Two Challenges: Breakfast and Caffeine

In keeping with the "living as if you're pregnant" rule suggestion I've begrudgingly (if I am to be honest) been trying to make two, albeit healthy, changes in my life.

One: eat some sort of breakfast most mornings of the week.
Two: decrease caffeine consumption.

Oh I know loads of you out there already do these things, and yes I recognize that they are good changes (which is why I'm doing them), but they are Kinda a Big Deal (sorry, just watched Anchorman and couldn't resist).

Eat Some Sort of Breakfast Most Days of the Week

(This was my breakfast one morning!)

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yes I know. Historically, I've either been nauseous every morning (it took years to figure out it was likely reflux... lovely) and when that was taken care of my sensitive stomach really just doesn't handle anything before 10am very well. Add to that the fact that I generally see clients all morning and eating breakfast isn't the easiest feat.

BUT... Last week I tried and sorta succeeded! By sort of, I ate a breakfast three out of the five mornings! YES! (On weekends we sleep in ridiculously late because we can...).

I owe this sorta-success to Chef Michael Smith... and his overnight oatmeal in a jar recipe (In Family Meals). (Unbelievably Andrew and I have TWO of his cookbooks and they are actually amazing. Highly recommend). Now, I don't actually really like oatmeal, but this recipe is pretty tasty and preps the night before which is fantastic.

Chef Michael Smith's Overnight Oatmeal Jar (w some EcoYogini mods)
1/2 cup rolled oats (organic is best!)
1/2 cup of milk
drizzle of maple syrup (or other sugar)
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

Add to a 500ml mason jar and shake vigorously (with the lid on...). Add copious amounts of frozen berries (raspberries and blueberries are delish!) but leave room for the yogourt in the morning! Chill in the fridge overnight. In the morning add a dollop of yummy yogourt (I splurge for the rich fat and highly berried stuff). You could add some crunch. DONE.

I make two jars at a time since it will keep for one extra day!

Decreasing Caffeine

Now, I am a "one cup a day" coffee drinker as it is. But... that one cup is actually my Klean Kanteen thermos, which is really closer to two cups if we were being honest. Going full on decaf just sounds ridonculous and crazytown. Who willingly DOES THAT?

Sigh. But I *GUESS* I could try to decrease my coffee.

Which is what a co-worker suggest I do- not cut out (which would cause massive caffeine withdrawal headaches) but cut down.

Another co-worker, who was forced to go decaf when she was pregnant- sad I know, who was also a coffee snob so I could trust our tastes would be similar (I am not even pretending here), said that the BEST decaf beans were from Smiling Goat. Which are roasted at Java Blend.

If I'm going to do this it is going to be no holds barred, Andrew has to as well, and only during the weekdays. I still want my fancy full caffeine coffees on the weekend.

For the past two weeks I have been putting half decaf, half caffeine beans (1.5 scoops each) into the grinder and, gasp, mixing them together. Both locally roasted organic fair trade beans (Goddess I am such a hipster), both fancy and delicious.

And it has WORKED. No headaches, no extra tiredness, no awful disgusting taste. *Pumps fist in air*

One reason why I feel fairly confident both these new life changes will stick? My total lack of all-or-nothing approach. I often feel that as a society we often have unreasonable and, let's be honest here, crazy expectations when making changes in how we live. All these crash/30daychallenges with yoga/diets/cleanses (the last which is absolutely bonkers- our body never needs to be "cleansed") are never sustainable, sometimes dangerous and as a result never meant to be integrated into a feasible daily practice.

Small, attainable and easy steps to help me feel success, accustom to change and eat my darn breakfast.

Two Weeks of Illness and What it Has Taught Me

I am a snivelling, coughing, achy mess and have been for the past 13 days straight. Today I sat on my office floor and coughed until I thought I was going to be sick with tears running down my face as I heaved fruitlessly trying to stop the coughing.

If that sounds dramatic it's because after nearly two weeks and TWO walk-in doctor appointments with almost no change in my symptoms... I feel dramatic.

I have always been a firm believer in not going to the doctor for every little cold. These things have to run their course so I will rest, drink lots of water and tea and eat lots of soup. Oh, and at night I will take Advil cold and sinus- I am not above getting as much sleep as possible.

After my fever climbed to a whopping 102.5 the second day of my cold, I didn't hesitate to go to the walk-in the very next day. Only to be told... to come back if I don't "feel better" in three days. This translated to me not going back until I couldn't hear out of one ear. Which resulted in an ear infection and drops that aren't actually treating the rest of my awful symptoms. Which has resulted in my going BACK to the doctor for a THIRD time (but this time to my family physician who is amazing) tomorrow morning.

All this to say that I have a renewed appreciation of individuals with:
a) Hearing loss. After effectively blocking most sound from my right ear and some in my left, my already damaged hearing was completely shot. Trying to focus at work was painful- I barely heard what others were saying and was constantly saying "pardon me?". I tried to order a coffee that day and misheard the barista twice before I was able to confirm what I had ordered and what I wanted. I had no idea how loudly or softly I was speaking and felt very much adrift. Hearing loss is an invisible difficulty and we forget just how much we take hearing for granted.

b) Living with chronic illness: Now this is definitely only a peak into such a life. But even my (very) brief two weeks of constant aches, pains and illness where I continued to go to work, be social, go to a birthday party, do chores and spend time with my husband- gave me a whole sense of renewed humility to how those with chronic illness or pain must live. Every little thing exhausts me, but I never get enough sleep due to coughing or congestion. I am thankful that, except for this, I am a healthy person and I thank the Goddess for it more so each day.

So. That has been my life recently. Yoga on the backburner, accepting that simply drinking tea and resting isn't always the solution to sickness.

GPB: Loss and Connection

Today I'm at the Booth... writing about the amazing hot topic of...

Hearing loss.

"How I took my hearing for granted and how losing it affects my connection with Nature"

It's an important post. Go read it. Comment, share.

And enjoy the sounds of nature for me will ya?

Seed Regime: A Naturopathic Update

Why hello there. It would appear March took a break from blogging! New home ownership combined with a hectic work and volunteer life has left little energy for this little ole blog. No worries, I'm back in time for the über storm!

I thought I'd take a minute to share an update on the Naturopathic front.

RECAP: due to biological circumstance beyond my control (damn you problem uterus!! *shakes fist*), for about 7 years I was the reluctant champion of the DivaCup. As in, 50-60% of my life was spent on my moontime and the DivaCup saved me loads of money in "feminine products" as well as my sanity.
Two years ago I finally browbeat convinced my (then) GP to send me on some painful testing, specialist appointments, to reveal that I did not have cancer on my ovaries (score!) nor a testosterone secreting tumour (double score!).
And that's where western medicine ended and Naturopathic medicine began. If you want to read about that End (Google Diagnosing Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding) and my latest post on Lying to HealthCare fill yer boots :)

Basically, the end of the middle part of this story is that the Naturopath fixed my DUB for about 80% of my life. Which means that 8 out of 10 months of regular cycle and no spotting equals Happy Dance and Happy Lisa. Cuz let's be real, as awesome as DivaCups are, wearing them at 10-14 day stretches sucks.

Enter "Beginning of Uterus Journey Two". I've decided after a full year of debating, that I will begin sharing about this journey only over at the Booth for a variety of reasons;
a) So I can stop feeling so alone in this path
b) The Booth allows me a measure of privacy that this blog no longer does

Ok those are the big reasons.

JourneyDUB2 has brought many Naturopathic suggestions that have been difficult to follow consistently. I'm terrible at changing.

Except, I seem to be rocking the seed diet!

(second part of the cycle: ground pumpkin and flax seeds)

I'm honestly a bit skeptical, but the Naturopath has put me on a "Seed Regime"... yep, I grind up two tablespoons of different kinds of seeds each night to ingest. It's supposed to help even out hormone levels. Of some sort. I'm kinda fuzzy on the "whys" at the moment (yay for trust in my Naturopathic Doctor!). She recommended ingesting it in yogourt (ick), which is crazy. Instead, I've been making delicious smoothies.

They are ridiculously easy to make, taste amazing and assure I'm getting a good amount of fruit in my diet. I have no idea why I've never done this before. I have a little "seed smoothie" cupboard filled with the finally useful Magic Bullet (hah, I *know* you thought of the "other" bullet, am I right??), a table spoon and bulk organic seeds. My plan over the course of this summer: go to as many u-picks as possible and freeze a shit ton of fruit for smoothies.

In case your like my hubby Andrew and prefer recipes, here's the general gist of my smoothies:
- half a banana (organic is best!)
- half cup of frozen blueberries
- a tablespoon of yogourt
- half cup (ish) of juice of some sort (or water might work)
- sometimes I add a half a pear for extra deliciousness

Since frozen blueberries taste like candy, it's an instant, filling dessert that I have pre-meal. I can't wait to see the Naturopath's surprise when I actually show up to an appointment with successfully following through on one of her recommendations re: diet!

I am so thankful 2013 is over.

I am going to be honest, I am so thankful 2013 is over.

I was going to peruse my blog posts for the past year and try to pull some themes. Except... there are really a few overarching events that standout in my mind that have influenced my life in 2013. One of which I've kept secret, and although I'm not ready to share here, publicly, yet- this one, extremely difficult, thing has shadowed everything I've done over the past year.

2013 saw a change in my career: my job was reduced to part time for five months which was difficult financially for Andrew and I. Although I put myself out there for a private practice, I was fortunate to get another part time component in September and this has proven another challenging and rewarding career decision.

Andrew and I have purchased a house- 2013 marked a definite year of grieving the end of urban (and "youthful") living. I'm hopeful that the emotions that have arisen over the past year around this decision have allowed me to prepare for this new change. Now more than ever I feel ready to leave apartment living and welcome the privacy of living in the Quiet of semi-rural.

My yoga practice has become 100% home practice, mostly due to financial reasons. Despite this, due to the emotional instability and general high level of stress throughout the year, I have learned little about my body and my practice in 2013. This past year has been about surviving and for the first time in five years I have broken out in hives and have seen the return of night terrors.

Looking forward in 2014, I feel it's time to take back some space for me and move beyond "survival mode" into nourishing mode. Already I have taken steps with various medical appointments with my fabulous new GP (who is bilingual!) for January, a follow up with my Naturopath (who has forever changed my quality of life- I am now a believer), and a slow return to a more dedicated yoga and creativity practice.

What I have learned in 2013? That holding onto grief doesn't help. That perfectionism doesn't help and that my career is not the measure of who I am. What my body can and can't do shouldn't shape my ability to be happy.

Lately I have been finding joy in the every day moments, conversations and interactions. I have been feeling content with my yoga practice consisting of playing the guitar, laughing with friends and relaxed evenings watching movies with the love of my life.

I have been moving on and letting go.

Practicing Ahimsa towards ourselves: Rachel Hawes Guest Post & e-course!

Today I have a special guest post from a fabulous Yoga Blogger from "Across the Pond": Rachel Hawes of Fusion Studio. She was one of the first online yoga bloggers with whom I connected with and I LOVED listening to her audio pod cast (her and her partner have the BEST interactions). I adore Rachel's writing style, her open and practical approach to yoga and healing while keeping her teachings very grounded in physical health and balance.

Now we can all benefit from Rachel's fabulous teachings from all around the world! She has created "Serenity Seasons" e-course that will be available at the end of this month (see the final section at the end of this article for details). As a preview of her awesome, rocking self; enjoy her perspective on "Ahimsa" (at my request for insights re: stress and self-care). Merci Rachel!

Practicing Ahimsa towards ourselves

Ahimsa, the first of the Yamas or Moral Restraints in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is often translated as non-violence.

"Being firmly grounded in non-violence creates

an atmosphere in which others can let go of their hostility."

Yoga Sutra 2:35

Rather than looking at is as a lack of violence, I prefer to see Ahimsa as a cultivation of loving kindness towards all beings.  Once we start to focus on loving kindness we often realise how many of our thoughts are unloving and unkind.  I am often seen to get increasingly impatient in the supermarket queue behind that old lady who just will not stop talking to the cashier and get on with packing her bags, and I'm not the most patient driver in traffic! By being mindful of these things, however, and noticing when they are happening I can take a breath, open my heart…..and react in a different way.  

Let it go.  Loving kindness.

Don’t for a minute think this is easy for me.  It just isn’t.  But like so much in life, it’s all about baby steps.

As Darren Main says in his book Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic:-

"By simultaneously refraining from violent acts and looking at the unconscious thought patterns that inspire them, we become more peaceful, and our natural reaction to adversity will be peace rather than attack." (page 81).

Ultimately though, to make this search for Ahimsa more personal to me, I try to focus the loving kindness towards myself.  Too often we get so caught up in our work, our families, the chores, the needs and wants of others, we forget about ourselves, our own wellbeing. Over the last few years I have been working on finding moments of self-care within my busy days. Five minutes of meditation, five minutes of yoga, ten deep breaths. It stops me from burning out. It keeps my well of energy, inspiration and creativity full so I can serve my clients with 100% of my focus and attention.

I truly believe that if we don’t take care of ourselves, our ability to take care of others diminishes. By looking after myself I am surprised by how much more compassion I have towards those around me.

This journey in self-care and serenity is something I want to share with the world. We all know how important looking after ourselves is but sometimes we're just so busy, so stressed, that we don't know where to start. We don't have time to go to a yoga class, or for a massage. 

So I have created the Serenity Seasons e-course (link: http://massage-movement.co.uk/courses-support/the-serenity-seasons-e-course/) to help you bring serenity and self-care back into your day, moment by moment, season by season. 

To be amongst the first to sign up and get the early bird discount, as well as receive a free 10-minute guided relaxation MP3 immediately and a recording of a talk I am giving entitled "Help! I'm too busy..." on 28th November, then do sign up to my mailing list (link:  http://eepurl.com/gagi9). There's an opportunity to win one of ten Serenity Self-Care packages too! I can't wait to connect with you! 

Rachel Hawes is a yoga teacher and mentor, holistic therapist, stressbuster, serenity seeker and owner of Fusion Studio (linkhttp://massage-movement.co.uk). She is passionate about helping people eliminate stress and anxiety by tapping into their inner energy and joy to find wellbeing, mindfulness and pain-free movement. She has worked with a wide variety of people from stressed-out office workers to new mums, from people recovering from chronic illness to trainee yoga teachers. She has a toolbox of techniques and practices to suit you, at whatever point on your journey you find yourself.

Follow her on Twitter (@Rachel_Fusion), join her on Facebook (http://facebook.com/fusionstudio74) and read the blog (http://massage-movement.co.uk/blog)

The Physical Manifestations of Stress and the Importance of a Regular Yoga Practice

This weekend I have discovered two things:

1. I am allergic to jalapenos
2. I hate my stress hives

The body does crazy things when under stress. I always find it amazing that we are often surprised when our health and body suffers when our mind is under stress. Our brain is connected and controls our body people- if we stress our brain it will come out in our body.

In 2006 I flew across the country to begin my new life, my new job in Vernon BC. I was beyond nervous, anxious, tired and stressed. Immediately when I landed I started scratching, almost absentmindedly, behind my knees. By the time I arrived at my friend Margaret's apartment my legs were covered in hives. By the next day my entire body was covered in itchy, red welts. They lasted two weeks before they started to fade.

To this day, I've noticed that in moments of stress I'll have a few hives pop up on my knees... nothing major- just enough to itch. But Friday, after my gig at JustUs!, I broke out in full blown, body covering hives.

Life has been extremely stressful lately. A new job, house hunting, some "family" health troubles, my grandmère passed away two weeks ago (two days before my birthday)... combine that with no time for yoga, eating well or any real physical activity and you get a hive covered Lisa.

I immediately reintroduced a yoga practice that weekend (and starting this weekend plan on recommitting to a daily 20min yoga practice, weaning off to 3x a week). Trying to practice yoga while covered in hives really isn't any fun.

Then Friday, after my gig, I ate nachos with the jalapeno peppers picked off. As I ate, I felt my lip start to tingle and feel a bit swollen... but I attributed that to the black velvets. That night, when I looked in the mirror my entire face was covered in hives and my hands were puffy and itchy messes. Awesome.

Lesson: don't give up yoga practice for ANYTHING, Lush "Dreamwash Shower Smoothie" with calamine lotion and aloe works wonders on hives (too bad it isn't perfectly "clean" ingredient wise), and I need to be more conscious of my stress levels- reconnecting daily so they don't get out of control.

What about you? Does your stress manifest itself physically? How do you manage?

Run or Dye: Questioning the Health and Environmental Consequences

Last Sunday I ran my first ever 5K. I am now officially a runner and what blows my mind is that I can actually run for over 30 minutes straight without dying. It is magical.

(Andrew, me and Steph finishing our first 5K last week! What is skill? Taking a photo while finishing your first 5K...)

What I like about running is the fact that it is free (after the cost of shoes) and that it's low impact on the environment. No one needed to heat and light a studio, create a mat, create equipment for us to run to the park and back. Although it will never take the place of yoga (running doesn't even come close to making me as happy), it's a convenient and low-cost addition to my "keeping my body healthy" routine.

Recently my Facebook page has been swamped by local runners promoting the Halifax occurrence of "Run or Dye".

(image from Run or Dye website)

Despite the clever name and the admittedly fun-looking promotion of getting people to run, there are some serious environmental and health issues regarding an event that propagates hundreds of packets of dyed cornstarch "just because".

Firstly, I did email Run or Dye asking for an ingredient list of their dye packets and received this response:

"The dye is made of a colored cornstarch.  It is food grade and is safe for skin and clothes."

My concerns with this statement mostly deal with the inhalation of the powder. Running results in a larger amount of air exchange while breathing- we breathe at a higher frequency and typically longer, fuller breaths. Once we stop running, this breathing pattern takes some time to revert back to typical, at rest, levels.

(image from Run or Dye Facebook Page)

Re: corn starch inhalation:

1. ANY substance other than air should not be inhaled. Our lungs are built to manage and process air and has defence mechanisms built in to handle a certain portion of non-healthy air pollution (and even then, think of air pollution, cigarette smoke- we have limits). Our lungs are NOT made to eliminate solid particles. Part of my training as a Speech-Language Pathologist is to diagnose and treat swallowing disorders, which entails a significant knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of our pharynx and larynx (mouth and throat) and aspiration: what happens when solid particles bypass our vocal folds and enter the lungs.

2. A MSDS for corn starch states the following: "If inhaled remove to fresh air...". It is not recommended to inhale corn starch.

Re: "Safe" dyes:

1. Let's be honest, I don't have a lot of faith in the "FDA" seal of approval. As you can read from several recent scientific articles, despite increasing and strong evidence that "FDA approved food dyes" are linked to behavioural changes in children, the FDA decided there was 'insufficient evidence' and continued to state food dyes were safe for ingestion. (Synthic Food Colors and Neurobehavioural Hazards: The View From Environmental Health Research, Weiss 2012; Diet and Nutrition: The Artificial Food Dye Blues, Potera 2010)

2. Beyond the discussion of what is "food" safe- the participants of Run or Dye aren't actually, for the most part, ingesting the dye, they are inhaling it. A huge difference. The FDA have come to their (dubious) conclusions from research looking at how our digestive systems, equipped to break down and process potentially harmful substances via the digestive acids and enzymes, and not how the bronchiales in our lungs process synthetic, solid, dyes.

3. Further, no one is talking about how these synthetic dyes would impact the soil and vegetation. These Run or Dye events use up a LOT of dyed cornstarch that will be absorbed and left on the soil and waterways.

Re: plastic packets:

The shear waste of the plastic packaging that each participant will receive with their dyed cornstarch is disgusting. Although Halifax does have quite a bit of recycling bins around the city, they aren't always readily available. Also, most residents are aware that it is the law to recycle plastics, that doesn't mean that they do (or that there are any consequences if they don't). Of course, recycling is really not the answer to managing our plastic problem in any case.

I applaud Run or Dye with coming up with a creative, fun way to get people motivated to be physically active. 

It's the obvious health and environmental (which is our health as well) ramifications that have me saying: "No Thank You."

Ten Things you NEED to Tell Yourself (a big EFF YOU to Dove)

The Yoga Culture is a tricky place to navigate when it comes to body image and self-acceptance. The very activity of yoga attracts naturally bendy, lithe, young and slim bodies and the multi-billion dollar clothing and accoutrement industry (like typical capitalistic patriarchal companies) rely heavily on bombarding consumers with a "yoga body type ideal" that is unrealistic (and arguably detrimental to women's sense of self worth and acceptance).

The recent Dove commercial "Real Beauty Sketches" have been making the rounds on facebook, with their fair share of criticisms (please read Little drops post on this, it's like she read my mind.... creepy). If you don't feel like reading the awesome post at Little drops, needless to say I find the video ridiculously patronizing and that it perpetuates the damaging social culture of external beauty above all else for self worth.

Ugh, can't we step out of the box for a second Dove? I wouldn't be so disappointed if so many people weren't attaching themselves to the video as if it were just so 'GOOD' of them. As if they weren't just continuing an external self-worth which conveniently allows them to sell their product (which will make our skin so beautiful). And do I have to point out that Dove is owned by Unilever... who also owns AXE- a company that produces THE most offensive patriarchal and sexist advertisements? (and has been criticized for their highly polluting and toxic products).

Women are often made to feel like we shouldn't go on about how awesome we are, it's often about what we give... about others (our children, our partners, our friends and family). As narcissistic as the next bit may seem, Eff it. We need this.

So. Here is MY "Real Love" challenge to you, readers. (it's a two part'er):

1. List TEN things you love about yourself that have nothing to do with your physical external self (in the comment section, or write a blog post and share it here)
2. Compliment 3 female friends on something INTRINSIC to their personality that you love.

Here are my top 10:
I love...
1. My Passionate Self.
She's the reason for my feminism, my commitment to the environment and my refusal to be discriminated against because of my genitals. She effing rocks.

2. My Opinionated Self.
All the haters can eff off, having a strong opinion makes me a strong, leadership-driven, person.

3. My Sensitive, Emotional Self.
Whatever, I love that I cry at ridiculously sappy commercials (or topics). It helps with my ability to be empathetic and it balances out my awesome Opinionated Self.

4. My Geek Self.
I adore science fiction (Dune, Star Trek, Star Wars- it is all awesome). That makes me ridiculously interesting.

5. My Voice.
For singing, for talking (with my soft Acadian French accent that's barely discernable).

6. My Silly Self.
Yes I may be 31 years old, but I think it's fantastic that I don't take myself that seriously, that I love to dance terribly in the kitchen, make silly faces or laugh at myself. I know I'm smart and successful, I don't have the urge to constantly remind others of that.

7. My Intelligent Self. 
Yep, I am a smart lady. I have finally grown into my smartness, and love that it is balanced by my silliness.

8. My Raunchy Foul Mouth. 
It's fun to swear. What else can I say?

9. My Acadian Self. 
I am so proud to come from such a rich and strong cultural heritage. Despite the haters, I ADORE my Acadian French, including the fact that I can codeswitch like nobody's business. That takes skill.

10. My Friends and Family. 
I know this seems external, but my friends, husband and family make me so incredibly happy and complete. My love for them is something I treasure. It's cool to actively LIKE (and LOVE) someone without shame, without reservation.

Ok, your turn!

GPB: Critically Thinking About Research: Thoughts on Autism

I'm ending this week on a bang with some thoughts on critically examining research, the responsibility of health professionals and recent news on placentas and risk for Autism (yep, I said 'placenta').

Go on over, share your thoughts and perspectives. Like I said, just a discussion and observations to share. :)

Happy Friday!

Overshare: An Update on Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding & Naturopathic Medicine

Today is the end of the third month where my uterus has been magically fixed.

What the traditional western medical system had no way to solve, no answers, absolutely no hope- sending me along my way with no more than a "well- I guess you'll just have to live with it"- a Naturopathic Doctor was able to fix with a natural, vitamin tincture, some supplements and whole vegetables.

I am at a complete loss.

Honestly, I don't *really* believe in Naturopathic Medicine. Shocking, I know- since this site is all about the "Granola", the natural, with a good dose of Yogic fouffy. Sure, I can easily accept the mind-body connection- our brains are connected to our bodies after all. I use yoga, pranayama, every day to manage my IBS and stress. But an actual, medical issue that Western Medicine has no alternatives?

What can I say? I must be a skeptic at heart. That and it irks me when vulnerable people are taken advantage of... and often Naturopathic Medicine costs a lot of money and isn't covered. Sick people would count as "vulnerable".

However, I need to swallow the pill and admit that, whether it's the placebo affect or not, the tincture is working. After six years of having only 1-2 weeks of period-free followed by 12-14 days of moon time, these past three months have been scary amazing. (for a bit more background on this moon story).

If you haven't experienced dysfunctional uterine bleeding, than you have no idea what being on your period for 75% of your life for years on end will do to your emotional well being... to your relationships... and how utterly amazing it feels to have the freedom of 3 entire weeks without one tiny drop of period.

(this moment, dancing in my galaxy leggings on NYE is how it feels)

This entire story-line is a massive, personal overshare on my part that I've considered keeping to myself. Mostly because- after the bullying post (which you may noticed has been removed, as I was actually threatened to the point that I had to do so), I don't feel as safe in sharing online like I had been.

After some careful thought, however, I felt it would be useful to share my story and my success with Naturopathic Medicine in case there is another "me" out there, feeling hopeless and desperate. Having gone through years of medical doctors and painful tests to be told to "live with it".

To the other "me"s- I wish to share two things:
- the DivaCup will save your sanity.
- if you have coverage for Naturopathic Medicine- look into it.

GPB: What I've Learned from Parents and Preschoolers

My post at the 'Booth today is a bit different: an ode to parents, what I've learned about preschoolers over the past six and a half years, with a few little tidbits on language development that I offer in return...

Go on over and take a peek! Feel free to comment and share what you have learned as a parent or friend of parents! :)

My First Visit with A Naturopathic Doctor

On October 23rd I went to see Dr. Maggie... a Naturopathic Doctor. After years of trusting the western medical system with no answers other than a "we have no idea, guess you have to live with it", I threw up my hands and did a metaphorical "to hell with you" and promptly booked an appointment with Dr. Maggie.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I know I went in prepared to disbelieve almost every word she said and was prepared to stand strong against any "cleanses" or diet restrictions. My diet is restricted enough thank you and my health can't really take any harsh cleanses (I'm actually firmly opposed cleansing in the dietary manner, but that's for another discussion... maybe with a Dietician's input).

I was pleasantly surprised at the same time as not.

I sweated a lot during the 1hr45min interview. I was wildly uncomfortable, and I'm not sure why other than she must have had the heat turned WAY up in her office.

In any case, she actually listened to what I had to say, validated that it sucks ass to live this way, and made some interesting connections between the emergence of my Reflux/IBS and hormones. I'm a little sketchy on her explanation that should be stomach not be functioning properly that my hormones aren't being processed and filtered from there to my liver/kidneys (with a build up feedback loop back to my pituitary gland). But hey, everything is connected right? And I know more than most just how much stress can manifest physically in the weirdest ways (stomach pain, hives). So why not?

She agreed to not restricting my diet and EVEN conceded to my cheese needs. Our compromise, stop putting milk in my coffee (it was minimal anyway, and so now I just dump two tablespoons of organic fair trade chocolate powder instead), and go every other day without cheese. She also recommended I eat more cruciferous vegetables to stimulate... some sort of something (I'm eating brocoli, kale and cauliflower like it's the bee's knees). According to wikipedia they can be suppress the thyroid gland... so maybe I should stop eating them raw...

Did you know that Naturopathic Doctors are all about the supplements? I mean, I kinda knew, but in case it wasn't obvious here's what I've been prescribed:

1. YOGA- I totally went on a hiatus while I was feeling less than optimal. I think this is understandable, and tonight was my reintroduction. Regardless, I need yoga to keep my stress levels down and my IBS under control. Done and done.

2. 1 teaspoon of disgusting tasting vitamin complex tincture before bed. They have created at their clinic and I have no idea what is in it. I should ask at my next appointment. Check.

3. 1 Vitamin B6 at lunch time on a full stomach. Unlike Andrew, I am not motivated to take vitamins (or eat vegetables) that make my pee turn colour. It's creepy. Sadly, I can't remember why she recommended this, other than I think it goes along with the cruciferous vegetables... something to do with stimulating hormones or something. (I was completely exhausted by the end of the appointment, most wasn't fully processed).

4. Probiotics twice daily with meals. This I've been abismal at keeping. Mostly because they have to be refrigerated and I kept either forgetting them at home or at work. My new solution is to have split the B6 and probiotics into two stashes, one for home and one for work.

5. A potential hormone test that would cost another 250$ once my cycle evens out after stopping the pill. I'm still on the fence about this one, she seemed quite certain that conventional hormone testing weren't as sensitive as their clinic's tests would be (from a saliva sample). I'm thinking this is a question for my Gynecologist...

6. On day one of my new cycle, begin taking my temperature each morning before I even get out of bed. This is actually a lot trickier than it sounds, since I have a lot of "fake-out!!" when it comes to my cycle...

My current status? This is the first month in about a year where I went a full 17 days with zero symptoms. I was hoping for a full 21, but I'll take 17 over 8-10 any day! Whether it's placebo effect, or the tincture (I've been WAY to inconsistent for it to be B6 or probiotic), but really... do I care at this point?

Almost 2 hours after I first walked in her office and a good 275$ later (more than half of that will be covered by my medical plan), and just her plan made me feel better. I still have appointments with my Gynecologist and GP, but perhaps this is an important compliment to my journey.

Any thoughts on the Naturopathic process? Experiences, suggestions?

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Accepting Staying Pale During The Summer

In grade 12 I went to the tanning beds every week and hated every second of it. Looking back, I cannot believe I actually exposed my body to such high levels of UV radiation just so I could look tan for the summer.

(Out in the beautiful sunshine at Halifax's "Tall Ships" festival this weekend!)

Now when I see a bronze and tanned body all that I can think of is 'skin cancer!' and future wrinkly skin. Of course, getting *some* sun is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. That said, the general consensus is that once you tan, you've gone too far.

Interestingly, as awareness of the dangers of over exposure to the sun's rays have spread and people have decreased their amount of direct sun exposure, the self tanning lotion industry has sky rocketed. Although culturally we're moving towards accepting that laying out in the sun to get a tan isn't socially acceptable, having tanned skin during summer months remains a desirable trait.

It's like the tanned skin ideal hasn't gotten the memo from the tanning gives skin cancer department.

Unfortunately, self tanning and bronzing lotions (and sprays) can also be problematic for similar (re: cancer causing ingredients) reasons.

Many generic self tanning and bronzing lotions are filled with sketchy ingredients such as estrogenic sunblocks and parabens. They're also formulated to be absorbed into your skin in order to dye your skin colour and stay there for days on end. I can't even imagine what a spray tan would do- there's no way you wouldn't be inhaling all those air borne particles. Ick.

There are environmentally friendly self tanning lotions on the market if you look hard enough, but what I find interesting is that as a society we'll have to start accepting that during summer months we stay sans-tan.

So while you practice yoga in the park, don't forget your eco-friendly sunscreen (check out Adria Vasil's latest review on natural sunscreens for options)!

Being pale is cool- being tanned and crinkly (and skin cancered) is not :)

article and photographs by EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

How To Not Hate Your Body

(caution: please excuse the moment of drama- am feeling it today!)

How to not hate your body:

- accept that the medical test results are right and that you are perfectly healthy.
- therefore, accept that you will menstruate every 1.5 to 2 weeks for at least 10-12 days straight.
- accept the fact that the doctor informed you that "this is the way you're built".
- don't imagine kicking the doctor in her shins. That's not nice. Maybe imagine it a little.
- be happy that you don't have cancer, or fibroids, or a missing uterus.
- be angry that you don't have cancer, or fibroids, or a missing uterus.
- go back to being very relieved, guilty that you even thought the angry-cancer part- and repeat.
- acknowledge that your body is strong and capable of running and a vigorous yoga practice.
- be excited that you can build muscles- it will come in handy when you become a superhero.
- celebrate that you can make babies in your non-missing uterus.
- go rock in a corner at the thought of pregnancy and child birth and what that would do to your now present uterus and other bits.
- get back on track and think of positive things about your body.
- like how you don't have ugly feet.
- and you don't have to pluck your eyebrows anymore cuz wouldn't you know, your mom was right: they stop growing after you turn 25.
- your vocal folds are pretty darn fantastical as they allow you to sing without people cringing.
- your brain and heart, although sensitive, allow you to be creative, enjoy fantasy novels, create music, to laugh and to love the wonderful man who is your husband. Excellent.
- And the giraffe neck is perfect for wearing ridiculously long and dangly earrings.

Basically, how not to hate your body is to be grateful that you have one.

(me-not hating my body while we dance to LMFAO at 1am at the cottage last weekend)

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Eating My Words: "Running is for Suckers"

This used to be me: "Silly people who run. I have no idea what is wrong with them. Running for no reason is for suckers."

Then Andrew decided two summers ago he would do the Couch to 5K program, and every morning at a ridiculously insane hour (5:30am) he'd get up and go running. He loved it. The "he is CRAZY" theme continued in my head as I smugly went along with my yoga practice.

Fast forward a few years, and I've started wondering just how much my heart rate really is increasing while practicing yoga. Sure, I sweat, build muscle mass and generally feel like I've MOVED my body for 60 to 90 minutes... but is my heart rate really up there for my practice 3x (more or less) a week for the entire time?

Heart Rate During a Yoga Class:
Let's just chat a bit more about this: out of 60 minutes of asana, at least 15-20min of that is cool down, warm up savasana or "easy on the heart rate" postures. Yes, it's likely half of the class will make me sweat and build muscle, but I can't guarantee that two or three classes a week will really cover 150 minutes (or 2.5 hours) MINIMUM aerobic activity. I just don't take three classes of 50 minute non-stop surya namaskar or vinyasa-ing one breath per posture (honestly, I have rarely taken such a class- most are well balanced...which is a good thing).

I love yoga and do not feel that this is a negative aspect of the practice. In fact, I feel like yoga adds something more. That said, it would be a mistake to blissfully equate 1:1 a minute of yoga practice to a minute of "moderate to vigorous physical activity".

  I have room for both Yoga AND other physical activity in my life.

Out of curiosity, I decided to take the Heart and Stroke Risk Assessment online screener. Thankfully I only have 4 scary risk factors for Heart Disease. My risk factors are a combo of my parent's family health risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, premature stroke etc) and eating too much salt and not enough veggies in my diet. Five servings of vegetables and fruits per day so isn't happening in this house (and it should!).

According to the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology's Canadian Physical Activity Guideline (which is used by Health Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and ParticipACTION);

Canadian adults should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity in a week... 

(Check out their other age ranges for children, teenagers and mature adults!)

So. This weekend I bought some running sneakers, fun pink running socks and I mentally prepared myself for my first day of Couch to 5K... TODAY.

Running appeals to me intellectually because it's so minimalist. You don't need the gym, fancy equipment (although a decent pair of running sneakers are worth the money) or special clothing (my yoga clothing worked just fine). You just need running sneaks and yourself. I like that.

As un-eco as this sounds, in order to save our knees from shins splints we decided to run in the park...but if we tried to run TO the park we'd never make it there. So I will be honest and admit we drove there (boo us).

Beyond a softer landing ground for my joints, I'm hoping that three runs a week in the park will also infuse a great big dose of NATURE in our lives. 

After a grand total of 8 bouts of 60 seconds of running and a whole bunch of brisk walking in the horizontal wind and spitting rain near the crash of whitecaps of the Atlantic ocean, I survived! I may have had this weird irrational urge to giggle every single time we started running (anyone else experience this?) and I may have complained once that I didn't really think I could run again ("but I have this STITCH Andrew!") but with Andrew's so excited, HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY support (he really likes running) I made it home and didn't feel like throwing up or dying. Bonus!

What I did not feel, however, was the post running high that Andrew was so obviously experiencing. Instead, my body was kinda angry, stiff and cold. It may have been the weather, but since Andrew wasn't experiencing the same thing, I think running just might take some time to grow on me.

In order to fix my physical and psychological state from running, I decided that 20 minutes of yoga was what I wanted. I was right. After moving through various postures (with some help from Rachel's Suburban Yogini post), I was back to being myself.

I'm not going to be running a marathon anytime soon, and I most certainly will pick yoga over running any day, but I'm very glad to be adding something a bit more heart rate intensive to help prevent a disease that is the leading cause of death in Canadian women (Heart and Stroke Foundation).

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Peppermint Tea Instead of Pepto

Raise your hands, all my peeps with IBS (or some form thereof).

Yep, most Speech Therapists suffer from IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and I'm fairly certain it has to do with the higher levels of type A personalities...

After 30 years (yep, I've struggled with IBS since my preschool years), I have tried everything. Especially during those extra difficult years of writing my Honours thesis and completing a master's degree. Stress=IBS for me (yoga has been pretty darn helpful).

During my summer jobs as a bartender, I actually kept a bottle of pepto under my bar at all times. I used to chug it like it was water. Trust me, serving alcohol to a bunch of fishermen can be tricky... especially when you're 19-20 and 100 lbs (it truly was weird the summer we went to the states and I was considered 'underage' even though I had been bartending and id-ing for two summers).

Nothing really worked... until I had my first cup of loose leaf peppermint tea.

Yep, I was flabbergasted to discover that after 26 years of sucking back pepto and popping advil, that a little ole cup of peppermint tea actually worked 100 times better at stopping and soothing severe cramping and digestion problems.

Why is this?

A quick literature review and we find that several researchers have studied using peppermint oil (in capsules) as treatment for IBS sufferers. According to Cappello et al. (2007), peppermint oil is successful when lactose intolerance and celiac disease are ruled out. A 2005 literature review by Grigoleit reveals that 8 of 12 double blind placebo trials found positive results (possibly the 4 other studies were complicated by a misdiagnosis of IBS like Cappello et al. suggested?). Finally, Merat et al. 2010 also found that peppermint oil capsules work well (although it would appear that perhaps they may have been funded by a specific brand of capsule...?).

New research is confirming what Naturopaths and alternative medicines have been recommending for years: that Peppermint oil acts as an anti-pain agent, dampening the pain receptors (which would decrease cramping and resulting unpleasantness).

So, instead of reaching for Pepto (which the active ingredient, 'bismuth' rates a moderate concern on the EWG, and inactive ingredients also have a few moderate hits), or pain medication (which recently has come to light often contain parabens, phthalates and other nasty chemicals)...

.... give loose leaf, organic peppermint tea a try! 

My favourite? David's Tea, Organic Peppermint Amour.

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

NB: If you believe you may have IBS, but have never been evaluated by a physician, please consult your family physician! Symptoms of IBS may also be symptoms of more serious medical issues such as Crohn's Disease and shouldn't be ignored.

Can Bacteria Grow on Bar Soap?

A comment left on my Green Phone Booth post on traveling with bar soap made me pause. She said that after about 5 bouts of strep throat (not fun!), his mother:  "...(a nurse practitioner) said that a place where germs hide and you don't look for them is on your bar of soap..."


My first reaction was that this was another example of how far our germ-a-phobic society has come that our bar soap could be a place to host bacteria. 


We can't have a conversation about soap without chatting about Triclosan...


In March 2012, Health Canada released a statement proclaiming that Triclosan, the pesticide rated chemical added to our antibacterial soaps (among other things- more on that in a minute), is harming our environment calling for a voluntary removal from companies. 


While Health Canada seems more worries about the accumulation of Triclosan in our environment than our bodies, Environmental Defence's statement links Triclosan to possibly contributing to superbugs, confirms that it's a known endocrine disruptor which can cause cancers and Canadians are exposed to Triclosan in more than just liquid soap. It's in toothpaste, deodorant, shoes, clothing, diapers and pillows to just name a few (take action- sign the petition!)


The Canadian Medical Association has recently called for a ban on Triclosan on non-hospital products, stating that there has been no evidence that anti-bacterial soaps are not more effective at killing germs and bacteria than regular soap and good hand washing.


Adria Vasil, in her latest Ecoholic column (a reminder for this post), outlines all the reasons why we should ask our government to ban Triclosan from all the hidden places we could find it in our products.


So- do germs live on bar soap?
Although there was one study in 1988 (old!) that's often quoted that no, germs don't grow on bar soap...  But a bit of further searching reveals that it's not the actual soap that kills germs, but the act of washing with soap that lifts them off your hands and rinses them away (The Canadian Medical Association, Health Canada).


According to Health Canada: "The mechanical action of handwashing - rubbing your hands together with soap and water - breaks down the tiny bits of grease, fat and dirt on your hands that bad germs cling to. Soap doesn't actually kill the bad germs, instead, it's the combination of soap, rubbing, rinsing and drying that helps these bugs slide off your hands" (emphasis added by author)


Other sources indicate that soap dishes that aren't cleaned, or cracked soaps, may encourage more bacteria growth than normal.  But then, bacteria and germs would grow on your faucets, the doorknobs, and if you use liquid soap- the bottle and pump that you touch before washing your hands. 


The take home message: 


1. Triclosan isn't more effective at eradicating germs and bacteria in our homes and should be cause for real environmental and health concerns. If you're Canadian, we have until the end of May 2012 to comment on Health Canada's statement: email Substances Canada to let them know you'd like them to ban Triclosan from all consumer products: substances@ec.gc.ca.


2. The combination of rubbing your hands together, water and regular soap is what will keep bacteria away, and not in fact the actual soap itself. Therefore, regular bar soap that is cared for just like you would pump soap won't be more likely to spread germs. 


3. Take care to empty out your soap dish, and toss soap that's cracked or has holes.


4. Bar soap isn't the cause of a spread of bacteria, just like using liquid soap itself won't prevent the spread of germs. Germs spread through a lack of handwashing and hand to face behaviour. 


5. The best way to prevent the spread of bacteria? Wash your hands properly (without rings, between fingers, under the nails, tops of hands and for about a minute- 7 tips from Health Canada), rinse properly to lift off that bacteria, and don't touch your eyes or mouth with your hands. 


Why bar soap is still better than liquid:
1. Proper care (i.e. cleaning a liquid pump bottle just like you'd clean the soap dish) doesn't yield more bacteria on bar soap.


2. Bar soap cleans just as well as liquid soap (see above).


3. Less to no plastic equals no harmful phtalates, BPA or petrochemicals leaching into our bodies and Planet.


article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

World Autism Awareness Day: Autism and Yoga

As it's World Autism Awareness Day, just on the heels of a recent CDC release of a 23% increase of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder since 2009, I thought I'd write a few thoughts on Yoga and Autism.

As a health professional who is typically the first person to say that scary word to parents, I often see the progression through grief and joy during the first years of diagnosis and therapy. During my time working as an SLP on the Autism Program Team in BC, I was dismayed to see how often parents were taken for their money and their hope by alternative therapy techniques.

These parents are at a delicate place of vulnerability and shouldn't be manipulated into spending their money on a treatment that may or may not prove effective.

Should Yoga Instructors like to be part of the Health Professional Team, it's important that Complementary Alternative Medicine treatment techniques be evaluated in an unbiased manner and parents are provided with unbiased information regarding the efficacy and evidence based research behind the intervention in question.

For example, most research that comes up citing the benefits of Yoga for children with Autism are published in alternative medicine or yoga journals. Typically, the scientific value of these studies are lower than other, more established, scientific journals. Therefore, results from these studies have to be interpreted with extreme caution.

Let's take the study titled: 'Application of integrated yoga therapy to increase imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder' published in the International Journal of Yoga.
This study claims to find that yoga will help increase imitation in children with Autism.
Taking a closer look and we realize that the study is flawed on many levels.

• there are only 6 participants in the study. Much too small to make a sweeping population statement.
• No information is given regarding the age or severity of their diagnosis. Autism is called a 'Spectrum' for a reason- symptoms and severity can vary greatly per child, as can the responsiveness to treatment. These two first bullets are enough to negate the entire study completely.
• It wasn't a double blind study- or even a single blind study. Children were rated using no standardized tools to assure the researchers were rating similar behaviours, or what behaviours they wanted to rate at all. Further, parents were asked to rate their children's behaviours afterwards. Typically, we can't assume that parents will subjectively rate an improvement just based on the hope that there is one. As no standardized tools were reported- we can't even assume any measure of objectivity were used.

This study is a complete bust.

If we look at a study published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinical North America: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder' we see a different approach.

This article provides a rich and recent literature review critically analyzing studies published on various alternative medicines. They've rated the therapies from C (lowest) to A (highest). You can see Yoga receives a 'C' mostly due to the fact that no appropriate studies have been released so far on the effectiveness of Yoga and Autism (as of 2008).

This isn't to say that yoga may not be an effective complement to traditional western therapy approaches for children with Autism. It's to recognize that as Health Professionals we need to take a step back and do what is best for these families by providing them with all the unbiased information we have at our disposal.

This may mean helping families:

1. Research Yoga programs for children with Autism. 
2. Look into that instructor's experience with children with Autism, 
3. Question specific modifications that are made for the program
4. Set up a meeting with the Yoga Instructor to discuss the reasoning. 
5. It may also mean sharing with the family that to date research into the effectiveness of Yoga with children with Autism is scant and to make this financial decision of paying for yoga (which can be expensive).

Finally, it will mean supporting the family should they choose to enroll their child in a Yoga for children with Autism. As an SLP this might look like my willingness to contact the Yoga Instructor and offer any input or suggestions regarding my client (with the parent's consent), from their communication skills to visual scheduling or alternative communication strategies.

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Plastic-Free Eco Mascara: TWINK!

I wear makeup. Yep, blotchy skin (hello rosacea) and under eye circles mean that every day I put on concealer, mineral powder, blush a bit of eye shadow and mascara. Those are the basics. Unfortunately I have had the most difficult time greening my makeup routine. Most affordable eco-makeup just doesn't live up to the toxic chemical filled stuff, or if it does it's because it's an in between-er.

(mascara coated lashes, photo by Roomic Cube- Flikr)

Why should you care about your mascara/makeup ingredient list?

1. If you're an EcoYogini who wears makeup, you're sweating those ingredients into your skin. Mascara, eye shadow and eye liner all are applied close to your eye. Do not tell me you've never gotten face paint into your eye before. Or rubbed your eyes? Our skin (and eyes!) can absorb the makeup ingredients into our system. Sweating opens the pores to allow even more ingredients to be absorbed. 
2. Cosmetics are not regulated well by the FDA (or at all really). Although there are some restrictions on what chemicals can be added to makeup, the term "ingredient" is pretty loosely defined. Chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of the cosmetic that could contaminate the product do not have to be included- so we'd never know. The FDA has no authority to require cosmetic companies to test for safety (Skin Deep- Myths on cosmetic safety).
3. If you wear makeup every week day (5x a week) for years think of all the bioaccumulation of the ingredients. We also really don't understand how chemicals interact with each other in our body, especially what would happen over time. Sure the dosage might be small that one time, but every day for years....we just have never exposed ourselves to that many chemicals for that length of time. It's like we're our own chemical soup guinea pigs.

Ok, so my precious MAC makeup is not ideal for my long term health. However, finding "clean" makeup that works is challenging on my wallet and my patience. I've tried Suncoat mascara and was disgusted with how easily it ran (all under my eyes with one small rub or mist- and Halifax is a misty place!). I've tried vegan eye shadow- STRIPT and was not impressed with the lack of luster or colour. Dr. Hauschka, a supposedly top of the line clean mascara rates a 4 on Skin Deep- a Moderate Health Concern; super expensive and not even very green!

Recently, on My Plastic-free Life, Beth Terry mentioned a sans plastic mascara- one that comes in a packed "cake" form in a tin! I thought... why not?

T.W.I.N.K. beauty (Two Women In Nature's Knowledge) is based in Florida with the two founders creating all cosmetic products by hand in their shop! No sketchy ingredients, no plastic in the tins. I ordered mascara (black), a pretty bronze mineral eye shadow and "almond" face powder.

 (cute tin with my mascara gunked finger prints all over it. Please ignore random clothing on the floor in the background....lol)

I will say that the mascara tin is SUPER cute and fun! I was prepared for the crappy "wand" and rigged up my own new brush from an old MAC mascara (if you bring in six products MAC will recycle them for you and give you a free eye shadow. So I had some lying around).

Mascara ingredients: purified water, aloe vera, candelilla wax, acacia gum, iron oxides, vitamin e, vitamin c, grapefruit seed extract and potassium sorbate.

Yesterday was day one. Honestly, opening the tin is a pain. That said, it was easy to kinda rub the brush around and then apply. (although, I guess you're SUPPOSED to put in a drop of water... who knew? I suck at reading instructions).

(My lashes at 9:30pm, application at 7am, significant walking around in high twenties heat)

Verdict-Mascara: Day One lasted through a full day of work, intense walk home in 28 degree Celsius freak Halifax heat, 1 hour of Yoga in the Park. Yep, no running at all! AND it was SUPER easy to wash off. Today- even better. My only complaint? Figuring out what to do with the mascara wand. I've decided I just have to wash it after every application- which really only takes a few extra minutes.

The eye shadow? LOVE! It's beautiful, rich and vibrant and also lasts all through my work day.

The face powder? Meh. Sadly, ordering from coloured dots on a webpage doesn't result in the most accurate skin match. It wasn't quite my skin colour and doesn't really last as long as my other mineral face powder.

I am happy to say that I can now phase out my MAC mascara with a new, affordable eco lash paint that will survive work, sweat and Yoga!

article and not otherwise specified photos copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com