Yoga, Composting, and Creating Change
In yoga practice, we hold our hands at heart position, a movement that embodies what it means to bring together what may seem disparate in your self. For me? I have two halves, a hippie half who would love to live off the land, to be waste-free. In this version of my story, I’m best friends with Ed Begly Jr., who helped me re-wire my house so I can power it with my bike that I made from found objects. I’d put No Impact Man to SHAME with my reusing and recycling.
In real life, I CRAVE the finer things in life. Like toilet paper. I buy eggs in cartons and don’t know how to repurpose that shell-shaped cardboard box into furniture. I’m often sneaking out for my morning guilt latte – and NOT EVEN BRINGING MY OWN MUG to Starbucks. And going to Starbucks, not my local, indie-operated café.
How can I better merge my two selves? Composting.
I love words, and lose hours on Thesaurus.com, searching words and watching how they connect, how those synonyms inspire different trains of thought, leading me down different rabbit holes.
Compost: to change over or convert.
When I bring my hands to my heart in “prayer position,” I have to put down my coffee cup. I can pay attention to what needs to be converted. It’s good to find daily reminders of the constant change that is our life, and composting your used coffee grounds, your banana peels, your egg shells, watching them bring life to your bell peppers, your fig tree, your new food, you can physically observe and inhabit what it means to convert. And, as the related word composite illustrates in its synonyms, find a little more synthesis and fusion in your lives, a little more harmony for those two halves that live together in you, in your kitchen, garden, and café.
Do you compost? Do you have a worm farm to speedily do the work, or did you start a pile in your yard? If you live in the city, and don’t have a lot of space for a compost pile, check out Organic Authority’s tips for compact composting here. And if you want to start a worm farm, and learn why “vermicompost” is so good for your garden, head over to Modern Farmer.
(Photos: Prayer pose from Genesis Health Clubs West 13th, Thesaurus.com)
