What’s the point of making healthy fitness choices if you aren’t using healthy products in your body, on your body and in your home?
Back in the 1950s, most Americans knew nothing about yoga, little about health and their cleaning products were advertised on ‘soap operas.’ These were harsh detergents, with the prevailing idea that if you scrubbed the ever-loving sh*t out of your home, you were a good homemaker.
We now know that many of those cleaning products were decidedly unhealthy for us. Some were actually carcinogenic. Bleaching agents are believed to increase risks for birth defects. The use of disinfectants and antibacterials to keep germs at bay is having the opposite effect: the rise of MERSA and other super resistant bugs.
But humans lived on this planet (and in clean homes) for thousands of years before “Days of Our Lives” told them to buy the newest laundry detergent or floor wax. Do you ever wonder what pioneer folks used to clean their windows or what was used to clean during the Renaissance?
They used natural products. Water. Natural soaps. Essential oils including wood oils for furniture. Vinegar is probably the greatest cleaning product in the world and everybody has a bottle of it in their kitchen cabinet right now.
It’s easy to believe those ‘squeaky clean’ ads – they supported a multi-billion-dollar industry that still thrives today. But more people are opting to clean their homes and workspaces today with natural products. You don’t need to spend a lot of money either. Lemon rinds inside vinegar will leave your windows shining, and hot water can disinfect most common areas.
Fewer ingredients in your cleaning products and fewer bottles and boxes beneath your kitchen sink support your yoga practice as part of a healthy lifestyle. This is part of your yoga - “off the mat”.
Next month, we’ll cover the use of natural products on the body to support your well-being.