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."

Pranayam Like a Ninja

Pranayam has changed my life.

Oh I know- that sounds so completely New Age-y and fouffy... what can you do? I figure I watch enough Trailer Park Boys while cussing (away from children) to balance out the space-scales.

Ah, but anyone who has any voice-singing training should find it is no surprise that breathing well can certainly calm and fix a whole slew of situations.

Such as:

• Someone cuts you off while driving. Instead of cussing them out, shaking your fist and giving them the stink eye- take a belly breath and give them a calm stink-eye.
• Staff meetings. Slow, deep breaths are particularly effective here. Especially before you were hoping to say something. Breathe first and you might not come off as a belligerent douche. 
• Conversations of a difficult nature. Such as... having someone be confrontational with you on _________ insert very touchy and passionate topic. I have lots- like the environment, women's rights, feminism, acadian French... Breathing through these conversations definitely is helpful.
• Board meetings. Enough said.

I have to point out though... that deep breathing can definitely be misconstrued as rude.

Let me explain.

I have gotten so accustomed to breathing through frustration, or in order to calm my thoughts and emotions, that I just really really like how it makes me feel. So... unfortunately I have taken to breathing a bit too loudly.

In that it sounds like I am sighing.

Let me tell you- that is all kinds of awkward when you're at a board meeting, one of the members is spending some air time informing us on the financial constraints of providing staff with disability benefits, and you take a nice, deep calming breath. That is loudly heard by the director AND chair of the board. Who then look at you apologetically, like "ah- we know this is boring and off topic-sorry!"

So. My advice to all you other pranayama's and pranayamis in the making- the next time your yoga teacher tells you to take your breathing off the mat:

(My Inner Ninja by Haligonian rapper- Classified- filmed in Halifax. Très old school rapper, I love it!)

practice Ninja breathing... a kind of stealth calming breath that won't alert all those around you that you are a spoiled, annoyed lady who just wants the meeting to be over.

Voice Therapy for Yoga Instructors

As with every 5:45pm yoga class, the trip to the studio through rush hour traffic (ok every class at Halifax Yoga off the rotary) is harrowing, filled with fist shaking, swearing and high anxiety levels. However, Krista's flow class is totally worth it and my drive home is very zen (I would say that it is all yoga, but then rush hour is over...).

As a Speech-Language Pathologist, I tend to silently analyze people's speech, especially when it's in a different "speaking" environment, like presentations, radio announcers and... yoga instructors. It's automatic and usually not a huge deal for me to just let it go, a river of analysis quietly bubbling in the background (hanging out with the whine of my tinnitus- think you can't get a hearing loss in your twenties from playing in a band?? think again).

I just have a hard time ignoring painful sounding vocal fold abuse. Yep, abusing those precious instruments that allow us to voice our thoughts and ideas in the most rich and beautifully emotive tones. Quick little anatomy-physiology lesson (very quick I promise):

Vocal folds aren't actually "chords". They are these pretty little muscle and ligaments (and shiny membranes). Actually making sound is uber complex requiring appropriate breath, pressure, muscle and ligament timing and about a zillion bones, cartilage and organs (um lungs, brain).

Did ya know that the primary purpose of our vocal folds aren't to make sound, but to protect our airways? Or that our larynx actually moves down in infancy to allow for speech. That's why babies can swallow and breathe at the same time... and one of the reasons why more complex speech sounds (other than cooing) occur at a certain time-frame in an infant's  development.

Anyhoo, point is- vocal folds are precious and special. We shouldn't be messing with them.

One of the things a Speech-Language Pathologist is qualified to do is treat voice disorders. Sure this could be because someone had cancer and half their larynx removed due to smoking.... but it is also often due to just plain ol' abuse. Paediatric and adults.

Very common clients? Teachers... of any sort.

Yoga teachers are a prime example of how taking care of your voice may not even factor into the regular preparation and career care that goes into becoming and remaining an excellent yoga instructor. Most instructors use their voice to teach and although breath (pranayama) is a huge portion of yoga, I hear a lot of not so great habits during class.

Yoga instructors, even more so than lecturing teachers, alter their voice in order to instruct. It's not your "chatting" voice, it's your yoga voice. Don't believe me? Record yourself and have a listen. You most certainly don't prolong your vowels, change the intonation of your syllables, add extra "breathiness" to your phrases or lower your register when chatting about the weather. (or at least I hope not, awkward).

These changes to the typical way we talk mean that our muscles that support phonation (making our vocal folds vibrate) have to work differently and harder, increasing tension in our muscles and ligaments. Our vocal folds can move awkwardly or come together more forcefully causing friction and even polyps and nodules (little ugly bumps and blisters) to form there. Soreness of voice, neck and shoulder tension even headaches and voice loss can result.

That's why, all you yoga instructors out there, need to really take care of your voice.

Here are some little tricks to keep in mind to keep your yogic communication instrument healthy and mucous-y:

• Hydrate! Drink LOTS of water while teaching. Before teaching, after teaching, during teaching. Drink a whole Klean Kanteen-full over that 60-90 minute class. I can't stress this enough. Not only will you be hydrating your throat and vocal folds, but you'll be speaking less. Consider that you don't have to fill the class with your voice all the time. Take some space.
• That water? Not cold s'il vous plait. Lukewarm or room temp is best. Shocking to the muscles otherwise.
• Don't clear your throat. It's so hard on your poor little vocal folds. Trust me, they don't like it. Instead, take a sip of water or a few deep breaths.
• Record yourself teaching and ask a trusted, non judge-y friend to take a listen. Decide if your voice is: a)lower, b) breathy c)harsher d) different tonally. 
• No whispering. Or added breathiness. When we whisper (or add a Marilyn Monroe type voice) we're seriously tensing our muscles, including our vocal folds.
• Support all your phrases with a nice strong "belly" breathing. Give yourself time to take adequate breath before speaking. It's not a race on filling in the anatomy of each asana.
• Warm up and rest your vocal folds prior and post classes. Some easy "up the scale, down the scale" humming before and little to no speaking after. They need to recover- you worked them out!
• Ohm carefully, with adequate breath and in a register that isn't too deep. If your normal voice isn't Crash Test Dummies sounding, why would your Ohm be that way too? 

Reasons when referring yourself to see a Speech-Language Pathologist may be helpful:

• Your losing your voice
• Your voice sounds scratchy and has phonation breaks (like going through puberty for a guy)
• Your voice has changed recently
• It hurts to talk, or your voice hurts after class

You could combine any of these with headaches or tense head, neck, shoulders. Or, if you just are concerned about your voice.

This message has been brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood SLP-Yogini :)

Blessings!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Candles; Romantic VOC Enablers

Planning this 'eco' wedding has definitely come up against some challenges. Mainly the surprising fact that instead of 'the customer is right', once you announce that you are a 'bride to be' vendors automatically treat you like a brainless twit. Trying to explain to a florist that I really don't care about colour, my priority is sustainable and local while she repeats 'come back when you have your colours and are organized' was an exercise in ujiai breathing... to say the least.


One area that I have zero flexibility is candles. Filling a space with run of the mill wax candles is not going to fly... What, you're studio-home-space is constantly graced with pretty candle-topped flames? Perhaps you should reconsider...


Paraffin based candles are an indoor air quality and environmental nightmare. Paraffin is actually a derivative of petroleum, a toxic waste product to be exact. Burning these oil babies can produce 'soot deposition', depositing black oil guck smoke remnants on the walls, outlets or... you may find them from blowing your nose. Yum.


Couple that with the ridiculous amount of synthetic scents filling our homes with chemicals and we have another reason for high levels of indoor chemical exposure.


Although American companies have agreed to remove lead from their wicks, others have not...Say if you bought your tea lights or candles from the dollar store. According to a recent study, burning one candle a week inside emits enough lead to raise your child's lead-blood levels above federally approved amounts! (Ecoholic, 2004). To check- cut the wick, strip the outer layer and rub against a piece of paper. A black mark means lead. 


So- what are our options?


1. Soy based candles. These are easily found at several stores, but be careful! Some cheaper candles are only made with a soy 'blend' meaning there is 'some' soy mixed in with the regular paraffin crap. I saw some at The Whicker Emporium for example.
Although soy candles are easily accessible and look pretty, we also need to consider how soy is harvested. The soy bean is second only to corn when it comes to monoculture. Over 90% of all soy beans are genetically modified to resist scary, agent orange derived pesticides (like RoundUp). The run-off from these chemicals makes a pretty chemical rainbow on our coastline... creating a growing 'dead zone' where fish and sea life cannot survive.


Since I try to avoid supporting the toxic big agriculture whenever possible, I've decided to steer clear of the soy candles.

photo source: Endangered Bee

2. Beeswax candles. These are more difficult to come by in regular stores. In Halifax there are a few local bee farmers who sell beautiful, buttery coloured beeswax candles at the market. You can also find them at Planet Organic (although the price jack-up is crazy).
Beeswax actually cleanses the air by releasing ions that cause dust particles to fall. Plus they generally have a beautiful natural smell (no synthetic scent needed!).
Same caution- make sure it's 100% beeswax and not a blend.


Unlike soy, buying beeswax candles (especially those locally made) actually supports our environment. If you haven't heard, honey bees are actually in danger, their numbers decreasing significantly over the past years. Named Colony Collapse Disorder occurs when workers from a beehive quickly disappear. Northern Ireland reported a disappearance greater than 50%. 


If you think this sounds a bit trivial, you're missing the big picture. Bees are an essential part of flower and plant pollination... um, procreation. Without bees, plant species would decrease, affecting the animals and humans who eat them... and so on. Among other postulated reasons, pesticides, climate change and GMO's have been linked. 


Honey beekeepers help keep hives healthy, with 'domesticated' or 'farmed' hives reporting significantly less losses. This is one case where buying an 'animal' (or insect to be precise) by-product actually supports the creature.


My hope is to collect enough small votives for our wedding to have nice, warm butter-y coloured beeswax supported flames providing a subtle, natural scent and light. Now... just to find some locally made that don't cost a fortune...


Blessings!


(ps- if you're reading this and you remember a honey beekeeper blog who had a beautifully moving video posted on her site a few months back- please post the link- I LOVED it).


article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Yoga and Work... The importance of Clean Breath

I am sadly blogging from work today-GASP. I know, I feel this weird twinge of excitement for being sort of a rebel! Ok, not really since I'm presenting a language workshop tonight for a group of parents, so a supper break is in order :)

As a rule I try to keep my work and personal life VERY separate, refusing to bring work home with me and NEVER looking at my agenda pre-office time (which has resulted in a few mishaps, but the clear delineation is worth it!). Also, there's this issue with privacy and blogging... but then if you really wanted to stalk me I'm sure you could figure it out.

One area that my work has moments of 'weaseling' into is yoga. As a paediatric Speech-Language Pathologist I spend most of my waking hours thinking about how we communicate as human beings. A huge portion of my education was on the respiratory system and how that affects communication. I also had the priviledge of working with children with special needs. Children who have difficulty self-regulating their energy levels and who can quickly spiral up up up when I let my voice and excitement get to be a little too much and while keeping a calm, even and soft tone of voice helps calm them. These children are always wonderful reminders of how our voice and the way we communicate can have huge implications for those listening.

Pranayama (or the importance of our breath) is an integral part of yoga, despite often being left to the wayside. As a new student I easily missed the point of breathing, obviously the most important part of yoga are the asanas (postures). Of course I will breathe. It wasn't until I began to practice Ujjayi breath in earnest that my asanas deepened. My control and focus lengthened. My ability to quiet my mind improved. It wasn't until a few years later that I was reminded of what my practice could be like if my breath work was neglected or blocked. While practicing during a hot yoga class my mindful Ujjayi breath was prevented by the intense heat of the room. For the first time in years my practice felt awkward and disjointed. I was breathing, but I was being forced to breathe, instead of practicing a mindful pranayama that helped quiet my mind. So although yes, the heat encouraged basic breathing, it was too hot to practice an internally heating type of breath like Ujjayi.

Everything Yoga's post about breath along with Grounding thru the sit bones' post about the effectiveness of practice reminded me of the fundamentals of how we interact and influence one another.

Research shows that conversations do not consist of two separate entities putting forth thoughts and ideas. What we say and how we say it not only psychologically affects the other, but physiologically affects our conversation partner. It has been shown that two people having a conversation will match their breathing rate to each other. What this means is that if one person changes their breathing rate, the others' rate will change to match. Have you ever noticed that while talking to a 'fast' talker, someone out of breath or someone who stutters that you might also feel out of breath, tense or anxious? It's your body's respiratory system responding and not 'feeling' comfortable.

This communicative physiological influence truly brings home the importance of mindful interactions. We can extend this reasoning to practicing 'loving kindness' towards another, to sending positive light, love and thoughts to others. To recognize that on an unconscious level our bodies and minds are responding to visual, auditory and physiological input from those around us. Taking a pause to consider how you can use this to encourage calm, positive interactions with those around you.

Breathing is our body's most fundamental reflex. We are made to breathe, from having airways that are scrupulously protected against choking or foreign substances, to incredibly complex respiratory systems to failsafes like fainting so our body can take over and renew our breath.

This of course, underlines the importance of having clean air to breathe. (smog in Montreal- where I used to live. I actually thought it was 'fog' the first few times I saw it... THAT got a few laughs)

Rereading this post I can see that I'm in 'work' mode, my writing is so much more official!! lol. No worries though Eco-warriors, I will be back to my normal silly self for the next post :)

Blessings!