Archive for January, 2011

Well, it’s been an exciting month having the new website up and running. We’ve been working out all of the kinks and have just a few things to remedy.

While you are having fun diving into the new site, you’ll find that each of the Divas offers a different view on sustainable living within their blogs.

My intention with the TerraChic blog is to bring awareness with regards to being an Urban Homesteader, living stylish and sustainably, as well as fun and trendy ways of being green. I will also be sharing this space with guest bloggers from time to time. I’m looking forward to bringing you so many fun and exciting aspects of green living.

So, get ready…get set…and bring on the Chic!

I have practiced yoga for many, many years.  And like our passions in life, I keep learning and growing as I dive deeper and deeper.  I won’t fool you, it keeps getting more and more challenging–and not just the poses.  Standing on one leg with the other extended out from the hip has always been a big challenge. But now, I see that when my life is more balanced, my poses are as well.  Now I see that in a discussion, if I pause and breathe, and connect before responding as I do when flowing thorough vinyasa, my higher self is the one in the argument, not my ego.  Some things just require more practice, like accepting the not so bright aspects of my personality without judgment and letting go of self-doubt. That’s why it’s a practice.

Since I moved, I’ll admit, I’ve been lonely.  My family, friends, and old haunts have become ghosts that seem to be just out of reach.  So, I started a project.  I am taking 108 yoga classes in 108 days.  Why 108?  Different article, different time… let’s just say it’s a very auspicious number for yogi and yoginis.  I started this project so I could immerse myself in my new city’s Kula.  Kula is a family, a community of like minded individuals.  It’s a term often heard in the Anusara Yoga tradition, but I’m finding it everywhere.  Imagine a group composed of different, radiant friends who support and love you for you, without having to know your job title or background.   Kula is in the last OM of class in which you feel the connection, the vibration that spreads from mat to mat as if it’s traveling through each mat.  Kula happens in the sweaty smile shared with a stranger who had that same wobbly balance pose as you did.  Kula is the remembrance that we are all connected and honoring that connection by diving deeper into it. Kula gives us that sense of peace, of welcome, of home.

So I invite you, dear friends, to join the Kula of TheEcoDivas.  Let us be a Kula that supports each other in our endeavor to live a life more in tune with our authentic, auspicious, green selves. Let us remember each other in unbalanced times, continue to honor ourselves where we are and find the good, the Kula, in all that we see. Namaste!

Peace and love-

TerraKula

Winter is the season of Water and the element of the kidneys and the urinary bladder. The direction is north, taste-salty, color-black/blue and sense-hearing. Water represents will and endurance, as well as faith and trust. Water energy requires rest, quiet and stillness in order to be healthy. As a bear hibernates in winter, so must we rest, withdraw and seek the space to renew our deepest reserves.

The Kidney controls the ears, bones and the brain. When the water energy of the kidney is out of balance, you’ll see lower back pain, knee or ankle problems, edema, tinnitus, or memory loss. The Kidney system is also the seat of the hormones and the loss of Kidney Yin is seen in menopause.

The emotion of Water is fear. When healthy, fear keeps us safe. Well adapted Water energy allows us to venture forth into unknown territories with attentive listening and wisdom to succeed. If the water element is out of balance or undernourished, we are afraid to move forward, we hibernate within ourselves waiting for a sign that it is safe to emerge.

The energy of Water is about trust, faith and wisdom. To be healthy, Water energy requires the development of trust in self and others with faith that everything will find a secure and peaceful ending. Endurance, persistence, will and our deepest reservoir of energy are drawn up to overcome any obstacle and navigate any change. Tapping into the Water energy gives you the courage to try, even when the outcome is unknowable and the path is dark.