Globally Green Living

Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd.. Are you ready?

Well, okay to most people - this day doesn’t mean much.. but what can you do for Earth Day this year.. Let me give you ideas all week in Celebration of Planet Earth!

** Plant a tree and spend some time outdoors ***

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Ok, So I’ll be the first to say that bike riding as a means of transportation scares me. I don’t want to get hit by a car. However, I really think there are some huge benefits to bike riding:

1. It’s good excercise
2. Save on gas
3. Enjoy nature

Here are some tips to get started riding a bike again… (more…)

I found these great eco-friendly yoga mats at JustMyMat.com, a new company founded by Gwen Bandes this year. They’re made out of TPE (Thermo Plastic Estomer) which is safer because it doesn’t contain PVC or lead. The yoga mats are also biodegradable and recyclable.

Personalized Yoga Mats

The fun part of these yoga mats is that they can be personalized into any color you like and up to 12 characters can be written on them with the font of your choice. It would be a fun gift for a friend or child who does yoga. Many more children are getting into yoga, which I think is wonderful. I wish I had gotten into it sooner. It may have helped keep me out of trouble. There are some fun yoga lessons for kids posted at Parenting Under the Stars.

Yoga for Pets

Apparently, people even do yoga with their pets so JustMyMat sells these cute yoga mats with paw prints on them. Why not? At least you will know their mat is non-toxic. I cannot picture a dog doing yoga but then again the last dog I owned was pretty high strung.

Meditation and Yoga

If you’re interested in learning more about yoga and meditation, I found Noah’s videos very helpful on meditating. He is a Canadian-born Theravada monk who now lives in N. Thailand. You can find his videos on how to meditate on YouTube.

Yoga and Health

I just watched an inspiring story about a woman named Lola who got into yoga after finding out she had lung cancer. A year later she was cancer free and she contributes yoga to helping her recover. It is an excellent form of relaxation. I’m not suggesting it’s a cure for cancer but there is a well-known body/mind connection with illnesses. She did receive standard treatments such as chemotherapy, but will continue to practice yoga because it makes her happy and helps keep her healthy. If you would like more information on her story see the video below entitled A Success Story: Yoga and Cancer.

Every once in a while on my way to work I find things that people are trying to rid of and that are left on the curb. Actually, the same goes for my evening and morning walks with my dog. I have found a metal and hemp coffee table, a fold up metal plant rack, and a framed poster of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. One day I found a nice glass that I use in the office as a plant holder.

Speaking of plants, one of the departments in my office building put some dying spider plants out in the hall. They looked pretty shabby but the only thing that was wrong with them was lack of water. I adopted these plants and they have been doing double duty beautifying the office and removing toxins from the air. They look really vibrant and they just need to be watered once or twice a week. Oh, and when someone visits the office I always get compliments, which is a real mood booster…

I often think about the absurdity of someone paying a gym to go walk on a treadmill and then circling around the mall parking lot trying to find the closest parking possible. Why not park the farthest away? And while you’re at it start parking on the farthest spot at work as well. All those little steps add up in at least these many ways:

1. You’ll save money on gas
2. You’ll burn more calories
3. You won’t get as stressed because there are always tons of parking far away
4. You are less likely to hit a pedestrian when you back your car out of the parking spot because there aren’t as many pedestrians farther from the entrance of the store(s)
5. Since you won’t use the treadmill or drive as much, you’ll save fossil fuel
6. You’ll also reduce your carbon dioxide emissions

All of that and possibly more just from one small change!!!

What’s there not to love…