Getting free stuff from companies just for blogging? Sounds fabulous eh?
Today at the Green Phone Booth I chat and share on some ethical concerns around accepting product sponsorship as a blogger and ask how best it would be to disclose to your readers. Please feel free to go on over and join the (honest and respectful!) discussion!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Psst: Strong is the New Skinny, Pass it On!
"This Trendy "Strong is the New Skinny" Thing (and what it could mean for the next generation of girls"
I just read the most badass article above and I have to share it with you. No really. It was ridonkulously amazing. If you are a woman, if you are a HUMAN, you should read this.
I feel that Sophie's message, besides being so entertainingly, yet poignantly written, is an important one to share. Important for the girl I was and the woman I am. For all my other girl-woman peeps who struggle with body image, disordered eating and self-esteem. So I'm sharing my perspective, my take, with you.
Yes. Exactly. What if, when I was a girl, I was told to strive to be strong instead of thin. What if the message society gave me was that a strong woman was of ultimate value. Would my adolescence, my early twenties, have been different?
If you read my blog, you know that I've struggled with disordered body image and eating my entire life. Oh, it's not clinical- I've never demonstrated symptoms to the clinical level. But raise your hand (mentally) if you've: a) known someone who lost their period due to weight loss b) looked in the mirror and wailed internally over your fat-ugly______ c) felt proud that you skipped a meal d) felt happy that your jeans were loose e) gone on a fad diet, or any diet f) felt that your current weight or body shape, whatever it was, just needed a bit of improvement g) heard someone say that the best part of having the stomach flu was the weight that you lost....
Yup, yup, yep, been there for all of them.
After devouring countless books and research articles on feminism, body image, female health and our relationship historically and culturally with the media, I am a strong believer that this "body type ideal" of tall, thin and waif-like is enforced upon us artificially by the beauty, fashion and advertising industry along with a healthy dose of patriarchy valuing women for extrinsic qualities such as ideal beauty and as sexual objects.
In a way, this can be viewed as a positive thing. Unlike evolutionary psychological theory (which honestly I feel is a load of self serving, patriarchal, narrow-minded crap- we are not apes and behaviours that *may* have occurred a millennia ago can be explained by the-very different- social construct, brain and cognitive development and lifestyles homo sapiens led: ie social and culture and NOT irreversible genetics) our social mores and culture can CHANGE.
What if girls are told from a young age to be strong, intelligent, caring, courageous instead of thin, pretty, "nice" and gentle? My thinnest moments were when I was stressed and unhappy and I know for a fact I was not eating enough to nourish my brain- which obviously results in poor cognitive functioning, problem solving, emotional regulation and concentration.
You know what was my fucking unicorn moment? When my unflexibility forced me to improve significantly in my strength endurance in yoga. When I looked in the mirror and saw the gorgeous MUSCLES in my back and arms. When I could hold dolphin plank longer than my weight lifting husband. It was like suddenly the fear of 'bulking up' (which is a ridiculous myth btw) disappeared into the excitement of being fucking STRONG.
Just last night I poked my belly to feel my awesome abdominal muscles I've been building. I may have even showed them off to Andrew. I am so excited with my body right now, and I am currently at my "heaviest" and highest dress size.
This is to say that I feel it's a bit DESPITE yoga. I know. But I feel the focus on yoga asana (for the most part) in popular western yoga is to be thin, lose weight, "toned". Even the examples of strong yoginis we have as famous role models are still (white) thin and strong. (Now, we know there are some strong fabulous yoginis who are bucking the system- I heart you! We need MORE of you!).
This is where Sadie's snarky post at Huffpo makes me cringe. Perhaps instead of making others feel like yoga is the ONLY solution to being strong and healthy, we should simply encourage women to be STRONG however best that works for them. Our bodies and selves do not fit in a cookie cutter mold, one size fits all model. So why assume yoga to be the panacea in this diverse reality?
I just read the most badass article above and I have to share it with you. No really. It was ridonkulously amazing. If you are a woman, if you are a HUMAN, you should read this.
I feel that Sophie's message, besides being so entertainingly, yet poignantly written, is an important one to share. Important for the girl I was and the woman I am. For all my other girl-woman peeps who struggle with body image, disordered eating and self-esteem. So I'm sharing my perspective, my take, with you.
What if: "Strong is the new skinny"
Yes. Exactly. What if, when I was a girl, I was told to strive to be strong instead of thin. What if the message society gave me was that a strong woman was of ultimate value. Would my adolescence, my early twenties, have been different?
If you read my blog, you know that I've struggled with disordered body image and eating my entire life. Oh, it's not clinical- I've never demonstrated symptoms to the clinical level. But raise your hand (mentally) if you've: a) known someone who lost their period due to weight loss b) looked in the mirror and wailed internally over your fat-ugly______ c) felt proud that you skipped a meal d) felt happy that your jeans were loose e) gone on a fad diet, or any diet f) felt that your current weight or body shape, whatever it was, just needed a bit of improvement g) heard someone say that the best part of having the stomach flu was the weight that you lost....
Yup, yup, yep, been there for all of them.
After devouring countless books and research articles on feminism, body image, female health and our relationship historically and culturally with the media, I am a strong believer that this "body type ideal" of tall, thin and waif-like is enforced upon us artificially by the beauty, fashion and advertising industry along with a healthy dose of patriarchy valuing women for extrinsic qualities such as ideal beauty and as sexual objects.
In a way, this can be viewed as a positive thing. Unlike evolutionary psychological theory (which honestly I feel is a load of self serving, patriarchal, narrow-minded crap- we are not apes and behaviours that *may* have occurred a millennia ago can be explained by the-very different- social construct, brain and cognitive development and lifestyles homo sapiens led: ie social and culture and NOT irreversible genetics) our social mores and culture can CHANGE.
What if girls are told from a young age to be strong, intelligent, caring, courageous instead of thin, pretty, "nice" and gentle? My thinnest moments were when I was stressed and unhappy and I know for a fact I was not eating enough to nourish my brain- which obviously results in poor cognitive functioning, problem solving, emotional regulation and concentration.
You know what was my fucking unicorn moment? When my unflexibility forced me to improve significantly in my strength endurance in yoga. When I looked in the mirror and saw the gorgeous MUSCLES in my back and arms. When I could hold dolphin plank longer than my weight lifting husband. It was like suddenly the fear of 'bulking up' (which is a ridiculous myth btw) disappeared into the excitement of being fucking STRONG.
Just last night I poked my belly to feel my awesome abdominal muscles I've been building. I may have even showed them off to Andrew. I am so excited with my body right now, and I am currently at my "heaviest" and highest dress size.
This is to say that I feel it's a bit DESPITE yoga. I know. But I feel the focus on yoga asana (for the most part) in popular western yoga is to be thin, lose weight, "toned". Even the examples of strong yoginis we have as famous role models are still (white) thin and strong. (Now, we know there are some strong fabulous yoginis who are bucking the system- I heart you! We need MORE of you!).
This is where Sadie's snarky post at Huffpo makes me cringe. Perhaps instead of making others feel like yoga is the ONLY solution to being strong and healthy, we should simply encourage women to be STRONG however best that works for them. Our bodies and selves do not fit in a cookie cutter mold, one size fits all model. So why assume yoga to be the panacea in this diverse reality?
Strong is the new Skinny- Pass it On.
Friday, May 10, 2013
GPB: Navigating the Eco-Beauty Products World
Ever find yourself trying to green your beauty product (baby product) routine and want to scream at the overwhelming amounts of information and choice?
Me too... at the Green Phone Booth today I share a few of the tips that have worked for me over the years- Navigating the Eco-Beauty Products World: go check it out! :)
Me too... at the Green Phone Booth today I share a few of the tips that have worked for me over the years- Navigating the Eco-Beauty Products World: go check it out! :)
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Does my Dove Response solidify the Ego (ie the "antithesis of yoga"?)
"...isn't your article solidifying the ego which is the antithesis of yoga?"- Daniel
This comment was posted on my "Response to Dove- 10 things you need to tell yourself" post last week.
I think this is an important question and I thank you Daniel for voicing it (in a very nice way :) ). The interesting thing about yoga is that although most yogis firmly state that yoga isn't a "religion" nor "spiritual" (which would allow for guiding mores, written "archaic" and authentic guidelines to live by and an ultimate end goal- ie enlightenment), many yogis bemoan the superficial (ie physical only) aspect of practitioners and Western Yoga.
I find many aspects of yogic teachings useful tools for my daily life. However, it is not my spirituality- I am pagan and some of my spiritual beliefs don't quite mesh with yoga. I'm ok with that.
So, to Daniel's comment.
As I haven't studied yogic teachings in depth, I'm certainly not qualified to give an overly educated answer. What I can do is give my own perspective, educational background in psychology on the question of "ego", attachment, mental health and yoga.
I find the use of the term "ego" to be troublesome for many reasons, one being the direct historical connotations of the Freudian origins of the term. In psychology, although Freud was a revolutionary, his therapy techniques and theories are no longer viewed as accurate nor are they recommended for use (outside of Europe and some practitioners in Quebec). Vilifying the "ego" (or the "id") isn't helpful, instead it's an extremely simplistic way of viewing the human sense of self.
The reality is that as social persons we function within relationships with others. These relationships with other people are forged and strengthened through emotional attachment and interactions. Our own sense of the Self and self-worth is created through thousands of interactions, emotional bonds with firstly our families and then others as well as situations throughout our lives. This sense of self, in it's healthy form, is an important prerequisite in order to form healthy and appropriate emotional attachments and relationships with others.
Although our society has definitely moved to a more narcissistic part of the Self spectrum (all about ME), I do feel that the other extreme is equally unhealthy from a mental health, relationship perspective. I plan on living life at 100%, and I am a firm believer that the people, friends and loved ones in my family are an essential component in this path.
With regards to the "ego" of telling yourself 10 things you love about your intrinsic (non physical self), I feel that in the context this exercise is necessary for the majority of women in western society. Our society sends extremely strong messages about a woman's worth based on her physical appearance. As a result, often women (and young girls) base, at least a portion, of their self worth on their physical appearance.
Disordered sense of self, body-image and eating (more prevalent in women in western society) can lead to dieting (which leads to health problems), depression, and eating disorders. Here is where I feel using a simplistic rhetoric of "ego=bad" for a reality where simply "letting go" isn't working for the thousands of women who struggle daily under a barrage of unhealthy messages and sense of self-worth tied directly to a forever aging body. Especially in a physical discipline like yoga, where the billion dollar ad industry is specifically marketed to lithe, young, (white) women and many traditions focus on the physical body in order to achieve mental clarity.
If you are a person who has a fantastic sense of self-worth and feel confident where you are intrinsically (and, as unjust as it is, this is more likely true if you are male) then I see the "non-attachment" of yogic teachings being useful. If you find these yogic teachings as being helpful to you, and have fully adopted to follow a yogic lifestyle, I respect and support that 100%.
I do believe that the majority of women (and some men) could certainly benefit from actively finding a sense of self-worth from internal characteristics starting with explicitly stating what they like best about themselves that isn't tied to their physical body. If this isn't "yoga"- I'm 100% ok with that :)
This comment was posted on my "Response to Dove- 10 things you need to tell yourself" post last week.
I think this is an important question and I thank you Daniel for voicing it (in a very nice way :) ). The interesting thing about yoga is that although most yogis firmly state that yoga isn't a "religion" nor "spiritual" (which would allow for guiding mores, written "archaic" and authentic guidelines to live by and an ultimate end goal- ie enlightenment), many yogis bemoan the superficial (ie physical only) aspect of practitioners and Western Yoga.
I find many aspects of yogic teachings useful tools for my daily life. However, it is not my spirituality- I am pagan and some of my spiritual beliefs don't quite mesh with yoga. I'm ok with that.
So, to Daniel's comment.
As I haven't studied yogic teachings in depth, I'm certainly not qualified to give an overly educated answer. What I can do is give my own perspective, educational background in psychology on the question of "ego", attachment, mental health and yoga.
I find the use of the term "ego" to be troublesome for many reasons, one being the direct historical connotations of the Freudian origins of the term. In psychology, although Freud was a revolutionary, his therapy techniques and theories are no longer viewed as accurate nor are they recommended for use (outside of Europe and some practitioners in Quebec). Vilifying the "ego" (or the "id") isn't helpful, instead it's an extremely simplistic way of viewing the human sense of self.
The reality is that as social persons we function within relationships with others. These relationships with other people are forged and strengthened through emotional attachment and interactions. Our own sense of the Self and self-worth is created through thousands of interactions, emotional bonds with firstly our families and then others as well as situations throughout our lives. This sense of self, in it's healthy form, is an important prerequisite in order to form healthy and appropriate emotional attachments and relationships with others.
Although our society has definitely moved to a more narcissistic part of the Self spectrum (all about ME), I do feel that the other extreme is equally unhealthy from a mental health, relationship perspective. I plan on living life at 100%, and I am a firm believer that the people, friends and loved ones in my family are an essential component in this path.
With regards to the "ego" of telling yourself 10 things you love about your intrinsic (non physical self), I feel that in the context this exercise is necessary for the majority of women in western society. Our society sends extremely strong messages about a woman's worth based on her physical appearance. As a result, often women (and young girls) base, at least a portion, of their self worth on their physical appearance.
Disordered sense of self, body-image and eating (more prevalent in women in western society) can lead to dieting (which leads to health problems), depression, and eating disorders. Here is where I feel using a simplistic rhetoric of "ego=bad" for a reality where simply "letting go" isn't working for the thousands of women who struggle daily under a barrage of unhealthy messages and sense of self-worth tied directly to a forever aging body. Especially in a physical discipline like yoga, where the billion dollar ad industry is specifically marketed to lithe, young, (white) women and many traditions focus on the physical body in order to achieve mental clarity.
(a perfect example of yoga ad industry...)
If you are a person who has a fantastic sense of self-worth and feel confident where you are intrinsically (and, as unjust as it is, this is more likely true if you are male) then I see the "non-attachment" of yogic teachings being useful. If you find these yogic teachings as being helpful to you, and have fully adopted to follow a yogic lifestyle, I respect and support that 100%.
I do believe that the majority of women (and some men) could certainly benefit from actively finding a sense of self-worth from internal characteristics starting with explicitly stating what they like best about themselves that isn't tied to their physical body. If this isn't "yoga"- I'm 100% ok with that :)
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Delicious Craft (Eco) Beer: Bridge Brewing Company
Andrew and I are what you may call "beer snobs". Yep, I have to say we have discerning taste in beer. Drinking beer is like drinking wine. You gotta start really basic and easy (like fruity whites), drink lots until you can't taste the flavour anymore and eventually, you will learn to appreciate the deliciousness of the beauty called beer.
(Working four summers at a microbrew pub as a bartender also helped this appreciation. There was nothing funnier than watching the Americans hop off the Ferry, down a pint of Canadian micro brew and start slurring: "Y'all have funny lookin' money!". But then, I got my kicks where I could...).
Part of being eco-hip and all is buying local. Bonus if the local beer is also brewed sustainably!
Local beer does NOT equal Alexander Keiths (also, Keith's is gross icky beer and not worth your money). Investing your money back into small, independent and local business assures that your money is going directly back into the community with minimal shipping and production emissions.
Last weekend, Andrew and I discovered our new FAVOURITE beer in Halifax... (drum roll:) Bridge Brewing Company. It's a new, I would say Nano, craft brewing company in the North End (Agricola and North St, near Gus' Pub). (Interestingly, a testament to the "small town" feel of the maritimes, even in it's biggest city, my best friend H is also friends with the owner's sister...)
We're naming Bridge Brewing a 'Nano' craft beer brewing as they currently offer 3 styles of beer and brew about 300 litres a day. They only sell in "growler's" of 750ml, which is the perfect 2 beer amount. A small $ deposit means that you can refill your growler at cost of the beer as often as you'd like. They are phasing out the most gorgeous clay growlers (we're keeping one just for posterity) as they are more delicate (we discovered this today- just be sure not to be like Andrew, and hold them in your lap instead of allowing them to roll on the car floor), but the glass ones are just as fun. Refillable growlers equals less waste and better for the environment.
Not only do they offer delicious beer in the coolest growlers in town, but Bridge Brewing Company's goal is to be ZERO EMISSIONS. Yeppers, they source all their power from Bullfrog Power and their spent grain goes to TapRoot Farms. It's clear from their site that should they be able, they plan on continuing to expand wherever possible on making their brewing production as environmentally friendly as possible.
Our favourite brew is "Gus", with the "Farmhouse" a very close second.
'Gus' is named after an infamous local North End pub: "Gus' Pub" (and coincidentally, it's the only place where you can get "Gus" on tap in Halifax- Andrew: "I would just sit at the bar, my eyes closed, and smile with eternal happiness"). Gus is a light, Belgium style beer that is filled with deliciousness: a hint of citrus with the lovely surprise of spice at the end. Yum!
They also currently have a dark beer, that we've never tasted. However, it would be a good bet that it is equally delicious.
If you're in the city, I highly recommend a quick stop to Bridge Brewing Company for a few growlers. If you're reading this as Come From Aways (not from the Maritimes), check out your closest city for micro and nano craft brews. You won't be disappointed!
(Working four summers at a microbrew pub as a bartender also helped this appreciation. There was nothing funnier than watching the Americans hop off the Ferry, down a pint of Canadian micro brew and start slurring: "Y'all have funny lookin' money!". But then, I got my kicks where I could...).
Part of being eco-hip and all is buying local. Bonus if the local beer is also brewed sustainably!
Local beer does NOT equal Alexander Keiths (also, Keith's is gross icky beer and not worth your money). Investing your money back into small, independent and local business assures that your money is going directly back into the community with minimal shipping and production emissions.
(Love their logo! So rustic)
(Yep, that's the owner, my friend's-friend M's brother!)
We're naming Bridge Brewing a 'Nano' craft beer brewing as they currently offer 3 styles of beer and brew about 300 litres a day. They only sell in "growler's" of 750ml, which is the perfect 2 beer amount. A small $ deposit means that you can refill your growler at cost of the beer as often as you'd like. They are phasing out the most gorgeous clay growlers (we're keeping one just for posterity) as they are more delicate (we discovered this today- just be sure not to be like Andrew, and hold them in your lap instead of allowing them to roll on the car floor), but the glass ones are just as fun. Refillable growlers equals less waste and better for the environment.
(the gorgeous clay growler chillin' next to the sleek glass growler)
Our favourite brew is "Gus", with the "Farmhouse" a very close second.
(self explanatory)
(Farmhouse, all poured and ready to enjoy!)
'Farmhouse' has an amber look with a fruity aroma, large flavour with a hint of hop and bitterness. It also has more of a kick at 7.5% alcohol content.They also currently have a dark beer, that we've never tasted. However, it would be a good bet that it is equally delicious.
If you're in the city, I highly recommend a quick stop to Bridge Brewing Company for a few growlers. If you're reading this as Come From Aways (not from the Maritimes), check out your closest city for micro and nano craft brews. You won't be disappointed!
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