Reducing plastic is very important for the environment. Only 9% of everything added to the recycling bins is actually recycled! Everything else ends up in the regular landfill, breaks down, and ends up harming wildlife or being ingested by us. Most of us know that plastic is bad, but what does that have to do with yoga and how can it help you to feel less stressed?
Studies have shown that by incorporating nature into your life, you can drastically reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. By focusing more on being outside and spending time outdoors, we can help ourselves to feel better and to feel less stress. We can be more mindful, live more in the moment, and reconnect with ourselves and the planet. Trees and plants give off chemical cues which our body notices even if we don't realize it is happening. If we are exercising outside, these benefits are multiplied even more because we are producing endorphins and reducing cortisol (the stress hormone). Have you ever been cooped up for too long and expereinced cabin fever? This is partially because you were stuck inside and didn't have access to fresh air, sunshine, and plants. If we ruin nature, we cannot enjoy the amazing benefits that it offers. Plastic is ruining the environment, so by reducing single-use plastics we can help preserve these natural stress-reducing aspects. Plastics hurt us in the long run.
Another way reducing plastics is yoga is by causing us to be more mindful. By stopping and thinking about ways we can live without a certain single-use plastic item, we are forcing ourselves to pause and be more mindful. By forming a habit of pausing before acting, we can teach ourselves to live more in the moment. It's retraining our brain. This goes even further than the plastic topic. It trains us to be more mindful during other parts of our day as well. Thinking "what's the right way to do this" before using a piece of plastic gets us used to thinking something through before automatically acting. We learn to respond rather than just react.
Yoga is not all about poses or being on the mat. Yoga has 8 limbs, or aspects. Yoga flows on the mat is only 1 out of 8 limbs. One of the other limbs of yoga includes what's called the Yamas. These are basically guidelines for living in regards to yourself and others. They are ethical rules of life. One of them is called Asteya, or non-stealing. It includes not stealing from our own selves in regard to time, not stealing others' time by being late somewhere and holding them up, physically not stealing, and not stealing from the earth. Asteya tells us not to steal from the health of the planet. Plastic pollution directly harms the planet, and therefore goes against the principle of Asteya. By reducing our plastic usage, we work towards Asteya.
Most people know the saying "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". There's actually a lot more than 3 Rs when it comes to this, but those three are the most common. You may not realize this, but that saying is in a specific order. We first want to Reduce the need for plastic. Make things at home instead, purchase a glass container option instead of the plastic option, avoid plastic bags, etc. If you can't possibly Reduce the need for the plastic, the next best thing is to Reuse that piece of plastic so that it is used more than once and prevents the need for a different piece of plastic the second or third time you reuse the first piece. If you can't do that either, or if you have reused it enough times that it is no longer reusable, the last option is the Recycle it. That's because recycling plastic is not the answer to our plastic pollution problem. Reducing is, and that's why it's first in that saying.
As you can see, reducing our plastic at home is a great way to "do yoga" in a different way! There are a lot of benefits to reducing plastic, and reducing stress is definitely one of them. If you're very busy, it can feel overwhelming to think about making everything from scratch. That's why I don't recommend giving up all plastic all at once. The best way to start reducing plastic is to simply replace items as you use them up with a plastic free alternative. When you need to restock your pantry, just trade out one thing for a glass or stainless-steel option instead. This way it won't feel overwhelming, and it won't be very expensive. Think about buying groceries at the grocery store that aren't already packaged in plastic, and put the loose produce in reusable bags that you bring from home. I've got a ton of other easy ways to reduce plastic, so please contact me if you have any questions.
We are currently doing a Reducing Plastic Challenge in our Facebook group called "Palm Tree Yoga with Sara". I post one way of reducing plastic each day, and people comment with how they are doing that or plan to do that, and that earns them a point. The person at the end of the month with the most points will win a free plastic-reducing gift! I'd love for you to join in on the fun. It's not too late to win and have fun :)
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