Tom’s Shoes Rock!
23 May 2011 Leave a Comment
My sister is a total fashionista and generally a year ahead of most fashion trends. Normally I mock her for the things that she is wearing and then I find myself shopping for the same item a few months later. I did wonder when she showed up at my house in a pair of sparkly gold sneakers but it didn’t even take me a few months to jump on the Tom bandwagon after she told me about what the company stands for (mind you the pair I purchased are not sequin encrusted).
If you haven’t heard of Tom’s then prepare for your feet to love you! These simply designed shoes are so comfortable and every time you buy a pair the company donates a pair to someone in need of shoes around the globe. As of 2010 they have given away over a million pairs and at the rate I see people in Toronto sporting these shoes they are well on their way to giving away a million more. I think this one for one idea is awesome and it goes to show a great example of the change one person can make as well as a more sustainable way of doing business to better our world. The company also hosts an annual event to bring awareness to the need for footwear globally called One Day Without Shoes. This year’s event took place on April 5th. The companies founder Blake Mycoskie is one inspiring man! Click on the link below to learn more.
A Pair Of New Shoes Is Given To A Child In Need With Every Pair Purchased – TOMSshoes.ca.
You Had Me At Namaste
15 May 2011 Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever attended a yoga class then it is likely the teacher uttered the word Namaste at the end of class and members of the class likely responded by saying it back. I really like this word and think the gesture is really beautiful but I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant until a few years ago. I thought the definition was worth a post as it may be something you might want to utter back to a yoga teacher at the end of a meditation and some people may be hesitant if they don’t understand what it means or just be stating it blindly.
The word namaste (pronounced Naa-Maaa-Stay) is an ancient sanskrit word. It does not have an exact translation so there are a variety of English interpretations of it. In essence, it means the best part of me wishes you well in every way. I think this is just a lovely thing to say. Other translations that I have heard are “the spirit in me honors and accepts the spirit in you” with the term spirit referring to one’s soul or heart or “I bow to you” meaning I bow to your spirit. Often the actions of putting your hands in prayer over your heart chakra and bowing accompanies the statement.
I like to think that we all have a spark inside us and saying namaste can be a way to acknowledge that spark in the people around you. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I think it is nice and wish all of your spirits well 
.
Namaste
I love Hemp Hearts!
20 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
I thought it appropriate for an April 20th post that I write about something great that comes from a cannibus plant.
As humans we need a lot of protein and if you work out a lot it is particularly essential that you have a protein packed diet. Hemp hearts are an easy way to add protein to any meal. Plus, they have been linked to a ton of health benefits including weight loss and lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. You will find that you have more energy and you will feel full longer if you add them to a meal. They are great to sprinkle in a salad or add to your cereal. Most often I will add them to my breakfast as a great way to start off the day.
A hemp heart is the inside of an unshelled hemp seed. In texture it is much like quinoa or unshelled sunflower seeds. They are very neutral in taste. You will find them labelled as both hemp seed and hemp hearts in most health food stores. No other plant source compares to hemp in its range and balance of nutritional benefits. They contain more amino acids then milk, meat or eggs and are more digestible than soy products. They have all the essential fats required for human health – even containing several times more omega 3 fats than fish! They are basically one of the best foods on the planet so how could you not love them .
Let the sun shine in – Vitamin D is key!
17 Apr 2011 1 Comment
I am fair-skinned lady who is extremely against tanning beds and generally lather myself with SPF 60 sunscreen. I look more like a Cullen than Snooki, but this has always been in an effort to stay wrinkle-free so that I age better than my sister. When I go to the beach I will be in the shade more than I’m in the sun. However, I have been having some discussions recently that have lead me to understand that I should be getting some more sun exposure. The majority of Canadians are not getting enough Vitamin D and the easiest way get Vitamin D is to simply spend more time in the sun.
In order to make Vitamin D, your skin must be exposed to UVB rays. The best times to get these kind of rays is between 10AM and 3PM daily. To get all of the Vitamin D that you require, all you need to do is spend 5-30 minutes in the sun during this time with unprotected skin. How long you need to spend in the sun is dependent on how dark your skin is (only 5 minutes or so for us pale folk). There are also a variety of foods that are good sources of Vitamin D like tuna and salmon and supplements that you can take. A supplement in the winter months is likely a great idea if you live far away from the equator as the sun isn’t as strong then nor is it out very long (ugggh I shudder at the thought of leaving the office and it being dark out… why do I live in Canada?).
The benefits are endless. There have also been some interesting studies lately linking Vitamin D to cancer prevention. A doctor friend of mine was telling me that the correlation between cancer and how close to the equator you live is very high. The farther away you go from the equator the more common cancer cases are. Again….why do I live in Canada? Alas, the good weather is almost here and so don’t be shy about spending your lunch hour outdoors and perhaps spend a few minutes outdoors before you lather on the SPF.
How I Met Your Mother and Garbage Island
30 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
FACT: I love the television show How I Met Your Mother. It’s a legendary show that ranks up there with Friends and Seinfeld in my books. Last month there was an episode called Garbage Island which lead me to do a little researching. I had to find out what documentary Marshall had watched on TV that made him so upset. Although I haven’t been able to find the exact documentary he watches on the show (I think they were just looking for a funny voiceover), I did find lots of information about this patch in the North Pacific Ocean.
Prior to the episode I hadn’t really been aware of what some call the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. Oprah brought attention to it back in 2009 and media attention has increased but I don’t think it is something that people are widely aware of (or at least I wasn’t). It is very shocking to see what we have done to our ocean and it doesn’t appear like there is any way for us to clean it up. No wonder it made Lily’s Marshmellow so sad 
.
It is difficult to know exactly how large the Garbage Patch is as it is not a physical mass of garbage like an island. If that were the case it would be much easier to contain. Instead it is like a galaxy of garbage. It is estimated to contain 3.5 million tons of garbage and 80% of this garbage is plastic which is not biodegradable. Instead it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. In the Garbage Patch they have found areas where the ratio of plastic to plankton is 6 to 1. The garbage is concentrated in this part of the ocean because this is the vortex of where a variety of currents in the Pacific Ocean collide. It is called the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Reports are now surfacing that a similar Garbage Patch is forming in the North Atlantic.
It’s scary to see what we’ve done to our planet but we can all make differences in our lives to help with ensure this problem doesn’t get any worse. Be sure to recycle as much as possible and avoid unnecessary plastic whenever possible. Grab reusable shopping bags whenever you hit the stores and fill up your reusable water bottles instead of grabbing an Evian.
Oh and if anyone has found the link to the video HIMYM references please send it my way. Below is a link to a documentary I thought was pretty good about the subject.
Click here for a link to the documentary TOXIC: Garbage Island
Spring Cleaning – Wild about the Wild Rose Herbal D-tox
27 Mar 2011 1 Comment
A couple of times a year I like to do a cleanse. Sometimes this is brought on as an end to a bender or if I just feel it is time. I normally spend the first couple of weeks in January detoxing as I can go overboard over the holidays. The reason why people detox is to help their bodies flush out the toxins that they’ve accumulated. The body is great at naturally detoxifying itself but we are exposed to a lot of toxins in our daily lives and sometimes it is hard for the body to keep up. When you detox you give your body the tools it needs to clear out toxins that may be bogging it down.
There are a lot of different cleanses out there so it is hard to know what you should do. Do you go to the extreme and have an entirely liquid diet and sip on water with lemon and maple syrup or do you buy some products to do the job? Every time I go into a new natural health store I always ask the people working what their favourite detox is (just one of my many quirks). The answer is most often the same… The Wild Rose Herbal D-tox. I’ve also tried a variety of the cleanses in a box and this one is hands down my favourite! It is really easy to follow and you feel amazing at the end.
To do the Wild Rose Herbal D-tox you simply need to take some pills and drops, morning and evening, and change your diet for 12 days. You will say goodbye to wheat, dairy and alcohol but the company also sells a Cookbook with lots of recipes to help you forget about the foods you are avoiding. Also I find it easiest if you start this cleanse on a Sunday as then you will only be cleansing over one weekend (only one sober weekend 
). As with any cleanse you will likely feel pretty terrible for the first 3 days – by terrible I mean kind of headachy and perhaps a little under the weather. This is because your body is releasing toxins but as they start to leave your body you will begin to feel great. I always notice that my skin looks amazing at the end and have tons of energy. Another great thing about this detox is that you are reintroduced to some foods that you may have forgotten – afterwards instead of craving a chocolate bar you may find yourself leaning towards some berries or watermelon.
You can do a detoxification cleanse anytime of the year but there are a lot of theories to support that detoxification in the spring and the fall are most effective. Some people believe that it is because the body is coming out of hibernation in the spring and preparing for hibernation in the winter. As I am not a grizzly bear I don’t know how much weight I put in this but I thought that as we welcome spring I’d write about it. If you are doing some spring cleaning in your home then why not give your body a cleanse too!
The Ins and Outs of a Colonic
23 Mar 2011 1 Comment
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Alright folks, I’m going there… A lot of my friends have asked me about colonics and what getting one is like so I thought I’d put a little summary together to shed some light. I’m not going to lie… I was terrified the first time that I went for one, but afterwards found that I would rank this treatment above going to the dentist (I really hate the dentist but love the feeling of my teeth afterwards so it kind of relates). The idea of someone sticking a tube up your butt and flushing out the contents of your colon is not something that a person generally wants to sign up for; however, the benefits are great and well worth several moments of discomfort.
So if this is a treatment you’re curious about here are the dirty deets on what to expect!
Before you go: Avoid eating heavy or gassy food as this will make the treatment more effective.
1 – You will enter the treatment room and be asked to try to empty your bladder. You are not going to want to pee during the treatment. Generally there is a toilet in the room or adjoining to it.
2 – You will disrobe from the waist down and lie on a hospital bed or massage table and have a towel or blanket covering your bottom half.
3 – Then the scary part… You will roll onto your side and the therapist will insert the tube up your back door. The tube is only inserted approximately 2 inches and the piping will be well lubricated. It only takes a second and once the tube is in the worst is over. It will feel slightly uncomfortable but once you relax you will hardly notice it. It just feels like some added pressure in that region.
4 – You then will likely be asked to roll onto your back with your legs on either one side of the tube or straddling it.
5 – Now the therapist will begin to flush out your colon. The tube is attached to two valves. One valve inserts purified water into your colon and the other takes materials out. This part feels pretty weird. When the water goes in, you will get to a point when you feel you need to have a bowel movement. At this point the therapist will switch the valve to remove materials.
6 – When materials are exiting your colon there will be no smell and it will go right into the tube. There will be a window in the tube where the therapist (and sometimes yourself if there is a mirror in the right place) can view and analyze the materials that are exiting. If you can see the materials it is not as gross as it sounds. I mean you look at your own waste each time you take a number two. The therapist can let you know if there are things in your diet that your body isn’t processing or if there is a lot of older matter that was stuck in there.
7 – The process of water going in and things going out will continue until your entire large colon has been flushed. This will take 30-45 minutes and the therapist will likely be massaging your stomach as this happens to help move things along and dislodge things.
8 – Then the tube will be removed and you will go to the toilet to ensure all the water is out.
9 – The final step will be to take a few acidophilus (probiotics) to ensure you restore your intestinal flora. As you take out the bad stuff from your colon you may have also gotten rid of some good bacteria. Acidophilus will restore this.
Afterwards: You may want to avoid dairy and gassy foods for the next 24 hours as these are harder for your body to process. In addition, you may want to be over the loo if you feel the need to pass gas for the next 12-24 hours in case more than gas comes out. But you should feel good as new after a few hours.
It will be most effective if you can do a series of treatments in a row as each time you are able to get better results. I would say 3-5 is the best but every person is different. Note that these treatments are not addictive.
Now you may be wondering why you would ever want to do this. There are a multitude of benefits from improved digestion, increased energy, clearer skin to lowering your risk of having colon cancer. The act of getting a colonic will help to improve your colon muscles so that it will be able to function better and that will make you feel better all around. It may be something that you want to try once when you are cleansing or become a treatment you like to get done every month. But don’t be scared to give it a try if it is something you think you can benefit from. Madonna and Ben Affleck are celebrities that are said to get this treatment done and they look pretty fabulous so why not give it a go!
