lies: I am a consumer, brainwashed into thinking I NEED pretty new things.

As a former psychology grad, a sensitive Type A (lower rung though! I don't label all my stuff!) and stress-induced IBS gal, yoga has been essential in keeping my sanity and health. I am a firm believer, though, that simply doing damage control when it comes to "managing" stress isn't enough. Our culture is an overworked, stressed out, go go go, culture. It irks me to no end when I read about how to "manage" stress or ways to "help stress". A good example: working overtime, saying yes to all demands at my work stresses me out. As a result, my IBS comes out to say "bonjour!". Doing restorative yoga and changing my diet will help.... but it won't fix it. The root of the problem is my work. Until I go home on time, say "no" to preparing tons of home programming, let go of my need to do all projects myself and delegate, I will always be managing and never living. I need to "be" not "become". Non-attachment, an essential part of yoga, is beaming it's zen-light this way.

The same goes for consumerism; until we let go this need to have more, achieve more, go more we will never be content. Buying more things, regardless if they are "green" or not does not help support a world that can no longer take another "birth" of stuff in this world. My green product that I buy will still contribute to the neverending pile of material stuff. No matter how many times I re-use it, re-purpose it, recycle it, unless it biodegrades (and we know how sketchy THAT term is!) eventually when I am 90 years old and pass unto the next Circle, it will beautiful add to the mountains that we call "trash".

Believe me, I have been making small mini eco-yogini steps in this area, despite the "dress blurp". We have so far resisted the pressure to buy a cell phone, no matter how much well-meaning friends, family members and co-workers inform us of some "consumerist culture" reasoning. We also stored away our TV and do not have cable and to Andrew's chagrin, as a result don't play the PS2 (katamari is SO MUCH FUN). I haven't bought the same amount of "summer clothes" this year and Andrew has still resisted buying a new mat, even though his continues to slowly flake away. I've stopped buying pump soap even though I KNOW for a fact that it encourages men to wash their hands in the bathroom (ok, the men I know). We only have one vehicle and I have not bought a new bicycle that fits me, since Andrew's old bike will do just fine (as long as I don't have to step down suddenly and damage some of my girl parts...).

This article is my way of officially stating that my goal is to buy less and I shake my fist at thee; Consumer Machinations of Western Society and my conscious part that I play. This is my first true step back- very dramatic, but then those sparkly handmade earrings are pretty darn alluring...

Andrew, my friends (bloggy and not) and my family complete me. I could not be happier in my life. Well maybe if I found an Anusara teacher around Halifax...

How have you tried to 'stick it to the consumer man'?

Waxing Poetic about Germs

The Hog, the SWINE... H1N1... (cue dramatic music). Panic panic everywhere. Since I work with preschoolers in a hospital setting I get coughed on, snotted on, spit on, vomited on and even... yes... licked. The nature of my job requires that I play (ahem..work) closely to these children, down on their level, face to face and close enough that they can see my mouth. I also work with children who have special needs and I have only had TWO clients remember to cough in their sleeve. I am constantly exposed to viruses and germs. As I'm not a fan of needles, I don't get the flu shot and last winter I was sick for WEEKS.

You can imagine, with the flu season fast approaching that the Health Department is gearing into full out panic mode about the possibility of an increase in the H1N1 pandemic. I get daily updates on how Nova Scotia is doing regarding cases, deaths (1 so far) and procedures. I have resisted the urge to run around in circles screaming while I spray everything in sight with disinfectant. Even when they installed about 15 handy wall mounted Purell sanitizer dispensers in our clinic I continued to wash my hands in the sink. Even after we each got our cute little face masks (like I could do speech therapy with a mask covering my mouth). I kept my cool right up until the diseases and infections control lady came to "visit" our clinic this afternoon.

Then I had to explain to my colleague why using one sanitizing agent was discouraged by Ms. Germ Patrol, what "lanolin" was and why Triclosan in the Purell she uses 50 times in her day can be dangerous.

I have never been one to use anti-bacterial soap or hand sanitizer. Mostly due to circumstance; my mother never bought any so neither did I. All my soaps in the past three years have been environmentally (and thus non-triclosan) soaps. Also, I touch my face and mouth a lot which allows me to taste hand sanitizer.... which is disgusting. I had a niggling feeling that anything that stays behind on my hands to kill the germs couldn't be so great for myself or the environment. I'm also not really afraid of germs... eating dirt and such. Not that I actually EAT DIRT, but you know, I think our germophobia has been quite unhealthy recently. The five second rule applies to most edible things in our house. YUMMY.

What IS this Triclosan I keep mentioning?? It's the active ingredient behind all the super-soap's "germ-killing" super powers. It's also finding its' way into our rivers, lakes and water systems and research suggests that approximately 75% makes its way down our drains, unable to be processed by our sewage treatment plants and into the environment. When exposed to sunlight triclosan can create a mild dioxin which is a carcinogenic hormone disruptor that has been shown to bioaccumulate. It's even been found to be used in fertilizing our soil- about 200 tons a year in the U.S (Adria Vasil, Ecoholic 2006). All this and the FDA and American Medical Association both state that using anti-bacterial soaps don't keep infections as bay any better than regular soap (See page 4 of AMA Summaries and Recommendations of Scientific Affairs Report, 2000).

Still not convinced? Check out this post by an Environmental Toxicologist reviewing recent research demonstrating these non-useful chemicals showing up in breast milk. Start reading a few labels, triclosan can be found in so many random products.... from facial cleanser to toothpaste!

Skin Deep's cosmetic safety database rates triclosan as a 7: high hazard. It has been linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, dioxin and chloroform contamination, irritation of eyes and skin amongst others. Supposedly it has been prohibited in Canadian cosmetics and has been shown to persistently bioaccumulate in wildlife (increasing as you go up the food chain... to us!).

I know all this, and yet I have little choice with what to wash my hands, clinical toys and table with at work. It felt extremely strange to be spraying all these chemicals over every single surface of my office and washing my hands with the wonderful bacti-stat, triclosan soap. I even politely suggested during an Occupational Health and Safety Survey that I would prefer non-triclosan soap in the bathrooms... with no response lol.

And yet, as the Germ Lady waxed poetic about the benefits of anti-bacterial soap, hand washing, coughing in your sleeve (as if ANY of my clients are capable of remembering to pre-emptively do that) and dousing your office with chemicals all I kept thinking of was my spitting, coughing, licking, vomiting clients... Not so sure I can prevent THAT.

Moral of my story: Triclosan and Anti-bacterial soaps are evil.... convincing the Infectious Diseases lady of this.... a waste of energy.

Happy Weekend and wish us luck here in Halifax with Hurricane Bill!

Article authored by EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

My Loud Inner Voice- Confronted

Another evening workshop, another post written from work. As the only Speech Pathologist at my clinic who doesn't have children, I've been offering to present the two hour evening workshops for parents that we are required to offer. The result is having a two hour non-paid time where I can't really leave the office. So blogging it is!

For the past few years, mostly since I truly began my personal home practice, I've secretly been allowing for 'What if' moments regarding... yoga teacher training. As soon as the thought would pop up I'd quickly squelch these daring invasions with: 'don't be silly', 'you're not strong/flexible/good enough', 'it's too expensive'... and finally the loudest voice cries out 'Who do you think you are? Do you truly fancy yourself a Yoga Instructor?? You are not worthy of that title with regards to inner peace OR physical abilities. Get real'. Wow, until this very moment I had not consciously acknowledged the 'you are not cool enough to be a yoga teacher' voice. I guess there is something to this whole writing your thoughts to process information theory.

Grace, with her honest and beautiful posts on this topic, have given me the courage to voice my 'wishes' here in the bloggy-munity also. :) (As Grace wishes for herself, So I wish for her also!)

Last year one of my close friends took a local teacher training program and stayed with Andrew and I during her monthly weekend workshop training courses. I listened (with a smidgeon of envy, ok maybe more like a wallop of envy!) to what she learned each day, the long hours that they practiced/meditated/prayed, how difficult the postures were and how challenging it was to read the Bhagavad Gita with her feminist leanings. She took all these courses despite being broke, having a demanding full time job (School SLP) and not the greatest health. Now she's teaching a couple classes during her spare time and I will admit that I have moments of 'ME ME ME'.

The thing is: this friend is the epitomy of classic Yogi physically. She is insanely flexible and strong. I however, am far from either. Unlike hers, my yoga journey has consisted of slow gradual progress, constant reminders that adjustments and props are helpful or even necessary and injury is always a possibility. This friend confided once that leading a class of inexperienced yogis was difficult, as she had trouble knowing and understanding their needs. She was constantly being surprised at the (what she considered) seemingly 'simple' postures students could not achieve.

For the past year and a half I have been, inadvertantly, leading weekly yoga sessions for friends. It started out as an innocent offer to show some colleagues basic yoga poses in order to build their confidence to the point that they would attend a 'real' class with me. We'd gather in the Child Development Centres' gym after work, sweep the floors and practice the sequence I had prepared. It was light, casual and fun and I quickly learned to talk through my practice (inhale up, exhale fold forward). I was nervous that I wouldn't find the words, but was surprised to find that I could simply voice my mental notes of my practice (keep your knee pointing towards your baby toe (warriors), curl your toes under and walk your knee forward (pigeon exit) 'scissor' your thighs together to keep balance (forward lunge)...).

Last Fall a few friends in Halifax mentioned that they'd love to learn yoga, but were too intimidated to attend a formal class. Another weekly group started with this one actually making it to different classes. I love practicing with friends in such a casual manner, but I'm constantly reminding them to listen to their bodies as I can't adjust. To attend a formal class with a 'real' instructor who can help them attain each posture safely and who can truly help them grow in their practice. For myself, having an instructor physically adjust my posture (with a light touch here or there) has always been quintessential to my understanding of how my body should be. I must be a kinesthetic learner!

Last weekend we had another wonderful Yoga in the Park experience, this time with an actual instructor leading! Although I have read about Anusara Yoga, I hadn't actually attended a class. It was beautiful, and perfect. So graceful and accepting. After class Andrew brought up (to my embarassment) that I had been thinking about becoming trained. My first response was (and is) that of course I am not worthy a yogi to assume that I should be trained. She was of course very sweet and kind. And now, despite the loud shouting Ms Too Cool for Yoga voice, I have been thinking about it again.

Despite all these ramblings I most definitely will be investigating more of her classes at the 108 Yoga Studio here in Halifax. Anusara here I come!

Blessings!


Article authored by EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Eco-Weddings are time consuming to plan!

Oh my, these past five days have been ridiculous! Warning: wedding eco-stuff to follow...

(the drive from Guysborough to Truro- furry hills!)

On Friday a venue was investigated in Chester Nova Scotia (beautiful!) and my dress was finalized and... I paid a downpayment. DONE. I can't say too much, but let's just say that no slave labour or shoddy factories in China will be had for this one! Woo!

Saturday, we ventured forth into the Halifax market for the first time in months. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I DETEST the farmer's market here. I know- how could I say that? Seriously though, the Halifax Farmer's market, although extremely picturesque in the old Alexander Keith's 1700's brewery building, is so crowded. I can only handle about 10 minutes before becoming so angry, jostled and panicky that we have to leave. In any case, we went super duper early that morning (8am) and it was only beginning to get crowded. So doable. I tried my first white turnip and it was YUMMY! Our reason for being there was to check out a local artists' jewelery.

Catherine Sutherland creates beautiful pieces out of recycled silver and broken glass from bus stops and they are gorgeous. She also dips local birch bark into silver! Stunning really. Unfortunately, she was slightly over our budget and what we wanted.

Sunday Andrew and I made the scary leap of driving further north in Nova Scotia than either of us had before... to Guysborough just a hop from the Cape Breton Causeway. The drive was beautiful, filled with miles and miles of untouched forests and rolling hills. Who knew that mainland Nova Scotia had hills?? We were checking out another possible venue which was also beautiful (but very isolated, so ultimately a no-go). A huge bonus: the Chef had his very own garden and he used mostly local and if possible organic produce and meat for the tasty tasty menu. Also, Andrew would like that I mention that he got to drive a golf cart for the very first time... lol.

(the sign indicating that instead of going left we had to indeed TURN RIGHT)

Today Andrew and I made a decision on our new venue: Oceanstone (ignore the creepy music on the intro hah). Yoga AND ceremony on the ocean (perfect!), a campfire already set up (YES!) and a Chef who also uses local and sustainable food. Hopefully my empty wine bottles/water recepticals will make it into the decor!

(the Chef's garden in Guysborough, filled with squash, mint, edible flowers and other such plants)

Finally, we met with Rita from Seaglass designs and designed our wedding bands! She's a sweet and kind lady who was very accomodating. We met her family and her dog and cat! I even got to sift through a ton of sea glass (really only a small portion of what

she had in her workspace!) and chose "mine" for my ring. A beautiful aqua mermaid's tear (sea glass) that was picked by her parents off the shores of Cape Breton. Sigh. So although the silver isn't recycled, it's hand made and the sea glass most definitely was "sustainably harvested" lol.

(Captain Golf Cart at your service!)

Update on the parental unit drama with the last name combination: after a week of daily "lecture" phone calls we kindly requested a pause for now, as the venue drama was enough stress. They have complied and Andrew had his first, non-awkward positive conversation with them today!

Blessings!

Article and photos authored by Eco Yogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Is your bum worthy or Ancient Forests and Bleach?

I was inspired to finally write this post by Grace, who reminded us about how seemingly tiny changes can make a difference to our Earth. Go on over and check out her two informative videos (and what do you think about the first interview from Fox??? Was it just me that wanted to shake her, just a little bit? Just a little itty bit?).

("furry" mountains on the drive between Vernon and Vancouver)

If you haven't been yet, this post is about TP. As in for your bum. As in Papier de Toilette. Can you imagine a world that didn't have TP? Where people used, cloths, leaves, or even... water?? It would seem that North Americans are pretty particular and leaders in the TP revolution that has taken on the world by storm in the past 100 years. For thousands of years humans poo'd and peed without the help of fancy, schmancy paper and then... the invention of "medicated paper" was introduced to the United States by Joseph Gayetty who worked extremely hard to convince Americans that wiping their bums with paper was actually a necessity.

Fast forward a hundred or so years and most North Americans couldn't even make it through a normal day without using toilet paper at least once or twice. Have you ever thought about where your toilet paper comes from? The tissue paper industry is a biggy, and according to Greenpeace, Kimberly-Clark (company that owns Cottonelle along with several other big companies) produces more than 4 million tons of tissue paper a year, and currently the majority of their products are made with virgin forests. Including the Ancient Canadian Boreal Forest.... which by clearcutting they devastate the forests biodiversity in plant and animal life. Anyone who has been or lived in BC recently will understand that monocultures can be dangerous. While living in Vernon Andrew and I witnessed firsthand the visual evidence of the pine beetles devasting destruction to BC's forests.... miles of orange pine trees, a monoculture wipe-out aided by warmer winters.

According to Greenpeace, Kimberly-Clark has just announced their new environmental policy concerning sustainable harvesting. Their goal: achieve 100% of their wood product from Certified Forest Stewardship Council forests by 2011.

According to Ecoholic, over 700 000 tons of disposable tissue products are thrown out/flushed in Canada every year, the average person going through about 100 rolls of TP per year. Also, those scary bisphenol A and other cancer-linked chemicals that we're avoiding in our water bottles and products? They have been found to be involved in our toilet paper as well (as if paper is ever REALLY that white naturally). Not to mention the amount of water, shipping and processing that goes into the process of creating those three-ply bum-wipes! (Ecoholic, Adria Vasil 2006).

(pine trees as far as the eye can see on the drive to Vancouver!)

Does my butt REALLY need to be wiped with ancient forests and bleached out chemical soaked paper? Really? Switching to TP made from recycled paper was a super easy solution and there are several companies out there that make fantastic alternatives. Seventh Generation has been one of our fav's... but Greenpeace has a fabulous table to help you wade through the ever present greenwashing poop to find the best eco-wipe!

OR you could be brave... and try cloth wipes. I really like the idea of using cloth wipes for number one, but I'm not too sure I'm ready for the poo-wipes... Please check out The Organic Sister's fantastic chronology of her journey into the cloth-wipe world. It's actually less scary sounding after the first few posts! Also, Crunchy Chicken has a bunch of fun posts about her journey as well!

Thank you so much Grace for giving us those fantastic tidbits of news from Greenpeace!

Article Authored by Eco Yogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com (eco-poo at it's best!)

Cotton Yoga Mat and Eco-Guilt-Voice

All this trying to connect with nature has led to my exposing my nice rubber mat to the sun. Not only are the sun's beautiful rays dangerous for our skin, but for our mats as well. I've been wrestling with options and alternatives and about two weeks ago just decided to suck it up and buy a cotton mat for practicing outside.

This is the unfortunate downside to natural rubber and well, not so natural, kinda eco-friendly TPE mats; the sun will break down the materials more quickly resulting in flaking. We all know how I love that. So, on a somewhat impulse buy (argh, I'm slowly getting that word out of my life), I stopped by at the lovely Bhavana Yoga Boutique and purchased a Halfmoon Hot Yoga Rug. This yoga "rug" is made from 100% cotton, in India, distributed by Canadian company Halfmoon and was only 30.00$. Almost immediately after I bought the mat I had the following eco-guilt moments running through my brain:

- Ugh, it's made in India- NOT in Canada. I wonder if it's responsibly created? That's kinda far to ship, all those fossil fuels just to get this mat here! Yuck.

- 100% cotton, NOT organic cotton. Non-organic cotton is a HUGE contributor to the CO2 clogging up our atmosphere. So much environmental pollution goes into cotton processing. I can't believe they don't offer this mat in organic cotton.

- the colours are SO pretty... but obviously made with chemically dyes. I wonder if it will "bleed" in the washer when I wash it? Ew, all those chemicals going into the Halifax sewer system (which will just overflow into the harbour since it's broken). Poor fishies sipping my mat's chemical soup.

- I should have waited and ordered a more eco-friendly Jute mat online.

So obviously this is the annoying danger that can occur if you start reading more about the intricacies of the environment... eco-guilt. My thoughts (which I kept silent, recognizing they were a bit too Eco-Crazy) are what I don't want to become: some over the top, I am THE greenest, Eco-phile in the ENTIRE WORLD.

So I kept the mat.

(check out GreenPhoneBooth's post on Overcoming Green Envy for a nice reminder that less is green!)

While at my parent's cottage I got the chance to try out my fun new mat while practicing yoga on the dock. I only brought my cotton mat so I wouldn't be tempted to cave and use my nice rubber mat and rolled it out next to Andrew's on the dock. After about one downward dog I realized that there was a reason why yogis loved these rugs for "hot" yoga- the more you sweat the more it will stick. So, I cupped my hands and dumped about four handfuls of lake water all over my mat. There. Much better.

Final verdict: Although not as sticky as my rubber mat, the hot yoga rug did do just fine once it was wet. I felt much more connected to the Earth (as the mat is thinner) and switching to Andrew's TPE mat felt weird and cushy. Almost like my practice had changed to something less natural and more "apart" from what yoga means to me. Something contrived.

I really didn't get the same comfort and ease in getting in and out of the postures, however, and had to work a LOT harder on not slipping in poses like Downward Dog. I felt myself wishing for something like soccer cleats on my fingers to keep my hands in place (weird image, I know).

Also- I didn't think and rolled up my cotton mat immediately after practice. This weekend it was still damp... EW. I need to let it air dry... and maybe wash it in the washing machine.

Another option for a natural fiber mat is Jute. I have never tried a Jute mat, but assume that it would be somewhat similar to my hot yoga mat experience. The cool thing about Jute (how DO you say it anyways?) is that it's a naturally pest resistant plant, so no pesticides are necessary in growing and harvesting it! It's also completely biodegradable (as it's a plant) and renewable. I can't seem to find any good information on whether or not it's sustainably harvested (think bamboo drama with cutting down rainforests to grow bamboo). According to Wiki, India is the largest harvest-or of Jute at 2 140 000 tonnes as of June 2008 and women and children mostly do the processing. I'm assuming that issues of Fair Trade and safe labour most likely come into play in this situation as well.

Barefoot Yoga Company has a rubber and jute yoga mat mix- which looks fantastically cool. This mat combines the sticky of rubber and the sustainability of jute to create a theoretically sustainable mat. I say theoretically because adding the rubber also adds the question of whether the sun will naturally begin to break down the rubber. Finding reviews of Jute mats are difficult, most likely because they aren't as popular with yogi/nis. In any case, this mat would be my best bet on a Jute mat, however I WILL resist my societal brainwashed urge to consume :)

Have any of you eco-yogi/ni's used or do use a Jute/Cotton mat? What do you think?

Blessings!

authored by Eco Yogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

MeMe Award and Music!

The wonderful Grace over at Graceful Yoga and Simplicity (don't you ADORE her new blog title???) gave me this fun MeMe award. She shared some fun tidbits about herself over at her blog- go check it out! I think kayaking on the west coast next to Killer Whales would be awesome, and I agree that I would also probably pee my pants lol.

I think it's funny that it's called a MeMe award. About a month ago I finally caved and asked Andrew what the heck was this thing called a Meme? Being Francophone I assumed it meant "the same".... um no. Andrew being the patient guy that he is, looked up the official definition of MeMe on Wikipedia and as the nerds that we are we spent a bit of time laughing at previous Meme's of the past. Actually, I'm still not 100% sure what a MeMe is exactly, sadly I am not "hip" in the computer-bloggy lingo.

In any case, this award entitles me to share 7 tidbits about myself with you, my lovely eco-warriors! Although 7 tidbits would be fun, being the "rebel" that I try to be I thought I'd give you one HUGE tidbit. A song. I wrote this one while living in Montreal, the first winter while staring at my computer background that had those yellow tulips. I had been going through a rough patch with my then-boyfriend who was living in Fredericton NB (longdistance was the story of my life for about four years...).

Last night, after watching "Dead Poet's Society" on the outside screen at the Halifax Pier (while the moon rose over the harbour) and having drunk WAY too much red wine, I got Andrew to record me singing. I made myself listen to a few this morning... before grimacing and deleting them all. I thought I sounded WAY better than I did lol. So- I gathered up random bits of courage (I've never exposed my music this way before!) and got him to try again. The lighting is pretty terrible, but actually it makes me feel less exposed... so I'm all for not being able to actually see myself very well!

Now to pass along this award to 7 fun bloggers!

1. Dr. Jay over at Yoga for Cynics: for your awesome posts that confuse me and make me think at the same time. Also, I feel smart after reading them and understanding about 80% some days! And the comments that you leave on my blog ALWAYS make me laugh :)

2. Roseanne from It's all yoga baby: I've been enjoying reading your thoughtful and thought provoking posts on yoga and the industry. You always post something fresh and new! Plus you are from Montreal- how I miss that city.

3. Sharper from Rootless Tree: for your honesty and candor in sharing your yoga-newness journey.

4. Caroline from Caroline's Crayons: I adore your art! It is always moving, honest and beautiful.

5. Mandy from Yoga Addicted: cuz you practiced yoga on ROLLERSKATES! So cool.

6. Flo from Southern Yogi: for your bravery and passion in standing up with integrity and grace when a serious "troll" commenter left that negative comment on your beautiful blog. I admire you.

7. To all my readers, really I don't like choosing only a few blogs out of all those that I read. There are such wonderful things about all of them! I give this award to all of you :)

Blessings!