Why should I consider buying a Cork Yoga Block or Yoga Wedge?
Cork is an environmentally friendly choice over the standard chemically-made foam found in most yoga props (such as Yoga Blocks and Yoga Wedges). Here are just a few reasons to consider buying cork yoga props:
- Cork is a renewable, sustainable material.
- There are no toxic chemicals in the harvesting or manufacturing process.
- It is harvested from the bark of Cork Oak. The bark naturally splits every 9 – 15 years and is harvested without harming the tree.
- Cork will safely biodegrade by nature when these yoga props eventually must be retired.
- A Cork Yoga Block or Wedge offers a soft texture that is easy to grip and is slip-resistant (similar to that of a foam block).
- Cork blocks are firmer than foam blocks.
- The drawback to the foam blocks is that they are chemically-made and can emit an odor when they are new (some people are more sensitive to these odors). Cork is odor-free.
In addition to offering cork products as part of our “Green” line of yoga products, you can also find yoga blocks made from bamboo, balsa wood, and recycled materials . Check out all of our Yoga Blocks and Wedges.
We Care – Our Green Policy
We care about our earth and our natural resources. Not only do we seek out and offer products that are manufactured with non-toxic materials or are made from sustainable, renewable resources, but we also like to operate the company in a sustainable fashion.
- We purchase unclaimed or recycled boxes to reduce cardboard headed to our landfills.
- We reuse boxes whenever possible to minimize costs and reduce our need for natural resources.
- We try to reduce packaging materials and use recycled packaging materials whenever possible to reduce waste.
- Our green efforts are performed with our customers in mind – only clean and durable materials are reused.
- We purchase recycled copy paper to protect our natural resources.
We’ve added a number of new products lately. A good way to stay informed of our new additions is to become a Fan of our Facebook Page. You’ll be kept informed of new products, product information, and periodic related articles.
Some of our recently-added products include: a mat-size yoga blanket, a new yoga mat bag, several yoga mats (for kids, for travel, and new eco-friendly mats), and some new fitness items.
We are excited to announce that we are now carrying several products by Hugger Mugger.
Check out the new Yoga Mat Bags by Hugger Mugger:
- The Tapas Harness – an economical choice that is large enough to carry a mat and blanket, a bolster, or a combination
- Recycled Paper Mat Bag – eco-friendly and spacious enough to fit some props with your mat, or your oversized mat comfortably
- Simply Jute – eco-friendly and big enough to carry three rolled yoga mats, or a combination of mats and props
- Big Tote for Men – not just for men! Another roomy bag, this one is a top-loading drawstring bag
- The Yoga Pro – for our Yoga & Pilates Teachers on the go – carry multiple mats and props to your teaching location
We’ve also added the Pure Mat – Mat & Gear Wash to our product listing. Disinfect and restore the stickiness of your mat with these easy to use all-natural sprays – available in Lavender or Citrus.
We continually search for environmentally friendly products to offer you, so we’ve also added Hugger Mugger’s Cork Yoga Wedge, an 8-foot Hemp Yoga Strap, and the 10-foot Hemp Yoga Strap.
And, just because we all need soothing de-stressers in our lives, we’ve added Hugger Mugger’s Peachskin Neckroll. The brushed fabric is soft as peach skin and is scented with soothing lavender, peppermint, and orange. Hhhmmm. It is filled with flax seed and buckwheat hulls and can be heated or chilled depending on your pleasure.
Many of us make resolutions every New Year. All with good intentions of keeping them, right? Here’s an article with some good advice on how to keep your resolution…and also some advice on how to make one that you can keep.
If you are making any resolution to improve your fitness or to reduce stress in your life, visit our store at RollingSands Harmony for products for yoga, pilates, meditation and fitness. We offer great prices and a great selection.
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Key to keeping New Year resolutions revealed by psychologist
The key to keeping a New Year resolution may be to break your goal into small steps and not to dwell on the consequences of not achieving your goal, a psychologist has claimed.
Published: 7:30AM GMT 28 Dec 2009 – Telegraph.co.uk
Less than a quarter of Britons will achieve their New Year resolutions in 2010 because they go about it the wrong way, according to Professor Richard Wiseman.
He studied 700 volunteers who made a wide range of New Year resolutions, including quitting smoking, losing weight, starting a relationship or gaining a qualification.
Just 22 per cent of participants managed to meet their goals or described their progress as ”very successful”.
The reason so many failed is that they took the wrong approach – and were led astray by self-help books, according to Prof Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire.
By comparing the techniques of successful and unsuccessful resolution makers, he came up with a list of tips for staying the course when making changes in one’s life.
People who failed tended to dwell on the ”bad things” that would happen if they did not achieve their goal, said the professor.
They were likely to remove temptation from their surroundings, adopt role models, fantasise about being successful, and rely on will power.
”Many of these ideas are frequently recommended by self-help experts but our results suggest that they simply don’t work”, said Prof Wiseman. ”Because of the widespread nature of this advice, millions of people will fail to achieve their aims”.
Successful participants, on the other hand, broke their goals into small steps, rewarding themselves when each stage was passed.
They also told friends about what they were trying to achieve, reminded themselves of the benefits of obtaining their goal, and charted their progress.
”Many of the most successful techniques involve making a plan and helping yourself stick to it,” said Prof Wiseman. ”Those carrying out all five techniques were around 20% more successful than others.
”Failing to achieve your ambitions is often psychologically harmful because it can rob people of a sense of self-control. I hope that this new research will help people change their lives in 2010.”
:: Prof Wiseman’s 10 secrets of success when making New Year resolutions:
1) Make only one resolution; your chances of success are greater when you channel energy into changing just one aspect of your behaviour.
2) Don’t wait until New Year’s Eve to think about your resolution and instead devote some time a few days before to reflect upon what you really want to achieve.
3) Avoid previous resolutions; deciding to re-visit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment.
4) Don’t run with the crowd and go with the usual resolutions. Instead think about what you really want out of life.
5) Break your goal into a series of steps, focusing on creating sub-goals that are concrete, measurable, and time-based.
6) Tell your friends and family about your goals, thus increasing the fear of failure and eliciting support.
7) Regularly remind yourself of the benefits associated with achieving your goals by creating a checklist of how life would be better once you obtain your aim.
Give yourself a small reward whenever you achieve a sub-goal, thus maintaining motivation and a sense of progress.
9) Make your plans and progress concrete by keeping a hand-written journal, completing a computer spreadsheet or covering a notice board with graphs or pictures.
10) Expect to revert to your old habits from time to time. Treat any failure as a temporary set-back rather than a reason to give up altogether.
Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys, making them “more feminine”, say US researchers.
Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys’ toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found.
The University of Rochester team’s latest work adds to concerns about the safety of phthalates, found in vinyl flooring and PVC shower curtains.
The findings are reported in the International Journal of Andrology.
Plastic furniture
Phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones, and have been banned in toys in the EU for some years.
However, they are still widely used in many different household items, including plastic furniture and packaging.
There are many different types and some mimic the female hormone oestrogen.
Elizabeth Salter-Green, director of CHEM Trust
The same researchers have already shown that this can mean boys are born with genital abnormalities.
Now they say certain phthalates also impact on the developing brain, by knocking out the action of the male hormone testosterone.
Dr Shanna Swan and her team tested urine samples from mothers over midway through pregnancy for traces of phthalates.
The women, who gave birth to 74 boys and 71 girls, were followed up when their children were aged four to seven and asked about the toys the youngsters played with and the games they enjoyed.
Girls’ play
They found that two phthalates DEHP and DBP can affect play behaviour.
Boys exposed to high levels of these in the womb were less likely than other boys to play with cars, trains and guns or engage in “rougher” games like playfighting.
Elizabeth Salter-Green, director of the chemicals campaign group CHEM Trust, said the results were worrying.
“We now know that phthalates, to which we are all constantly exposed, are extremely worrying from a health perspective, leading to disruption of male reproduction health and, it appears, male behaviour too.
“This feminising capacity of phthalates makes them true ‘gender benders’.”
She acknowledged that the boys who have been studied were still young, but she said reduced masculine play at this age might lead to other feminised developments in later life.
But Tim Edgar, of the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates, said: “We need to get some scientific experts to look at this study in more detail before we can make a proper judgement.”
He said there were many different phthalates in use and the study concerned two of the less commonly used types that were on the EU candidate list as potentially hazardous and needing authorisation for use.
DBP has been banned from use in cosmetics, such as nail varnish, since 2005 in the EU.
The British Plastics Federation said: “Chemical safety is of paramount importance to the plastics industry which has invested heavily in researching the substances it uses.
“Moreover, the new European Chemical Regulation, REACH, will ensure further rigorous evaluation and testing or chemical substances and their uses.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8361863.stm
Published: 2009/11/16 10:23:42 GMT
© BBC MMIX
For a short time we are offering FREE Shipping on orders over $75! The offer expires December 16th, so hurry now to take advantage of this special. Consider it our Holiday Gift to you!
One of our goals was to offer you, our customer, lots of choices on products. For some people, price is king and for others having an environmentally- friendly option determines buying decisions. On our site, you might find products that at first glance appear to be the same, but in fact are different.
Recently we realized that our rapidly growing selection of Yoga Mats might seem a little overwhelming to some shoppers. We offer a variety of lengths, thicknesses, materials, and most recently we’ve even added some “wide” mats. Not to mention the huge selection of colors! So for our shoppers who want to narrow down their selections, we’ve added a “Browse By” function on the Yoga Mats page. You can now browse by mat length, mat thickness, or mat width. A separate section has always existed for those looking for Eco-Friendly Products.
We hope you find this “Browse By” function helpful in your shopping experience at RollingSands Harmony. For those who still want to see all of their choices, just scroll down the Yoga Mats page…all mats are listed first by length, then by thickness.
Thank you for shopping with us.
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