Good Alignment is Good Therapeutics

It's an unfortunate fact of having a body - injury happens. I'm pretty accident prone, so I'm quite familiar with this fact by now. I always seem to hurt myself doing something mundane instead of something that obviously could hurt me. I hurt myself doing things like getting up off the floor, reading a book, or just plain existing. The last 2 weeks I've been healing up a mild knee sprain and it's coming along great, but I'm just now getting around to adding some really basic yoga back into the mix.

As I introduce sun salutations back into my days (and lots of lunges) I just have to remind myself that:

Good Alignment is Good Therapeutics

As long as I watch my alignment closely I can probably do almost anything and it will assist healing. By anything I don't mean playing soccer, but I do mean things like squats, lunges, inversions, backbends, etc. Mostly stationary and slow careful movements for a while. It's just another reminder to bring awareness to everything I do and practice mindfulness.

via http://fuckyeahyoga.tumblr.com/post/46435892141

Recover with Sleep

Autumn and winter are a time for rest. Menstruation is a period for rest and rejuvenation. At least once a week you should have an "off-day" no matter your fitness plan. Part of a healthy lifestyle is rest. Make sure sleep is a priority. Some people need 7 hours - some people are zombies unless they get closer to 12 hours. Get the right amount of sleep for you.

• Create a bedtime routine that soothes and quiets your system.
• Remove stimulants like caffeine and electronics from your evening.
• Make your sleep space a haven.
• Make it dark - like really dark.
• Oil your skin and wear cozy clothes (if you wear any).
• Don't exercise too close to bedtime.
• Practice calming nighttime yoga if you just have to do something.

Yoga Journal Free Digital Issue for Earth Day

Earth Day is still a while away (April 22nd), but there's no point in waiting to read the April/May issue of Yoga Journal for free online. Digital issues are perfect for Earth Day since they kill no trees and spend no energy being shipped about. Yay!

Get your digital issue here.

Fun fact: If you click the article titles on the cover page it'll take you directly to them.

Better Buddies Makes Better Pet Products

If you have a pet and care about the environment then you need to know about a great little company that recently landed in my inbox. Better Buddies makes awesome pet supplies like beds and food mats. Their products are made of good things like hemp, organic cotton, and upcycled/recycled materials. They give to good causes.

I have a dog - a lovely little dog you've seen here from time to time. He eats like 4 times a day and on a hardwood floor. In the winter I think his feet get cold, and year round he makes spills and pushes his bowls around a fair amount. Obviously he needs a good sized placemat. If you've ever shopped around for a pet food mat then you know the options aren't exactly amazing.

Luckily, Better Buddies has come up with an idea that affects my dog love and my yoga love all at once. It's like this product was just MADE for yogis and their blissed out pets. It's even eco friendly because they're upcycling old yoga mats into cute food mats.

About the Mats:

Mats run 23"x17"
$19.99

We have taken discarded yoga mats sent in through donation and put them through a Wash + Stop^TM sanitation process, and cut them into perfect dog and cat food mats.

We celebrate each Bone Appetit and Meow Mat as a one-of-a- kind expression for all yogis and their pets! No two mats are alike in color or texture as each original yoga mat was different. Better Buddies is so proud to bring new life to yoga mats that have lost their purpose.

Unlike standard pet food mats, the Bone Appetit and Meow Mats are easily washable in the dishwasher and are slide resistant.

Better Buddies has partnered with the Best Friends Animal Society to begin work on various social responsibility programs and currently donates 10% of profit. Better Buddies’ mission is to shift society’s focus to adoption as the means to find a pet and to make no-kill kennels the way to find them.

Buy Them Here!

Mark Understands Ahimsa

I wrote about Ahimsa a while back... and I've written about my retarded love and protection Of Slugs. Yeah, just some cross-referencing there. No real point.

I like Mark - in this post he seems like a yogi that's worrying quite a bit about ahimsa. I can't really speak on the behalf of the Universe, but I'm pretty sure Mark is in the clear on this one. Must've been accidental - and he clearly feels bad about it. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) law enforcement doesn't count worms as murder victims... so his lapse of attention shall likely be forgiven. Now if only he can forgive himself - he'll be peachy keen.

For more about Mark visit the webcomic Mark Doesn't Understand Animals. I like it.

Shipping Gifts with Ahimsa

You might be asking "What does Ahimsa have to do with shipping gifts?"  Recall that ahimsa means non-violence. As a yogi, I care about doing things in as "green" a manner as possible to avoid undue harm to the Earth. I also want to protect my loved ones' gifts from harm during transit. This can be taken all the way to protecting my friend from the disappointment of receiving a box of broken junk. It's all about taking great care. Get creative and the packing & shipping of gifts doesn't have to be a drag that creates lots of meaningless trash.

Note: Tomorrow is the last day most places can guarantee Christmas delivery with standard shipping.
Baked Goods:
When shipping baked goods things like moist/dry, freshness, and how well it can handle being drop-kicked need to be taken into consideration.

• Pack like cookies together. Cookie bars packed with ginger snaps will soften up your ginger cookies making them lose their snap. I've also had the issue with gingerbread making everything in the package taste like gingerbread. Ugh. 
• Stack and seal small piles of cookies. Flat cookies work well with plastic wrap, round cookies work better with things like jars and tiny loaf pans with lids. Use your imagination - egg cartons, muffin tins, oatmeal containers - all of these can make a fine container for your edible gifts. Just pack it tightly. 
• Fill your container with cookies - now shake it. You should hear nothing. If it actually shakes - things will break. Soft cookies don't care, but brittle or fragile cookies will not make it in one piece if you can hear/feel them move. I like to fill in the spaces between my cookies with tissue paper because it's festive and cushy.

 Cookies & Other Gifts:

• Place your gifts in the smallest box possible. This equals less expensive shipping and less space to fill with packing materials. Again - if you can feel/hear it shake - it's not packed enough. If it seems slightly over-full it's about right. 

• Remember the 3Rs when packing a box. Reduce (see above), Reuse, Recycle. If you have packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and/or a bunch of used paper lying around - use it. I hate packing peanuts and yet they keep showing up, so I try to reuse them to ship gifts. Paper can be shredded and used as packing material. Fabric scraps could work too if you have a ton of them lying about. 
• My Favorite Packing Material - Popcorn. Air popped popcorn is a lightweight, edible, biodegradable, faintly scented, cheap package filler. I use it all the time. Some people love it, some people find it annoying because they don't tend to expect it to come flying out of the box when they open it. *shrug* Sure beats packing peanuts. 
• Pad their gift in something they can wear or use - scarves, towels, gloves, tea towels, small blankets, burp cloths, pajama pants, etc. If your recipient likes to make pillows or small stuffed things you could even use that fluff you can buy in bulk or pull from an old (washed and dried) pillow.