Boost winter output from your solar electric system: MPPT controllers 101

What’s Your “Body Burden”? Take the Toxins Test

There’s a new phrase in town — “body burden” — and no, it doesn’t refer to the weight you gained over the holidays, nor that husband who doesn’t help around the house. Unfortunately, body burden is no laughing matter. It refers to the level of chemical contaminants that are in our bodies. Scary stuff like mercury, [...]

4 Fitness-Ball Moves to Tone Hips, Buns & Thighs

I love to use a stability ball with my personal training clients and in my strength training classes. Stability balls, also called fitness balls, BalanceBalls or Swiss balls, add that extra balance challenge, involving your core muscles in every move. They add fun and variety, they’re affordable and easy to move around, and their uses [...]

Prince Albert Embarks on Eco-Expedition

For most of his life, Prince Albert II has been dubbed a playboy. Now, it looks like he’ll be known as an eco-crusader. The 50-year-old ruler of Monaco, whose parents were Prince Rainier III and the ever elegant Grace Kelly, kicked off a month-long expedition on Monday to view the impact that global warming has had on the [...]

Take a Vacation (Just Not From Recycling)

The French motto is “C’est la vie.” But when the glass jars, aluminum cans and plastic bottles started adding up during our holiday vacation in Paris last week, my conscience said otherwise. I admit, a few baby food jars did end up in the trash before my husband and I wised up. At home, with all [...]

Linking In The New Year: Memories of 2008, A Guide to A Great 2009

A look back at some of the most memorable moments of 2008 in pictures, a quick guide to having a great year in 2009, making your new year's resolutions stick, and more in this week's roundup of feel-good links from around the Web.

Smudge Out the Old for the New

Lighting dried white sage, blowing out the flames and then fanning the embers to smoke as much as possible to pervade a room is an age-old way to change the energy and vibration of a place. Called smudging, smudging is traditionally used to purify an area of negativity and to induce a feeling of serenity. [...]

Core Salutations Torch Holiday Calories in Less Time!

They are FINALLY over! Don’t worry if you consumed too many calories this season. Holiday weight gain doesn’t stand a chance against my turbo-boosted Sun Salutations. Adding core-toning work in the transitions between poses in the classic Sun Salutation series amps up the benefits of all the poses. I call these Core Salutations. When you follow [...]

Diddy Gives Safe Rides to New Yorkers on New Year’s Eve

I’ve lived in New York my entire life yet I’ve never been in Times Square when the ball dropped. I’ve walked by the tourist zone shortly after the clock stuck 12 — wading through piles of confetti and trash — and partied a few blocks away, but I’ve always avoided the eye of the storm [...]

God is in the Eco Details

I have been accused of putting the mental in environmental. I truly believe the most successful spaces always get the details right: proper use of varied lighting, complexity of texture, subtle art, and the many other nuances that transform a space to make it exceptional. Taking it one step further (hence the mental reference), [...]

Beauty, Friendship, Green, and Healing: My Most Memorable Good Memory of 2008

Look back at 2008 and find your most memorable good memory. Spending some time recognizing good memories can help make you aware of what you want to draw to you in the future. As I filter back through my memories of 2008, the memory that percolates to the surface and stays there is [...]