Organic Beliefs

Tags

environment, NPR, organic

Eating organically. It’s a topic wrapped up in scientific examination, health research, environmental consciousness . . . and emotional values?

This clip from NPR helps to distinguish the differences between organic, natural and conventional. However, it also elaborates upon the idea that because the organic movement has grown to such a large state, individuals now face ecological, environmental, ethical and economic decisions when considering food purchases.  Instead of basing decisions strictly on economic or environmental factors, individuals are now considering multiple implications.

Be Green AND Stay Clean

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environment, iF Concept Design Award, WashIt, water conservation

If you’re like me, you like to consolidate tasks. You like to prepare the rest of dinner while the vegetables roast in the oven, you like to bike while running errands for a little extra exercise, you like to listen to new music while answering emails. And if you’re also like me, you don’t like showering while the dishwasher is running or the laundry is spinning for fear of using a large amount of water at once (hey, it’s a concern based on fact.)

That’s where this innovative appliance from the 2012 iF Concept Design Award could come into play:

An Ode to Waiting

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overwhelming gratitude, patience, spirit, waiting, yoga

As I mentioned, I recently completed a 200-hour Power Yoga Teacher Training. We were required to give a final presentation that was meant to demonstrate our personal understanding of what yoga is. My dad is currently in the hospital and this unexpected situation has brought its share of challenges. However, I’ve gained a lot through the process. I felt whole comfort and selfless love from family members and friends, and saw admirable dedication in the constant care doctors and nurses provided.

“Why Would You Farm?”

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CSA, farming, food production, gratitude, organic, Quail Springs Permaculture Farm

Perhaps you know what it is like to work on a farm. You may know what it’s like to care for, and tend to, things; to aid in nature’s creativity. Personally, I spent time working on a sustainable permaculture farm in Maricopa, California called Quail Springs. I look fondly back on the experience as a time for pure growth (sure, pun intended) and a chance to recognize happiness in a simple, yet profound, form.

Who better to hear from regarding one of the clearest examples of sustainability than someone who has woken with the sun to start tasks, who has tasted the fresh delight of the home-grown, who has gotten her hands dirty? Here, guest writer Devon shares her experience working on an organic farm:

An Ode to Om-ies

Tags

learning, wellness, yoga

I recently completed a 200-hour Power Yoga Teacher Training course. Amazing—I can teach yoga! Wait, I can now teach…yoga?!

A daunting, yet inspiring, realization I gained through this course: Guiding a student through his or her yoga practice is an intimate responsibility. This is not simply exercise. This is an intricate and delicate balance of bodily strength, emotional vulnerability and devotional intention. Everything is laid out on the mat.

A Page Out of the Sustainability Book

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environment, Green Press Initiative, Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis

Books produce enduring mental benefits, but what about environmental benefits? Milkweed Editions, an independent, nonprofit press located in Minneapolis considers both in its mission. The publishing house’s goal is to provide books that “serve as educational resources and inspiration for readers working for positive, sustainable change in their communities and in their own lives.”

Clear Air ≠ Clear Conscience: Bike Theft on the Rise

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Bike Alliance of Minnesota, biking, Minneapolis, Nice Ride MN, Star Tribune, sustainable transportation, Twin Cities Streets for People, wellness

The good: Minneapolis is known as the nation’s most bike-friendly city. The bad: it comes with a potential $625 disadvantage. That figure is the average value of a stolen bike in Minneapolis, although many high-end bikes stolen and sold are worth more than $1,500.

(The Greenway is a popular bike “highway” in the Twin Cities)

Breathe In The Salty Air

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Minneapolis, relaxation, The Salt Cave, wellness, yoga

Salt: essential compound, universal commodity … therapeutic aid? In terms of the rising-in-popularity-yet-ancient practice called halotherapy, yes; “natural treatment” has been added to salt’s long list of purposes. Minneapolis welcomes the halotherapy practice with recently-opened The Salt Cave.

(Inside The Salt Cave)

A Short Film’s Sense of Simple Happiness

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design, film, happiness, Kinfolk magazine

A brief post today, but hopefully one that allows us to remember how little it can take to create happiness. This video is courtesy of Kinfolk magazine; a publication I admire for its vision, its lovely photography and writing, and its simplistic design. Take a look and admire the dreamy filmmaking while you recall your favorite warm summer days.

An Ode to Present Living

Tags

alive, present, Psychology Today

The real juice of life, whether it be sweet or bitter, is to be found not nearly so much in the products of our efforts as in the process of living itself, in how it feels to be alive. ~ George Leonard

When did you last pause to appreciate air filling your lungs, the notes of a song filling your ears, a familiar voice filling your heart? When did you last let these things create a vibrant thrumming in your very core? When did you last feel truly alive?