Healthy by Choice. Healthy through Awareness.


February 21, 2008 at 15:17 PST
It seems impossible to scan the news these days without some sort of headline involving animal cruelty.  Dogs and cats being thrown off of bridges, family animals being snatched from low-income developments in third-world countries, rich football players finding sick-twisted pain as a game and the constant mistreatment of animals at slaughterhouses.  

Being that I was raised with animals, it pains my heart deeply every time I lay eyes on these headlines.  I always read these articles wondering, ‘what can I do to help put a stop to this?’  Obviously, we can’t all climb on a plane to China and intervene with the government as they invade homes as night, but as the saying goes, “Think Globally, Act Locally”.  No joke, people.  Let’s get to work and give a voice to those who have none.  Stand up for what you believe in and for those you love.  If animals aren’t a passion for you, find something that gets you fired up.  There are so many tiny things that you can do to make this world a little bit better, one donation or even one good thought at a time.  Remember, being healthy isn’t just about what you put in your mouth or how you use your body, it’s the choices you make leading up to the action of consumption.  For those of you who fall under the animal category, consider these ideas:

1. To Eat or Not to Eat Meat:  The Midwesterner’s Dilemma

Being raised in Kansas, I ate my fair share of beef.  As a young girl I didn’t think much of it until I reached 5th grade and developed a crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (I swear I’m staying on track, hang with me here).  My pre-adolescence crush was a self-proclaimed vegetarian, so like any young obsessed girl I hopped on the vegetarian bandwagon.  Like my crush, that only lasted so long.  It wasn’t until I found yoga that I decided to try the veggie lifestyle once again.  This time I found it rewarding and didn’t miss meat as much.  I found that I still craved it from time to time so now primarily live a vegetarian lifestyle with the occasional meal involving meal.  Some people may call that hypocritical; I call it living a life of balance (sama in sanskrit) and awareness.  When you decide to eat meat or animal products, be aware of where your meat is coming from.  Is it organic?  Did it come from a free-range farm?  Cage-free chickens?  Grass fed or corn fed (you want grass).  When you hear words such as ‘veal’ ‘Kobe beef’ or ‘fois gras’ let the red light come up instead of a longing in your belly.  Unfortunately, we can never truly be sure how our meat was treated, but you can start living an AWARE lifestyle if you choose to eat meat/animal products.  Next time you go to the supermarket, don’t let the big glossy brands win you over.  Search for local farmers.

2. Donate your time.  Or money if you don’t have any.  Or a little if you don’t have any of that.  Every penny counts.

In yoga, we call service to the community seva. Give your seva major brownie points by checking out your locale animal shelters.  Many programs are run through the donations they receive or through volunteer work.  A fabulous no-kill shelter that helps to rehabilitate animals is the Much Love Foundation in Santa Monica, CA. (www.muchlove.org).  If you can’t find something local, you can set up a monthly payment to help them and their cause.  Don’t have much cash, how bout $5 a month? If you can easily blow that on a beer, you can put it towards an animal that has no love in their life and wants nothing more than a warm body to curl up next to.  Have absolutely NO money OR time?  Visit www.theanimalrescuesite.com daily to click on a little purple tab.  Every time you click, they donate a bowl of food to animals in need.  While you’re at it check out their sister sites where you can do the same helpful click.  

Hopefully, this will help you to get inspired.  It doesn’t take much.  Just awareness and love.  If you have animals in your life go give them a squeeze and be grateful that you have given them a good life, because what we give them, they give back amplified.  For those of you who practice yoga or are interested in a very common and beautiful chat, say this out loud (or to yourself) to cultivate the energy of peace:

Loka Samasta Sukhino
Bhavant
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi

This literally translates to: May all beings everywhere be happy and free.  Om, peace, peace, peace.  If rock and roll is more your pace, the Beatles probably put it best, “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”  Now, go make a difference!

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Healthy by Choice. Healthy through Awareness.

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