Lifestyle Action

Spring into Summer

May 6, 2022 / Community Engagement Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 1

Spring holds many beginnings and a wide berth for transition. Slowly heat builds Spring into Summer. We invite you similarly to grow your passions. Passions point to the heart and in Ayurveda passion is infused with heat. Feel willing to follow your curiosities early and share your processes openly. Take your interests to their point of impact.

We are currently encouraging you to connect with the earth, the soil, the plants in your surroundings. As such we suggest you bridge community by weaving your strengths and surplus with any local organizations that are also encouraging gardening education and community gardens. This could look like visiting your local community gardening, supporting a gardening business, learning something new about the plants in your neighborhood to share with your loved ones, or simply making a one-time or renewing donation. Here are a couple virtual visit options for your inspiration:

Sogorea Te’ Land Trust: Rematriate the Land Geomorphic Visualization and Teachgiving Series (Virtual Visit)
Street Spirit March 2022 Issue (Virtual Visit)

Please share with us your experience with all that is happening in your communities in the comments below. #gardens #communitygardens #ReadySteadyGo

-This post was authored by Wana Shue

Please Note: Doctor Chander cannot practice medicine via the internet; no matter how hard she presses on the keyboard she won't be able to feel your pulse. Doctor Chander will not dispense medical advice via email - if you have health concerns please schedule a consultation or see your doctor. For full disclaimer please see Disclaimer Page.

Share Your Experience, Share Your Prosperity

April 18, 2022 / Interpersonal Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 0

Invite someone, a friend, a neighbor you like, someone on your block you see around but don’t know yet, anyone to join you for a walk around the block.

Even if anyone can’t join you at this time, share with someone a story from your walk(s). In conversation build out awareness of your environment through these changing of seasons. Broadening your self-awareness is fostered with broadening (y)our consciousness and considering the people, plants and animals around you. Speak your care.

On your path was there a plant or animal you had an interaction with?

What does this plant or animal need from the springtime?

What does this plant or animal give to the springtime?

What have you been needing differently? A loved one? Your neighbor?

What offerings have you extended to yourself in this new day? To a loved one? To your neighbor?

#SharingIsCaring #SharingIsProsperity

-This post was authored by Wana Shue

A Walk Around the Block

April 14, 2022 / Individual Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 0

Take a walk through your neighborhood to engage your health, your heart, and our communities. For our physical bodies, walking stimulates the lymphatic system, supports our lung capacity, encourages the proper operation of our muscles and joints, along with many other benefits. For our minds, our movement and breathing outdoor air has the power to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Emotionally and spiritually a relaxing stroll creates spaciousness for self reflection, development, and reconnection to gratitude.

Honor your senses through this walk. And let us know in the comments below:

How were you able to cultivate presence for yourself through this experience?

What did your senses gravitate towards today? What did you see? What did you smell? What did you listen to?

What did you notice in your body? How was your balance? How was your breathing? How was your heart?

Did any one part of your body speak more loudly?

How can you give attention, support, or praise to this part of your body?

-This post was authored by Wana Shue

Share a Song

August 16, 2021 / Art in Action,Interpersonal Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 0

Chloe (age 6) and Anna (age 8) Delamotte playing strings in North Beach, San Francisco.

Music, as impactful as it can be, is even more powerful together. Scientific research tells us that listening to music stimulates areas of the brain that regulate emotions, and a result, increases experiences of empathy. To foster social connections and connect more deeply, this week we are encouraging readers to share a song you love, with a person you love. Perhaps even consider asking those close to you to send you some of their favorite tunes.

You may or may not share the same taste in genre or style but broadening your listening repertoire can bring you closer to those around you, and yourself. Whether you build a joint playlist on Spotify or burn an old-school CD, or even older, a mixed tape cassette, remember that the purpose is to listen not just for enjoyment, but for connection.

Mind Your Music

August 1, 2021 / Art in Action,Individual Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / 1 Comment 0

Gabrielle Malaniak, a viola student at the Eastman School of Music at the Lilac Festival on a spring day in Upstate NY.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote that “Music is the universal language of mankind”, and according to recent data, he was probably right. As of 2017, Americans spend over 32 hours each week listening to music. It’s a widely loved activity, and one that also happens to provide a myriad of benefits to our mental, physical, and emotional health, which is why it is our focus this August.

Listening to music with intention can help us to feel more engaged, present, and in-tune (so-to-speak) with ourselves. It’s that feeling when you’re listening to a song you haven’t heard in so long, but still know each word. Or when you hear a new song for the first time and have to stop yourself from hitting repeat too many times. Listening to a song with intention helps to foster connection with music, and thus with oneself. So for this week’s action item, we ask that you identify a song, or a few songs that you love, and take time to really listen to them. Perhaps find a quiet place, or set off on a walk with some headphones, but either way, listen generously (and we will too).

If you like what you hear, share your song choices (even the guilty pleasures, we don’t judge!) and experiences with us as a comment on this post, Facebook, or Twitter with the hashtags #ReadySteadyGo and #MusicILove.

Happy Listening!

Black Businesses Matter

September 20, 2020 / Community Engagement Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 0

While it may seem daunting to ”fix” racism in our communities, it is helpful to remember that system changes have to start with small steps. What can we do on a local level? How may our Black brothers and sisters be impacted socially, economically, or emotionally? This week we simply ask that you support a Black-owned business! Shop beauty, foods, books, music, appliances, clothing, accessories, decor and more!

Source: KQED.
Chef Chew, Chef Leilani, Chef Nigel Jones
Photo credit: Evan Morsell, Sharome Skinner, Bethanie Hines

Pets Unite People!

August 14, 2020 / Interpersonal Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 0

Animals seem to help humans bond with each other! “Pet parents” often say that through the process of caring for their pet they got to know their own neighbors or other fellow pet parents on a more personal level. This week, we encourage you to reach out to someone you know who has a pet and ask about how their animal friend is doing. A small gesture may go a long way!

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Living with Animals

August 7, 2020 / Individual Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 0

Research has shown that there are profound mutual benefits from the human-animal interaction that include mental and physical well-being (McCune et al, 2014). Let’s explore the various aspects of these bonds together! Ready, Steady, Go!

This week, we invite you to simply reflect on how we choose to live with animals. How do you feel about animals living with humans? Think dogs, cats, fish, birds, rabbits, hamsters, turtles, pigs, rats, snakes, lizards, gerbils, and more! Would you agree with the research presented that the benefit is mutual? Who among you decided to start living with an animal during the COVID-19 shutdown and why?

Read for pleasure!

July 10, 2020 / Art in Action,Individual Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 1

This week, we encourage you to pick up a book or listen to someone read a book to you, just for enjoyment in true escapism fashion! Think fiction, prose, poetry, comics, anything you’d choose simply because you want to. Forget about whether it’s good for you. Do tell us what you are enjoying reading these days in the comments. All recommendations are welcome.

Reading is an opportunity to step away from duties and responsibilities to enter a world of your choosing! When we read, we actively engage in another’s story, whatever that may be. Reading is restorative, relaxing, and fun. This month, we will encourage you to engage in the the joys of summer reading. Ready, Steady, Go!

May your Summer of Bicycling Begin!

May 30, 2019 / Individual Action,Lifestyle Action,Taking Action / No Comments 1

May is National Bike Month in the USA and June 3rd is World Bicycle Day. Summer has just begun. Beyond Holistic encourages you to get on your bicycle as much as possible this summer, whether it is to commute to work, pick up something from a store, go visit a friend, take a short or long leisurely ride in a natural setting, or just tool about town.

Try it, you´ll like it.

Bicycling benefits you, as well as the environment. Instead of polluting the air and water with the waste products of fossil fuel combustion, you will be powering your transportation with your own muscles fueled by real food. Pedal Power! Power to the Pedal!

If you have not ridden a bicycle in years, it isn´t hard to get back on. There´s truth in the old adage, “It´s just like riding a bike!”; once you learn to ride, you never forget.

If you have the luxury of being in a climate which allows for year around bicycling, go for it! Besides the extra exercise, you may enjoy your surroundings in a fresh way. You may interact with the people, animals and places along the way. You may find yourself feeling more relaxed, with a more positive outlook on life.

Safety is important, so wear a helmet and follow the rules of the road. Also, consider joining your local bicycle coalition. If you don´t have one in your locality, consider forming an organization that can advocate with city planning and transportation departments for the safety and convenience for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Let us know how it goes. If you need a little extra encouragement, take a listen to this short Nei Jing Now! podcast with the director of a national institute who got back on a bicycle after a hiatus of 35 years.