Dear males of a nervous disposition. You may wish to disregard this next post as it is likely to contain discussion of certain female monthly events.
Whilst a natural phenomenon, I understand that some men, even women, are uncomfortable talking about menstrual cycles but trying to live closer to nature inevitably leads to accepting the natural physical phenomena of your own body...and there is something slightly empowering about this.
I am still far too English to be dancing naked and publicly displaying my every body insecurity but I am ready to mention out loud the female cycle.
Growing up, it was never an unmentionable topic but there were still remnants of the previous generation when it certainly had been. My much younger brother, at the age of about three, still thought that sanitary pads were ACTUALLY called "You-Know-Whats"!!!
However, whilst the new, greener me advocates women talking openly about their menstrual cycles in a bid to make sure younger girls don't think of it as something dirty or shameful...I have never been comfortable with the financial cost and the wastage that each monthly cycle produces.
Therefore, I have finally invested in reusable sanitary pads. Now...I know that straight away there will be some people who read that and feel disgusted. A fair few months ago perhaps I would have felt the same but still... To them I say very sweetly...get over it! Not only are reusable products used in much of the non-western world already but why is it okay to clean and reuse dirty, smelly, pooey cloth nappies but not sanitary products? Surely there's not that much difference??
At this stage I have only purchased pads bought online through Luxury Moon . I have no experience of other companies but I found Luxury Moon reasonably priced, their website is easy to navigate and delivery is very speedy. I did have a slight delay in receiving them but that was due to our national mail service and not anything at all to do with the company. In the future I plan to also look into alternatives to tampons such as this but I am still doing some reasearch.
I will update at a later stage to share how I get on with this new way of doing things.
Sunday 24 February 2013
Tuesday 19 February 2013
Inspiration
No Impact Project
For those of you not familiar with Colin Beavan and the experiment he and his family undertook. I urge you to watch the documentary No Impact Man. I stumbled upon it whilst on a flight from Oz back to the UK and for me, it was like a lightning bolt to the brain. Colin, his wife and their young daughter live in NYC and in stages, over the course of a year, they try to see if they can reduce the negative impact they have on the environment to as little as possible....with the ULTIMATE aim of making NO IMPACT at all. To the point that they are using only people powered transport, they are wiping the bottoms with washable wipes and eventually they even turn the power off completely in their flat. The compassion and honesty of the family stop it from feeling gimmicky and the way it's tackled in stages leaves you with a feeling of "Yeah, I can do that!".
People had been telling me there were better ways to live for a long time but this documentary was the first time I felt like what I did mattered, that it would make a difference and that I might not be able to change the world in a drastic way but I could change me.
The much cited not using toilet roll etc exposed me to certain social conditionings I didn't realise I had. While I have yet to move over to a non-disposable system, it is definitely on the cards and no longer makes me turn my nose up in disgust.
Crunchy Chicken
It was actually during subsequent research of toilet paper (tp) alternatives that I discovered the Crunchy Chicken aka Deanna Duke blog. Her entries on Cloth Wipe Challenges gave me the hows, whys and advantages of turning away from tp. When you think about the amount of the world that doesn't use it vs. the amount that do, is it really as terrible as you might first think? The Crunchy Chicken blog really helped convince me that I was being close minded and somewhat brainwashed into thinking that tp was the only way.
Anyway, once I get closer to the conversion I'm sure there will be more to share on this delightful subject! :)
Joe The Juicer/Fat,Sick and Nearly Dead
Joe Cross is a straight talking Aussie (is there any other kind? lol) with an amazing documentary about his journey from being overweight and ill to the picture of radiant health. His secret? A re-balancing ("reboot") juice fast. Though I haven't actually done a juice fast per se, Joe's testimonial played a huge part in my impetus to assess what I was actually putting into my body and what kind of an impact it might be having.
I'm sure more inspirational voices will be added to the list over time and I will write more as and when that happens. But to start, in various guises, all three of these people are on FB and Twitter if you feel curious/inspired further.
For those of you not familiar with Colin Beavan and the experiment he and his family undertook. I urge you to watch the documentary No Impact Man. I stumbled upon it whilst on a flight from Oz back to the UK and for me, it was like a lightning bolt to the brain. Colin, his wife and their young daughter live in NYC and in stages, over the course of a year, they try to see if they can reduce the negative impact they have on the environment to as little as possible....with the ULTIMATE aim of making NO IMPACT at all. To the point that they are using only people powered transport, they are wiping the bottoms with washable wipes and eventually they even turn the power off completely in their flat. The compassion and honesty of the family stop it from feeling gimmicky and the way it's tackled in stages leaves you with a feeling of "Yeah, I can do that!".
People had been telling me there were better ways to live for a long time but this documentary was the first time I felt like what I did mattered, that it would make a difference and that I might not be able to change the world in a drastic way but I could change me.
The much cited not using toilet roll etc exposed me to certain social conditionings I didn't realise I had. While I have yet to move over to a non-disposable system, it is definitely on the cards and no longer makes me turn my nose up in disgust.
Crunchy Chicken
It was actually during subsequent research of toilet paper (tp) alternatives that I discovered the Crunchy Chicken aka Deanna Duke blog. Her entries on Cloth Wipe Challenges gave me the hows, whys and advantages of turning away from tp. When you think about the amount of the world that doesn't use it vs. the amount that do, is it really as terrible as you might first think? The Crunchy Chicken blog really helped convince me that I was being close minded and somewhat brainwashed into thinking that tp was the only way.
Anyway, once I get closer to the conversion I'm sure there will be more to share on this delightful subject! :)
Joe The Juicer/Fat,Sick and Nearly Dead
Joe Cross is a straight talking Aussie (is there any other kind? lol) with an amazing documentary about his journey from being overweight and ill to the picture of radiant health. His secret? A re-balancing ("reboot") juice fast. Though I haven't actually done a juice fast per se, Joe's testimonial played a huge part in my impetus to assess what I was actually putting into my body and what kind of an impact it might be having.
I'm sure more inspirational voices will be added to the list over time and I will write more as and when that happens. But to start, in various guises, all three of these people are on FB and Twitter if you feel curious/inspired further.
Vegetarian....Vegan....Raw
For a long time now I have tried not to eat animal products. Not out of some huge righteous ethical stance (though sadness for the poor moo cows does play a part).
This is not intended to be a rant on the evils of meat eating. It is merely known fact that vegetarianism is better for the environment.
I chose to stop eating animal products for the health benefits. I find I feel better, have more energy and get sick less often when I eat a mostly vegan diet.
A lot of people I have found, when you say you are vegan, become incredibly concerned about your nutrition....but what about calcium? What about protein?
The image of the energy deficient, rickets and scurvy suffering vegetarian or vegan is NOT because they are vegetarian or vegan...it is because they have poor diet.
Someone who doesn't eat meat or dairy but instead lives on cans of coke, chips and dark chocolate bars is not going to have much energy and is CERTAINLY going to have nutrient deficiencies.
If you eat a diet based on fresh fruits, vegetables and wholegrain it is a no brainer that you are going to have a much better health level than someone who eats a typical highly processed, additive containing western diet.
A book on the subject that has been of great inspiration to me but which is NOT about advocating banning meat is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food .
This book is not about veganism or even vegetarianism but simply about trying to eat foods that are REAL foods and not a multitude of chemical formulas. Eating things as close to nature as possible.
A form of eating that takes this to the Nth degree is Raw Veganism. Whilst I appreciate the concepts of such diets, particularly Fruitarianism, and I have dabbled a little in this area - buying raw foods when out, making some raw food recipes and drinking fruit smoothies - I am not quite ready to get so extreme.
I do, however, have a green smoothie on a daily basis.
Oh, and p.s. - with regards to calcium and protein - 1 cup of spinach has almost the same amout of calcium as a cup of milk but milk has only 1/3 of the amout of potassium. Potassium and other such minerals are necessary for the absorption of calcium. You can drink ten gallons of milk if you like but the majority of the calcium in it, you are going to quite literally pee away!
As for protein, yes, meat is the best source BUT the RDA is only 46g whereas half a turkey breast contains 96g! ...I'm no doctor or nutritionist but the controversy of the original version of the Atkins diet (kidney problems, loss of calcium, high blood pressure, heart disease) shows that a diet too high in protein may not be a good thing.
I'm not adding this to lecture you on how NAUGHTY you are for eating meat but in order that you think before lecturing ME about my nutrition because it's just fine thanks very much! :)
This is not intended to be a rant on the evils of meat eating. It is merely known fact that vegetarianism is better for the environment.
I chose to stop eating animal products for the health benefits. I find I feel better, have more energy and get sick less often when I eat a mostly vegan diet.
A lot of people I have found, when you say you are vegan, become incredibly concerned about your nutrition....but what about calcium? What about protein?
The image of the energy deficient, rickets and scurvy suffering vegetarian or vegan is NOT because they are vegetarian or vegan...it is because they have poor diet.
Someone who doesn't eat meat or dairy but instead lives on cans of coke, chips and dark chocolate bars is not going to have much energy and is CERTAINLY going to have nutrient deficiencies.
If you eat a diet based on fresh fruits, vegetables and wholegrain it is a no brainer that you are going to have a much better health level than someone who eats a typical highly processed, additive containing western diet.
A book on the subject that has been of great inspiration to me but which is NOT about advocating banning meat is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food .
This book is not about veganism or even vegetarianism but simply about trying to eat foods that are REAL foods and not a multitude of chemical formulas. Eating things as close to nature as possible.
A form of eating that takes this to the Nth degree is Raw Veganism. Whilst I appreciate the concepts of such diets, particularly Fruitarianism, and I have dabbled a little in this area - buying raw foods when out, making some raw food recipes and drinking fruit smoothies - I am not quite ready to get so extreme.
I do, however, have a green smoothie on a daily basis.
Oh, and p.s. - with regards to calcium and protein - 1 cup of spinach has almost the same amout of calcium as a cup of milk but milk has only 1/3 of the amout of potassium. Potassium and other such minerals are necessary for the absorption of calcium. You can drink ten gallons of milk if you like but the majority of the calcium in it, you are going to quite literally pee away!
As for protein, yes, meat is the best source BUT the RDA is only 46g whereas half a turkey breast contains 96g! ...I'm no doctor or nutritionist but the controversy of the original version of the Atkins diet (kidney problems, loss of calcium, high blood pressure, heart disease) shows that a diet too high in protein may not be a good thing.
I'm not adding this to lecture you on how NAUGHTY you are for eating meat but in order that you think before lecturing ME about my nutrition because it's just fine thanks very much! :)
No Shampoo
I have a confession.....
For the last year or so, I have not used shampoo once. Okay, okay..now, before you recoil in complete horror, let me explain...
I DO wash my hair..I just don't use shampoo. Before doing my research I had assumed that abstaining from Pantene or "Herbal" Essences meant stinky, dirty locks and perhaps 'natural' dreadlocks with creepy crawlies or mice living in them.
This is far from the truth. Let me liberate you from this misconception. IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE TO KEEP HAIR CLEAN AND SHINY WITHOUT SHAMPOO OR CONDITIONER.
If you don't believe me, check out this wikipedia article or simply do a search engine search for No Shampoo.
The method I use is the oft cited Bicarb and Vinegar. In place of shampoo I simply lather up a paste of Bicarb and water and massage it through my hair. Bicarb is fantastic because it can clean you, your clothes and your house (more on that later), though on your person it can be a little drying so I don't reccomend it as a soap replacement.
Once massaged through your hair, simply rinse out like you would any commercial shampoo and then it's on to the conditioning phase.
To condition my hair I put a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the bottom of a mug and then fill the rest up with shower water. I then CAREFULLY (vinegar in the eyes smarts!) pour it over my hair and comb through.
I'm never sure whether I need to wait before rinsing after each stage, so I tend to do that just in case.
The vinegar does two things, it makes your hair nice and shiny and tangle free and in theory it also dissolves any bicarb you might have missed so that you don't look like you have dandruff afterwards.
Okay....now for the nitty gritty:
On the downside - there is still an adjustment period that your hair will need to go through so you may suffer a few days or weeks of yukky looking oily hair. Basically, commercial shampoo works by stripping your hair of its natural oils and so your body compensates by producing extra oil. This is why your hair gets greasy and you have to wash it every day or every 2 days. When you stop using shampoo, it takes your body a little while to realise that this extra oil is not necessary...but trust me, this doesn't last forever.
On the up side - ....and in my opinion this way out-weighs the negative - The adjustment doesn't last forever and after it's over, not only will your hair look the healthiest it ever haves, you will only have to wash your hair maybe once a week, if not longer.
This, combined with the cheapness of the products means YOU WILL SAVE MONEY!
Oh...and p.s. - if you are at all worried about your hair smelling like a chip shop after using all that vinegar - the smell only lasts while your hair is wet. Once your hair is dry there is no odour....anybody who has known me for the last year can attest that I DO NOT smell like a bottle of Sarsons!! :)
For the last year or so, I have not used shampoo once. Okay, okay..now, before you recoil in complete horror, let me explain...
I DO wash my hair..I just don't use shampoo. Before doing my research I had assumed that abstaining from Pantene or "Herbal" Essences meant stinky, dirty locks and perhaps 'natural' dreadlocks with creepy crawlies or mice living in them.
This is far from the truth. Let me liberate you from this misconception. IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE TO KEEP HAIR CLEAN AND SHINY WITHOUT SHAMPOO OR CONDITIONER.
If you don't believe me, check out this wikipedia article or simply do a search engine search for No Shampoo.
The method I use is the oft cited Bicarb and Vinegar. In place of shampoo I simply lather up a paste of Bicarb and water and massage it through my hair. Bicarb is fantastic because it can clean you, your clothes and your house (more on that later), though on your person it can be a little drying so I don't reccomend it as a soap replacement.
Once massaged through your hair, simply rinse out like you would any commercial shampoo and then it's on to the conditioning phase.
To condition my hair I put a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the bottom of a mug and then fill the rest up with shower water. I then CAREFULLY (vinegar in the eyes smarts!) pour it over my hair and comb through.
I'm never sure whether I need to wait before rinsing after each stage, so I tend to do that just in case.
The vinegar does two things, it makes your hair nice and shiny and tangle free and in theory it also dissolves any bicarb you might have missed so that you don't look like you have dandruff afterwards.
Okay....now for the nitty gritty:
On the downside - there is still an adjustment period that your hair will need to go through so you may suffer a few days or weeks of yukky looking oily hair. Basically, commercial shampoo works by stripping your hair of its natural oils and so your body compensates by producing extra oil. This is why your hair gets greasy and you have to wash it every day or every 2 days. When you stop using shampoo, it takes your body a little while to realise that this extra oil is not necessary...but trust me, this doesn't last forever.
On the up side - ....and in my opinion this way out-weighs the negative - The adjustment doesn't last forever and after it's over, not only will your hair look the healthiest it ever haves, you will only have to wash your hair maybe once a week, if not longer.
This, combined with the cheapness of the products means YOU WILL SAVE MONEY!
Oh...and p.s. - if you are at all worried about your hair smelling like a chip shop after using all that vinegar - the smell only lasts while your hair is wet. Once your hair is dry there is no odour....anybody who has known me for the last year can attest that I DO NOT smell like a bottle of Sarsons!! :)
Time For Change
Four days ago I turned 33. Yep, I'm now officially older than Jesus.
Everybody talks about turning 30 as some big crisis but for me it wasn't so bad. It has been every year sense that causes me to go into some kind of existential panic and to reassess what exactly are my priorities in life.
This year I am finishing my degree, only one semester left, so the crisis seems somewhat heightened than it was at 32. Now more than ever I feel a need to assess where I am in my life and what I am doing with it and whether I feel I'm heading in the right direction.
In this blog I aim to document my mini personal revolution as I investigate my politics, my impact on the planet and my life direction.
My starting goals can be boiled down to one word: SIMPLIFY aka LESS STUFF
This in turn is split into two forms:
Material - Investigate how to drop out of consumerism as much as possible (stop being distracted by shiny things) and how to lessen my negative impact on the planet.
Intellectual - Calm the crap down! - Stop trying to crowd the mind to hide any feeling of lack - more yoga? meditation? - DEFINITELY more spirituality.
As well as documenting my transition I hope to be able to include books, blogs, films etc that have inspired/inspire me.
While the writing down of these things is purely for my own benefit, in order to get things straight in my own head, if anybody else gets any benefit from it then all the better! :)
Everybody talks about turning 30 as some big crisis but for me it wasn't so bad. It has been every year sense that causes me to go into some kind of existential panic and to reassess what exactly are my priorities in life.
This year I am finishing my degree, only one semester left, so the crisis seems somewhat heightened than it was at 32. Now more than ever I feel a need to assess where I am in my life and what I am doing with it and whether I feel I'm heading in the right direction.
In this blog I aim to document my mini personal revolution as I investigate my politics, my impact on the planet and my life direction.
My starting goals can be boiled down to one word: SIMPLIFY aka LESS STUFF
This in turn is split into two forms:
Material - Investigate how to drop out of consumerism as much as possible (stop being distracted by shiny things) and how to lessen my negative impact on the planet.
Intellectual - Calm the crap down! - Stop trying to crowd the mind to hide any feeling of lack - more yoga? meditation? - DEFINITELY more spirituality.
As well as documenting my transition I hope to be able to include books, blogs, films etc that have inspired/inspire me.
While the writing down of these things is purely for my own benefit, in order to get things straight in my own head, if anybody else gets any benefit from it then all the better! :)
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