HTC: November 26, 2006 Shownotes

Bonjour! Welcome to the 59th edition of the Hip Tranquil Chick podcast: a guide to life on and off the yoga mat. Produced from the raspberry and leopard-print embellished flat in Washington, DC.

Today’s podcast is a discussion of Chapter 12 Savvy Social Consciousness and an interview with Liz Falk, topped of with a pose of the podcast, insights on upcoming events (including an upcoming international HTC retreat!), and groovy podsafe music! View our shownotes at hiptranquilchick.com/blog.

Liz Falk discovered yoga five years ago while living in Boulder. She found yoga to perfectly balance her life on and off the mat and believes it harmonizes her passion as an environmentalist. Liz explores, as a practitioner as well as teacher, how yoga recognizes the connection between our bodies and the Earth. She teaches this philosophy to her students in ‘Whole Yoga’ workshops. Before becoming truly energized by the beauty and creativity of Vinyasa, Liz studied various styles of Hatha yoga. Her classes integrate fundamental elements of Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga. Liz encourages her students to challenge themselves while respecting their own limits and to deepen their practice by using breath and mental awareness. Liz has been teaching yoga for almost two years in both D.C. and at a sustainability institute in Costa Rica. She has explored using yoga with troubled teens as a means to increase their self-esteem. Liz is member of the Green Yoga Association, committing to integrating Green Yoga principles into her teaching and life. Liz has a masters degree in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development. She is establishing an urban garden education program in DC to rekindle peoples’ connection to the earth through growing food, supply fresh and healthy food to those without it, and provide a green safe haven in the city.

Daily green do-gooding tips from Liz:
1. Thing again before you drive. Take public transportation or carpool.
2. Shop at local stores and buy locally made products whenever you can.
3. Plant a garden or just one veggie plant in your yard or in a container in your living room. Get your hands a little dirty from its soil, water it, give it sun.
4. Bring your own bags to the grocery store.
5. Before you buy it ask yourself, “do I really need this?”
6. Disconnect from your headphones or cell phone and look around.
7. Shop at a used book or clothing store before buying new.
8. Volunteer in your community
9. Plant a tree.
10. Learn the names of 5 native trees and animals in your neighborhood.
11. Always carry a reusable water bottle and coffee cup
12. With the holidays around the corner, offset your travels. Go to www.climatecare.org. Calculate your carbon emissions from traveling and offset it in various ways.
13. Shower for 5 minutes less than you do now.
14. Turn the lights, tv, radio and computer off when you are not using them.
15. Try to hang dry some of your clothes. You’ll save energy and your clothes will last longer!

Recommended Resources by Liz

• Read Stuff: the Secret Lives of Every Day Things by Alan Durning.
• Visit greenyoga.org. Green Yoga Association. Find green yoga studios and teachers across the country.
• Read “The Practice of Eco-Yoga” by Georg Feuerstein in The Deeper Dimension of Yoga.
• Read “The time is now: A spiritual response to the ecological devastation of our planet” by Rick Fields. (January/February 1998 issue of Yoga Journal)
• Visit localharvest.org. Find stores and markets to buy fresh foods and produce.
• Visit Going Green web site. Simple tips to being green.
• Visit carbonneutral.com to offset your travels, buy carbon neutral gifts, and more.
• Visit ecologicalfootprint.org to systematically measure the area of the Earth needed to sustain a nation’s annual consumption patterns. You can calculate your personal footprint on this web site.

If you are interested in green yoga, how they can integrate environmentalism into their practice, or just have general questions or comments, contact Liz at VidaYoga@gmail.com.

More tips from a local hip tranquil chick – green travel! Learn more at gracefuledge.com.

Pose of the Podcast: tree

Haute Stuff Shoppe: Shop online for the book, CD, leopard print scarf, or crystal tee.

Soirees, Chats & Booksignings & Retreats: The step-by-step scoop for hosting a Hip Tranquil Chick Signature ChariTea Soiree is up! The downloadable PDF has discussion tips, a toolkit, yoga sequences, recipes, and more! Send photos from your soiree and, if you’re local, I’d love to swing by!

More upcoming events in DC, North Carolina, and Colorado!

Escape with me to our first HTC retreat in upstate NY for June 2007. Details at hiptranquilchick.com.

Au Revoir: Share your hip tranquil chickness with me, request show ideas, or pass along feedback by e-mailing me at kimberly@hiptranquilchick.com or leaving a love note in the comments section of hiptranquilchick.com/blog. A reminder that we’re on MySpace and Frappr, so please connect with the community virtually there, too!

Have a burning question that you’d like hip and tranquil feedback on? E-mail me at kimberly@hiptranquilchick.com to have it featured and answered in our dear hip tranquil chick segment!

To close out the show, we’re playing a special track thanks to Andy Chase and Unfiltered Records. Today’s selection is L’Anamour by Ivy. Andy is a multitasker… not only is he Ivy’s guitarist, but he is also on tour heading the band Brookville… be sure to check them out in a city near you! You can learn more about Ivy and Brookville at unfilteredrecords.com and their MySpace pages.

Thanks for celebrating the 59th edition of the Hip Tranquil Chick podcast with me! Get your green on, girls! Namaste.