I love, love, LOVE this excerpt from the book Feet in the Clouds by Richard Askwith (via Ben Saunders):

"We are richer now, but more overworked, more deeply in thrall to the addictions of getting and spending. We have more possessions, and they tyrannise us. Each new mod con must be shopped for, maintained, insured, upgraded; each new thing must be stored, kept track of, kept secure, tidied; and the whole package is paid for in overwork, time-poverty, round-the-clock availability and round-the-clock insecurity.

We have more, and we have less. In such a world, freedom is both more precious and more elusive than ever. And one of the few surefire ways of liberating ourselves from the tyranny of the consumer society is to put ourselves beyond its reach."

What a poignant and perfectly said point.

We love our iPhones and our Blackberries; our Kindles and our DVRs. But just for now, just for a day or two, let's power-down and put them away. Let's go offline. Let's talk to our families, drink tea, and read paperback books. Let's feel the excitement that our kids feel on Christmas Eve. Let's taste our food. Let's take deep breaths. Let's relax for reals.

Thank you to all who have visited my site, subscribed to my blog, or shared Get Natured with others. I am excited to begin a new year and I so look forward to hearing from you!

Happy holidays and happy New Year. May you find some peaceful, untethered togetherness with your favorite people!

My second season of triathlon training is about to kick off (in January). Yoga is an important part of my exercise regimen (triathlon training or not) and I am considering new ways to fit more practice time into my life. I have a favorite yoga class that I attend when I can but, because children and life are unpredictable, I can’t always get there in time. If I can carve out just a little extra time at home to supplement my class, I should be able to get many of the benefits of yoga by establishing a home practice (this has been a goal of mine for some time).

I have occasionally used yoga DVDs at home and I thought I’d share a favorite for others considering adding this to their lives as well.

First, please note that a DVD is not a complete substitute for attending a yoga class, especially if you are a beginner. In a class, you are given feedback and coaching on your poses and alignment that are just not possible at home with a DVD. Also, flowing through a yoga sequence in a room with others offers a feeling of connection and peace that can add so much to your practice.

A simple, short, nourishing yoga DVD:

A.M. and P.M. Yoga

With Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden

These routines are short (about 20 minutes each) and are not particularly challenging. What I like about this DVD is that, in addition to basic yoga poses, it does a great job of introducing new practitioners to the meditative flow yoga. I just love easing into my day with the sound of the ocean and distant gongs that complete the meditation section at the end of the A.M. session.

This time of year gets the control freak in me all fired up. I'm itching to make lists of resolutions and spreadsheets of goals. My approach to this tends to change slightly from year to year to year. Over the past couple of weeks I have been reading the excellent blog of Chris Guillebeau (The Art of Non-Conformity) and I am inspired by his ideas.

This year I left the corporate world to be at home with my kids. This change, I'm now completely aware, was long overdue. I feel that it has opened up so many possibilities for me. I'm overwhelmed by those possibilities, frankly, but in a good way. I am very excited about the energy that I can feel building somewhere deep in my heart. The place that knows what's next but that hasn't shared that with my brain yet.

Right now, my goals are just gut feelings without definition and I feel like I'm hovering. I have been adjusting my focus to gather input from my intuition and I have begun to have "ah ha" moments when I notice feeling weighed-down. I have started to question some things that have been a part of my routine forever. Things that I normally don't give a second glance, like exercising in the gym. I've done that for 20 years now, but isn't it much more inspiring to run outside? After running a half-marathon in October, it became quite clear to me that I hate treadmills. Thirteen miles of the most beautiful parts of San Francisco passed so quickly. A few miles on the treadmill since then? Not so much.

Right now I'm gathering information. Soon, I hope to have a more lucid definition of my goals. Today I signed up for an e-course called Mondo Beyondo that I'm very excited about. The timing of my finding this course was serendipitous. I love it when things just fit together like they were put in place by a me from the future who is sending myself love notes in the past!

Resources:

1. The Art of Non-Conformity - How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review
2. Mondo Beyondo

I recently ran out of my favorite facial moisturizer (which is pricey) and I decided to look around for a less expensive alternative. I had a few in mind so, to help me decide which to buy, I visited the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. Whoa. Yikes! Have you seen this database? It is incredibly helpful but a little scary at the same time. I was afraid to enter my favorite products for fear of finding out that they were highly toxic.

How does the database work?
From the home page, you can browse for products by type or search by brand, type, or ingredient. The search results provide a safety rating based on the product ingredients.

From mascara to man soap, the database has a little bit of everything and searching for products can be addictive. Check it out!

Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database