Earth Day - April 22, 2012

We wrote this article with the intention to raise awareness. As you might have guessed, we lean towards answer A above (thoughtful introspection). How can we, as yoga people, reduce our impact on the environment and support and improve our home planet?

We hope you will join us for a Bikram Yoga class this Earth Day on Sunday April 22nd!

What are you doing this year to help improve our beautiful planet Earth?

If you practice yoga, you are already moving in the direction of healing the Earth, just by practicing yoga... no joke!

How is that possible? One of the many side benefits of yoga, is that we become more in tune with our own mind and body. As this happens, we naturally become more aware and sensitive to our surroundings, including the people in our community and the environment.

The more we support our own health and well being, the easier it is to treat one another and our planet Earth with kindness and respect. Surely you have noticed in your life, how this can sneak up on you in surprising ways!

It's natural to wonder, how can we create more of a positive impact on this beautiful planet?

We came up with a fun list of ideas that can help reduce the impact of our yoga lifestyle on the planet. You can use these tools for the upcoming Earth Day, and who knows, you may be following these 'green' steps in your every-day yoga life!

• Use biodegradable laundry detergent. Here's some examples, most of which you can find at your local Whole Foods or even Target.
  • 7th Generation Free & Clear 2X Laundry Detergent
  • TIDE 2X Ultra Liquid laundry Detergent
  • ECOS 2X Ultra Free and Clear all Natural
  • ALL 2X Ultra Laundry Detergent
  • Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent
    
    
• Take advantage of the warm weather and air-dry your yoga clothes and towels instead of using your heat dryer. Saves money, electric power, and gas!
  
  
• Try re-usable water containers. How about your old pickle or jam jars? They make great water bottles. If you don't like pickle after-taste, then how about a re-usable "Klean Kanteen" stainless steel water bottle?  Many sizes are available in many stores around Michigan, including REI, Whole Foods, even online at www.kleankanteen.com
  
  
• Reduce time in showers. Not only at the yoga studios, but at your home too! We often take water for granted in Michigan, surrounded by Great Lakes. Let's live by the example of other parts of the country that are far more conscious of water conservation! 
  
  
• Carpool with friends and family members to our studios when possible. Or even ask around, chances are the person you practice next to lives near by and may be looking for a carpool buddy too! Great way to make new friends at the studios. If you can't carpool, at least try to combine your drive to the studio with other tasks that require driving (shopping or other errands).
  
  
• Now, don't get grossed out, but use a re-usable hankie when you have to blow your nose!  A hand towel could work too! 
  
  
• After class, instead of using a plastic grocery bag for your sweaty clothes/mats, use a re-usable shopping bag. Right now, everywhere you go you can find great re-usable shoppers, from Trader Joes, to Marshalls, to even the Dollar store! If that doesn't get you excited, then how about these really cool re-usable after yoga bags, called "The Sweat Mate". They come in a wide variety of sizes, and colors. Check them out at www.recyclefashionably.com
  
  
• You may be using an Eco friendly yoga mat already, if not, here are some great ones!
  • PROlite yoga mat from Manduka - this is a zero-waste sustainable mat that is a bit pricey, but has superior wear and longevity and travel friendly too! (visit  www.manduka.com)
  • Or go to www.matsmatsmats.com and check out their wide variety of eco friendly yoga mats. They even sell cleaners, and rubber flooring too!
    
    

As we built our yoga studios, we kept our intentions on staying as 'green' as possible, to reduce the impact of our studio facilities on the environment, and to create a healthier environment for you!

We are always open to learning more about this... it's a work in progress! Here are a few of the things we've done at the studios:

• We used non-offgasing products in construction such as: low VOC paints, low VOC ceiling tiles, ceramic tile, granite and stone
  
  
• We use extra insulation in walls and ceiling of yoga room to retain the heat in the room.
  
  
• We have high-efficiency furnaces
  
  
• Hot water is generated by gas tank-less water heaters
  
  
• Our showers and sinks have eco-friendly low flow output
  
  
• We have a water free urnial in Farmington Hills (not the best invention in the world, but it does save thousands of gallons of water per year!)
  
  
• Our toilets are designed with low flow output
  
  
• Light comes from low energy usage light bulbs
  
  
• We regularly recycle all of our bottles/containers/batteries, and use recycled paper, and paper towels.
  
  
• We use paperless hand dryers (at our Troy location)

We'd love to hear what you think! Please share your tips with our yoga family on how we can all become more 'green' in 2012!