Boat Races: Why I finally understand the appeal of Nascar

Spent a short two days in rural southern Nova Scotia for my cousin's wedding. On our way back to Halifax we stopped in Argyle to hop on my dad's lobster boat and watch the boat races! Unfortunately we weren't very prepared, it was very spur of the moment 'Let's take dad's boat!', so no BBQ, chairs or snacks for us.

Although I had moments of 'OMGoddess, look at all the oil spewing out of those boats, look at all the black smoke, look at those beer cans floating by (douchebag racer was tossin' em in...)' I have to say two days of rural living wasn't enough. I may be a city gal now, but I'll always be a country ocean bumpkin at heart.

 The Camp Cove warf, packed with trucks, people and lobster boats!

 Rainbow traps, they keep changing colour 'trends' from green, purple, yellow to blue. This is dad's section of the warf where he keeps his boat tied up. On our way to hop in!

 Dad is up on the front untying the boat, sadly we weren't allowed up there due to flip flops, but I will point out that most other boats out there had people up on front and top!

 About a quarter of the lobster boats hanging out, waiting for the best view of the boat races.

 The windmills on Pubnico Point.

 This metal weapon is used to haul up the traps and what you can't see is that it's held to the top by duct tape... oh yeah.

 Three young guys chillin' on top of this boat- in sword fishing you can see the fish from up there.

 I love love love the ocean.

 More boats all filled with excited people!

 One of the big racers, 'Turtle' (which didn't win the few races we saw). These boats are specially made to look like the bottoms of lobster boats (obviously smaller versions of what Yarmouth-Shelburne counties have) and tricked out with huge chrome engines. The racers wear helmets and most where ear protection as it's soooo loud. It's like nascar for fisher-people.

Foot-Lovins Sans Toxins

I judge feet. Yep, I am one of those people who notice feet... although I don't have a foot fetish (ok peeps, get your brains out of the gutter!), I definitely can appreciate pretty feet.

Yoga makes us think a lot about our feet, without really noticing them- ever realize that? Lots of 'spread your toes', 'ground your feet into your mat', 'anchor the outside of your foot', 'line up heel to arch'... Our feet are an important part of the practice, ever try to practice with a charlie horse? Lately I've been getting them often (probably should look into that).

All this focus on our feet and toes and do we spend the same amount of time taking care of our feet? We wear heels, flip flops (or thongs if you're a westie!) and never massage or stretch our foot muscles. Truly, we should be taking each practice to warm up and strengthen our foot and ankle muscles and tendons. Especially if you're an eco-yogi(ni) like moi who walks a whole bunch to get places.

 My purple leopard print socks. I think my feet look cute in socks- especially LOUD socks. Weird as it is, I believe in complementing my feet... it's so important to find something about yourself that you like and let that part know. Often. :)

Probably my favourite foot pose is 'Virasana' or 'Hero' (please be careful and use a block under your bottom if you have knee sensitivities!). We spend so much time flexing our feet out in yoga that it feels so perfect to have it stretch the other way. Other actions like ankle circles and point-flexing our feet are also great and would be a wonderful way to start each practice.

Wouldn't you know it, summer time being flip-flop season- never mind the lack of arch support- but that plastic is leaching into your skin through your feet. In 2009 Danish researchers found that four types of phthalates (re: endocrine disruptor) in children's plastic sandals. A follow-up 2010 study of 'foam' adult and children sandals (vulcanized rubber or 'cross-linked' plastic) revealed that most had at least one phthalate and majority had them ranging from 10-46%. Their overall conclusion: phthalates leaching from plastic sandals are a significant source of reproductive toxins in our bodies, increasing if we wear sunscreen or lotion on our feet (Ecoholic 2011).

It's kinda late in the game for me to switch flip flop gears (and I don't have enough money to actually own more than one pair of flip flops). However, should YOU have the cash, OR if you'd like to investigate for future summer-y seasons (like moi!) here are some eco, reproductive toxin-free options:

• El NaturaLista: LOVE their sandals (and shoes- so cute!). Sadly, a bit pricey, so I'd be saving up my moneys for a pair.... especially this sandal and this shoe! Made from recycled plastic, recycled rubber, hand stitched and assembled, ecologically tanned leather, cork... the list goes on.
• OR Recycled PET flip flops from Simple Shoes (although I had annoying results with these guys- their prices are ridiculously skewed to American dollar- even though the Canadian looney is almost at parity... blegh)

Another option is to try leather.... but then that's a whole other bunch of issues.

My fav eco-friendly nail polish? Zoya!

Aimez vos pieds et vos orteils... et ils vous remercieront!

article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Yoga Safely with Sunscreen: A Badger Review

Being the daughter of a red head means that I've thought about skin cancer. A bunch. 

Practicing yoga outside and skin cancer kinda go together now... Don't get me wrong, I used to lay out on a tanning bed when I was a young-un (ok, 17-18yrs old) and the thought of actively exposing my delicate skin to Ultraviolet rays makes me feel a little nauseous. Unfortunately, unlike my red headed dad (and my pale pale husband) I tan *very* well and easily. 

Weirdly, the UV index has been extremely high in the past few weeks... I never thought about it before, but it seems it's just permanently set to '9-Extremely High'. Didn't there use to be lower UV numbers? 

According to the World Health Organization, there's been a marked increase in skin cancers worldwide, and although we've made great strides in eliminating ozone depleting chemicals we're still exposed to high levels of UV radiation. Exposure to Ultraviolet radiation is the cause of 20% of 12 to 15 billion global cases of blindness, 130,000 malignant skin cancers and has been linked to suppressing cell-mediated immunity; limiting the efficacy of vaccinations (WHO). According to this article in National Geographic, the ozone layer was thinner this spring- awesome. (check out this fantastic post at Balance Blog for a more in depth look at sunscreens!)

For a successful Yoga in the Park, a Yogi(ni) MUST wear sunblock (and have a 'YITP friendly' mat- a cloth  mat or old mat that won't break down from the sun). 

Of course, sunscreen has some pretty nasty chemicals that seep right into your skin. EEP. Oxybenzone; a weak hormone disruptor found in 95% of 6-8yr old girls' urine and found in our soil and waterways, estrogenic octinoxate, hormone disruptor homosalate and possible carcinogen enzulizole all are found in common sunscreens (Ecoholic 2007).

So- This year I was determined to find a fabulous eco-friendly sunblock for my staple weekend Yoga in the Park.

I thought Badger SPF 30 was the winner. Non-nano with certified organic ingredients and made the Environmental Working Group's best sunscreen list for 2011.

Too bad it was an epic fail as a sunscreen. (sorry no pics of the actual sunscreen, it was thrown out in a fit of anger).

The Review:

Smell: Yummy, like shea butter. mmmm...

Look and texture: icky white oily paste that is difficult to rub in. 

Casual walk around the city test: 

Both of our arms turned pink and my arms tanned while his face pinkened.

Yoga in the Park between 10h30-12pm Saturday:

Despite both of us slathering the stuff on, we both burned to a crisp. Sadly, Andrew burned even worse as he doesn't acquire base tans. It was honestly as if we hadn't been wearing sunscreen at all. In fact, Andrew's non-sunscreened legs (yep he forgot) burned *just* as badly as his supposedly 'protected' face, arms and neck. 

Andrew's lovely legs- TWO days post Yoga in the Park. Saturday evening he was crowned 'Lobster Man'. Only a very supportive husband would let me post pics of his legs on my blog... lol

Lesson- Avoid Badger Sunscreen. As it's late in the season and we're not risking any more skin cancer or cataracts, we bit the chemical bullet and bought regular sunblock. Eff-it, we'll try again next year.

Any environmentally friendly sunscreens that actually work? 

Yoga Safely- wear sunblock!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Ethical and Essential Honey

When I was four I stepped in a wasp hive... and was stung a dozen times. It was terrible, involved screaming, mud on my head and dunking my head in the lake. Needless to say, I have a bee/wasp phobia, scrunch up my face, close my eyes and start hyperventilating whenever one is near.

Despite this irrational fear, I can recognize that honey bees are an essential part of our food production. As pollinators these insects are required for our planet's vegetation and plants suffer greatly without their furry legs spreading the love from stamen to stamen. You can thank bees for that apple you ate this morning, the coffee you drank and the tofu in your lunch.

Frighteningly, the European Honey Bee AND our native Canadian bee species are on a sharp decline. According to this study in the Journal of Agricultural Research (2010), Canadian and American beekeepers have lost 30-40% of their bees in recent years and the losses just keep mounting. Colony Collapse Disorder (possibly caused by virus+fungi, and pesticide use) along with the destruction of habitats and use of pesticides have been to blame. Interestingly enough, Canadian bees mostly live in the soil, burrow holes improving water and nutrition circulation thus improving soil quality for other crops on TOP of pollinating!

Organic honey supports local bee populations and provides a much more ethical and environmentally sustainable option as a sweetener than sugar. Top-Bar Hives mimic a fallen over log and allows bees complete freedom within their hive; comb design and shape, brood location and management and honey storage and location. Ask if the bee hives are Top-Bar when purchasing your honey.

 (canadian bee- photo credit fotomex via flickr)

Honeybees aren't "IT" though, more than 800 bee species call Canada home and buying local honey won't directly support our native bee population. (although, you could argue that beekeeping associations advocate and lobby for awareness and support of healthy bee practices...).

One fun option this summer is to create a bee-friendly garden! 

Here are some tips I found from David Suzuki's "Create a bee-friendly garden":

• Build a bee house: details in the post and it looks like a fun family summer project!
• Provide "bee-food" with a wide variety of plants that flower at different times. Plant native, heirloom flowers in order to attract native bee species (some flowers bred to be pretty are often sterile and not nutritious to bees!).
• Bees like blue, violet, yellow, purple and white flowers best.
• Plant four foot diameter clumps of the same flower to help bees find them.
• Make a bee bath: bees are like "tanks with wings" they need a little island to land and sip some refreshing water. In your bowl or small bee bath, add rocks as landing pads and place bath at ground level. Remember to refresh the bath daily!

Regardless of where your political and ethical views stand, we need our bees in order to have food to eat. Supporting environmentally friendly land management (i.e. buying non-GMO and organic soy for example) and ethical beekeeping is an important part of recognizing our role in helping (instead of hindering) our planet's delicate ecosystem.

We may be late in the summer, but my next goal is to plant some of my non-flourishing indoor violets out in front of our window with a small bee bath- pictures to come!

Blessings!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

I Have Discovered Guerilla Dining

Ever been to a restaurant and thought, 'Wow, I've had much better food at a recent dinner party than here... and for free!'...? Sometimes just the large impersonal atmosphere of a restaurant can be intimidating or cold. How many of you have Chef friends and secretly wish they'd cook and create something delicious just for you?

So... I have become aware that there is such a thing as 'Guerilla Dining'. A recent article in Halifax's 'The Coast' feature's a journalist's experience of finding, being invited to, attending and interviewing the hosts of a local Haligonian Guerilla Restaurant experience. I had no idea these things existed! Are they new? Are they everywhere?

A quick Google resulted in a little history info (which perhaps the American and British peeps may already know about...). Guerilla Dining is part of the Underground Restaurant scene, stemming from supper clubs (originated in the 1930-1940s) and closed door restaurants. Big in Latin American and London England, these dining experiences are becoming increasingly popular in the USA (and supposedly Canada). (wiki).

A guerilla dining experience today means finding out from word of mouth or facebook, showing up to someone's home, paying a lower than restaurant price for restaurant-style food. Sans liquor and food licenses, these dining experiences stay hidden and customers definitely dine at their own risk. What I thought was uber interesting was the Chef's reasons- to allow for creativity and exploration of their own craft at their control.

How cool is that? In Halifax I'm imagining that these Guerilla Dining experiences remain low-key, slightly hipster with a local-vibe, from the article's description. That and Halifax is just kinda like that, casual and hipster. I can imagine, though, that in bigger cities, the exclusivity of these shindigs can attract a whole other clientele. Instead of celebrating creativity and local ingredients, that exclusivity could foster a 'I'm here cuz I'm cool and connected' vibe.

I'm not sure that even in Halifax I'd have the nerve to show up to one of these backyard restaurants, even if I were invited. I'm just a bit of a chicken that way.

What about you? Did you know about this phenomenon? Have you ever attended a Guerilla Restaurant?

I've always thought that Yoga in the Park could be that way... word of mouth and facebook allowing a Yoga experience without the constraints of a studio and in a fashion that is accessible to all (ahem, free!).

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Redecorating à la Cheap

It has been a long time coming, but we're finally feeling the economic crunch in the EcoYogini home. Let me tell ya, it's stressful and annoying. All superfluous spending is out. That includes yoga classes. Thank goodness Yoga in the Park has survived another close call (another story... and not a very nice one. I'm honestly not sure I feel like sharing- let's just be happy Halifax still has a free yoga in the park).

With the money crunch comes the reality that we can't afford to purchase non-essential things. After a year of living in our new apartment, I was just coming up to feeling like we should make it into a 'home'. Years of apartment living, moving every two years, has resulted in never being able to justify investing the money into making the space a home. I never bought art, furniture or painted. It just seemed like a colossal waste since we'd be moving in a few years anyways.

But now we'll most likely be living the apartment life (cuz who would ever give us a mortgage?) for quite a few more years. Ah, it could be worse, I could be unemployed...

So what to do? Our apartment needed a sprucer-upper.

What's an environmentally friendly option? A top to floor scrub. Yeppers, we spent hours scrubbing the floors, walls, dishes, furniture, appliances. We tidied up, straightened the clutter away and finally I lit some cleansing black candles (pagan). Wouldn't you know it helped.

 View from the kitchen (please note Asteya in her favourite place- the box, and yes that is Andrew playing WoW)

 View from the door (diagonal to the previous picture. That black thing under the couch is the retired full sized keyboard... wish we had space to haul out that sucker).

More Environmentally Friendly Re-Decor Ideas:

• Now's the yard sale-ing season! Like a huge creep-o, drive (or bicycle!) the streets of your neighbourhood scoping out the loot. Take a deep, full bellied breath, and be prepared to haggle and look through other people's stuff. You never know what you may find for uber cheap! Make sure it's quality though and something you'll love for a while. Don't buy it just cuz it's cheap.
• Replace your comforter with a funky quilt- instant bed change.
• Re-arrange your furniture- zero dollars and may just quell the 'change' itch you got going.
• Choose some of your favourite photos and have them printed. Find some funky frames at a yard sale or a Value Village (used store) and make a fun framed montage.
• Have a little cash but can't buy art? Purchase a canvas, some paint and some paintbrushes. Make your own art!
• Buy fresh flowers at the farmer's market every so often. An instant mood lifter and room brightener.

What about it fellow EcoYogi(ni)s? Got any other ideas? Has the economic crunch resulted in a more minimalistic, non spending lifestyle for you? If so- regardless of how you feel about our planet going in the crapper, you're now officially being environmentally friendly :) (and if you do a massive cleaning, make sure to take pictures like we did so we can remember just how clean the place can get lol).


article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

The Yoga-Music-Enlightenment Triangle

Any musicians out there in internetland, you'll know what I'm talking about- Music=Yoga=Spirituality. Not as a then-then-therefore type connection, but more of a triangularity of Music intersects with Yoga and I would argue enlightenment (or connecting with the Divine).

(me and my new Larrivé guitar at our old apartment a few years ago- I am very happy.)

When I was taking classical piano and voice lessons the whole losing myself in music wasn't really present. I practiced my scales (major, minor, dominant, augmented... you classicists got me), 45 minutes of classical piano practice and 30 minutes of voice every day. Although hugely beneficial, this practice didn't even compare to how my 3am piano-singing sessions, wrapped in my grandmère's quilt in my pyjamas  made me feel. Or when I got to belt it out while singing alone surrounded by forest, or with my high school band on stage (hello noise induced bilateral sensorineural hearing loss with a dose of tinnitus).

Yoga sometimes makes me feel that way. Not during a teacher led class, or while practicing with friends or during yogaglo. It's those yoga moments outside, on the beach or alone in the apartment just flowing where I feel connected.

But... yoga is even better with the right music and doesn't even compare to how I feel when I sing and play guitar. I honestly don't feel that without music I wouldn't have coped as well during difficult parts of my life.

A beautiful song, especially spiritual music (even Christian hymns and choir music, which do not fit within my own religious beliefs as a Goddessian) often move me to tears.

The Music-Yoga-Spirituality Triangle. Should be tacked on every yogi(ni)s wall. Ya know?

article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

YITP Peep's Goals for the Summer- Help Pls!

Last year, as a fluke, our Coffee and Yoga crew created a yoga goal: Bakasana by the end of the summer. Each yoga practice involved asanas that helped prepare and strengthen for crow and we problem solved together different ways to get in and out of the posture. It was surprisingly fun and the crew decided to give it another try this summer.

A slight glitch is that our Yoga in the Park group is pretty varied when it comes to experience... so we decided to each choose our own personal goals.There are a few challenges with this decision, the biggest one being that we can't all work together through common prep asana's and sequences. So I'll have to think of sequences that include some prep for (hopefully) the majority of my peeps goals.

Although it looks chilly, it was warm in the mist at the beach that morning...

Weirdly enough, I'm kinda excited for the challenge.

As I'm blessed with many yoga teacher readers, I was wondering if there'd be some tips, thoughts, suggestions to help us on our yoga journey this summer. :) Following are the goals, my ideas and what I've read. I'd love to hear any feedback or thoughts from you. Also, if you haven't tried creating a Yoga Goal, give it some thought- summer and outdoor yoga is the perfect setting to try something a bit adventurous.

Yoga in the Park Personal Adventure 2011:

Lisa's Goal: Halfmoon (Ardha Chandrasana). 

Oh I have been working on this one for YEARS. What I need to work on is forward folds, triangles (side stretching) and hips hips hips. My challenge is opening my hip and getting enough lift from my leg.

Jen's Goal: Lowering from plank-chaturanga

She's almost there, I've seen her! I'm thinking core to take some of the edge off the arms and shoulders and as her legs are uber strong, some arm and shoulder strengthening (such as Dolphin plank, side plank and downdogs). 

Tips on correct placement:

From plank, keeping the elbows in, slowly lower until a few feet from the floor. Keep neck extended, shoulders open and tailbone tucked in (no dipping the belly or butt popping up).

Andrew's Goal: Wheel

He's succeeded in lifting up twice (maybe he says, when he was going to the gym every day...). I'm excited that with regular practice it'll be something fun to witness. Lots of Bridges, cobras and upward facing dogs. I'm also thinking Cow Face Pose (sans hips) and lots of chest openings (like forward folds with arms interlaced behind his back, fish pose) would be good to open up his chest-arms.

Chris's Goal: Handstand

Chris has fabulous upper body strength and has always loved the more adventurous postures. If anyone can do this he can! All descriptions that I've heard of learning handstand has involved a lot of up against the wall ideas and partner work. Now partnering can happen at YITP, but as there aren't any walls in the great outdoors, Chris may need to practice this one at home as well. 

Tips involve regular hop ups, strengthening poses like planks, down dogs and crow and I'm also thinking core core core. I've heard the trick is to lift from your core and not from your arms.

Heather's Goal: Practice without shoulder pain

This one's tricky. Heather has a beautiful, strong frame but her shoulders have taken a lot from playing ball hockey and ice hockey (she rocks). Postures like downward dog and plank hurt her shoulders, but I'm also wondering if concurrently she could focus intensely on her core. Strengthening her may lessen the weight on her shoulders... She may also want to slowly build up her tolerance, taking a slightly opposite route from Jen and step back to using her knees for chaturanga dandasana. 

Kevin's Goal: Reconnecting with Yoga

A few years ago Kevin and Heather were practicing with us regularly once and sometimes twice a week. Life has gotten in the way and now they're super busy with hockey, soft ball and ball hockey. Yoga can be challenging for tight hamstrings and hips and a busy mind (I have all these too, so I can  totally relate). Kevin will work on finding just enough push instead of giving up the posture without hurting himself. That in of itself is a challenge.

Lori's Goal: Crow Pose

She can totally pull this one off. She's definitely a ridiculous yogini ready to take off. I never hear a peep or a complaint from her, which is more than I can say for myself. This one is another shoulder strengthener and we'll be working on core (and more core) for the lift needed, arm strengthening and malasana. I've always tried it by positioning, lifting up my core, sucking in my navel and leaning forward. Jen, last year, was successful by widening her stance and placing her knees on the outside of her arms. As each body is different we'll sure be trying a bunch of options (and a pillow in the park will be a must!).

Carla's Goal: Jumping to the front from downdog

One of the most open, honest and fierce yoginis in our group, Carla definitely will achieve this one. Of course, it's yet another core posture (geez, is there a theme here?). Jumping to the front generally involves a bunch of practice, sucking in your navel, looking forward, bending your knees and making that leap. A pillow can help and I think the soft grass will also help her confidence (although I've found it trickier to actually make a jump). We'll be practicing during apartment yoga too!

Any tips that may work for my peeps? 

Got any personal adventures planned for this summer?

article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Eco-Souvenir-Giving-Person... Tips!

Île-du-Prince Edouard (PEI) was beautiful... who knew? (Actually I'm sure lots of you knew that, I just haven't been since I was five!).

Besides the ridiculous amount of yoga on the ocean, restauranting with in-laws (...yep...) and reading, I picked up a few things as souvenirs for friends. Now, I have a pretty large hate-on for those ridiculous tourist knick-knack-y stuffs. You know, little statues that say 'Cancun' or whatever. Not only are they almost always made 'Not in the visited country' but they never get used, collect dust and are immensely wasteful. I think my extreme aversion comes from my dad's friends.

Ok, I'll explain quick- my family never could afford to travel 'down south' every winter- which was fine by me. My parent's friends often went every year though, and always always brought back some stupid little knick knack. Shot glasses (with lead so we can't use them), creepy seashell dudes playing cards... you get the picture. They now line every shelf and wooden window covering at our cottage. Ugh.

My goal when I travel? If I'm bringing something back it's going to be local, usable and hopefully sustainably made. Of course the best thing would be to just bring back the pictures to share... but some of us have kitten sitters and friends who we just want to share a piece of our travels. So here's a break down of Eco-Souvenir-Giving as I see it:

Lobster traps in PEI are 'old school' and made of wood. Which is weird since in Yarmouth County, traps are wire, weigh a zillion pounds. The Captain (see pic below) explained that since they don't fish very far out in the ocean, and in the summer time the traps don't take as much of a beating. Also, the lobsters in PEI will choose the wooden traps over the wire ones...

BEST: Sustainable, locally made and totally usable.
First thing to think of while searching- instead of buying more 'stuff', purchase something that they can actually USE. I mean, drink or eat. Clothing can be tricky, accessories- same (unless you really know their taste), so edible items are always a winner.

Then focus on where it's made- locally by a small funky artisan is best. That way your gift will truly be special and unique.

Follow this up with a good dose of sustainability and you're good to go. Honestly though? I try for the first two then worry about the third, otherwise I'd go bonkers.

I took some pictures of the smaller lobster boats for my dad and brother- if you look closely you can see the Captain of CaT Sass (teehee), who we of course chatted with. Otherwise we'd be creepy picture taking tourists...

Some ideas? Locally brewed micro brewed beer. We picked up Gahan House, brewed in Charlottetown beer for our friends. Local wine, like the tasty Rossignol wine we brought back for our kitten's Tante and Uncle. Nova Scotia even has local distillery, Ironworks. Trust me, alcohol can TOTALLY be wrapped up in a few sweaters and bags and survive the flight home.

Jams, preserves and such are always fun. We brought back two jars of locally made fancy jam from PEI's Preserve Company (Strawberry and Grand Marnier or Blackberry-Champagne? Yes!). They actually make the jam onsite.

A really fun idea, my friend Jen brought us back some locally grown and roasted Hawaiian coffee beans, Maui Coffee. Although we can get locally roasted, coffee beans do not grow in Nova Scotia. How cool is that?

Of course, the closer to home your summer travel adventure keeps you, the more sustainable. Sometimes just exploring your own Province (or State) is a fantabulous experience.

AND- Make practicing yoga in some fun outdoor space a part of your Adventure!

Blessings!


article and photographs copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

A Little Rest Near the Ocean+Yoga

A little rest in Cavendish PEI...

Happy Canada Day- see you next week!

article and photographs copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com