Non-Attachment and Outdoor Yoga Obsession

Recently I have been reading a lot of beautiful, moving posts about non-attachment and letting go. Lolly Knitting Around's post was inspiring. A surprising one was Om Shanti's "Too Hot or Too Cold?" post regarding yogi/ni students' expectations and attachment. One that I can relate with often. As I become more confident in my practice and who I am as a person, it has been easier to get back out there and challenge myself to try new studios, new instructors or new yoga styles (re: hot yoga). I have been trying to find positive aspects to all of these practices, whether or not my final decision is that it may just not be for me.           (view from the top of the Fort today)

I also find myself viewing my practice, my classes and other students differently as I grow. For example, sometimes I find myself silently analyzing another student's yoga postures and compare their ability to mine. This has only begun to occur recently, as I've always struggled with almost each and every pose. Even child's pose was difficult. Now that some of the postures are coming more easily, I hear these small niggling "nyah nyah" thoughts in the back of my mind! I have to remember how far I've come and how far I have to go, Humility needs to be reinstated.                            (my quick Warrior II and DownDog)

Today was the perfect day to begin practicing non-attachment. I have been looking forward to another "Guerilla Yoga" experience since Saturday. Today will be the only warm day all week (mid-high twenties...celcius) and I was very excited to walk to the commons and practice with friends after work. My first lesson in letting go- the guys preferred practicing in the more private park. So off we went to Point Pleasant Park again, I decided to look forward to the beautiful ocean view from on top of the fort. However, we arrived and it was so windy even my heavy rubber mat was being lifted off the cement. Upon closer inspection, someone had broken a green Peller Estates tiny single wine bottle on top... Sigh. Beautiful tiny green sparkles threatened my feet and mat. So after a few pictures and gusts of powerful ocean wind, I climbed down and accepted yoga in mounds of worm poo.

Although the practice was less exhilirating, it became a more centered and calming practice. Camel and pigeon were easier on my knees and the wind still dipped through the grove. I felt strong and happy. We even had a few minute quiet meditative reflection at the end of our practice and the feel of the wind, the sound of the ocean and even the distant traffic sounds were more centering than any meditative music played during class (or quiet for that matter). (Andrew being weirded out cuz I wanted him in the picture in our actual yoga space below).

Today I practiced non-attachment surrounded by beauty I've vowed to try to protect.

Blessings!

Guerilla Yoga and Weekend Ponderings

Outside yoga- the ULTIMATE eco yogic experience. Although spring has been slow to gather up speed here in Halifax, finally this weekend the temperature creeped up to 20 degrees (celcius). While living in BC I used to practice yoga outside often- either on the dock on Kalamalka Lake (picture on the right) or our decks. All winter I have been waiting rather impatiently for outside yoga and yesterday we had our opportunity!

We met up with friends Kevin and Heather at Point Pleasant Park (they bicycled, Eco-warriors with their yoga mats attached!) and wandered around trying to find the perfect yoga spot. Our hope was to eventually wander upon Fort Ogilvie, a particular section of the park that has a nice flat grassy area. We actually found the area, but unfortunately it was sectioned off due to "mushy" grass... The neat part of Fort Ogilvie is that it was actually used as a protective Fort for Halifax a few hundred years ago. The canons and brick/cement "fort" are still intact in this part of the park! We decided after a few minutes to be rebels... GASP. I was a little nervous, I'm not really a rebel! But this part of the park was quiet, no one was around and that fort looked SUPER flat, perfect actually for some wonderful yoga practice. The Fort is accessible from the back up a sloping hill and overlooks the harbour and beautiful ocean. It also has a pretty big "Keep Off" sign on the front lol. The ultimate guerilla yoga experience!

In any case, we climbed up on the top, kept far away from the edges and practiced while the sailboats floated by and birds chirped overhead. It was the best yoga experience I have had since we moved to Halifax in July. The ocean wind kept the sun from becoming too hot and brought such a feeling of connectedness with the quiet. Andrew, Kevin and Heather's mats being light and PVC, however, kept being swept up with the wind so our asanas flowed through mostly wide-legged standing postures ending with a peaceful Ohm. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home, and although the guys reported that someone passing by took a picture of Heather and I during High Lunge-twist, I have none... Next time!

Practicing Yoga while feeling the wind slip over my postures and listening to the sound through the trees is my absolute most blissful experience. 

On another "eco" note- my container garden is progressing! We planted the garlic, peas and carrots a few weekends ago and have been keeping them inside until they've sprouted. We also bought a new recycled fiber container to replace the horribly combusted "biodegradable" Zellers planters. Doesn't the garlic look fabulous I cannot wait to eat produce that we've grown ourselves. :)

We also went walking downtown today, it's super muggy, 68% humidity with a ton of wind. Funny how the wind remains humid as well. Our destination: the Smiling Goat Café Organic Espresso Bar (we're not very good at walking just to walk). This was the coffee shop where I had first encountered the "bioplastic" coffee cups that are not actually "compostable" in HRM's municipal composting facility (or your backyard compost). The barista informed me that they were making a statement for Halifax's composting system- if they get enough "bioplastic" then they will have to update their systems! Right. In any case, they have now switched to recyclable plastic (as opposed to sending these "compostable" cups to the landfills). My yummy fair trade organic iced-mocha was fantastic with it's truely biodegradable straw (which actually will compost in a regular system). 

While drinking our coffee I glanced through the Halifax's Green Guide. This always irks me, as many supposedly "green" options (i.e. Lush, Aveda) are represented here. There was an interesting interview with a Waste Management representative who indicated that these "compostable" cup-statements that have been flooding the recycling system have been very problematic recently as they are virtually indistinguishable from regular plastic cups. As a result, they are processed and essential "ruin" the end product, decreasing it's value and as a result, being thrown into the landfill. Another reason why "reduce" is more important than "recycle".

On our return it had clouded over, the wind moving the clouds so quickly in our Maritime sky and I saw this lonesome blackbird, chirping on the wire. I just managed to catch her on film before she flew away. 

Blessings!

Let Them Eat Fake

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays! Hosted by Food Renegade!

This post is written by my wonderful Fiancé Andrew! Thank you very much for a Sociological perspective on supplements :)

This is modified from a paper my buddy Lee-Ann and I wrote for a sociology of food class we took back in BC. Mad props to Lee-Ann who actually still had a copy of it!

There is a lot more to say about supplements, but I don’t have enough time or space to say it all. Everything I have written is about concerns regarding supplements in a sociological sense. We didn’t even attempt to tackle some of the scientific issues, such as absorption inhibition. I hope that this is informative and makes your multivitamins just a little harder to swallow.

I think it’s fair to say that we have all eaten supplements. They can be found everywhere, in pills, powder, and in the food we buy at the supermarket. The idea that a person can stay healthy or actually improve their health through supplement use is a message we receive from the industry and health care professionals every day. Scientists and lobbyists have created a need for what is misunderstood by many to be a replacement for eating well. The need that has been created to sell these supplements associates sickness with not taking them, and fear of chronic illness or deficiency play an important role in their consumption.

In the supplement industry, health experts create new terms meant to invoke particular feelings toward supplements. In 1989, for example, a medical expert coined the term “nutraceutical” in reference to “isolated nutrients, dietary supplements, herbal products, and processed products such as cereal, soups, and beverages” (Andlauer & Furst, 2002, p. 171). This term is rich with meaning as it melds ideas of nutrition (nutra) with disease treatment (pharmaceutical). It conveys a message that nutraceutical products are foods that prevent dis-ease, a powerful marketing technique that speaks to long, happy, pain-free lives.

A “supplemental consciousness” creates a particular perception of food-in-a-pill that supports consumerism. The way consumers think cultivates the desire to purchase nutraceuticals. Fischler (1980) argued that contemporary mainstream urban Western eating habits are marked by time-smart, individualistic consumption patterns that replace leisurely group meals with snacking. The rise of this fast food mentality is linked to food simplification and to the nutraceutical industry. The dominant consumer discourse generates knowledge that reduces food into its component parts for marketing purposes. This simplification of food, results in a belief that food’s fragments are more important than the whole food itself. For example, milk is consumed for its calcium, bananas for potassium, and oranges for vitamin C. When we think this way, we can feel good about taking a calcium supplement in lieu of a glass of milk. This distorted perception works to limit our consumption to foods that contain the nutrients we think we need according to the experts. Our food becomes shrouded in mysticism. This simplification of food represents the transition from eating and thinking about whole foods to the use of supplements and the underlying belief that we no longer need to eat to eat.

When we conscious consumers visit a health food store, we want something that defines itself as “natural”. This brings forth thoughts of purity, and of products unaltered, untreated, and undisguised. Conversely, “unnatural” symbolizes all things contrived, invented, artificial, or polluted. Based on the above definitions, nutraceuticals are anything but natural. Even the word “nutraceutical” or “supplement” falls outside the scope of the natural because they are invented words that refer to un-food— they do not sustain life on their own. Raw, “natural” materials are harvested, processed, packaged, and marketed; their artificiality can hardly be argued.

Bagchi (2006) outlines several regulatory challenges of ensuring “natural” product quality such as how the raw materials are gathered, processed, and packaged. Each of these stages in product development can vary widely, which can directly affect the final result. For example, “the manufacturing processes, use of solvents/additives, purification and drying techniques, and storage conditions may play a major role on the occurrence of significant amount of contaminants, pesticides, microorganisms, heavy metals, toxic chemicals or solvent residues in the [natural health product]” (2006, p. 2). The complexities inherent in creating food in medicinal form are conveniently swept aside in the pretty displays in your local health food store. Neat rows of gleaming logos and clearly priced items obfuscate the rampant confusion that lies behind the label.

As an experiment, Lee-Ann and I went to a local health food store and asked the employees where their supplements came from. Employee referred us to employee until the supervisor herself admitted that she had no idea where most of these products were assembled or where the raw herbs and spices were grown and harvested. The pill or bottle becomes a puzzle as consumers cease to recognize that the commodity is a social relation -  the nutraceutical bottles we examined did not encourage concern regarding the working conditions of the people whose labour is used to harvest these products, but encouraged us to turn inward and consider our own, individual “journey to better health.”

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch... A Nurdle-y Creation

In keeping with plastic being catastrophically horrible Andrew and I quickly made the switch to reusable bags. Our problem, easily, was remembering to bring a bag for groceries (this is still challenging actually!). Carrying those large, cumbersome bags to the grocery store was annoying. Also, as soon as we'd leave a few bags in the car, they would get brought inside, upstairs to our apartment and put away after the groceries were unpacked... never to return to the car AGAIN.

Plastic has permeated our lives and except for those which are incinerated, every single bit of plastic EVER created still exists today. Every Single Bit (The World Without Us; Alan Weisman). Plastic gets broken down into tiny bead sized bits called "nurdles" and are being ingested by fish in every ocean on the planet. Yum. What about recycling you say? Unfortunately, plastics are usually recycled into one-use only products that can then no longer be recycled (downcycling as plastic degrades with each recycling). Unless stated, all plastic that you are purchasing is virgin plastic that will live on forever. Although a step, recycling plastic only delays the inevitable. Further, most municipalities only accept certain numbers or types of plastic. Halifax ONLY accepts #1 and #2 plastics. You put all plastic in the bag anyway you say? I truly do not believe that the recycling plant workers who have to sort through thousands of blue bags actually check each and every bottle for the recycling number, keeping those that are a "go" and throwing the rest away. You can assume that if a bag contains non-recyclable plastic (like yogurt containers) that the ENTIRE bag is thrown into the landfill/dump. The best step- reduce your consumption of plastic. (For a more indepth and informed discussion on plastic- check out Fake Plastic Fish's blog here for a nice rundown of "why plastic is bad" and her stellar link "The 7 Misconceptions About Plastic and Plastic Recycling).

Finally, the ocean garbage patch. Ugh. David Suzuki estimates that it's 620 000 square kilometres (20 times the size of Vancouver Island) and 30 metres deep. Of garbage and plastic. Plastic diapers, toothbrushes, bags... Plastic in our ocean doesn't really decay- it can last up to a 1000 years, but then scientists aren't exactly sure... it degrades SO slowly that after half a century we still can't get an accurate measure. These tiny plastic nurdles are mistaken to be zooplankton by Lantern Fish, and outnumber zooplankton 6 to 1. Yup. Those chemical leaching, oil soluble plastic nurdles being gobbled up by fish, accumulating all the way the food chain to us (David Suzuki Foundation and "Waves of Disaster" by Roberta Staley). (pic- Me fishing for nurdle-filled mackerel on my father's lobster boat, Atlantic Ocean. Note the constant fog).

Alright. So this info (only the tip of the plastic-y mountain) results in some major reluctance around using anything plastic. In order to help us remember to actually HAVE a reusable bag, we needed something other than those awkward, annoying big bags. 

Cue- "Flip and Tumbles". No matter how many reusable bags you own, if they are always left at home they aren't being very useful. Flip and Tumbles are these cute little bags that fold up into small compact two inch balls that fit into your purse! They're kinda like Popples (for those of us that remember them!). The bags are made from nylon (ugh- another plastic!) but are recyclable (and if not in your home town, the designers will recycle those shipped back to them). I was a little nervous about trying them, another gimmick to get me to buy (and I am internet ordering jinxed!) but we have seriously used these bags hundreds of times since we bought them. They are SO easy to just roll up (and FUN) and throw into my purse, or Andrew's bookbag. For those spontaneous shopping moments, like when I remember randomly that we need more toilet paper, and haven't actually planned a shopping trip; we have bags! Also, they are much easier to carry with you on quick small grocery shopping event. I LOVE mine :)

The next and on-par with my life altering DivaCup purchase, were my pog-sacs by Lioli. You can read about them here, but truly they have changed my grocery shopping experience. Here I was with my reusable bags, filled with plastic produce bags. So annoying. Although I started just placing the produce straight into the bag, with organic produce, contamination can be an issue. Plus, sometimes I wanted a BUNCH of carrots. These little cotton mesh and solid bags (unlike the nylon=plastic ones I was seeing everywhere in Halifax) are unbleached, fair-labour and easily washable. They allow your produce to breathe easier in the fridge than the plastic does- so it will last longer. Until now Lioli was the only company I was aware of that was Canadian owned. 

Until... CREDO. Credo bags are a Montreal based company who makes mesh cotton produce bags... wait... IN Canada!! They even offer 100% certified organic produce mesh bags! For those Haligonians out there, these bags are sold at P'Lovers in the ParkLane Mall. However, when I checked for a certification seal on the tags there were none to be found. The website also doesn't divulge any third party certification seals and with all the greenwashing going on recently surrounding false certification seals this is a little off. **UPDATE: please read Judy, Owner of Credo Bags' comment below regarding certification of organic mesh bags! Thank you Judy!** 

Also, I LOVE my solid Lioli bags, as I place bulk organic rice, grains, peas, bean sprouts etc in them. No solid bags are available through Credo.

Two small steps and my "Nurdle" Impact or NI has decreased!

Blessings! (and Happy Earth Everyday!)

Bug Yoga

Ok I need to confess. I am not truly a fantastic EcoYogini... I am on a journey, but today this train has stalled...

This weekend I was very excited, FINALLY, about our wonky "CSA" (that has been bringing us Cal-Organic produce with "Pete's Frootique" stickers stuck to them). We had local organic lettuce, parsnips, yam AND carrots!!! WOO! I was so excited, the lettuce looked YUM, really I couldn't wait to have salad.

So today, being Monday I was PUMPED to have salad. Yummy, local salad. Took out the salad....... and saw a little crawly caterpillar. Ok. I can handle that. Like I have said before, lettuce comes from the soil, that has worms. There were about three other little crawly caterpillars, also- I can handle them too! YES, I can handle THREE caterpillars. I thought perhaps I should inspect this magical local lettuce more closely... and saw dozens of tiny, almost indistinguishable green bugs crawling on EACH LEAF. Oh dear. No. Not every leaf??? My stomach turned. They had EGGS. I composted the entire head of romaine lettuce. I am so ashamed to say this- it was the most wasteful thing I have done in a long time (well other than drink starbucks this weekend, THAT was wasteful too). Sigh. No salad. And I am wasteful.

Confession numero deux: I punked out of yoga tonight. Since I was "sans" yoga all weekend, I was going to try the "hot" yoga class at BreathingSpace studio tonight. But I didn't. I just didn't feel like it. At the same time, I didn't feel like doing yoga because I was tired and annoyed about the bugs in my lettuce. It was probably for the best since I am not a fan of "hot" yoga in general. Perhaps what I should do is some yoga later on tonight at home. Some gear down, sleepy time yoga to help calm my nerves.

Confession numero trois: I am currently drinking a Guiness out of my McGill University mug. And I'm enjoying it.

The Poop on Bioplastics

This post is part of Fight Back Friday's! Hosted by Food Renegade. :)

Plastic is such a dirty word in the "ecosphere" but often so difficult to avoid in our everyday practice. It's just so durable and useful in how we function. A few years ago I heard of something called "bio-plastic" and was amazed. "Plastic" made from plant product that biodegrades?? What a fantastic idea! Now I can feel good about taking that iced-mocha to go in a bioplastic cup! However, just like everything, the more you look into the reality of bioplastic, the more complicated the truth.

First of all, exactly what is bioplastic anyway? The word "Bioplastic" itself is traditionally used to mean a plastic derived from a biological source and does NOT necessarily mean compostable or even biodegradable. Bioplastics can be derived from vegetable oil, pea starch or microbiota, and the most common; corn starch. There are different kinds of bioplastics- some are more durable than others (i.e. bioplastic bags vs planters). The more durable bioplastics generally tend to either be not compostable or more difficult to compost. Bioplastics are often considered more sustainable because they do not rely as heavily on petroleum and use potentially renewable sources (like potatoes). Here's a quick rundown of the different kinds of plastics:

1. Starch Based Plastics (50% of the bioplastic market)- where common starches (like corn starch) has flexibilisers and plasticisers added in order to increase thermo-processing. Common plasticisers in other plastics are phtalates... however bioplastics may use sorbital or glycerine.

2.Polylactide Acid Plastics (PLA); these are your ice-mocha transparant plastic containers most often produced from corn starch. The chemical process seems complex to my non-chemistry brain...

3. Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB); a polyester produced by certain bacteria processing glucose or starch and is biodegradable without residue.

4. Polyamide 11; derived from natural oils, is not biodegradable but considered more sustainable that conventional plastic. Used for pneumonic airbrake tubing, sports shoes, catheters etc. (catheters etc??.... lol).

5. Bio-derived polyethylene; derived from ethanol and is chemically and physically identical to non-bioderived polyethylene: it's not biodegradable but can be recycled. The difference: bio-derived polyethylene is not a petroleum product (like plastic shopping bags). (wiki)

Who knew that there were so many different bioplastic types out there?? Having all these options for more sustainable plastics is great but does choosing a bioplastic over a non-plastic truly make for a better "eco" choice?

Although more sustainable, plastics made from corn starch or other agricultural species still require energy to grow and process. The corn starch used for bioplastics is not usually organically grown corn, thus bioplastic made from corn continues to support an industry that uses pesticides and a lot of fossil fuel. Also, the majority of North American corn is in some way genetically modified and owned by Monsanto (a huge seed corporation and manufacturer of agent orange).

The most pressing issue with bioplastics is the definition of "compostable vs biodegradable". Just because something is said to be biodegradable does not mean that you can put it in your home and municipal compost bin. There are currently no true standards for use of the term "biodegradable" in the market. By definition, biodegradable is something that is able to be broken down by biological agents such as bacteria. However, many products will eventually break down when exposed to sunlight; key word: eventually. Some petrochemical plastics are even considered "biodegradable" as they do slowly breakdown!

Many bioplastics that we see in our everyday world (like the transparent iced-mocha containers) are of the PLA type and require intense heat and processing to "compost". In this sense, if I left one of those cups in my covered compost bin, not exposed to sunlight or the high levels of heat needed to biodegrade.... it would take a looooong time. The same applies to putting this bioplastic in with garbage destined for the landfill/dump. Wrapped in plastic bags without exposure to oxygen, water or sunlight these products will not biodegrade in any short period of time.

Ok, so you can't put these plastics into your home compost bin, but say you live in a city like I do where you have a municipal composting program. As I quickly discovered, there is no guarantee that your municipal program will be able to process these bioplastics either. Although many local coffee shops (Smiling Goat, Just Us!) offer "compostable" coffee to-go cups, Halifax does NOT currently have the facilities to process these bioplastics. Essentially, they are being thrown out into the landfills. These cups are still advertised by staff and signs at Just Us! as being compostable... even though when confronted employees sheepishly admit that this in fact isn't the case.

This also applies to something like Jo-Sha "biodegradable" yoga mat wipes, which would also require high energy/heat to actually compost. Just tossing the wipe into your compost bin won't actually allow the wipe to decompose. Also, Jo-Sha has other ingredients in their wipes, including parabens... Not something I'd want in my soil. Also, yoga mats made from TPE (thermoplastic elastomers) like Lululemon's or Halfmoon also claim to be "biodegradable" but cannot be placed into your compost bin. (for more info on exactly what TPE is made of check out my eco-mat post :) ).

Although technology is producing exciting, more sustainable alternatives to plastic, unfortunately "bioplastics" are still very misleading. Instead of hoping the bioplastic will compost, look into whether there is an industrial composting facility nearby. Be ready to expose your bioplastic to a lot of sunlight allowing it the months it may need to biodegrade in your yard. Or, simply try to use alternatives to plastic like glass that is easily recycled. A quick update on my "biodegradable" planters; within 12 hours of having soil and water they completely fell apart! Now I have no idea what to do with them...

Knowledge is power and the ability to make the best "eco" choice available :)

Blessings!

Ohming to Religious Bliss?

Lululemon. Just the name of the formerly Vancouverite company (sadly bought out by American shares) evokes an image of corporate yoga at it's best. The store exudes easy-peasy spiritual catch-alls and fluffy representations of what yoga attempts to achieve: spiritual connection. On Monday Andrew and I attended a free yoga class at Lulu led by Sherry from Breathing Space (one of the main reasons we attended... that and it was free). I always have weird feelings walking into a Lulu store, from wanting to point out that "boob enhancing" straps do NOT belong in a yoga store to asking the salespeople if they really feel that the Chinese factory workers displayed wearing pink matching bandanas are REALLY happy... (btw, have you SEEN their new website? blegh).

In any case, my entire self-righteous, Lululemon is a sell-out, corporate, non-eco company mindset is logically followed by what I believe yoga SHOULD be about. Which leads to a bit of spiritual confusion. From my understanding of the historical perspective, yoga was practiced by young men (mostly Hindu in culture and religion) in order to attain physical strength to lengthen their meditation practices. The goal was; through asana (physical postures) they would achieve a connection with the Divine. Therefore, the ultimate goal of Yoga is to bring us closer to the Divine. 

Initially, I viewed yoga as a very broad, encompassing spirituality that wasn't attached to any specific organized religion. However, a quick read of something as Westernized as the "Yoga Journal" and you'll find quotes from the Bhagavad Gita; a Hindu scripture or explanations of various Hindu god/desses. Once I moved to Halifax it seemed like these quotes and readings were much more prominent than any other area I had lived and practiced yoga. Scriptures are quoted frequently, Krishna and Vishnu are mentioned often. As part of the yoga teacher training for Breathing Space studio the students are required to read the Bhagavad Gita, along with other spiritual interpretations. (Saraswati pic)

Krishna Das, a moving Kirtan singer is often played during yoga classes here in Halifax. I actually bought one of his cd's, his singing and chanting of sacred sanskrit prayers sound so beautiful. However, one of my favourite yoga instructors plays one of his songs during each and every savasana. Savasana has always been difficult for me, I am so anxious that it took two entire years of practice before I felt comfortable enough to close my eyes. Trying to meditate while listening to English words is difficult.... especially when the song is "Yes God Is Real" (Krishna Das's interpretation of a traditional Christian Gospel):

There are some things I may not know
There are some places, dear Lord, I may not go.
But there's one thing of which I'm sure
My God is real for I can feel him in my soul

Well, yes God real, real in my soul
Yes God is real for He has watched and made me whole
His love for me shines like pure gold
Yes God is real for I can feel Him in my soul

Admittedly, I think the song itself is beautiful. However, as a non-Christian, non-monotheistic and non-"male" believer (ahem; "Goddessian") trying to meditate while listening to these lyrics was grating. I wasn't there to be "converted", I was there to connect with my Goddess and her Divinity through yoga. Krishna Das and HIS god were interfering. By the end of savasana I was so tense it was ridiculous. I decided to use this as part of my yoga "let go" practice. This was helpful, but truly the experience made me stop and consider whether I was truly deluding myself in the patriarchal connections with yoga and history. It is something I've been on the fence about whether I want more spirituality during practice or less. (For a more indepth examination of Hinduism and patriarchy, refer to "Chapter 5: A religious State: India", in "From Eve to Dawn Vol I" by Marilyn French).

At the same time, I LOVE Ohms during yoga. Chanting and opening three of my chakras through vibrational thoracic and pharyngeal changes is such a beautiful way to begin my practice. The first three Ohms in all classes feel so disjointed and disconnected; such an auditory example of how as urbanites we are so apart from each other. After practicing yoga together for over an hour the final three Ohms are always in harmony. The sense of community and connection is made obvious by the beautifully matched chanting. Sadly, there has been no Ohming in Halifax except for my friend-yoga sessions in our apartment. All our friends felt weird at first, but being assured that they by no means had to participate, after two sessions even awesome hockey K. was ohming it up.

I am definitely formulating and growing in what I hope yoga to be for me, while trying to respect what yoga was meant to achieve. I have no interest in changing asana names (like Christian-yoga practitioners) nor would I like yoga to be devoid of all aspects of spirituality. However, I do wonder if being "spiritual but not religious" can be accurately represent a discipline that uses holy scriptures and deities from an organized religion. What do you think eco-yogi/nis?

Blessed Be )0(

Lobster Chowder+Yoga Class= UGH

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays! Hosted by Food Renegade

Having spent parts of Easter weekend at home with my parents it was great to be surrounded by ocean, crazy wind and lobsters. Fishing was a part of almost every single conversation, it was fantastic. I walked into the house and dad had about a dozen lobsters alive on the front step in a crate and another six or so already being steamed on the stove. Mom was a little miffed that he had brought so many, but dad gives lobsters and the meat as gifts during holiday seasons. So, mom was relegated to shelling dozens of lobsters before our pork meal was to be prepared... I got to stand next to her and eat my favourite part- the legs. I offered to help, but really I am so much slower than she is at shelling lobsters. At my house we never ate lobsters straight out of the shell- way too much work for a meal. We always had them creamed or in a chowder... yum!

Of course I got about four lobsters worth of meat to bring back with me and so I made a chowder tonight. Lobster chowder is my favourite way to have lobster and I thought I'd share my easy easy recipe with you!

First; three tips on shelling lobsters that I had to learn by calling my mother:

what you need: A VERY sharp and large knife (think chopping knife), a fork, a rolling pin/jam jar, a small shelling scooper dealy (comes with kits- a long thin instrument will work too).

1. The claws have a sweet spot, trust me. Take your knife, turn the claw "palm up" and (after taking the small "thumb" off) chop between the "thumb" joint and the end. The claw should crack right down the middle and snap apart... if your knife is sharp enough.

2. Twist the tail off, then twist the little fan part at the end off. Take the tail, "face up" in your hand and with your fork hook into the 'belly' and pull the tail out.

3. The leg meat is the BEST part (along with the knuckles of the claws). An easy way to get the meat out is to take a rolling pin/jam jar and roll along the legs, squishing the meat out! mmmm.

Ok! NOW you are ready to make an awesome chowder!!

Ingredients for a small chowder that would serve four people:

Four Organic Potatoes

One Organic Onion

About four tails/claws lobster meat

three cloves of organic garlic

1/4 cup of butter 

1 litre of 10% cream and some milk.

First: chop up the potatoes into 1cm cubes until they cover about an inch of the chowder pot. Add 

just enough water to cover them (butter if you want too) and boil. Add a whole (halved OR chopped up if you want, I just don't like onions... lol).

Fry the lobsters in butter and pressed garlic. Make sure when you are 

cutting the lobsters up in cubes that you clean out the tail. As you can see in the picture, the tail has a little peely part that reveals their... ummm... poo tract. Make sure you clean out the digestive matter prior to cutting (the same goes for frozen lobsters. Nothing is worse than seeing frozen black poo in the middle of a piece!). Once they are golden brown they are ready!

Add some cream to the lobsters and allow the butter and lobster "juice" to mix together (haha, can you tell I'm not the "chef" in the household??). 

When the potatoes are mushy (or cooked), drain a bit of the water and dump the fried lobsters and cream into the pot. Add all the cream and if there is some room (and you ran out of cream) add some milk. Which is what I usually do. Some people add grated cheddar cheese, which adds thickness. Personally I find it tastes UBER fattening. Add the rest of the butter, and season to taste. 

Voila! A sustainable, seafood meal that will impress your guests and should only take 30 minutes! (after shelling of course). 

Of course we ate our chowder and are now going to a yoga class... Cream probably wasn't the best choice for someone of my "iffy" digestive skills... LOL. Thank goodness we have two hours between!

Blessings!

Hypnotized Lobsters; Considering Eco-ability

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays! Hosted by Food Renegade :)

With all this talk recently of how to stay an Omnivore and eat sustainably, seafood often seems to be coming out on top. We have an idea how chicken, pork and cattle meat can substantially increase 

our carbon footprint and affect our health (antibiotics and synthetic chemicals etc). Seafood, especially gathered from local fishermen, is our fall back to feeling like we are making the right choice.

My favourite seafood of all time is lobster. I LOVE lobster. Being the daughter of a lobster fishermen in the most abundant area of Atlantic Lobster in the world I was fortunate enough to grow up eating lobster weekly. I know a lot about lobster and lobster fishing. Really, most people just don't care about the random bits of lobster information that I have in my head. Did you know that you can hypnotize a lobster by setting it on it's head and rubbing it's back??? True story. Living in Nova Scotia you would think that buying lobster would be the sustainable choice. Unfortunately the truth isn't that simple and I thought I'd share a bit of what I know with you to help inform your lobster buying decisions. :)

Let's start with regions and boring money stuff. District 34 is a fishing area off the shore of Yarmouth/Digby area in Nova Scotia and is considered one of (if not THE) most lucrative lobster industry in the world. There are 972 fishermen who hold licences in this district, and the majority of Atlantic lobsters sold around the world were caught here. Even Maine lobsters... GASP. Yup, many lobsters that are labeled as "Maine" lobsters were caught here, sold to Maine and afterwards considered a "Maine" lobster. I've heard that Maine was taking steps to help prevent this- but ask for more details when purchasing.

Lobster fishing licenses in District 34 can cost as couple hundred thousand dollars and are not able to be passed from father to son for free. Boats cost from 300 thousand to a million, depending on where you fish (inside vs outside). Each Captain with a license gets a certain amount of tags (or quota) which allots them a certain amount of traps they can fish, around 400 a year. Each trap can cost 100$ or more, with about 100 traps to be replaced each year. 

Ok, we have determined that lobster fishing costs a lot of money for the fisherman so you'd think that the price you're paying at the store or restaurant reflects this... Unfortunately, there are a LOT of similarities between Michael Pollan's farming description of political price control and the lobster industry. Fishermen in District 34 sell to their Co-Op, who then sells to a buyer, who sells... you get the picture. This year fishermen were getting as low as 2.50$lb during the time when they most needed to make a profit (the first two weeks of fishing).

So lets talk sustainability of lobster fishing in District 34 (where chances are your lobster came from). Lobster fishing season in District 34 is from November until May. These fishermen are fishing during the coldest and most dangerous seas of the year in order to attempt to regulate lobster population. In summer months lobsters have babies and shed their hard shells. They also move more inshore due to water temperature. In the winter months lobster move to deeper waters (which stay warmer) and usually have harder shells. I say usually because "offshore" lobsters fished by huge fishing boats can have softer shells and less meat resulting in a weaker market. When buying lobsters ask if they are offshore or inshore- it really makes a difference.

David Suzuki (a leading Canadian environmentalist) has many links on his website regarding how to make a sustainable seafood choice. Seachoice.org rates Atlantic lobster as being the best choice and has a pdf article stating their research. The article is three years old and comments mostly on sustainability of population (good) and risk to ocean floor and other sealife (reasonably good). The article is really in depth and interesting... if you like reading about lobster fishing lol. From a "front line" perspective though, these past two years lobster yields have been dismally low. Fishermen are starting to wonder about population numbers and sustainability.

Other checklists that state Atlantic lobster as "best choice" are: Seafood Watch (which has more international info), Ocean Wise (which has sustainable restaurant info). David Suzuki's own "State of the Catch" has comprehensive info on Pacific Coast seafoods.

All this is great and I'm all for supporting local fishermen (my dad and brother especially!) but I do recognize that there is a lot more involved to making a truly eco-friendly choice than simply population density and by-catch risk. Here are a few more bits of info to consider when purchasing a lobster as an "eco" choice.

Mandated seasons help control overfishing and this year the fishermen are not permitted to fish on Sundays (most of the older generation didn't fish on Sunday anyway). Traps are easier on the ocean floor than dragging (scallops) although I'm sure Alli from Ocean Treasures could comment more on the real result of lobster traps (she's a marine biologist!). Due to high winds during winter months traps are beaten up pretty badly and need to be replaced. Many of these traps are lost on the ocean floor forever or just thrown into the landfill/dump (yes Nova Scotia still has dumps). Lobster traps are made from wire (with a rubbery-plastic coating), two cement blocks for weight, nylon netting to trap the lobster and bungee cord to keep the trap shut. So if on average each licence holder (Captain) lost 20 traps a year, that would be 19 440 traps accumulating on the ocean floor a year. Also, we need to think about all the miles of nylon rope that is used every year- loads and loads of plastic nurdles accumulating with the traps. Attached to these trawls of traps (with 4-10 per trawl) are buoys made from a funny styrofoam substance and repainted with lead paint every single year.

Lastly, boats use a LOT of fuel each day to steam out to their traps. This can range from 500$ worth of fuel a DAY for an inshore fishermen to much more for those fishing offshore and making two to three day trips. The final aspect and most obvious one, the further away you live from the Atlantic, the more fuel it has taken to get your lobster to your plate.

Conclusions? Making a sustainable seafood choice is complicated, just like choosing a sustainable meat choice. When comparing lobster to other seafoods like scallops, trawled haddock or halibut, it definitely comes out on top. But at the same time, believing that lobster is as sustainable as for example, organic farming, is ridiculous. I would love to hear Alli's perspective on current population conditions and environmental effects of gear. I love lobster and will continue to support my father and brother who work so hard at something they love. Especially if it means having lobster chowder... mmmmmm. In the meantime- check out this handy little printout you can carry with you while shopping to help make an informed choice!

Blessings and Happy Wind Moon!