Summer Banner!!

The sun was out- QUICK QUICK!!! Get the camera!

I've been meaning to take summer blog banner pictures for the entire month of June... but if you check the weather history of Halifax NS (which as a fisherman's daughter, I do like the weather network lol) you'll see rain, fog, drizzle, thundershowers with a risk of cloud. For the past three weeks. UGH.

Although it has clouded over already as we speak, I came home from work at 5pm to find SUN. So I put on my "summer clothes" and began warming up in the apartment. I felt a little silly practicing downward dog in a skirt... but no one was around to see. :)

Andrew came home and off we went, walking (briskly) to find a fun, shady street. My plan: Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (or hand to big toe pose... well ok, my approximation). It was already starting to cloud over so, as soon as the coast was clear I ran out in the street, threw my purse to the ground, my flip flops to the side (oh Goddess, I hope there's no glass on the street!) and up up up. Five second grounding, CRAP THERE'S A CAR COMING! LOL. It was so much fun!

In the end, the picture we chose was a last minute, on our walk back picture. I saw a beautiful tree and, the silly person that I am yelled: "Take a picture of me under the tree- QUICK!" and posed. So not quite dancer's pose... but fun nonetheless.

We'll be trying to adjust the borders later, but right now it's off to get some GUINESS for pre-Canada Day celebrations!

Blessings and Happy Summer!

EcoYogini

ps (for those of you reading this out there in "internet land" come visit EcoYogini: where the blogging magic happens!)

Blogiarism and Letting Go

This past end of week-weekend I've been avoiding posting. The reason; blogiarism...

It's ridiculous, I know. I mean, I've been putting my thoughts, ideas and personal experiences out on the big bad internet for months now, it's not like this blog is by-invite only. Even though I initially thought I'd keep it very impersonal, very private, that was soon thrown out the window. Mostly because I feel silly signing off or referring to myself as "EcoYogini" and it became a big pain in the bum to keep changing the language to French so I could type the "accent aigüe" for The Fiancé (since Andrew HATES it when I leave it on French... lol).

I was really getting into this whole "blogomunity" with my regular readers and familiar commenters. It's really been fantastic getting to know those awesome peeps who are reading my blog and producing some phenomenal articles themselves. I'm even starting to make some yoga-connections with updates on local studios and events (Thanks Grace for the heads-up re: Yogiji at Sail Loft!).

Then... gasp, Beth from Fake Plastic Fish (Phenomenal blog, want to reduce your plastic?? She's an inspiration!) left a comment about how she actually read my post... somewhere else. At Fresh Health Articles in fact. Not only are my entire posts there from the past two weeks, it's like the person just copy and pasted, pictures included... with a TINY miniscule little reference to this blog: "Go to source" at the very bottom. It was the weirdest feeling of invasion I have felt in a while. Going through it would seem that each article is put up automatically, so if you're reading this post right now and you don't see EcoYogini, myself practicing yoga in Warrior I in the banner, or my awesomely fantastic fav blogs on my blogroll... then you're reading what someone has reposted without my permission.

Maybe I'm being a little sensitive, like I said it's not like I believed at any point that this blog was private- and I don't want it to be! I love having all the lovely comments and the interesting info sent my way. It's also not like I think my ramblings are "literature" or highly valuable... I guess it just really really weirds me out. Christine over at Blisschick told me that you get used to it... and I hope so.

Coming back and posting again is my way of attempting to "let it go". That and I wanted to at least aknowledge those reading this on the Help2health site- I would love it if you came and visited me here, as a part of the beautiful, wonderful blogomunity at EcoYogini.Blogspot.com :)

(and Help2Health people: still haven't heard back from my email that I sent you...SKETCHY)

Much thanks to Grace and Christine for assuring me that it's alright to be weirded out... and that it's not that big of a deal... and Mel from Clutter To Shine for the lovely lovely blog award: reminding me that I love sharing about yoga and my ecoholic ramblings with others!

My Mat is Made from Copolymers and Monomers

Yoga mats... out of all the "stuff" that you can get for yoga, really as long as you have your mat (for physical practice) you are good to go. Enter; Eco-Yoga Machine... and then all of a sudden you are SWAMPED with "green" and "eco" options. (a baby toad I found last summer, Andrew insisted that this is the picture I post...)

How to make a choice?? Since squishing my face into my mat (i.e. what I look like hovering in an attempted chaturanga... lol) happens when I practice, I would prefer if it didn't have lots of yummy toxic chemicals for my lungs to peruse. Also, eventually I will be old and brittle (and cranky!- well, unless I'll be one of those wild and who gives a f* grannies! WOOT) and my mat will have to retire. I'd prefer if it didn't hang out in the landfill to keep the plastic bags filled with plastic company.

We've covered rubber-natural rubber mats quite a bit here (check out the side-bar for links!) but I haven't really touched on the other, super eco-fraud out there "TPE".

Lululemon carries it, Gaiam carries it, Barefoot Yoga Company carries it... TPE or ThermoPLASTIC Elastomers, is used to make the latest ahem, "eco" mats that are cheap with increasing alacrity. But is it really a "green" option? Let's start with exactly what is TPE.

Thermoplastic Elastomers are made from... well it's hard to say. They are copolymers (which are two polymers, which are monomers put together... monomers are small molecules (any) that can bond together to form polymers... do you see how wonky this gets?) that are usually formed with plastic or rubber. Barefoot Yoga Company claims that it's TPE's are made from hydrogen and carbon... However, hydrocarbon (a monomer made from hydrogen and carbon) may consist of many different and not always eco-friendly (read: plastic) types. Also, Barefoot Yoga has a PER mat (polymer environmental resin). Rubber is considered an environmental resin... According to this site, PER (specifically yoga mats made from PER) is made from PVC. (WTF?) They add acetic try butyl citrate, liquid phased stabilizer, second mixture of powder like PVC, filling agent (whatever that is), light stabilizer uvasorb and fireproof agent (ummm)- baked at 170 degrees celcius and THEN becomes an environmental friendly resin. Riiiight. (http://www.appropedia.org/Polymer_Environmental-Friendly_Resin)

TPE's are PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), latex, and (supposedly) rubber-free (when specified). Since the definition of what IS TPE is so vague, really it could be plastic+rubber=TADA! TPE. So the consumer really has to depend on the company to be upfront about what exactly their version of TPE consists of. Great, I really feel like depending on Lululemon to be upfront.

Another huge "eco-ability" these mats boast is their biodegradability. These mats do not, repeat, do not hold up well to sunlight or heat. I would know, mine started to break down after being exposed to the sunlight for about... 40 minutes. Now it flakes all over Andrew's pants. He likes purple flakes, they add to his yoga-zen. Unfortunately, as we discussed in my "bioplastic, really biodegradable?" post (see side bar for the whole post), this type of substance typically requires heat and sunlight to break down. Landfills aren't really the poster child for their beautiful sunlight views from the piles of plastic garbage bags. In fact, as opposed to "dumps" where garbage is continuously dumped (haha- clever), landfills are usually compacted and covered with soil daily. Soil isn't exactly a pristine, sunlight allowing window. I'm really not sure where the magical sunlight will penetrate the mounds of garbage bags and soil to break down the TPE yoga mat.

Now, you could also say, well why don't we just put our mats in the compost pile? Same reason, the mats will need prolonged periods of sunlight or heat to decompose, and unless you are 100% sure as to the purity of the "hydrogen and carbon" (or hydrocarbon) compounds that make up your mat, it may well be "biodegrading" into smaller pieces of it's chemical-y self. Into your soil. These mats are dyed to get their pretty colours and usually have glue (although Barefoot Yoga claims that their mats don't) to keep them together.

So my final conclusions? Thermoplastic Elastomer is a label that is a generic term and could mean pretty well anything from plastic to carbon. Overall it looks like a lot of greenwashing and still seems pretty darn synthetic. I choose natural rubber mats for their sustainability, reliability and performance. However, if you are a sensitive yogi/ni (the one who always is saying: "Do you SMELL that???") then rubber may not be for you. So far Barefoot Yoga Company is the most upfront and explanatory of the TPE crowd that I've found. :)

Hope this was helpful :)

The Yoga Machine

Each industry has a "machine" that is it's driving force. Even yoga is not exempt. I know how we all talk about how yoga has become a "business" or a "trend" but nothing truly brought that home until I attended class regularly.

We see our instructors and studios as enlightened spaces, where the yoga teacher greets us as a happy, content person and class is a safe, loving environment (well, except Yoga with R... but then that is a whole DIFFERENT story!). Teacher training is lengthy and expensive (currently almost 3000$ for a full year course at Breathing Space Studio) and we assume that the studio offers this training to share their knowledge. Which of course they do, but let's face it- Yoga can be a business.

I love Breathing Space and it's instructors. Andrew and I continue to "shop" around trying to find another class or style to like, but really we just keep coming back to Breathing Space. Prices for yoga have gone up though, and they only offer one Karma class a week. One day, a few months back I entered the studio and expected the same excited greeting from the instructor... but she was busy. Busy networking with a new group of introductory students. It was an eye opener to watch her and it was at that moment, watching her interact with potential "regulars" that I finally got it. She owns this studio, this is her business. Riiight. check. They've even sent out online surveys to get student feedback on what we like and what we would like changed- and they've implemented the suggestions!

On a completely opposite note, last week H. and I tried to attend a yoga class out in Hubbards, Nova Scotia. I had heard that it was a beautiful setting, in a room overlooking the ocean with the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. It was a beautiful sunny day, good for the hour drive it would take to get there (not very eco of me!). I had printed off a google-map, since I can't even walk down a hallway without getting lost.

Instructions were pretty darn clear though (we still managed to get turned around twice!), turn off the highway, drive onto the "old" highway and you should be there! After about fifteen minutes of driving, no sign and no civic address (there is none on their website either) we started to wonder. H. asked me if the studio was in a building or a house... It's part of a bicycling-yoga business that attracks people from all over so I assumed that there would be a sign at least! I pointed out this cute, cottage-y type house perched on the hill to our left and said, "The pictures of the inside of the room make me think of that type of house". H. pointed out that there was no sign or civic address to the driveway. So, after obviously missing the time for the class, we drove back to the drugstore at the start of the village and asked for directions. The girls there knew exactly where it was: "No, there is no address, or sign. Yes it was that house you pointed out after the old fishplant in Birchy Head" (note, NOT Hubbards). Great. After a quick email to the owner the next day, she replied with: "Oh dear, too bad! Nope there isn't a sign or civic address, but hope you come next week!".

Trying to make the best of our no-yoga trip, H. and I stopped at a tiny, cute beach (didn't bring a camera...) and ran like crazy women through the water, laughing and shouting. She thought I was insane to splash through the frigidly cold Atlantic ocean, but it was wonderful. I picked a couple of stones for Andrew's fishtank and just stood and breathed in the beautiful, fresh salty air. Bliss.(picture at top: the beach we stopped at... taken from here)

Finally, we have the new studio in Halifax, 108Yoga. It's in the old Halifax Brewery, in a very historic and "posh" part of town. I've had a peek inside after being at the farmer's market a few months ago- the floors are dark brown bamboo and the colours are gorgeous. I wanted to see how much for a drop-in... and realized that you were encouraged to "book" a class online. We emailed the owners and asked if drop-ins were possible with the reply of: "we have a wonderful, easy online booking system that allows you to book any class you'd like to attend! We look forward to seeing you there!". Right. So no drop-ins. Well, I'm not really a fan of putting my credit info online, and I'm a pretty spontaneous yogini... so I'd like to have the opportunity to punk out. We haven't gone yet. I'm pretty tempted to just show up and see what they say... lol.

I guess with my three stories I have completely contradicted myself with my whole "yoga is a business" theory! lol. The thing is, the unorganized, casualness of the Ocean-Yoga event did not surprise me half as much as seeing the owner of Breathing Space switch from happy yoga instructor to super duper business woman. Yoga-Machine just seems so much more dissonant than Yoga-Hippie. We expect yogi/ni's to be hippies and carefree... like leftover images superimposed from the 60's. Which is, of course, unrealistic and unfair. It's such a delicate balance, I often wonder how yoga instructors do it- live up to the crazy expectations of their students while staying true to themselves (and their livelihood).

One last tidbit on this 'yoga-business' stuff: getting more into wedding planning resulted in finding this website: "Yoga For Weddings"... WTF? LOL. Seriously, you need to check it out. My favourite part is the bride on a mat (logo from their site). Hmmm. I think I'll stick with our own little yoga session, in yoga gear, outside the morning of. Perhaps test out my dress? Instead of the silly "trash the dress" trend I'll do a "yogafy the dress". hah. Maybe mom will take pictures :)

Blessings!

Miss "Ego"

I've been a little hooked up on the "ego" concept recently. Well really, it keeps popping up unexpectedly, or does the fact that I think of "ego" when events occur mean that I'm creating the focus?

In any case, yoga has been sporadic recently, with illness, wedding-zillas and parental units visiting. I'm finally feeling well enough to get back on the mat these past few weeks and it was like I forgot how just un-bendy I really am! This brings forth the first little bitty of "ego" I have to share. Perhaps if I shed light on that little "nyah nyah" voice it will be revealed for what it is- a big poo-head. lol (obviously I work with kids... hah).

Last week H. and I went to Karma class at breathing space and the owner attended the class. Which I gotta say is pretty darn amazing to watch, how effortless and beautiful all her postures were. I was being creepy and kept sneaking glances while in downward dog, or any pose that I was looking backwards really! LOL. Wow I just re-read that, I am WEIRD. In any case, the instructor was new and kept referring to the owner should any of us want to go further in postures. At one point she announced that we were going to practice Tolasana for fun- as she's working on achieving this one without blocks. We practiced with blocks and it was fun! I am a fan of blocks. She referred to the owner again if we'd like to try out the full posture and I thought: "Hell, why not?" And "Plop!" just like that I lifted myself up. Oh ya! I can actually DO this, this is supposed to be difficult?? I must be doing something wrong. I can NEVER do hard asanas!

I'm wondering about letting this little moment go, just allowing it to float away on my messy, (let's say garbage filled, since eco-stuff is my M.O.) river. But...BUT!! My little garbage navigator says: "Lisa, you work SO hard just to BEND AT ALL".

The following few days I started reading all over the bloggy-net about YJ's fantastical nod to some pretty phenomenal yogi-bloggers. My first inkling was Dr. Jay's post here; where I actually had no clue what he was talking about. I read it and thought: "huh, Dr. Jay's being vague and funny again... must be above my sarcasm-deficit head, silly Dr. Jay"... (or something like that). After realizing that actually, he was talking about becoming a YJ FAMOUS DUDE, I reread his post and giggled to (and at) myself. It's super fantastic that they were mentioned, some wonderful recognition of the importance and rise of the online influence. And their awesomeness.

Mostly feedback was fantastic, but then there were a few posts here and there by other yogi-bloggers who weren't mentioned in YJ. One in particular that I just couldn't get through- perhaps as she pointed out in her comments, I was one of the seemingly few, that didn't "get her sarcasm-tongue in cheek style". Makes sense, sarcasm isn't my forte that's for sure. Reading her post I had so many moments of "Really?? You really are angry about this? Am I really reading such an intense lash-out and negative reaction about not being mentioned? About your stats, hits, readers blah blah? Who cares?"

All this right around the time I was excited about perhaps winning Green as a Thistle's new book- "Sleeping Naked Is Green". Her post said something along the lines of "Have a green blog and want to win a free copy? Just email a general outline of the blog with how many readers you tend to get..." It turned out to be a little premature (she overestimated how fantastic she was!) but all of a sudden I was committed to trying to figure out how many hits my blog got. I have no idea. I've never looked at any of that stuff. I see other bloggy's commenting on this and truly I really didn't want to get caught up- I like the "Small is beautiful" banner I carry. Seriously I spent about an hour trying to figure out how the hell I was going to find this silly info out so I could just get a free book!

Turns out it's impossible. And now that there's no chance of winning I'm happier this way. Don't get me wrong, I like that people are interested in what I have to say and the phenomenal sense of community here, but numbers won't tell me that.

So- all this to say: "ego" has been paying a visit to me lately, in really odd forms. A few other "ego"s I've noticed include:

- miss singing ego- my songwriting skillz (lol) have had a SPURT! (ego: "maybe I SHOULD record and share my new song online... and be FAMOUS")

- miss eco-ness ego: (ego: "ugh, method is a terrible brand!" at the same time that I bought some yummy starbucks to drink... sigh).

Phew- that did help! :)

Hope rainy-post Litha is treating all you "eco-yogi/ni's" well out there!

Blessings!

Big Planet Picnic for Summer Solstice!

Happy Litha-Summer Solstice!

Today we're hanging out with the parental units (and parental unit in-laws for Andrew) so this is a quick post. I was wondering what to do for Litha and thought I'd pass along these few "earth" links. I especially like this idea of a Big Planet Picnic! I believe that these ancient, Earth-tied holidays are the perfect time to reconnect with our planet and re-new our commitment to a clean, healthy Earth. By celebrating tonight and tomorrow we continue a tradition of celebration by humans around the world that has been active for thousands of years. Check out Greenspell for excellent information on Litha-Summer Solstice :)

(Campfire fun last summer at my parent's cottage. Note Andrew's awesome batman shirt and excellent bunny ear picture pose...)

With a bonfire, smores, spider weiners and friends! Since we don't live close to a firepit (don't think the landlord people would like THAT much on our balcony!) I'm thinking roasting a few smores on our new tiny portable BBQ :) A celebratory set of Sun Salutations (perfect for a holiday that is strong with the energy of the Sun God) the following morning is the perfect finish.

On that note- check out other action-y type stuff coming up. This video posted by No Impact Man. Not quite sure exactly what it is, even after quickly checking out 350.org, or why they chose October 24th (day before my birthday!)... but whatever brings about change is good with me.

ps- the pea plants have sprouted FLOWERS!!!!! WOO!!

Whatever you chose to do, I hope you join me in a version of the Big Planet Picnic :)

Blessings!

Eco-Newbie Yoga Primer!

A while back Mel, From Clutter To Shine, requested that a sort of Yoga-Newbie-Eco-Guide be posted for a quick reference of the essentials for an eco-yogi/ni. What a fantastic idea! Since she gave a quick primer on 'unschooling children' (awesome post- check it out!) then it's only fair I follow suite!

(yoga in the park in May!)

Eco-Yoga Newbie Guide

*N.B. The best first step in "greening" your practice is to decrease your consumption. Buying something new just because it's "green" and throwing your old mat/gear into the landfill/dump will not make our Earth happy. If you do have valid reasons for investing in new yoga products, then please check out this post on some ideas on what to do with your old mat and enjoy! :)

Yoga Mat!

Currently there are a zillion different kinds of yoga mats claiming to be "green"- so how is a yogi/ni to see through all the greenwashing and make the best choice?

Currently, one of the most eco-friendly products (other than keeping your own) that has the best performance is natural rubber. So far it's a toss up between Manduka's Eko natural rubber mat and Jade's natural rubber mat. Prana also has a natural rubber mat- but it's 90$ American... ACK. My advice- while visiting a class, check to see if they have any of these mats for you to try out during practice.

Also, if you are sensitive to strong scents, smell smell smell before you buy!

If you'd like more indepth mat info that I've accumulated so far please check out the yoga saga links on the right :)

Yoga Mat Bag!

I LOVE checking out etsy for handmade yoga mat bags... and if I didn't already have one that's probably where I would go. Don't you love this beautiful recycled Obi-Yoga Mat bag? If I had 120$...lol. Another option is making your own from fabrics you already have! Check out this fabulous how-to!

Yoga Prop!

As a bendy-challenged person, blocks and straps are very useful in my practice. The best "eco" option I found currently has been cork blocks. I have the Halfmoon cork block and LOVE it. With all the drama right now surrounding bamboo and how it may be harvested (check out this post for more info on

bamboo and eco-concerns) I feel better circumventing the whole issue with cork. Cork is heavier (less movement and helps with strength building) and softer.

Yoga Clothing!

I admit; I own mostly Lululemon yoga clothing; old school before it was outsourced and made in China. However there are definitely other options out there:

- wear whatever you are comfortable in! No new clothes bought :)

- Karma Clothing: made in Canada and has bamboo options (not ideal...)

- Skyler Clothing: made in Canada, pro-women/mother's rights (hires mothers to work from home)

- Gaiam: has organic cotton yoga options... all made in China (boo)

My first priority: Made in Canada, then I look for eco-fibers like organic cotton, hemp, soy, bamboo.

If anyone knows of other great companies I'd LOVE to hear about them :)

Yoga Bottle!

Bringing your water to class is essential and you care about what is leaching into your eau... Unfortunately there is no easy option, but so far the best choice is Stainless Steel. I LOVE my Klean Kanteen and Andrews hearts his too! They are easy to clean and very durable. Although nice and light, aluminum requires a "mystery" coating to protect your water from toxins leaching from the aluminum. Check out my post here for more info on options and all the fabulous things Klean Kanteen does for the planet! (our klean kanteen bottles posing in the strawberry plant- I am so artsy!)

Yoga Mat Cleaning Supplies!

lemon juice+water. Really that's it. You may want to try some tea tree oil for disinfectant or vinegar. All those little Josha wipes etc etc are extra waste and unnecessary. Careful with your rubber mat however, as quick dunks in the tub could actually make it slippery for the first few days!

Some helpers to make your practice more eco-friendly:

Home practice

Instead of driving to class every week, try upping your home practice. Yoga Journal has awesome sequence builders and there are many fantastic dvd's (I like Seane Corn) and online podcasts. It will help deepen your understanding of your own practice, save the planet and save you money!

Walk/bike/bus to class

Now that summer is here (in the Northern Hemisphere) walking and biking to yoga is a great way to continue your connection with Earth and your practice. Find out local bus routes and encourage your studio to post them!

Practice Outside

Regular readers know I LOVE outside practice. Such a quick and obvious way to emphasize our connection to our planet and tune ourselves to Nature.

Eat "green"

Try a "meatless Monday" to decrease your impact on our Earth through your meat consumption. Try buying the Top Ten Dirtiest Offenders produce as Organic to keep your body and our planet happy. For a list see here.

Be present, be happy!

By recognizing our interconnected and dynamic relationship with Earth and Her residents we can begin to notice small ways to change how we interact and behave with each other and the environment. Our planet is not "other", we are it. :)

Hope this was helpful, and I'd LOVE to hear any other suggestions or options you have!

Blessings!

Stop-Scribble-Sing!

**preface: this post isn't really about eco, nor yoga, but mostly music and food :)

Andrew and I make an interesting pair. I am extremely comfortable at adding ingredients willy nilly, cutting veggies and preparing (no-sauce) salads but I'm not super comfy with kitchen gadgets. If it beeps, has wires, or does anything even remotely gadgety- Andrew is IN.

Although our vow to make weekly meal plans lasted one week (...) in the spirit of leftovers, eating healthy and saving money, we bought a pre-cooked ham (not local, not organic, BUT pre-cooked!). I would be the one cooking said ham; as Andrew works until 7pm and when he informed me that his awesome probe-thermometer would do just the trick, I balked. Nope, I was just going to put the ham in the oven and figure it out later as it cooked for a while... (can you tell I'm not very organized?)

I came home today and found this beautiful note stuck to our fridge... lol. We've been playing around with Adobe Illustrator this past weekend after I found this phenomenal invite template and thought: Perfect! I guess Andrew thought it would be fun to create via Adobe Illustrator a nice instruction manual on how to use an oven probe-thermometer. Sigh. :)

While I dawdled, procrastinating from the inevitable interaction with the PROBE (hehe), I had a sudden- I should WRITE MUSIC moment. As there have been a few comments here and there about my song writing I thought I'd just share today's experience. I was much more prolific when I lived alone as I seem to only be able to write and compose in solitary mode. Today wasn't quite ideal, I am exhausted from being sick all last week and I was HUNGRY. Can't focus on lyrics

and chords when my belly made really obnoxious noises! So two pieces of chemical-free toast (local!) with natural organic peanut-butter (mmmm), a guitar, a pen and a piece of paper later and I was ready to go!

Sometimes songwriting is awesomely flow-y, kinda like a vinyasa class with no pauses or uncertainties. I have a bunch of lyrics (poems I guess) pre-written, have some chords in my head and off I go! Those days are beautiful. Today was not one of those... lol. After ten years of composing and not being the best string picker, bar-chord player I have a somewhat limited amount of variations. Today I decided to forego the capo (black dealy that brings the

key up a half step-fret at a time), it's so easy to use as a female singer, but it's kinda like cheating. (If you look closely you can see my war-wound!)

Also, I've been getting pretty darn good at playing the bar-chord for Gminor! With small fingers, I don't quite have the finger strength or length to really play chords where my index finger "bars" an entire fret- so it's always an adventure! It took about 20 minutes of just playing, mumbling a few words, coming out with a few really clear fantastic lyrics and melodies and I was IN the groove. YES. I had something, a little melancholy but I could figure this out. Stop-scribble, play same line a zillion times, NEW LINE- sing sing sing!!! stop-scribble CONTINUE.

Then the phone rang- my mom calling to check up on me. She reads this blog, so I think she was a little concerned. I love my mom. It was a good thing she called too, as you can see my finger wasn't actually pleased with all the Gminor playing. And all of a sudden, Andrew arrived- OMG it's SEVEN!!! ACK. Although neither the rice nor the veggies turned out, an hour and a half later (who knew that it would take SO LONG to cook a pre-cooked ham??) the ham was ready. We each managed to swallow courageously the gooey rice, mushy veggies and have now made organic nachos. And will watch Planet Earth (LOVE). (lyrics to the new song with chords strewn in there and brackets to signify possible chorus, verse, bridges... maybe).

Thank you so much wonderful readers for the kind words of support and light!

Blessings!

Green Space how did I Exist without You?

I am in love with my urban garden! Each week the plants seem to grow wilder and more out of control... it is fantastic. I was extremely nervous about growing actual edible plants, especially as the plants inside our apartment aren't really doing that well. So far, container gardening has been fabulous, and the eco-fiber planters and organic soil has been holding up wonderfully!

(Our strawberry plant circa June 14th while it was sunny)

I used to curse our terrible netting that covered our balcony, as it meant no bird feeders. But after speaking with a few friends who were extremely frustrated due to birds chewing off their flower buds... I was thankful for the ugly thing after all. One thing about having a tiny urban garden, we don't have to worry about animals, birds and less about pests!

There is something magical and real about having life grow and flourish just outside your living space. I've found myself stepping outside for a few moments each day to closely inspect our little forests, checking on progress, marvelling at how the pea tendrils cling tenaciously at our cotton trellis. Feeling silly for being surprised that strawberries form from the middle part of the flower- who knew? Even though my dad informed me that I should be trimming the flowers to promote berry growth, I just can't bring myself to clip off a potential berry. (Our biggest pre-berry! It's been so fun watching the petals fall and the middle flower part grow more and more berry like!)

Having this extra green/potential food space also has been helpful with easing feelings of loneliness that have been creeping up lately. Although moving

back to Halifax was the best idea, this is the first place I have ever lived where making friends has been extra difficult. Most likely a side-effect of old university friends drifting apart, the fact that my best friend and I "broke-up" around the same time she left my brother (loooong story!) and that I work with women who are twice my age. (our pea plants are growing like wild things!! No actual pea pods yet... or flowers... I keep checking.... )

I had hoped that practicing yoga would help meet some kindred spirits... but although somewhat of a community, yoga is still a very solitary practice and I'm finding myself feeling isolated even while surrounded by other yogi/ni's during a packed class. It isn't really acceptable to say a few words to someone after class and follow up with: "So you wanna be my friend?" lol. I am way too weird sometimes. Hopefully yoga in the park will help :)

In the mean time I have my little miniature faerie space. Some days I haul out my guitar, sit in my little urban oasis and just belt my heart out (it helps that we have a wall of maple trees and the church facing us... so I can pretend no one is listening). I've started writing again and soon (hopefully) will have a new song to add :)

(our carrots actually look like a little forest, a miniature rainforest. Reminds me of fern gully- anyone else remember that movie? lol I was a eco-warrior since childhood.)

How are your gardens growing? :)

Starbucks... My Love-Hate Addiction

Ok. Now that we have determined that traditional, huge coffee companies=bad and that I am sadly addicted to coffee (currently drinking some now!) we can move on to the dichotomy of Starbucks.

Like previously mentioned, it would seem there is a trend for the Lulu's out there to be sipping their Starbucks on their way to a yoga class. I was one of them in Montreal. I had my order down pat- "Un grand, sans crème fouetter mocha, svp" (I lived in the Plateau, no English orders pour moi!). There was something fabulous about the café style atmosphere and the taste of the coffee from that terrible, non-recyclable cup. Eventually I bought a reusable, stainless steel interior mug and to my dismay- the coffee did NOT taste the same from the mug as it did from the cup. Psychological- I know. (recipe for perfect home coffee: French Press, handmade coffee mug from LoveMe Boutique, JustUs! Fair Trade organic coffee beans, grinder, NS non-pasturized honey and Farmers Milk!)

In any case, my habit of drinking coffee pre-yoga class has stopped, mostly because due to my sensitive belly, coffee often disagrees with me (not something I like to experiment with during class). Each year as I switch from hot drinks to cold there is a period of a couple of weeks that I soldier through the inevitable pains of my belly being forced to adjust to the difference (what can I say- I LOVE coffee lol).

Of course, after seeing the `Strong Coffee` documentary, I vowed to wean myself from Starbucks once and for all. Didn't happen- BUT I have found some interesting little tidbits of info on Starbucks that I thought I'd share with you (I know there are closet Starbucks eco-yogi/ni's out there!).

The Good Stuff:

Starbucks does actually buy Fair Trade certified coffee (however they call it "C.A.F.E.: Coffee and Famer Equity practices" and it has been developed by Starbucks- not third party regulated). As of October 2008, Starbucks indicated that they would be doubling their Fair Trade certified coffee purchasing to 40 million pounds in 2009, making them the largest company to buy Fair Trade coffee.

Starbucks also has something they call "Starbucks Shared Planet" (also not third party regulated). Their mission statement: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time". Their website is super pretty, super suave and reviews a ginormous amount of environmental/ethical/community based involvement and goals. Very persuasive.

Shared Planet even has 2015 goals:

100% of their coffee will be responsibly grown and ethically traded (sounds pretty vague to me...)

100% of their cups will be reusable or recyclable (ouu! now this I like)

we'll contribute 1 million community services hours each year.

Starbucks carries 10% post-consumer fiber cups, which their site claims to have saved 44,000 tons of virgin wood fiber in Canada (soo... no pcf cups in the States?).

They are also working on reducing their water usage (which they have been slammed for recently in the media). According to their site, they will be having a water audit in 2009 and were supposed to have installed hand-meter systems for their continuously running dipper wells this spring.

Starbucks also offers their used coffee grounds (FREE) for your garden! This I have seen in local stores around Halifax, all packaged nicely in non-recyclable bags (they could at least but them in paper compostable bags...). Their goal is more recycling in stores.

The Bad Stuff:

Despite "ethical" sourcing claims, Starbucks' percentage of coffee sold that is Fair Trade certified is only 6% and as far as I've been able to tell, this does not include the coffee they use in regular prepared beverages. If they do manage to double their Fair Trade coffee purchased, this only brings them up to 12%. For a company that is worth billions, you would think they could afford to invest more in third party certified equitable practices. Also- their goal of having 100% of their coffee "ethically grown and sourced" is pretty darn vague. If they get to define "ethical" and "responsible" that could mean pretty well anything.

Although they admit that their dipper wells waste water, they didn't actually state exactly how much on their website. In October of 2008, the British media blasted Starbucks for wasting... get this: 23.4 MILLION litres A DAY. The next time you get your mocha, check out their dipper wells; the little sunken in holder for their temperature gages, spoons and such. There's a tap that runs continuously. The claim: Starbucks uses these cold running water taps to abide by food safety regulations in order to kill bacteria growth that may form. What they don't mention is that there are other ways to clean and prevent bacteria growth, the running water method is only one.

I thought this might be common practice, so the next time I was at Just Us! coffee I asked the barista if they had a dipper well with running water. He looked at me like I had ten heads- "Why would we have that? Do you know how much water that would waste?"

The recycling goal from Shared Planet strikes me as especially odd, as I haven't seen an iota of evidence of any recycling initiative here in Halifax or Nova Scotia, where recycling is mandated by law. Even rural Tim Horton's have three option recycling recepticals in their stores, with traditional garbage bins taped off and no longer used. At the Spring Garden Starbucks, (not far from Lululemon) they used to have a hand written sign asking customers to give the workers their plastic cups because they recycle. It's no longer there.

The final little tidbit to add to the Starbucks sketchiness: they've been sued recently for employee discrimination. Very Wal-Mart-esque. It would seem that Starbucks is anti-union and has been attacked by various organizations for firing employees who participate or support union groups. There are also allegations that Starbucks is anti-homosexual, as they are being sued for firing employees due to sexual orientation. For a company that as part of it's mission statement claims to provide a healthy, fair work environment for it's employees, this strikes a bit hypocritical.

I am totally guilty of buying coffee from Starbucks and even (GASP) drinking it out of the horrible non-recyclable cups! I was mollified slightly after reading all that "Good Stuff" about the company... but soon realized that most likely it's the pretty glossed over baubles that distract me from a profit-driven company. Being only coffee-addicted human, I try to limit my Starbucks experience, drink from their ceramic mugs, ask them where the recycling is at and try to visit JustUs! much more frequently.

Coffee; Eco-Ethics (Part 1)

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays! Hosted by Food Renegade- please go check out all the other fantastic REAL FOOD posts over here!

Starbucks and Lululemon... does anyone else see a trend here? Since the beginning of my yoga journey, five years ago in Montreal, Lululemon and Starbucks were close behind. Late nights studying for my grad degree required lots and lots of coffee, and boy do I LOVE mochas. It was so common to see yogini's decked out in Lulu gear while sipping on their starbucks that it just seems like the two companies should be somehow in cahoots together. In Montreal we used to always always stop for a Starbucks pre-yoga with Jim (dreamy Brit instructor at the Y). (The Bean Scene, my favourite coffee shop in Vernon BC)

Most of us know that coffee is "bad" for us, that most likely huge corporations like Starbucks make a zillion dollars in profit at the expense of the little guys... but did you know just HOW much your latte is costing our planet and it's people? The USA consumes one fifth of the world's coffee, making North America the largest coffee consumer in the world. You would think with such a huge demand that setting up your very own coffee field and becoming a coffee bean farmer would be a worth while venture... Unfortunately coffee farmers have been, and continue to be exploited to the point of slavery. Coffee farmers are often paid less than 50 cents per pound and live in appalling conditions, are indebted to the point of working for nothing.

Coffee beans are grown in countries that typically have delicate rainforests and unique, essential ecosystems. According to the National Resources Defense Council reports that deforestation is a huge part of "sun grown" coffee (40% of coffee growing lands in Columbia, Mexico, Central America and the Carribean; where deforestation takes place for "monocultures" of coffee bean plants) and the World Wildlife Fund reports endangered species habitats are being destroyed by illegal deforestation for coffee plantations along with a 90% drop in migratory bird species.

Want some DDT with that latte? Although measures have been taken to ban many (but not even close to all) pesticides in North America, many coffee beans purchased today are grown in countries where such carcinogenic pesticides are still permitted. For example, NRDC also reports that Costa Rica allows the use of the toxic insecticide chlordane that has serious health and lasting environmental impact. Chronic, dangerous pesticide use also erodes the coffee farmer and their communities drinking water safety, soil health and food safety. Discharges from coffee processing plants have been a major source of river pollution in Latin America, releasing thousands of tons of organic waste into the water systems, clogging up the water ways and decreasing oxygen supplies of the local aquatic wildlife (NRDC).

Of course these environmental concerns are only the beginning of the coffee empire. Huge corporations such as Starbucks (who buy coffee beans at "slave" prices, followed by an almost 200% markup to us, the North American consumers), also ship these beans to roasting plants, emitting huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Followed by the energy needed to roast the millions of pounds of coffee beans and finished with beautiful plastic packages that are shipped all over the world for another bunch of carbon emissions.

I knew all this, I did. The kicker, was a documentary called "Strong Coffee: The Story of Cafe Femenino" that I was invited to watch by my friend Sharyn in B.C. It has changed how I view my coffee and being the sap that I am, it also made me cry. (I strongly urge you to check our the Trailor here).

Cafe Fememino tells the story of the women in these coffee communities who are marginalized, continue to have no rights, are not educated, are abused and are treated as subhuman. Despite progress made by Fair Trade organizations, the women in these communities (50% of the population... don't forget!) continued to be abused and were without basic human rights. With limited resources farmers invested money in educating their sons, daughters stayed home and were married between the ages of 12 and 16 years.

In 2004, 464 female coffee workers banded together, and with some support decided to separate their coffee from others. The label requires that coffee be grown, sold and the land owned, by women. That they be paid above fair trade prices, that the coffee be grown sustainably and organically and that the women have humane and improved working conditions. (Cafe Femenino bean bags are tied with a pink ribbon!)

Finally, buying Cafe Femenino also means supporting a local woman's organization in YOUR community. Coffee roasters that agree to carry the Cafe Fememino label are bound by contract to donate 2% of their profits to a local woman's program of their choice and must have the Cafe Femenino label on their packaging. A true pay it forward- women in third world countries decided that other women elsewhere would benefit from their hard work and commitment to make our world a better place.

Although I began this post with the purpose of talking about mostly Starbucks... the story of why buying locally roasted, organically grown, fair trade certified coffee is an essential backdrop and took up quite a lot of space.

My options were to either find an alternative or quit drinking mochas. Quit?? Lol, one day without my one cup and I have a headache (sad I know).

Obviously, certified organic coffee is a fantastic way to assure a mocha sans pesticide residue and decrease your latte's impact on our precious blue planet. Fair Trade certified also assures that the yummy coffee you are drinking isn't supporting "slave" labour. However, having one does not automatically assume the other. So both was a must for myself.

Buying certified shade grown coffee assures that those "sun", monoculture, bird-killer fields are not involved and that you are supporting a return in biodiversity. Of course, my absolute favourite... Cafe Fememino, certified fair trade, organic and a pay it forward to support women in MY community from a local roasting company. How do you find such a fantastically awsome tasting and ethical coffee??

Well, in Halifax "Just Us!" (a Wolfville fair trade, organic coffee roasting company) claims to carry Cafe Femenino. However, recently I have been having a difficult time finding it in their Coffee shops. They've never promoted it and it seems to have quietly disappeared from their shelves. I'll be writing them soon to find out the latest.

Otherwise, go on Cafe Femenino's website here, and search by company and region. Currently, Canada has not implemented their Certified Organic Logo (federal website states June 30th 2009), so make sure to closely examine logos when purchasing, logo copiers are out there!

Next stop: Starbucks and my love-hate relationship :)

Blessings and happy ethical coffee drinking!