Stern Views

Over the last 2 years, I have seen my life becoming more and more green, or eco-conscious. I recycle, use compact-fluorescent light bulbs in over 90% of the fixtures in my house. I buy all eco-friendly cleaning products, have a high-efficiency washer and dryer, take short showers, give my dog baths with earth friendly, biodegradable shampoo and conditioner. There are myriad things I do in order to be “green.” Which makes me identify with a certain green friend, Kermit, who is famous for his lamenting over the difficulty of being green, even if his green was not the same as mine.

Something I don’t particularly agree with is all of the pressure to buy this or that to be more green. As if just your dollars are going to make a difference. Sure, buying biodegradable cleaners, using earth friendly products and materials does show support to the awareness that our earth is going to be around for only a limited time, but what’s behind this green movement? Is it all just some marketing ploy? I have made a commitment to buying products that are biodegradable, recycling any waste that I can, and making steps towards more efficient energy usage, but sometimes I feel like I’m being taken advantage of. Mention “plant-based”, “eco-friendly”, or “all natural” on any given product and I’m sure you’ll get the buyers you need. But is this really being green? Is it eco-conscious for a country to spend millions of dollars buying more and more stuff to make the cut of being green? Shouldn’t we just start using less?

The way I see it, efficiency is about getting the most out of what you have. Some of the “green” products out there just make you want to replace everything you have with the “better alternative”, but what if you haven’t used up what you have? Should we be punished for keeping our not-green products around? Some of the eco-conscious products are fairly expensive and take a long time to justify their costs. There are times when I feel like the green “pushers” are out there trying to get everyone to replace all the furniture in their house with eco-friendly furniture and the like and throw out all the other stuff. What bothers me is that our consumeristic culture is the least “green” thing that can possibly exist. If we go on buying item after item and just throwing away all the rest of the stuff, we’re never going to do the earth any good.

So the next time you feel pressured to do the “green” thing, really examine it for what it is. Is what you’re being sold replacing something that really needs replacing? Will it do what it promises for you? Are you buying it just to maintain some sort of status? What is your attitude behind it? I only hope that America will see a change in the way we consume. If we consume less, use less, then we are truly being green.

As I have said in a previous post, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. I’ve found myself being drawn to memoirs, and I’m not exactly sure if or how I should analyze that. My latest reading has been “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” by David Sedaris, “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey (yes, I am aware of the controversial aspects of this book, but still enjoyed reading the book). I have also started reading “Running With Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs and “What is the What?” by David Eggers. 

A service that I have been using during this time of increased reading, other than the local library, is a web site called Readernaut, which is a sort of social networking site centered around books. You can use the site to mark your progress in books, write reviews, site comments, etc. You can also start a group of friends to see what they are reading and where they are progressing. It could definitely be used as a sort of “long distance bookclub” where people from across the country could start reading a specific book and track their progress together and join in the discussion using the comment feature. It is also helping me to remember what page I’m on in a certain book, serving as an online bookmark, per sé. 

At the current moment Readernaut is usable by invite only as it is in beta testing. Just enter your email address and you should be able to get an invitation to join the site. I definitely have enjoyed using the website these past couple months and am excited to see where it goes.

That is all for this shameless plug of Readernaut. I do hope you check it out.

For the past couple of weeks I have been substitute teaching yoga classes at the Lawrence Athletic Club. As many of you know, I made it a New Year’s Resolution to get into teaching, and that day has come. I have been hired by the LAC as a Yoga Instructor and am working on getting my certification so that I can start my own classes there. 

The classes that I have taught have proven to be quite the learning experience for myself. I feel pressure to be perfect in my postures and never mess up my left and right when referencing various limbs of the body. I can’t say that I have succeeded in this venture, but I guess that’s okay. I think the most challenging part of it all is to teach people how to move into postures they may not understand but that I understand on a deep level. Finding the right words to say to get the students into the correct posture is quite the experience.

I’m learning about my influences as well. I hear how my various instructors have influenced what I say in class, what postures I lead the students in, and the tone of voice I use in the class. I hear Todd’s influence in knowledge about what muscles are working, Matthew’s calm and encouraging tone urging students on to let go of the day and their worries, and Rita’s strong communication skills and clarity of voice. And I see myself in there too; my ability to appreciate the work that the students are putting forth, my commitment to sticking with the things that I do, and the ability to keep a light-hearted mind in all situations. I find myself encouraging my students to smile, to take their mind off of the pose and let their bodies really surrender into the poses and have fun with them.

I look forward to getting my certification and starting my own classes at the LAC and really starting to discover my own teaching style. These past few classes have definitely been interesting, and I look forward to the classes that will come. I am thankful for all of my teachers who have clearly influenced me in my own teaching and my own practice. Maybe someday I’ll have the opportunity to have that influence on a student. That would definitely be the ultimate honor.

Two days from now every registered voter has an opportunity to take part in a right that many fought for and that our country was founded upon. Because of the sacrifice of many, we live in a democracy and we have a big part in deciding who is leading our country. Too many people have stood up for the right to vote to just cast that aside and ignore it because of “wishy-washy” feelings about the candidates. I urge everyone to vote on Tuesday. I, of course, have my own opinions about which candidate is more fit to be our president, but I’d rather not post who that candidate is here because a blog is not the right place for it. The ballot is. Rather than casting your vote online on your blog or Facebook or MySpace, make your choice known on the only place it matters.