http://seattle.consciouschoice.com en-us Jenny Rough Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT It’s heee-eere: November. If you’re anxiously anticipating cold dark days, nasty bugs, dry skin and the packing on of the dreaded holiday pounds, take heart (and a spoonful of cod liver oil). We brought together seven holistic practitioners to pick their brains on everything from fighting the flu to battling »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/askexpert0811.html Joelle Hann Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT In early August 2008, Margot Andersen’s newly-married, 29-year-old son was hit and killed by a car while crossing a busy highway in Chicago. For Margot, a social worker in Chicago schools for more than 13 years, the pain of the sudden, tragic loss was overwhelming. Enrolled in a yoga teacher-training »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/yogatherapy0811.html Emily Gertz Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Celebrity mycologist. You might say it’s an oxymoron, but only if you recognize the word in the first place. After all, mycologists — scientists who study fungus — are possibly the last folks one might expect to be the hit of a cocktail party. Yet, mycologist Paul Stamets has parlayed »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/conversations0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: Ready to start holiday shopping? This year, before heading out to the mall — and the big crowds — check out our 2008 Eco Holiday Gift Guide! You’ll find a variety of great gift ideas, from Beach Yoga Jewelry to Wall Sculpture made from recycled oil drums. »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/giftguide0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT With organic, fair trade coffee beans running nearly $10 a pound at our local natural food stores, we expect our morning joe to deliver a total sensory “mmmm” day after day. When that doesn’t happen, we walk backwards through the coffee making process to find the weak link. Here’s how: Rage »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/oor_coffee0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT They rise like periscopes from another world: wild mushrooms. Things of beauty, gourmet temptation and just a pinch of malice, fungi have the power to capture the imagination and draw the captivated from their beds to scour the nearest woods in the cold, creaky hours before dawn. It’s this allure »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/oor_mushrooms0811.html Warren Etheredge Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT You don’t like balancing your checkbook; neither does Uncle Sam. In the number-crunching, nail-biting new documentary I.O.U.S.A., director Patrick Creadon tries to account for our nation’s finances — and nearly drowns in red ink. Why make I.O.U.S.A.? You don’t make a movie about finance to pick up chicks. We made the »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/oor_iousa0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Don’t have two dimes to rub together during this brutal economy? Recessions certainly suck, but they can bring out the dark green in Americans. Not the electric-sports-car-buying, bamboo-flooring-throughout-the-solar-powered-McMansion type of green, but the old school environmentalist: the resourceful conservationist. Here are four frugal ways to turn economic blues into some »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/oor_getactive.html Compiled Jenny Rough Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT 36%: Doctors who are using email to communicate with patients (up from 24 percent in 2005). 70%: Employees who go to work when they’re sick (the top three reasons claimed are heavy workload, trying to save for vacation days, and not wanting to displease the boss). 46 Million: Number of U.S. workers »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/oor_whatcounts0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Looking to spice up your practice? Meet Yogamatic. Pick from a gallery of original artwork or upload your own pic. The image you choose will be printed in water-soluble ink on a mat fashioned from (biodegradable and latex-, rubber-, and toxin-free) Thermo Plastic Elastima, and five percent of what you »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/urbanessentials0811.html E.b. Boyd Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT With the holidays around the corner, earth-wise hosts and hostesses with the mostest are in party-planning mode. But when it comes to picking the most sustainable wines, the choice isn’t as straightforward as most harried hosts would like. The old rule of thumb — look for products labeled “organic” — »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/health_wine0811.html Julia Steinberger Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Origins: On some days, a sweaty Vinyasa flow is just the thing to relieve tension and restore grounding. But other times, it’s important to honor your need for balance with an introspective practice focused on the more subtle energies and tissues of the body. The emerging style of Yin Yoga »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/yogapedia0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT A small square of dark chocolate a day might not quash your cravings, but it could help shield you from heart disease, a new study from the Journal of Nutrition suggests. Sizing up data on 4,849 healthy adults, researchers found those who regularly ate modest amounts of dark chocolate had »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/bodytalk0811.html Amy Pennington Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT The first time I heard of Bastyr University was 10 years ago, when I met a guy at a party and struck up a casual get-to-know-you conversation. “Home-y, what?” I remember asking, seeking clarification after he told me about the program he was studying in school. Turns out, that profession »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/tastebuds0811.html Stephen Krcmar Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT It’s a hot, sunny day in Los Angeles, but I’m sitting in air conditioning-crazy Starbucks, freezing my frijoles off and looking for answers. Since my life coach hasn’t shown up yet, I look elsewhere — to the LA Times astrology pages. Pisces: You may think you know why someone does what »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/tunein0811.html Daniel Pinchbeck Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Witnessing the unraveling of the global financial system, I find myself gripped by contrasting emotions. While part of me feels like heading for the hills and hoarding cans of sardines, another part of me is giddy, almost celebratory. The tyrannical rule of Wall Street is ending, along with the self-serving »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/pinchbeck0811.html Crai S. Bower Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Who doesn’t love Ponderosa Pines — the 50-foot-tall, amber-complexioned, deeply veined conifers that appear in the north plateau and emit a vanilla scent as intoxicating as any musk? Just 90 minutes from Seattle via I-90, these pines, which also signify wilderness, spread their limbs so wide, the previous year’s discarded »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/etp0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Memoirs about personal transformation are often a mixed bag. Though they can inspire hope that the reader, in all his/her ordinariness, might follow in the memoirist’s footsteps and undergo some meaningful personal change, such books are also crafted — post facto — with all the elements of a good narrative »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/artandsoul0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Film I.O.U.S.A. Directed by Patrick Creadon Roadside Attractions iousathemovie.com A penny saved is a penny earned. Common sense, right? Tell that to the United States government. On a national level, we’re not saving. We’re spending. And spending. And drowning in debt. As of October 1st, 2008, our national debt surpassed 10 trillion dollars. In »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/reviews0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Right now, you know something I don’t and that makes composing this letter more challenging than usual. As I’m writing this, the Bush administration is at the helm and our future President of the United States is still a dizzying unknown. Colin Powell has just endorsed Obama, the presidential debates »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/editorsnote0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT You might notice we use the term “worldchanging” quite a bit in our pages… like on last month’s cover (“If only worldchanging came with a guidebook. Oh wait, now it does”). In the chaos of our harried, overworked, understaffed editorial existence, we neglected to mention that worldchanging has long come with »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/letters0811.html Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT If you have ever tried to simultaneously pat your head and rub your belly, you have experienced a glimpse of the Feldenkrais Method. Described as a type of movement education, Feldenkreis shifts and disrupts learned movement patterns in order to increase greater body awareness and efficiency of movement. When Mathern, »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/pin0811.html James Jarvis, M.a. Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Aries 3/21–4/20 You can accomplish a lot this month if your efforts are dedicated to a “higher” cause. Will power and drive alone won’t achieve the best results; surrendering your attachments to the final outcome will. Taurus 4/21–5/21 Feeling impatient with others or bored with your daily routine? If so, it’s »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/starwatch0811.html Andrew Cohen Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT Two Western spiritual teachers came for a visit last week. One was American; one was English. They both claimed to be enlightened. They actually told me they were. And I think, to some degree, it was true. They both had undergone many powerful transformative spiritual episodes and were considered by »]]> http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2008/11/lue0811.html