Yoga for Headaches Sequence. A short yoga pattern for to relieve Headaches.

HEADACHE SEQUENCE (minimum time 25 minutes, maximum time 45 minutes)

Balasana (Child's Pose)
Perform either with your head on the floor, or with your torso and head supported on a bolster positioned between your thighs. The bolster's long axis should be parallel to your torso. (Total time 3 to 5 minutes.)

Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Pose)
Support your head either on a bolster laid across your extended leg, or, if you're less flexible, on the front edge of a padded chair seat. Hold each side for 1 to 3 minutes; total time 2 to 6 minutes.

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog)
Support your head on a bolster or block. (Total time 1 to 2 minutes.)

Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
Place your head and crossed forearms supported on a padded chair seat. (Total time 1 to 3 minutes.)

Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)
Support the torso on a rolled blanket underneath and parallel to your spine. (Total time 3 to 5 minutes.)

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Supported Bridge Pose)
Support the torso on a bolster, and shoulders and head resting lightly on the floor. (Total time 3 to 5 minutes.)

Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose)
Let the pelvis be support either on a bolster or rolled blanket. (Total time 3 to 5 minutes.) To avoid any possibility of straining your back when exiting, be sure not to twist off the support. Either 1) slide off the support first before turning to your side, or 2) bend your knees, press your feet against the wall, and with an inhalation lift your pelvis off the support; then slide the support off to one side, lower your pelvis to the floor, and turn onto your side.

Savasana (Corpse Pose)
Take normal inhalations but lengthen the exhalations as much as is comfortable for you. If you normally take 5 counts on an exhalation, extend it to 7 or 8 counts if possible. At the end of the first 10 or so exhalations, pause for 2 to 5 seconds before drawing the next inhalation. (Total time 1 to 15 minutes.)

**please contact your health-care professional before beginning any workout routine.****

Build your own yoga sequence from The Yoga Journal here!

Namaste!
Salts

More Great info on the Bamboo Clothing Debate!

There are pros and cons to everything...I have been doing some more research on Bamboo fabrics and came accross this article on the Fashion Take Action Website.

I found the article very thorough and very fair. I have adopted a "wait and see" policy with bamboo. I will use a tiny bit from reputable sources and mix it with the largest amount of organic cotton that I can and see if the bamboo fiber suppliers will evolve to be more accountable like the cotton industry had to become years ago. The research continues though! Keep me posted if you come across any factual info on Bamboo fibers (with true science behind it please!). I totally agree with Lorraine Smith in the article above that its hard to get real facts because the industry isn't being as open as it should about the processes involves. The Saga of Bamboo continues! I would love to hear your opinions, yea or nea to bamboo?

This hoodie shown in the picture is my Be Cozy Hemp Organic Cotton Hoodie. Ahh hemp, you have such little controversy these days....

Kick it! Tom Rand's Video about Climate Change and Alternative Fuels.

Check out this video from Tom Rand on YouTube. He does a great job of explaining alternative fuels and uses for them.

Earth Hour 2010!

Tonight, Saturday March 27th, from 8:30-9:30 is Earth Hour. For those who have not yet heard of this event, I will fill you in. Every year, on the same date, people all around the globe turn their lights off for one hour. Last year hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. It is meant to be a global call to action for everyone on this planet, and it raises awareness on topics like climate change. It is such a simple campaign to become involved with, and it only takes one hour out of your year! So, make sure to flick off the switch at 8:30 tonight.

What the Deal with Bamboo Clothing? Is it good is it evil?

So... Bamboo Fabric Clothing has been getting some press lately with the recent US and Canadian changes to labeling requirements. You used to label bamboo clothing just Bamboo. Now clothing producers have to label the products Viscose from Bamboo or Rayon from Bamboo. As a clothing designer that uses Bamboo derived fabrics I am all for this. Transparency in product labeling is very important. A lot of consumers are confused about Greener products and want to know more, but some just want to buy a Bamboo T because it feels good to wear and last well. I have been researching quite a bit on this topic and wanted to chime in my two cents on why I will still use a bit of Bamboo Fabric in our Eco friendly line Salts Clothing.

When I started to make clothing out of alternative fabrics in 2005 the selection was slim for quality colorful fabrics, in recent years the fabrics available have been getting better and better. The first soy shirts I made shrunk up funny and basically fell apart (don't worry I kept them for myself and ended up eventually using them as rags, I don't sell shirts that do that of course). Now Soy fabric clothing has come along way and wears and washing great. Better than cotton in some cases. The same is true for bamboo made into viscose and rayon. Processing Bamboo into rayon and viscose is a chemical intensive process that is essentially the same as making regular rayon. So the debate is out whether its a good alternative fiber. Many rayon's are made from beech and oak trees creating a similar fabric to bamboo often called Tencel or are simply labeled Rayon. To learn more about bamboo fabric production and the debate around it please check out this article by the CBC.

The rayon bamboo fabric that I use in Salts is mixed with a large amount of certified organic cotton and a touch of spandex. The organic cotton is great for sustainability and still allows the fabric to have the same touch and silky feel as rayon from bamboo straight up. The spandex (usually around 5-7% of the fiber makeup) helps the garment to move with the body and hold its shape. It offers some support as well in certain garments. I love the feel and wear ability of bamboo and on a personal level I think it still a great fabric even if some chemicals (like lye, used in soap making) are used in its production. Its is a trade off that's for sure, but when mixed with a large amount of organic cotton and made in a properly certified (look for Eco Tex or Skal certifications) facility where the water is treated to remove chemicals and kept in a closed circuit system (not pumped out into the water table) it can be an great substitution for athletic wear fabrics like Polyester.

At Salts Clothing we also used hemp, soy, organic wool and linen in our clothing. Each has its own special use. Wool and Merino is great for wet west coast winters. Hemp is very sustainable and Eco friendly and is warmer to wear in the winter then organic cotton and Rayon from Bamboo. Soy fabric is made from by product which makes it very green. Organic cotton is Eco friendly and breathes well, good for mixing with the other fibers and wearing in summer or winter. Organic Cotton, Hemp, linen, and wool are termed "natural fibers" because they are manually not chemically processed into the thread used to make the fabric. Keep in mind though that regular cotton, is also termed "natural" but is one of the biggest polluters in the world.

From personal wearing I have found clothing made from Bamboo to be terrific for humid summer weather and for traveling. I can't scientifically say it wicks but I know that when I put it on over my wet swimsuit as a cover up it doesn't show the moisture through and drys much faster than hemp or cotton. I am certain now that the fabric industry is aware it needs the scientific data to prove the wicking properties, the data will be emerging very soon. I have already heard from some suppliers that they are testing right now to back up their wicking claims. I also know that Rayon from Bamboo feels lighter and cleaner to wear in hot weather. You can test it for yourself by wearing different shirts on a hot day. The temperature difference can actually be felt. Wearing Rayon from Bamboo when traveling in tropical countries has also been great. It doesn't pick up smells and doesn't hold wrinkles. This is my experience with Bamboo fabrics as a user.

For winter and fall collections I use more hemp, Organic Wool and Soy because it works better in those seasons. For summer I will continue to use a bit of bamboo derived fabrics because they work great in hotter weather and for fitness wear. I much rather the feel of rayon from bamboo on my skin than polyester (made from petroleum). Rayon from Bamboo is not a perfectly sustainable fabric but it has its place in Eco Fashion when mixed with a high content of organic cotton and made responsibly in my opinion. I am going to continue to research the future of this fabric though. Stay tuned! If you have more info please comment, I would love to learn more.

Much Love,
Jenny

Salts Clothing Designer

PS, I have found some new great fabrics that have a higher content of Organic Cotton then Rayon from Bamboo but still keep that "bamboo fabric" feel....stay tuned to check them out in future collections. More organic cotton means more sustainable but with the lovely "bamboo" texture

PPS the photos above are from the Salts Spring 2010 collection. The Black tops are hemp organic cotton, the red skirt (laughter skirt) is Rayon from Bamboo and Organic cotton and the brown skirt (lana skirt) is soy organic cotton.

What is eco-fashion?

According to wikipedia, Eco-fashion is "a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility."
This is true, of course, but let me put it into a simpler sentence for you. Eco-fashion is a way to reduce your carbon footprint, support fair farming techniques, and look groovy! Choosing Eco-fashion does not mean that you have to sacrifice style! Many people associate natural fibres with scratchy, itchy, unshapley, and unattractive. This is deffinatly not the case.
So, what turns a fabulous outfit into an fabulously eco-friendly outfit?

Organic materials:
Choosing an organic material benefits the earth, and the people living on it! Studies are starting to show that the chemicals used in growing cotton may remain in the fabric. These chemicals could be absorbed by the wearer, through sweating. They are not entirely sure what these chemicals will cause, but why take an unnecessary risk?

Sustainable materials:
If a material is not organic, it can still be sustainable. This means that it is made from a plant which can be replanted (and regrown) without harming our environment. For example, bamboo is a still considered to be sustainable if it has been chemically sprayed.

Plant-Based Dyes:
Wonderful organic materials can become less eco-friendly when dyed with synthetic, heavy metal based dyes or dyes otherwise dangerous to the workers who make the clothing, the earth or the wearer. Choosing a product which has been treated with a healthy, plant-based dye means less chemical exposure to our earth.

Free trade practices:
A large difference in eco-friendly fashion is the way that it is manufactured and finally sold. The freetrade practices test will fail companies if the employees making the clothing are not paid a livable wage, or if the working conditions are substandard and hazardous. So some good clothing, made from organic materials, may lose merit for having unfare work regulations.

Support Meat Free Monday

Have you been searching for a simple way to improve your carbon footprint, personal health, and make a positive change on a global level? Your search may well be over. Why not try "Meat Free Monday"? It's an unbelievable way to achieve all the positive goals listed above, and it's so very easy. What is this all about then, you may be asking by now. Well, it's simple. All you have to do is avoid eating meat for ONE day each week. Be it Monday, Thursday, whatever, the goal is to go for a whole day without consuming meat. That's all!
Now, you may be asking what this has got to do with saving our earth? And here is your answer: Everything! The United Nations released a statement stating that the livestock industry as a whole is responsible for more Greenhouse Gas emissions then the whole transport sector combined! The livestock production produce a huge 18% of our earth's GHG's. Wow. So, by taking part in this campaign you are adding your voice to the outcry for less meat production. Sound good to you? Check out their website: http://www.supportmfm.org/index.cfm

If your daunted by the thought of preparing three vegetarian meals each week, the campaign releases a new meat-free recipe each Monday. (For example, this week's was Green Bean Salad). This makes it much more difficult to find an excuse not to participate! And did I mention that it is run by Sir Paul McCartney and his daughters Stella and Mary?

A chance to adopt a healthier lifestyle, reducing your carbon footprint, and supporting a positive future for our earth.
Why not give it a try this Monday?