Conscious Consumption

Hello Dear Friends!

I'd like to discuss an idea I've been trying to keep in the back of my mind these past few weeks - Conscious Consumption. I'm sure we've all heard this term before or some version of it and sometimes this causes us to close ourselves off to an idea. I'm inviting you to set aside your preconceived notions of what I might say here and just explore this concept with me on a few different fronts.

As I have slowly (very slowly) tried to incorporate this into my own life I've done my best to avoid any guilt that comes up. Guilt is unhelpful, it can be damaging, and sometimes it has the exact opposite effect - when my Pops used to guilt me for getting tattoos I... well... you can assume what happened there. haha!

1. Food - We can start with the obvious! When we hear the word "consumption" I think the 'go-to' image is consuming food. I am not suggesting anyone avoid sugar or caffeine or gluten (I love all the glutens!!) - I think we have to all establish for ourselves what conscious eating is, what feels best, and what fuel we need and crave. Here are a few examples of things you could incorporate:

- 3 cookies at night instead of the whole bag

- Only buying a couple of coffees a week at Bridgehead instead of one a day

- Trying to eat more fruits and veggies before grabbing a bag of chips

(I'm sure there are some very disciplined yogis out there reading this gasping at my self-control).

2. Reading/Education - Consumption isn't just what we eat it's what we feed our brain as well. How am I implementing this you might ask??

- Watching only one episode of "How to Get Away with Murder" a night... so hard.

- Balancing my colouring books with some books that have more of an educational tone

- Documentaries ("Cowspiracy" and "The True Cost" are awesome and what started me going down this rabbit hole in the first place.)

3. What we Put on Our Bodies - What I mean here is not only our clothing but also the creams, deodorants, soaps etc. that we apply daily. I am not about to run through my house throwing out all these items that I've spent money on... but slowly as things run out I'm replacing them with friendlier versions

- Homemade deodorant

- Homemade Lotions

- All things Coconut Oil

And of course it would be lovely if we could all afford to spend hundreds of dollars on our clothing to ensure that it's being made by a seamstress sitting in Montreal (one day...) until then I am choosing to try to buy gently used clothing. Or shop here!! http://www.adorit.ca I want all the things... completely unconscious consumption ... lol.

4. Who we Spend our Time with - I'm sure we've all had the experience of spending an evening in someone's company or getting to the end of a phone call and just feeling negative and drained... This is what I'm talking about! Our energy and our time are precious commodities and we need to spend those wisely. So notice the way you feel when you leave a certain environment or a certain person and consciously avoid those situations. Not only avoid them - but replace them with regenerating and energizing activities and people instead!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this post. It was a tough one to write :)

#reflections #yoga