how big is your footprint? (your ecological one)

Hmm...and here I thought I was doing a pretty good job of living green. Looks like there's always room for improvement. Obviously I won't be installing solar panels on my roof, or a wind turbine in my backyard, but I can open some windows instead of running my AC all summer. I don't live in an area that offers public transportation so a car is my only option in getting around, but I'll turn my engine off when I'm waiting in line at the bank drive-through instead of idling for 10 minutes. I won't be able to grow an entire garden in my little yard that will sustain my diet (remember...I love cheeseburgers) but I will make an effort to buy local produce and I am trying my hand at "container gardening." Hopefully my little bell pepper, cucumber, tomato and leaf lettuce pots will be fruitful and abundant this summer.

Want to test your own footprint? Take this fun little quiz and see what improvements you can make! You might not be able to get off the grid and live off your land but maybe one little thing will pop out and you can make one change that you can feel good about!

http://earthday.net/footprint/flash.html

do you glisten, or do you sweat?

I've never been a big fan of sweating. I definitely hate it when I'm sitting in a hot car or in a stuffy office, and taking my clothes off and laying on the ground with arms and legs splayed isn't an option. Until recently, for me even sweating too much at the gym meant that I was working too hard and I'd slow down from a jog to a walk.

Now when I break a sweat at the gym I feel a certain sense of pride. I like passing by a mirror and seeing myself all red faced with my hair stuck to my forehead. Pretty picture? Not really. Actually, not even a little bit...but I still strive for it. I still hate those humid days that cause me to drip with sweat after just a few minutes into my run, but I take it for what it's worth...sweating that is...and it's actually worth quite a bit.

• It helps the body cool down. One of the greatest health benefits about this process is while it is trying to cool down, your heart actually starts to pump and work harder to increase circulation. This improves your cardiovascular system.
  
• It helps the body remove toxic materials by sweating them out through the pores. Sodium, alcohol, nicotine (but we don't smoke, do we?), cholesterol, etc.
  
• It boosts your immune system! When your body temperature starts to increase and is raised, it mimics a fever and your body starts to actually fight it, thus making your immune system stronger. Sweating through exercise helps to make you better! (There are times you should just get under the covers and rest...that topic coming soon to a blog near you.)
  
• It can actually help us control our weight. When you are sweating, you are working hard. This means you have increased your caloric demand...hence burning more calories. This causes the body to also decrease and remove cellulite.
  
• It deeply cleanses your skin and makes it glow. It improves the tone and texture of your skin and will actually add a healthy glow and color to your face.

(bullet points pilfered and slightly altered from a blog called Moses Fitness)

"health is earned"

I came across that statement recently and I love it, love it, love it. It barely requires elaboration, but what's the point of a blog if I can't blab to anyone or no one that cares.

There are a thousand things that can go wrong with our bodies that we have no control over. Besides the freak accidents that can end our lives abruptly, spontaneous human combustion for example, our bodies can and often times do turn on us. And there's nothing we can do about it.

Why don't we take responsibility and control what we can?? Why do we smoke, drink, eat crap, ignore exercise, fail to protect ourselves from the sun, when we ALL know how bad all those things are for us? I'm not going to list the harmful effects of all of the above because they're common knowledge (at least to anyone who can access the Internet to read this blog.) So how can we willingly expose ourselves to the dangers of those "luxuries" and then complain about shortness of breath, weight gain, lack of energy, heart burn, headaches, and wrinkles? And what's worse...we teach these habits to our kids.

I'm by no means perfect. (mmmm, cheeeeeseburger). However, I have learned that being in good health is a privilege and by no means a guarantee. Luck plays a huge roll...and the rest is up to us.

did cinderella recycle?

I'm learning that there's some housekeeping that goes along with reducing waste. It's no big deal for me to take an extra couple minutes at home to rinse out my milk carton or to take the plastic cap off my recyclable bottle, but managing the trash created by fifty co-workers is proving to be quite a task. I find myself digging through the garbage quite a bit around the office, and I've chosen to be OK with that...this is my passion, after all. I wish I could make everyone take the extra time to recycle properly, but until that happens I'll do my best to pick up the slack.

If you recycle at home...good for you! Please make an effort to do so responsibly!! I'll share one very important tip today.

Pizza Boxes/Food Packaging
VERY IMPORTANT!!
(Earth911.com)

Food is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process. Grease and oil are not as big of a problem for plastic, metal and glass, as those materials are recycled using a heat process. But when paper products, like cardboard, are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a slurry. Since we all know water and oil don’t mix, the issue is clear.

Grease from pizza boxes causes oil to form at the top of the slurry, and paper fibers cannot separate from oils during the pulping process. Essentially, this contaminant causes the entire batch to be ruined. This is the reason that other food related items are non-recyclable (used paper plates, used napkins, used paper towels, etc). Also, be mindful of adhesives that may be on the pizza box (coupons, stickers, etc.) as those are contaminants. Known as “pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs)” these can ruin the recycling process just as much as oil or food remains.

The easiest remedy for this problem is to cut or tear out the soiled portions of your pizza boxes and trash them. For example, you can tear the top of the box off, recycle that and throw away the bottom part containing the grease. This is an all-or-nothing concept. If you're not going to take the time to separate the grease-stained portion of the box, just throw the whole thing in the trash because it's better than tarnishing an entire batch of recycled paper. If the entire box is grease-free, the whole box can be recycled with a guilt-free conscience.

Remember...this goes for all food packaging! Take an extra moment to wash it out! If it's too stained to be salvaged...throw it away (or burn it if you have the means!)

"i wanted to change the world"

As we were in the Viparita Karani ("legs up the wall") pose at our Thursday night Hatha Yoga class, Lauri the yoga instructor read us this short story. Hearing it made me smile because its subject is the exact reason I started this blog. I'm taking the time to learn a lot of things about my body and the world around me, but what good does it do if I keep it all to myself?

I Wanted to Change The World

By Unknown Monk 1100 AD

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family . My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.