Author: corrindances

The earth is currently heating up like a body trying to burn off impurities with a fever. The immune response of our planet is in full effect struggling to regain homeostasis.

I recently participated in a plant identification walk in my mid city neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada. I was told by a city arborist that the canopy that covers my neighbourhood is dying off because trees only live about the half their potential life span in the city versus a natural environment. As the 100 year old pine and maple trees are falling ( normally these varieties would live 250 years easily) they are being replaced with smaller, faster growing non-native varieties from our southern neighbours. In fact the trees that are currently being planted are from the Carolinas which are 10 degrees south of us. This is because the city is planning for higher temperatures.

Interestingly, the premier of our province has forbid public discussion of climate change. So, we know its happening , but we are not allowed to talk about it. Cutting ourselves off from our intuition and our natural response is in fact a deeply woven part of our culture.

Many studies associate auto immune disease with self repression stemming from early childhood training and trauma.  The fact that auto immune diseases effect women at a higher rate that men supports this connection. Women are generally trained to stay small and non offensive. We are taught that are bodies are naturally not acceptable. We must remove our body hair, cover our smell, hide our natural cycles both physically and hormonally. When our intuition speaks we are deemed irrational. Womaness has been handled and twisted into a palatable subservience that is impossible and unsustainable. Men are more likely to have other issues, like heart and liver disease.

The rate of cancer and autoimmune disease is quickly increasing. I recently read an article that stated by the year 2050, 1 in 2 people would be diagnosed with some form of cancer. This estimation may or may not be based on knowledge that many of our social , economic and environmental practices are destined to increase exposure to carcinogenic influences such as the introduction of 5G towers which are already proving immediate and tragic affect on people living near them.

Or, is the prediction based on planting a seed of acquiescence, perhaps even expectation? A recent confession was made by an doctor practicing in the US who admitted to intentionally, falsely diagnosing patients with cancer and prescribing chemotherapy to healthy patients in order to reap financial benefits. In fact, this doctor accumulated 62 million dollars from medicare between 2009 and 2016.

I could make a poetic comparison emphasizing the cardinal signs of global inflammation.

S – Swelling,  of the oceans and flooding of our lands.

H – Heat. Global warming.

A – Altered function , the inability to sustain life. We have already lost 60 % of the creatures with whom we have been sharing this planet.

R – Redness. I want to offer the hope that the indigenous nations are rising in their power and affect on the earth and that we are listening.

My cynical side thinks Trump.

P – Pain , that palpable, invisible grief that those who are willing can feel.

Some of us are living symptoms and some are still fighting strong. Ultimately we are all organisms living on the same body and as we ravage her in our desperate attempt at survival, the body declines.

It is up to each of us to believe whether or not a symbiosis is possible. When a disease presents itself do we take responsibility for changing the circumstances that created it or do we relinquish control , compare ourselves to those who do less and divest ourselves of our potential to affect the outcome remaining a parasitic infection on a dying planet?

 

For many the idea of only using products that are environmentally friendly makes perfect sense. It makes so much sense that it is hard to understand how it could not make sense to some.

I was recently asked , how can you tell the difference between something that is environmentally friendly and something that is not? Take dish soap for example.

Now , if you were on an island and had to clean a vessel for eating what would you use? Likely some sort of relatively clean water , salty or fresh and some kind of abrasive , perhaps some sand or plant matter.

Fast forward to modern day living. You are at the store considering what product to buy to clean the dish you are bound to eat off. Does it need to be florescent green? Does it make sense to use chemicals that would otherwise be toxic to the body? Given that the chances are high the product you are about to buy is contained in a plastic vessel which already indicates an environmental load do you chose a product that will biodegrade easily or something that will kill the natural flora of the soil, of the water and of the creatures it comes in contact with. How will you dispose of this product?

These are some fundamental questions that must be answered when assessing the environmental impact of a substance. Some of these questions can be self directed and others can be assessed by reading packaging. Reading and understanding the implications of various designations can be confusing at times. Sometimes the least amount of information can allude to the most accessible source. Picture a cardboard pint  container of locally grown , non certified organic strawberries versus a plastic container with USDA certified organic strawberries from Mexico. The local ones will probably be more expensive , but who is really paying for your cheap “organic” strawberries. Are they really ‘organic’ given that they travelled 3000 miles to get to you which means the environmental impact of those miles likely outweighs any benefit derived from using less toxic pesticides.

“Whats wrong with neon dye?” All dyes, unless they are directly plant derived ( like onions skins which give a yellow tint or beets which give a reddish brown tint) are toxic to varying degrees. In nature bright colours are used often as a tool to attract prey either for mating or for consumption. Our bodies are made by the earth and natural processes. Our bodies function most optimally when we are in direct relationship to the raw elements; Wind, Water , Earth and Fire. In some cultures wind is divided into Air and Ether.

If a substance cannot be sourced from nature directly then by no doubt it has been processed. The degree to which an element has been processed will affect its impact both on our bodies and the earth, which are one in the same. So in choosing environmentally responsible choices we must ask, ‘how far away from nature is this item I hold?’. Additives including dyes, preservatives, stabilizers , emulsifiers while not inherently toxic by their nature often distance something from its whole form which means the body and the earth will have a harder time recognizing it and therefore processing it.

Antibiotics, pesticides, preservatives and other chemical constituents also create disturbance in the body’s ability to distinguish self from non self and can cause disease symptoms especially when we are trying to convince our selves ( our cells) of the edibility of something would never have been considered food by our ancestors.

So when assessing whether something is earth friendly or not ask yourself, ‘would I want this item in the soil where I grow my food? Would I want this item in the water i drink?’ Because, that is where its going to end up and while it may have been easy to pretend that the earth is big enough to hide all the toxic garbage we make and don’t want to see…we are running out of space to hide. The animals are dying, because the natural resources we need to survive are no longer clean, no longer natural. Our breathing is laboured. We can no longer digest the rancid and toxic remnants of food we once recognized.

It is integral that we ask ourselves “what is environmentally friendly, how do I know the difference?” and it is integral that we remember how to recognize instinctively what will nourish us, what will heal us and what will fortify our relationship with the natural world with which we are inextricably a part of.

 

Drawing the fragments of humanity together to compose a single life requires a level of composure and acceptance that almost nullifies one’s actual experience. I consistently take a step back to get a birds eye view which will allow me some perspective on whether I am living a good life and making a positive impact on the world. Am I making the right decisions for myself, for my daughter? What are the most important aspects of my life that allow my to offer my best self to the world?

My practice. My desire and my willingness to show up on a daily basis to simply bear witness. Be it through Asana or Meditation, Pranayama or Chanting, the daily art of self nourishment or connecting deeply with others through teaching or bodywork. Regarding every action as an opportunity to practice deep embodiment and presence makes meaning of what sometimes feels like a meaningless existence.

Gratitude. I have so much to be grateful for. Please let me never forget this. Even when my prepubescent daughter becomes melodramatic and reminds me over and over again what a hard life she is having. Gratitude for living a life that many would trade their hardships for. Deepest, most sincere and humble gratitude for all the lessons and challenges as well as the obvious gifts and luxuries.

Service. By embodying the gifts and blessings of my life , I am able to then share them with others. I am this , I am that , I am all these things and I am none of them. It is time to step into our true power in order to be able to take responsibility for our role on this planet. With privilege comes great responsibility. “Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind” – Bhagavad Gita.

The details are somewhat inconsequential. At least that is what I’ve always felt, ever since I was a child. That what I chose to do with my life is less important than how I do it and while this still rings true it seems life is offering me many opportunities to practice, to be grateful and to be of service so that these are not just gross enactments of unconscious privilege but instead opportunities to refine the process. In a nutshell, what foundational pillars to I want this life to rest upon? If I have laid out the ways in which I wish to carry out my actions ( practice , gratitude and service) what are the avenues through which I chose to apply these methods.

Yoga. Practice.

Kirtan. Gratitude.

Massage. Service.