water

How the Ganga River Was Created

Gaiam Staff by Gaiam Staff | October 1st, 2012 | No Comments
topic: Fitness, Personal Growth, Yoga | tags: acro yoga, Big Happy Day, breath, Ganga River, Gangis, Hindu mythology, India, Jai Ma, River, Shiva, Vishnu, water, Yoga

Jenny and Jason, co-founders of Acro Yoga, share a story and sing a song about how the great river in India, the Ganga, was created. From the removal of demons to Shiva swallowing the ocean in his dreadlocks, this beautiful story of the life-giving river reminds us that the movement of water is aligned with the movement of breath in the body.

S-U-M-M-E-R: That’s How I Spell Fun, Fresh and Fit!

The FIRM Master Instructor Team by The FIRM Master Instructor Team | July 23rd, 2012 | 3 Comments
topic: Fitness, Health & Wellness, Healthy Eating, Personal Growth | tags: clothes, Clothing, diet, exercise, fashion, Fitness, food, fruits, health, healthy, hydrate, hydration, nutrition, relax, relaxation, SPF, stress, summer, summer produce, summer wardrobe, sun, swim, swimming, the firm, vacation, vegetables, veggies, warm weather, water, work out, workout

SummerBy The FIRM Master Instructor Robyn Smarr

I love summer! If you were listening to this post rather than reading it, you would surely hear me shouting this sentence as loudly as I possibly can.

Maybe it’s because I was born in the crazy heat of August. (I have a theory that people tend to favor the season in which they were born.) Or maybe it’s because I practically lived at the pool and the beach as a child. Or maybe it’s because I can wear flip-flops every day during the warm summer months (the best “shoe” ever invented)! Regardless of the reason, I find so much joy and rejuvenation during the summer.

Here are my favorite tricks for making the most out of your S-U-M-M-E-R:

Yoga for All Seasons: Summer

Nichole Golden by Nichole Golden | June 29th, 2012 | 1 Comment
topic: Fitness, Health & Wellness, Healthy Eating, Yoga | tags: asanas, ayurveda, backbends, breath, breathe, Bridge, calming yoga, coconut water, cooling yoga poses, diet, doshas, eat what's in season, electrolytes, energy, Floor Twists, food, Forward Folds, heat, herbs, hot, local, Moon Salutation, nutrition, pitta dosha, pose, seasonal eating, seasons, Seated Forward Fold, Shitali Pranayama, Single-Nostril Breathing, spices, summer yoga, sun salutations, Supported Shoulder Stand, warm weather, water, Wide-Legged Forward Fold

Woman doing summer yoga in a meadow

As the seasons shift, our bodies cycle through an organic ebb and flow of change that serves to harmonize and create balance within us. These changes are usually influenced by the seasons themselves: hours of daylight, foods that are abundant at particular times of the year, weather patterns and seasonally inspired activities.

Although your body will adjust to these changes naturally, it never hurts to integrate some simple tweaks into your routine to aid in the transition and link yourself more intimately with the season that is upon you.

Hydropower Dams: Clean Energy Source or Threat to Wildlife?

Candice Gaukel Andrews by Candice Gaukel Andrews | March 17th, 2012 | 2 Comments
topic: Eco Travel, Green Living | tags: American Rivers, bald eagles, carbon dioxide levels, carbon emissions, clean energy, climate change, damming, dams, electricity, environment, fish, fossil fuel emissions, fossil fuels, global-warming, Hetch Hetchy Valley, hydropower, increasing energy demands, renewable, river otters, salmon, save the environment, water, waterways, wildlife watching, Yosemite National Park

Bald Eagle

Your city or town probably either has a large, brand-new hydropower dam or you know of an old one, located on the outskirts; a crumbling relic from an earlier period in your state’s history. I know this because according to the national nonprofit conservation organization American Rivers, on average our country has constructed one dam every day since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers counts approximately 75,000 dams that are greater than six feet along the waterways of the United States. In addition, there are at least tens of thousands of smaller dams spanning our rivers and streams.

Whichever version of the structure is in your area, it seems that dams divide us. While some regard them as a clean energy source, others view them as a danger to river otters and fish populations.

So, are our dams good for the environment, or a threat to wildlife? 

Just Say “No” to Liquid Calories!

The FIRM Master Instructor Team by The FIRM Master Instructor Team | July 13th, 2011 | 9 Comments
topic: Health & Wellness, Healthy Eating, Weight Loss | tags: acai, beverages, calories, diet, drinks, empty calories, Gatorade, health, high-calorie, Jamba Juice, juice, lattes, liquid calories, lose-weight, nutrition, smooties, starbucks, sugar, the firm, Vitamin Water, water, weight-loss, zero-calorie

Liquid CaloriesAre high-calorie drinks that boast all sorts of health benefits duping you? I have seen clients of mine get completely sidetracked by calorie drinks that they purchased at Starbucks, Jamba Juice — even at the gym!

Many of these beverages promise you everything from increased energy to younger looking skin, but don’t even think about taking a sip before looking at the nutrition label. Because what manufacturers aren’t boasting about is the sugar and calorie content of these “wonder” beverages — enough to throw off any well-intentioned dieter.

Servin’ It Up Family Style

Bevin Wallace by Bevin Wallace | March 15th, 2011 | 1 Comment
topic: Family Health, Health & Wellness, Healthy Eating | tags: balanced diet, buffet, children, choices, cooking, decision-making, diet, different, dinner, family, family-style dining, father, food, food waste, healthy-eating, kids, kitchen table, manners, meals, mealtime, mother, motherhood, parenting, parents, pasta, patience, portions, recipe, salad, self-esteem, serving, sharing, sugar, supper, try, vegetables, water, water pitcher

Family-Style Dinner

I think it’s safe to say that one of the things we modern-day moms do a bit more than our moms did is baby our kids, especially when it comes to what they eat. Some of this is good, of course. Regulating intake of sugar and processed foods is probably not something best left up to people whose idea of a balanced meal is beef jerky and fruit snacks. But at some point, kids need to learn to make their own good choices, right? When and how we do that is each family’s decision, but for me the food thing was getting ridiculous.

Spring Links: Vegan Recipes for Lent, Piloxing & an Airport Serenade

Gaiam Staff by Gaiam Staff | March 11th, 2011 | No Comments
topic: Fitness, Gaiam Happenings, Green Living, Health & Wellness, Healthy Home, Personal Growth | tags: boxing, circadian rhythm, compassion, Cyndi Lauper, family, Fitness, food, healing, healthy-eating, Lent, memories, mind-body fitness, oatmeal, pilates, Piloxing, recipes, Relationships, reminiscences, SAD, saving money, singing, sleep, Tap Project, UNICEF, vegan, water

From time to time, we highlight the best articles, blogs, news, videos and interesting Web tidbits to help you live fit, live healthy, live green and live happy. Here are our latest finds, just in time for Spring! From wild new workout hybrids to sweet-smelling charities, we’re sure you’ll find something to pique your interest.

Top 12 Eco-Beach Escapes

Wendy Worrall Redal by Wendy Worrall Redal | March 2nd, 2011 | 2 Comments
topic: Eco Travel, Green Living | tags: Adriatic, American Samoa, Antalya, Atlantic, Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, Australia, Bai Kem Beach, Baiona, beaches, Beaches of Palawan, Best Beaches in America list, Blue Flag, Blue Wave, Brazil, Brela Beach, Caja de Muertos, car-free, Clean Beaches Council, Coffin Island, conservation, coral, Costa Rica, cove, Croatia, Dalmatian coast, Dr. Beach, East Africa, eco-friendly travel, endangered-species, escape, family, Fernando de Noronha, Fiji, Foundation for Environmental Education, Galicia, getaway, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, holiday, island, Koh Libong, Las Islas Cies, lighthouse, Makarska, marine habitat, Mediterranean, National Healthy Beaches Campaign, national park, National Resources Defense Council, nature, nature reserve, Nungwi Beach, ocean, Ofu Beach, Osa Peninsula, Pacific, Patara Beach, Pelícano Beach, Philippines, Phu Quoc, Phuket, Playa Matapalo, protection, Puerto Rico, rainforest, SAD, Sancho Bay, sand, scuba diving, sea, seaside, snorkeling, Spain, Spice Island, sun, surfing, sustainable resorts, swim, Tanzania, thailand, The Blue Lagoon, tourism, tourists, tropical fish, turkey, Turtle Island, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vietnam, Viti Levu, volcano, water, Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, wilderness, wildlife, winter vacation, Yasawa Group, Zanzibar

Eco-friendly family beach vacation

While I welcome winter along with all the other skiers and outdoor aficionados here in Colorado, by the end of February I’m ready for a surf and sand break. But cramming onto a crowded beach towel-by-cooler with hundreds of other sunseekers is not my vision of restoring my winter-weary spirit.

When you’re a beach lover and a nature lover, the quest becomes to find those pristine stretches of sand that make you feel you’ve discovered a place where time stops; where the rhythm of sea on shore is the primary sound; where the sun’s slow slide behind the horizon is the only marker of day melding into night. A place like, say, Bai Kem Beach on Phu Quoc, one of 105 islands that comprise this idyllic Vietnamese archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand. Picture a soft, white sugar-sand beach, fringed with slender palms. Phuket, half a century ago. No people. Just total, unspoiled beauty.

Eco-Travelers: Help World Wildlife Fund Protect the Planet

Wendy Worrall Redal by Wendy Worrall Redal | January 26th, 2011 | No Comments
topic: Eco Travel, Green Living | tags: 50th anniversary, animals, charity, conservation, donation, Eco Travel, ecology, endangered-species, energy, environment, extinction, facebook, fundraiser, natural-habitat-adventures, nature, pollution, preservation, renewable, resources, sustainable, threatened, travel, trips, water, World Wildlife Fund

Kodiak bear fishing for salmon

Anyone who has ever watched a brown bear fish, or an elephant wallow in a water hole, or a curious sea lion come face to face with a snorkeler, knows that one of the highlights of eco-travel is close encounters with wildlife in natural settings.

Would You Dine on Insects to Save the Planet?

Candice Gaukel Andrews by Candice Gaukel Andrews | January 21st, 2011 | 10 Comments
topic: Green Living, Health & Wellness, Healthy Eating | tags: agave worms, agriculture, ants, beef, bees, beetles, bugs, carbon emissions, cicadas, climate change, crickets, crops, diet, eating, entomophagy, environment, factory farming, farmers, fat, fish, food, global food shortage, grasshoppers, health, healthy, insect farming, insects, larvae, meat, methane, nutrition, pests, population growth, production, protein, tarantulas, termites, toxins, water

Dragonfly

If it’s late morning or mid-afternoon where you are, chances are that you’ve already had at least one fleeting thought about dinner tonight. You may be picturing a juicy steak, a tender pork roast or a golden, baked chicken. I doubt that many of you dream about a steaming plate of stink beetles, leeches or cave spiders.