Leave the Treadmills to the Hamsters

It’s that time again: the new year when we all reflect on the year that passed and start to set goals for the year ahead. So let’s get right down to it. How many of you have set the goal to lose weight in 2011? No, seriously. Even if your goal is to “be more active” or “eat healthier,” many times those politically correct goals still often hide our deeper desire – something we know we’re not supposed to use as a New Year’s resolution. Losing weight.

First, let’s start with the biggest issue here. The desire to be thinner. I think it would be pretty hard to find a woman in our culture who hasn’t wanted to be thinner at least once in her life. Most of us seem to always believe that our bodies could use some improvement. Even my barely-100-pound friends refer to themselves as “pudgy.” Hmmm…

Portia de Rossi at the height of her anorexia

I recently read Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi and wasn’t surprised by anything I read. I, like many other women, have had my own battles with eating disorders, compulsive behavior and rabid self-hatred. The entire time I was reading the book, I was struck with how old this problem is and how ongoing…no end in sight. And why? Because of a culturally determined feminine ideal that represents about 5% of women?

Frankly, I’m sick of it all. I’m so tired of thinking about my body and the way I look. I’m sick of seeing the newest diet books in the stores, the “30 days to a thinner waist” diets on the magazine covers, the buffed and brushed models and actresses in the media. It just gets boring after a while. We’re all smart enough to recognize pointless patterns like trying to lose weight so we can look like __________ (insert model/actress here), trying to find that perfect haircut, the perfect manicure…waiting for the day when we finally fit into a size 6. Or 4. Or 2.

Enough is enough. I don’t want to waste my time on such matters anymore. Guess what? I’m a bit chubby. My thighs are shaped like ice cream cones – tiny at the knee, super wide at the top. Oh well. I have a muffin top that won’t quit and I haven’t found a pair of pants that could defeat it. Oh well. My butt is square-shaped and droops just a bit. Oh well!

Yes, I have gained a bit of weight this holiday season. I ate way too much dairy, way too much sugar and now my muffin top is threatening to bust all the zippers on my pants. We’ve had lots and lots of snow and I haven’t been able to bicycle around town like I usually do – I’ve been mostly confined to my home-based yoga practice. So my muscles are strong, but I’ve gotten quite doughy. I’m a little bit anxious about it. I’m not super thrilled when I look in the mirror, and I wouldn’t put on a bathing suit in public if you paid me. I’m so tempted to start setting goals, cutting certain foods from my diet, adding more cardio to my workouts…

But I won’t. What’s the point? Since I lost 50 pounds in 2007, my weight has fluctuated about 15 pounds here and there. It always gets high around the holidays and then summer comes, and I go back down. Even at my best, though, I still have my chubby tummy and my thighs still look like ice cream cones and my butt is still square and droopy. I don’t mind that. That’s just my body. Yes, sometimes, I wish I had thighs like Nicole Kidman, but I don’t and that’s okay.

The lovely Lizzie Miller

So what happens if I don’t do a thing to change my diet and exercise habits as 2011 approaches? Will I gain 20 more pounds, have to buy a new wardrobe, watch everyone step back in disgust as I get bigger and bigger? LOL. Nope. As the weeks go by, I’ll slowly get back to my old eating routines. I’ll get sick of eating so much sugar and fat. The snow will melt and I’ll start biking more and driving less. Our CSA will begin again and we’ll be overflowing with delicious veggies. I’ll lose these extra holiday pounds without even noticing.

Now I know many of you may have legitimate weight loss goals that may be important for your health. But I think for most people, the more we let go, the less we will have to worry about our weight. And most importantly, most of us need to remember that we shouldn’t BE worried about our weight in the first place! I think there are more important things we can do with our time.

If you feel uncomfortable not having a New Year’s Resolution that involves your health and/or appearance, then I challenge you to this one: RADICAL SELF-ACCEPTANCE. Even when you have gained weight. We have a lot of negative cultural perceptions surrounding extra weight. It tends to be associated with laziness, lack of attractiveness, failure, and a load of other awful things. But we get to define our own lives, our own selves. It is our privilege to make our own judgments about anything and everything. Yes, our privilege to look in the mirror and smile at ourselves, even when our tummy chub is blossoming over the waistband of our panties! LOL. We can call our extra inches “cute” and believe that it is. We can love the body we have. It’s just a matter of choice.

This year, don‘t count calories. Just stay active, eat mostly fresh, natural foods and love love love what you see in the mirror, no matter what it is.

Good Seed: Positive Earth

I recently interviewed the lovely Tonie Silver of Positive Earth about her herbal products, thoughts about beauty in today’s society and much more!

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Hmmm… I’ve been into herbs, essential oils, and natural beauty for forever. I’ve always whipped up kitchen witchery and am very passionate about natural skincare. My friends ask me “Tonie, what do I use for this?”, or “What can I do for that?”. I would give little bits & bobs of my stuff to friends & family, & they would always say “Why don’t you sell this?” So now I am! For the last eight or so years, I’ve reviewed all natural bath & beauty for such platforms as Bathtime Suds Report, Sage Woman magazine, and for the last several years, Le Parfumeur Rebelle. I’ve always been a Green Witch. I’m an avid reader and a writer. Housfrau~ that’s me!:)

Tell me a little bit about your business. What green elements of your business make you proud?

Gee, lots~ so many! Ingredients of course~ organic first and foremost, raw, unrefined. Then my packaging~ glass, cork, paper. I wrap my jars and bottles in brown paper and tie them up with paper twine. I don’t use any of that plastic styrofoam packing stuff. The simple fact that I’m providing natural skincare makes me proud~ if just one mother oils her babe with my oils instead of a waste product from the petroleum industry, yeah, that makes me really proud. Being the change I want to see in the world, creating a ripple effect; you buy from me, I buy from organic suppliers, they buy from organic farmers. Educating people, because when they know better, they do better. Looking at things another way~ to paraphrase James & The Giant Peach~ that natural, as opposed to artificial, is beautiful. I was really proud & pleased when a customer said that (in regards to my packaging) receiving her order was like getting a gift~ that’s just what I intended! I’m also proud of the human, personal aspect, as opposed to faceless corporate whatever.

What makes your business unique? How do you keep your creative juices flowing?

Positive Earth is unique because it’s mine, & I’m unique! I just get inspired. I get ideas. I make stuff that I like and use, and that’s what I get excited about.

What makes someone truly beautiful, in your opinion?

Heart, intelligence, honesty, humor, individuality, talent, and courage.

What makes you feel truly beautiful (beyond makeup and hair care) and what does “true beauty” mean to you?

Smelling good! Essential oils. I have to put hair in there Yancy, ’cause when the Jewfro’s lookin’ good, I feel great!:) Nature, and reading/hearing Shakespeare~ it’s like jewels. True beauty to me is individuality. As those closest to me know, I’m a huge fan of the gap tooth, the wonky eye, and the bowed legs!:)

What do you think about beauty in today’s society?

Don’t get me started. True story: I was in line at a store, & I had two fashion mags on the counter, Vogue & In Style or whatever. A young boy, like 18ish, was in line behind me, & he said “Well that’s the same girl on the cover!” I turned to him & said “Honey, one girl is white & one is black.” My point being Yancy, it’s very insidious what people are doing, very Frankensteinian. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Think. Really think first, before you do. That money would be well spent, or wouldn’t even have to be spent, on introspection, spirituality, meditation, and education. Eastern cultures in particular, revere age and wisdom. No one knows what the large scale future effects of all of this artifice and toying with life will be. When young boys can’t tell girls apart, that is a freakin’ big problem. Which probably goes back full circle to my digging individuality so much. That’s just not cool when everyone looks the same. On another point~ physical beauty isn’t supposed to be common. I resent the fact that the playing field is being leveled in an artificial way. Beautiful people are supposed to be rare. I mean of course, there’s beauty everywhere, but I mean striking physical beauty. Not everyone is or should be Audrey Hepburn. (Who had jacked up teeth by the way!) Whew! You asked!:)

What are your favorite natural remedies?

Homeopathy for sure. Essential oils, sea salt, honey, olive oil, herbs, apple cider vinegar. Pretty much everything from Nature. Clay masks. Baths baths baths.

Be sure to check out more at http://www.etsy.com/shop/lindenglitter.

How dirty did you get?

You can breathe a sigh of relief, because the 50% Dirtier Challenge is OVER! What I want to know is: How dirty did you get?

I was pleased to hear from a few of you over the past two weeks. Some of you joined in during the last week or two of the challenge, which is awesome! And I got so much great feedback.

How did I do? Not as well as I’d hoped! It got so cold during the last two weeks of November, that I didn’t stick to my 6-7 minutes – more like 10 or 12, which is basically where I started! I probably only stuck to my 7 minute showers a handful of times. BUT – I found it completely easy to shower every third day instead of every second day, which is a major cutback, too. Further, I plan to keep going with the every third day shower during the winter. I just don’t find that I feel that dirty at this time of year.

Speaking of feeling dirty, many of you expressed to me that you just couldn’t handle showering every other day because of feeling too dirty, not liking the way your hair smelled, etc. Believe me, I TOTALLY understand that! When I first cut back to every other day showers back in the summer of 2008, I was also transitioning into the no-poo routine. Let me tell you, it was an ugly, dirty summer, LOL. I was very uncomfortable with the way I looked and felt. However, I felt completely certain that my body would rebalance itself and if I could just hang in there for a few weeks, I’d be okay. My hair ended up taking a few months to rebalance itself, but I got used to being a little “dirtier” after just about 10 days or so.

Ultimately, my reason for cutting back on showers was that I felt I was stripping my body of its natural moisture. My scalp was often itchy and irritated and my skin was painfully dry. After showers, I felt like a dried up desert floor in the heat of the noontime sun. Ouch! Cutting back on showers did not completely cure my dry skin, but it is no longer a painful problem for me, and the irritation I was experiencing is long gone. And as I said before, an unexpected benefit of showering every other day was that I suddenly had loads of extra time on the mornings I don’t shower! Heck yeah!

So why this challenge? Many of you expressed how important your shower time is – that it is the only time you pamper yourself. I feel the same way. Ultimately, I do not plan on cutting my shower time in half in the near future. My showers seem to be averaging 12 minutes, but again, I only shower every third day (or second, in hot weather). That’s not bad. And I do believe we all deserve some indulgence. If your shower is your favorite way to unwind or pamper yourself, then great! In fact, I’ve realized that I need to make the showering experience a little more special (light a candle, try some new scrubs, etc.). Showering IS special – it’s a wonderful privilege we have, allows us to take care of our bodies and is a wonderful way to metaphorically wash away any negativity in our life.

I was inspired to do this challenge not as a way to discourage people from enjoying that pampering, but as a way to heighten our awareness of our habits and activities and to challenge people to get out of the cultural mindset that we have to be so damn clean all the time! As I mentioned earlier, I have encountered so many stories about people who shower TWICE a day, and it really stunned me. It makes my skin shriek to think of all the oils that those people are stripping from their skin and hair. Sure, some people have a legitimate reason to shower twice a day – but very few! Most of us don’t even need to shower ONCE a day – that is just something that has become a cultural norm.

So yes, it was my goal to challenge people to skip a shower – even just one a month. See what happens. Is it really SO gross? I’m not saying you should completely drop any form of hygeine. Just use a washcloth for those areas that need a little freshening. There’s really nothing wrong with not showering every day – it’s just that we’ve been trained to believe that many of our body’s natural scents, rhythms and tendencies are dirty. But honestly – how dirty can you really get in 48 hours?

That was my primary reason for starting this challenge. I feel it is important for us all to step back from our culture that asks us to be hyper-vigilant about our hygiene to the point of interfering with the natural wisdom of our bodies. You know how I feel about all that, if you’ve followed Five Seed for a while. Our bodies are perfect the way they are and don’t need a ton of buffing, scrubbing and soaping to stay healthy. On the contrary – the more we get out of the way, the healthier we can become.

Now I know that cleanliness is a super charged issue. And that’s fine. Only do what is comfortable for you – this should be a fun exploration of the experience of living in your body. That’s why I gave one other option to the challenge – to cut the actual time of your shower in half. Why? I realized that even I, someone who is deeply committed to making green changes in her life, had never timed my showers! I had no idea how long I spent in the shower – 15 minutes? Thirty? This part of the challenge was simply to see if we could become more aware of our habitual actions. You may have felt your time in the shower was a little excessive and maybe you wanted to cut back a bit. Or perhaps you were interested to find out how long your showers were and left it at that (which is basically what I ended up doing, LOL!).

All in all, I found it a fun little challenge and I am so grateful to all of you who participated (even if it was only for a day!) and commented. I hope it was a fun experience for you, as well.

I do plan on doing it again, just to see if I really can cut my showers in half when it’s not so darn cold! And I think doing challenges during the holiday season is not the best idea, either! So maybe this coming April or May we can try this again…

Until then, thanks for participating, everyone, or for following along!