A hamstring targeting sequence

Similarly to the low-back pain sequence, this was requested – though this time by students. It is also a relatively short sequence that can be practiced everyday, by anyone, and would take 15 minutes max. The goal here is to become more flexible and lengthen the hamstrings.

You will need: a wall, and a belt. Bolster and blocks not necessary but if you have them I will indicate where you can use them.

Start with your legs up the wall (viparita karani), no bolster under the hips. Press your heels up towards the ceiling and against the wall. Press the ball of the big toe up towards the ceiling. Open the back of the knee, knee caps “up” (towards your hip), bring the back of the thigh towards the wall. Relax the throat and tongue, hands pressing down into the floor by your hips (palms down).

Repeat 5 times with one or two breaths of rest in between (total around 3′).

 

See the space between the back of the thighs and the wall? You want to make that space inexistant so that the whole back of the legs presses against the wall. You can bring the palms of the hands down and press them into the floor.

 

Bend the knees and slide back towards the center of the room until you are in supta tadasana with both feet pressing against the wall. Grab the belt, bend your right leg and bring the belt over your right foot, then straighten the leg up. Both legs need to be straight, so only get the leg up to 90 degree angle if you can do so with both  legs straight. Otherwise lift the leg up as high as you can without bending either leg. Make sure your left thigh is also going down towards the floor (no gap between the thigh and the floor).

 

Supta Padangusthasana I with the wall and a belt. Both sides of the trunk are even, foot presses against the wall, arrows indicate directionality. Credit: https://www.iyengaryoganotes.com/

 

Change sides, 1′ each. Repeat both sides once. Repeat again, quickly bring the leg to the left over the midline, grab the belt closer to the foot and then bring the leg out to the left side (Supta Padanghustasana II):

 

If you have a bolster, you can use it for support as demonstrated here. If this is a very difficult pose for you bring the bolster closer to your outer hip. Credit: https://sunfloweryoga.net/

 

Keep both legs straight, left thigh presses down towards the floor. Stay as long as you can maintain both legs straight. Change sides. Bend your knees to your chest, roll out to the side and come up to standing.

Ardha Uttanasana with the wall (or blocks, 1′ or as long as you can hold it): this is a great demonstration, nothing more to add – please follow these instructions up to point 4! Use the blocks only when you can keep the chest lifted with straight legs:

 

If you have time (optional): Ardha Hanumanasana (half monkey pose or half splits). Kneel onto the mat and bring your hips on top of your knees. Extend your right leg in front of you, heel on the floor – toes up, and slide the leg away from you. Straighten the leg by strongly pressing the heel down into the floor and bringing the knee cap up. Bring the chest slightly forward, back straight. Take support for your hands onto blocks if you have them. Stay 30 seconds up to a minute each side.

 

Credits: https://ambujayoga.com/category/blog/asana/

And finally, downward facing dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana with the hands up on blocks if you have them and heels up against the wall:

 

Downdog with the heels up against the wall, credits Kasia Zacharko.

 

Exemple of hands on blocks which you can combine with heels on wall. Having the hands higher up helps taking the weight back onto the legs and feet, which helps with keeping a neutral spine so that the work can be focused on straightening the legs, aka working out these hammies! Credit bodypositiveyoga.

 

Stay in the pose as long as you can maintain the right alignment, then rest in child’s pose. Repeat twice for a total of 3 times. Finish in child’s pose with the forehead resting onto the floor or savasana for a couple of minutes.

As usual, happy to take comments / suggestions / feedback! Let me know if you tried it, and if you liked it! Also if something doesn’t work for you it’s always interesting for me to hear it and find out a way to make the pose work for you.

 

 

 

A quick, daily sequence for (lower) back pain

I just made this sequence for a friend of mine and thought others out there might benefit from it. If you do, let me know what you think! If you have suggestions and/or modifications, by all means leave them in the comments below.

This is meant to be a daily 10-15′ morning practice, but it could also be done in the evening, and could be quite easily shortened or lengthened depending on how much time you have. This sequence is OK for beginners, though you might want to check with an Iyengar teacher in your area first if you can; it’s always a good idea to check with someone who can see your body and who you can talk to directly about your history.

You will need a wall (and a bolster if you have one):

– start with supported supta padanghustasana using a wall:

Ideally the hip is against the wall / under the foot (90 degree angle) but if that doesn’t work out for you it can be at a smaller angle – this should be relaxing.

(both sides, 1-2 minutes each)

– ardha uttanasana with the wall, hip width apart. 1′, walk forward towards the wall, rest forehead, repeat. Hips on top of the feet, 90 degree angle between the chest and the legs. Bring the hips and thighs back (knee caps up!), lengthen the side chest. Keep the head in between the arms, inner upper arm goes up towards the ceiling.

– then Downward Dog with heels up on the wall and knees bent. Here you’re not working on straightening the legs / lengthening the hamstrings but rather on lengthening the sides of the trunk and bringing the hips up and back.
I would say hold as long as you can maintain the extension in the spine, so 30 sec to 1′, repeat 3x. Take child’s pose to rest in between, same amount of time. When in child’s pose, after resting, extend the arms forward as much as you can with hands in “cup shape”. On the last repetition you can also walk the cup-shaped hands to the right and to the left.

Imaginary wall behind her heels that she’s pressing into. Heels can be higher up and knees more bent.

Child’s pose with “cup-shaped” hands

(bolster / blanket not necessary but can be nice if you have them and then you can also have your forehead resting on them during downdog).

– Jathara parivrttasana, knees bent and resting down on the floor. If you have one you can use a bolster in between the knees. 30sec-1′ each side.

Use a bolster instead of the block (https://rickphoto.com/gallery/yoga/)

– Savasana (with bolster under the knees if you have one)

If you have more time you could add in “legs up the wall – viparita karani” either with a bolster before savasana, if you don’t have a bolster I would put it between supta padangustasana and ardha uttanasana.

Viparita karani with bolster (the bolster isn’t against the wall but a block’s distance away so that we buttocks have space to sink in behind it).

Disclaimer: I didn’t think I was going to publish this when I wrote this for my friend, and didn’t write down where the images are from. Google’s reverse image search is not being helpful. If an image from this post belongs to you, please let me know and I will credit you appropriately and/or remove it if you wish it so.

How to reinvent the wheel, huh, the shoulder jacket

If you’ve been doing Iyengar yoga for some time, at some point or another you will have encountered the infamous shoulder jacket. Whether you’ve had shoulder / neck issues in the past, or you simply went to a workshop where the teacher was working on that region, the shoulder jacket is an easy way to help your posture by relaxing your neck muscles and bringing the shoulder blades close by each other.

A shoulder jacket can easily be made by using a long belt. You can find the description (and many more options for using belts and ropes to help your shoulders) in Lois Steinberg’s Iyengar Yoga Asana Alternatives: the Neck and Shoulders. A short description so that you can try it at home even if you don’t have the book:

• take one handle of the belt in each hand.
• bring the belt to your back, with the center of the belt on your spine, and one side of the belt going through between your arms and the sides of your chest. Repeat the other side.
• the belt should be just under the armpits, with the belt’s extremities in front of your body.
•  now bring (well, I “throw over” but that’s not very yogic) the belt’s extremities over your shoulders so that they are in your back.
• cross the handles so that your right hand holds the originally left handle, and the left hand holds the originally right handle
• make sure that the belt is not cutting through your skin, especially under the armpit, and that the part over your shoulders is on the bulky part of the trapezius muscle, not the bone.
• pull the belt handles down. You should feel the shoulder blades going towards each other and the chest lifting. The downward pressure on the the trapezius should help relax them.

Strangely, I could find very few pictures of the shoulder jacket online. Intellectual property rights? Or is this gem an unknown secret shared by the Iyengar community? If so, I’m sorry, I didn’t get the memo. Please don’t remove my certification!!!! Joke aside, you can bring the crossed belts in between the belt and the shirt, or over – if you’re not helped by someone like in this picture it can be a tad tricky. Also, I would bring the belts on the top of the shoulders closer to her neck.  

While I was looking for the source of that picture, I found out it actually comes from this video where a shoulder jacket is used in down dog. It doesn’t need to be used with a partner, you can simply stand in tadasana with the shoulder jacket and pull the ropes down yourself.

Also, I don’t know if it’s me, but I’ve seen this “buckling” of the belt forward on multiple pictures, and while I understand why people do that, I feel it defeats a bit the purpose imo. I think it confuses the direction of the action. But maybe that’s just me – at this point sometimes I feel things and have been working on feeling the skin direction and such subtle aspects, but I’m a bit uncertain of whether what I’m feeling is correct or not.

Anyhow if you want to do standing poses (or other) with a shoulder jacket on, by all means do so, but I would advise to use a slightly shorter belt that can just hang, or a different version of the shoulder jacket. In that version, you make a large loop in the belt, step in the loop, position the belt on the back / under the armpits as in the previously described version, and bring the part of the belt in front of you over your shoulders. You now have a loop hanging in your back. Bring it in between the belt that it perpendicular to your spine and your shirt, adjust, and pull down. This should keep the belt in place as well as the imprint, without having a tripping hazard.

So. Did you try it at home? Is this your favorite thing ever? Do you talk about it to everyone you meet and their neighbor? Well, I’ve just saved you $30. Yep, I couldn’t believe it when I saw an advertisement for this product online today. A shoulder jacket is a better version (though admittedly probably less comfy) of this product, and a belt, if you’re not hang up on getting an Iyengar belt, can be as low as $5 (on Amazon, not sponsored) – and you can use it in so many other ways! True, you probably won’t go hiking with your yoga belt (even though…) but if you use the shoulder jacket everyday, even for 15 minutes, I guarantee you will see improvement in your posture.

How I manage my period

Warning: graphic content / TMI. 

So, periods. Not my favorite time of the month, and probably not the favorite time of the month for about 50% of the adult population. Today, I’m sharing with you tips and tricks I’ve been using to make period-cruising a breeze.

Let me preface by saying I generally do not have a very painful period. I have, however, had very painful periods before. I displaced my pelvis after falling down stairs, and while I thought I got out of it with only a bad bruise, it took I think about two years until it got put back in place by an osteopath and my period pain became way less, which is when I realized it had started being way worse after that fall. Hindsight is 20/20. So first things first: it is absolutely not normal to have periods so painful that even taking painkillers does not soothe it. If you have horrible, horrible cramps, by all means please consult a medical professional and don’t play down your pain. Same thing if you have very heavy or irregular periods: anything could be happening, from PCOS, to a displaced pelvis, to a contraception method that does not fit you.

Talking about contraception. Diverse types of hormonal contraception can be prescribed for different types of issues, from acne to period pain, etc. I personally stopped hormonal contraception after I noticed that it did not fare well with me (it had a negative impact on my libido – I tried many different and all had this effect). A bit more than six months ago, I decided to get a copper IUD, and so far I’ve been loving it. I have not experienced any issues so far, neither with the placement (I was at work 20 minutes after having it placed and took part in a yoga workshop the same evening) nor with the period themselves. Apparently some women can experience larger blood loss and bad cramping, but I haven’t noticed any difference so far.  I also know a friend who has an hormonal IUD, and who is very happy with it (Contrarily to copper IUDs, they often make periods become lighter or even disappear – which I didn’t want). So advice number 1: make sure you have explored different types of contraception and get the one that fits you best.

I think everyone knows that heat helps relieving cramps, so I definitely advise getting a hot shower and using a hot water bottle 🙂

One of the earliest changes I made about how I deal with my period was actually getting a menstrual cup. I’ve had mine since 2010, when it wasn’t cool at all, and the people I was hanging out with were immature enough to find it disgusting and shame-worthy. But I tried it anyways and immediately loved it. I cannot imagine going back to tampons and pads. I know it’s not for everyone, as some people have issues placing it properly or get cramps with it, but if you have never tried it I would advise you to give it a chance. There are many different brands and sizes, so you might need to try a couple to find the right one for you, but I was lucky enough to get the right one on the first try. And I appreciate not having to change it SO much! Place it in the morning, go around with your day, change it* when you get home, done deal. No leaks, no risk of not having a change – I just put it back in my bag after sanitizing** it for the next period. Oh, and another advantage of the menstrual cup and IUD is that they are zero-waste 😀

* I simply rinse it with water and pop it back in

** I boil it with baking soda for 5′ to sanitize in between periods

Different types of “small” cups (I have the Fleurcup)…

and larger sizes.

As expected, I “use” my yoga practice to help out with my period. Having a regular yoga practice has helped immensely with relieving period pain. When not on my period, I have a strong inversion practice, and I have found this helps regulate my hormones. My period is regular, comes every 27 or 28 days, and lasts 3-4 days. When I am on my period, I avoid inversions (I’ve talked about this here), but I still have a relatively intense practice. I often do standing poses, especially Trikonasana and Ardha Chandrasana, as they help release cramps and make me feel lighter. I find that keeping active, especially on my second (heaviest) day, helps get the blood flowing and release cramps. One of my favorites is supported downward dog with a rope around the hips. Love love love it. If I can’t do anything else, I always do that. I find it more efficient at releasing cramps than any of the forward bends or supine poses. So if I can only do 3 poses I’ll do:

• Supported Downdog (with rope, and if possible forehead on block or bolster)
• Ardha Chandrasana (support if needed, if you have ropes I get my foot supported in a top rope – but I often do it unsupported cause I love the freedom of it)
• Supta badakonasana (classic, also supported with bolsters and/or belt(s))

Supported Downward Dog using a door knob and a belt

Bonus poses: I usually also enjoy Malasana-type squats and supported child’s pose.

OK, now I’m getting to the seriously disgusting part. Period poops, or the female best kept secret. Yes, period poops are a thing, and not a good one. See, prostaglandins are released causing intestines and uterus to contract (hello cramps!) and it leads to more/different poop. Now, I’m vegan, so I already poop a lot. So when I’m on my period, I feel like I’m pooping every two hours. I also feel like I cannot keep it in, which leads to me rushing to the toilet pretty often, or even feeling like it isn’t really safe to leave the toilet’s side. Not nice. The positive point though, is that once they’re out, the cramps usually recede. I find that drinking tea helps both with releasing cramps and avoiding diarrhea, and I do so as much as I can. I also drink some water in parallel to help with hydration.

Last thing I will mention is eating, or rather not eating. I often practice intermittent fasting, aka “I don’t eat breakfast”. I am rarely hungry in the morning, and I used to force myself to eat anyways, thinking that otherwise I would faint or something bad would happen. I’ve stopped doing that, and I feel much better for it. I’m not very strict with it, I simply eat when I’m hungry. Revolutionary concept, I know. Funnily, not forcing myself to eat in the morning has also helped with cravings. I used to have very intense sugary craving, especially before my period but also during. I still have a little of it before my period, but not so much during, I believe because I have found that eating less (smaller, lighter meals), and healthier, actually helps in relieving bloating and cramps. Then again, revolutionary concept: who knew eating healthy was good for you? Finally, one thing I have not tried yet but want to, is eating more ginger. There has been many studies showing that ginger might help reduce cramping and general PMS pain, and I feel like that’s an easy-enough solution. So I’ll definitely give it a try next time before I get a painkiller. Cause yes, if the pain doesn’t go away with all my tips and tricks, I’ll use a painkiller. Sometimes it’s necessary, don’t stay in pain for the badge of honor…

What are your tips and tricks to manage your period? Did you change anything and thought it was revolutionary?

 

The pressure to be so French

I’m gonna keep on writing a bit on the differences between France and other countries. But this time, it’s not about veganism. It’s about the pressure to look good. I had already touched upon these topics here and there.

The more I live abroad, the more I can see clearly what makes France so typically French, and why it’s often seen as such an attractive country. French culture is very strong. It’s such a diverse country geographically speaking, yet somewhat culturally homogeneous for the size. Food is important, art is important, fashion, love, freedom are important, in ways often pervasive through society and difficult to recognize while you’re part of it. For example, I had never understood why Paris was seen as the city of love until I went abroad and noticed that Public Demonstrations of Affection (or PDAs, which at the time I didn’t even know there was a word for!) such as couples holding hands or kissing on the street, which were typical for me, were weird or even frown upon in other countries. Oh cultural norms! The main critic I will always bear towards Frenchies is their pride, for except perhaps Americans and Italians, I have never met people so proud of their countries. Now, there are many reasons to be proud of France, and I am proud of my country, but I often think it crosses borders when it becomes such a strong part of your identity that you can’t talk about anything else.

Anyways as usual I am diverging. I was going to talk about body image, specifically concerning women. I recently talked to a couple of people about what you’re expected to look like as a woman in France compared to other european countries. If you’re at least a tiny bit into fashion, you might have heard of the term “effortless chic”. Well, as a French woman, the ideal is for you to be “effortlessly thin”.

Exemple case number 1 : Charlotte Gainsbourg, effortlessly chic and thin

This involves two parts: first, that you should eat everything. If you’re going to the restaurant, you should eat bread with butter while waiting for your starter, have a three course meal with wine, and coffee with sugar to finish. Secondly, you should not do sports, except maybe dance or gymnastics. You wouldn’t want to be muscular (= unfeminine)!

Exemple case number 2 : Audrey Tautou

So, you ask, how does this work? You should be slim or better thin, eat everything and not do sports? It sounds impossible! And you’re right, it pretty much is. I’m sure you’ve heard before of CICO (Calories In, Calories Out): if your calorific expenditure is lower than your calorific intake, you will put on weight. If it’s the reverse, you will lose weight, and if they’re equal, you will stay put. You’ve probably also heard that muscle mass burns more calories than fat tissues, so an even weight of muscle vs fat will not burn the same amount of calories. This means that if you’re the same weight but have a different percentage of muscle you will not burn the same amount of calories at rest. And of course, the best way to build muscle is to use them, a.k.a. do sports. So these “effortlessly thin” simply doesn’t work.

Why, you ask, is it that most French women still look so lean?

First, this is rapidly changing. France, like other developped countries, has an increasing number of overweight and obese people, as obesity levels doubled between 1995 and 2004. So it’s pretty much a myth that French women don’t get fat. But let’s dig in a bit more, the French women who do, how do they do it? I’m not going to talk about eating disorders (even though France ranked second amongst european countries for rates of anorexia in 2012), but about things I’ve seen many of my friends do through the years. Some are positive life choices, others not so much. I’m not advocating you do what they do, just telling you how they do it. Here we go:

1. They walk. Walking is not considered as exercice, and cities are easily walkable. Furthermore, the Sunday post-meal walk is somewhat of a tradition, as it is seen as very healthy to walk in nature, whether it is a park, the seaside, or a mountain.
2. They take time to eat. When I was studying, we were always complaining that the one-hour lunch breaks were too short because we didn’t really have time to eat properly (we had around 30 minutes sat-down time once you count going to the university restaurant and queuing for the food).
3. They skip meals. If you’re gonna induldge during your meals, skipping one efficiently cuts down the amount of calories you’re eating in a day.
4. To help with not feeling hungry because of point 3, they smoke and/or drink a lot of water. Both help cutting through the feeling of hunger. Interesting article on France and smoking.

Overall, many French women are unhappy with their weight and their looks. When I was living in France, I was one of them. I would never be caught out of my appartment without make up or unfashionable clothes. It tooks a few years of living in the Netherlands (where what you should look like is very different, but that’s for another post) and yoga practice until I found myself happy with my looks, and I often stop and reflect at how happy I am with my body. It might sound conceited, but for me, after years of struggling with body image, it’s simply noticing how much brain space has been freed from not thinking about what I look like, how I could look better, and what people on the street think of me.

Not me, but one of the things I enjoy the most is cycling with bare legs. Especially the first time after winter, when the wind still feels quite cold ❤

Being a gluten-free vegan in France

I’m back home to my parents’ for 20 days. I usually never stay home that long anymore, but since I’m about to move to the other side of the ocean, and I won’t be there for Christmas for the first time ever, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. I was also hoping to go swimming at the beach, but so far the weather hasn’t been very compliant…

Veganism in France is still pretty much seen as a thing crazy malnourished hippies do. The culture is so centered around food, and the food so centered around animal products, that being vegan pretty much prevents you from going out to the restaurant, unless you are in Paris. Since I also can’t have bread, it gets very difficult to eat out. I often joke that my French citizenship was revoked the day I got diagnosed with a dairy and gluten allergy : “Quoi, tu ne peux pas manger de pain-beurre-fromage?!“.

That said, I was happily suprised to see many more vegetarian options both in restaurants and supermarkets, and I was even floored to find FIVE different types of vegan spreading cheezes at the supermarket in my small hometown’s supermarket. I wasn’t convinced at first, but the one I tried was actually really good.

Interestingly, I thought this cheeze tasted a lot like… saucisson. Guessing because of the garlic and pepper combo. Note the pun “tartine et moi” (bread slice and me) “tartinez-moi” (spread me). Puns are a national sport in France. 

That said, I cook most of my meals from scratch at home. I’ve noticed that my parents are getting a bit more curious about what I eat, I guess since they realize it’s not a phase and they know how much I love to cook and eat. However they stay so very French in that trying non-French cuisine at a restaurant is impossible. I made this mistake recently when they were visiting me and I brought them to a non-vegan restaurant which I thought could catter both to their taste and mine. Having them choose something on the menu wasn’t easy… they ended up eating the first hamburger of their lives (yes, a classical one with meat). I guess this was a good reminder that people around the world eat very differently, but this is also quite comical when you know my dad travelled all through the middle-east in the seventies and had to eat snake and lamb’s eyes.

 

In any case, I feel that times are changing and veganism is becoming more mainstream in France too. Hopefully the health and environmental messages are reaching more “omnis” who are reducing their animal product intake. I do think that my parents have reduced their intake, but in any case I can see that my brothers and friends are definitely more open-minded about not eating animal products, and even regularly choose the vegetarian option – with no intention however to stop eating meat, at least for now. When I see how far I’ve come and how the environment in France is changing, I am hopeful for the future of veganism. Cause if veganism gains the strength to become somewhat mainstream in France, if vegan options are available in supermarkets and restaurants like in the US, there will be no excuse not to at least try to be vegan.

 

 

 

2 years!

I can’t believe it’s already been two years since the experiment. I don’t think when I started, I ever imagined it would turn out into a permanent thing. Now I can’t imagine going back to eating meat!

So, what changed during the past two years?

I read. A lot. I informed myself about the different reasons to be vegan, and I realized that I was lying to myself. Even though I care a lot about the environment (see below), I am an ethical vegan. I recently came to this conclusion, partly after watching many of Unnatural Vegan videos, but also reflecting on my feelings towards animals (even though there is evidence that it can be healthy and in some cases environmentally neutral to incorporate some animal products into one’s diet, I would not do it) and reading this interesting piece on vegetarianism and the yoga sutras of Patanjali (please let me know if you cannot access the article).

People started to ask me questions about veganism, and I am slowly openning up to the idea of being an “activist”. At least with friends, I am ok explaining why I am vegan, and also not having all the answers. Planting a seed and sometimes admitting I’m not perfect has its role in promoting veganism, if only for making it more accessible and not-all-vegans-are-assholes. #leadbyexample? Interestingly, I’m the only vegan I know. And I used to think vegans were crazy, so I can relate to non-vegans. Arguing is getting easier as I get more informed, and I have to give a shoutout to r/vegan for its very well maintained wiki. I once too thought that animals were mistreated only in the US, that no harm was done to dairy cows and free-range chickens. And back in 2011 when I watched Earthlings (don’t you love that it’s classified as horror/documentary?!) for the first time, I got easily convinced to eat animals again “because you can’t survive without animals products”. Worst is, I totally believed it. But I know better now,  and I also know to do my research on pretty much any claim before taking a decision.

Which leads me to: making better decisions as a consumer. To reduce the harm I create, both to animals and to the environment. What am I doing about that?

I started looking into the zero waste movement. I replaced my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo humblebrush. I was already using a menstrual cup, but I’m trying to switch most of my other beauty products to plastic-free ones (think soap bars and homemade deodorant – I used to use coconut oil only, but it’s not strong enough for me). I’m planning to buy a safety razor when I’m done using the plastic ones I have. I stopped using plastic bags or plastic-wrapped fruits and veggies, am planning to start bulk-shopping, and near-stopped buying organic products once I realized that:

1) they’re not pesticide-free

2) they’re not vegan

3) they’re often not better for the environment

4) organic produce is almost always wrapped in plastic!

Ideally, I would grow my own veggies in my garden, but yeah, this is not gonna happen before a while. Even though I moved to a place which has a small garden with a compost bin, and I’m very happy to finally be able to compost most of my waste since I eat mainly whole foods!

Illustration by Maddie Bright

Generally I’m trying to be more conscious of anything I’m buying and limit what I do buy. Do I really need it? Can I buy it second-hand? What about fairtrade / slave-free / etc? (I got a Fairphone 2). Food-wise, I sometimes have to make “hard” choices. I’m already very limited between allergies and veganism, so sometimes I will by a gluten-free vegan good that contains palm oil. Because my mental health is also important 😉

Alright I think that’s all for now, if you have advice and/or questions please leave them in the comments below, I’d be happy to hear what you do to limit your impact on this planet 🙂

The weird things you know about your body

My pelvis has a tendency to be displaced easily. The first time it happened was likely years ago, when I fell down the stairs at my uncle’s place, and ended up on my tailbone. I initially thought I had only a superficial bruise and deemed myself very lucky not to have broken my coccyx.

At the time, I was taking the pill, and when my period would be painful, I would put it as a side effect of the magical drug. But at some point I started going to the osteopath, and he told me my pelvis was displaced. Once he put it back in place, I stopped having period pain, and I will forever be grateful to him for that. I didn’t use to have period pain when I started getting my period as a teenager. However, when I started contraception, pain came along, and it’s just one of the things that you somehow taught is normal to have as a woman and so do not worry about.

Fast forward a couple of years further. Not taking any more contraception, I end up displacing my pelvis in a yoga class. Notwithstanding the immediate pain which signaled me that something had gone wrong, the best indicator I had that my pelvis had been displaced and stayed that way was when my next period came, and I thought I was going to die from the intensity of the stomach ache. I immediately recognized the old pattern. I initially tried to replace it on my own with yoga, but though it helped, it didn’t work completely. I thus had the choice between  waiting until I could get back to France to see my osteopath, or finding another one in the Netherlands. The thought of going through two more very painful periods convinced me to get an appointment here, and a very funny appointment it was. Apparently, osteopaths are not used to patients coming in and telling them that they displaced their pelvis and that the sacroiliac (SI) joint is compressed on their right side.

Anyhow, my new osteopath put my pelvis back in place, and the pain receded. However, one or two days right before I get my period, I will always start feeling my right SI. I’m so used to it that it acts as a reminder that I should sterilize my menstrual cup if I haven’t already, and put it in my bag.

What are the weird things you know about your body, and that you would have to brief a stranger on if you ever magically exchanged bodies?

The V-word

I’m a vegan. Here it goes, I said it. It’s hard for me to say, for fear of the reactions people around me have when I say it.

Recently, someone I know posted on FB that they were anti-vegan. It hurts. And there is no good response. If I intervene and say “Hey, so you… want to see more suffering? that’s what you mean by “you’re anti-vegan”?” I’ll be seen as preachy, just because I identify as vegan. But that’s all it means, being vegan, is consciously making better decisions to reduce suffering.

“Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing and any other purpose.” – The Vegan Society

NB: Humans are animals too, so this includes slave labor etc.

Everyday, you make hundreds of choices. In an ideal world, for all of these choices you make you would have all the information you need and all the necessary time so that you can make the best choice. Obviously, this not the case, and we make most choices out of habit and convenience. If you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, nobody will judge you because you choose either option. But most days, you have the power to make a better choice and reduce suffering, and if you consistently make take choice, in my book you’re a vegan.

So with this definition, you can be a vegan and eat meat, as long as you’re trying to reduce your consumption. Yes, this will be a controversial point of view, and I’m certainly not saying that the poor cow or chicken did not suffer during its life and death being “raised” for food. In my opinion it’s better not to eat meat than to eat meat, because it’s a direct way you, as a consumer, have power to reduce your impact on Earth.

But I was born and raised in France. Culturally, eating meat is an entire part of the French cuisine and by extension, lifestyle. I was raised, like most people, with the idea that animal products were healthy and even necessary for survival, and only crazy people would be vegan (since it is unnatural and you would have to be unhealthy). So I ate meat, and let’s be honest, for most people, meat tastes good. It’s convenient to eat. But is convenience and taste a good enough reason for the environmental havoc it is creating, the suffering it brings to farm animals, notwithstanding your arteries and your waist?

It took a long time for me to stop eating meat. Information about factory farm, like Earthlings, the impact of meat eating on the environment, like Cowspiracy, and other documentaries about the health aspects like Fork over knives and many others, slowly changed my mind. Information is power. However, it took me a while. I got diagnosed with  gluten and dairy allergy, so I had to eliminate those first. When that was done, I slowly started reducing my meat and fish intake, not buying any for home but eating it if there were no other options at a restaurant or a friend’s place. I had to learn how to plan and propose to bring food when I travel or am invited. I am still viewed as an extremist, when all I want is literally to do no harm, or at least as little as possible.

Being vegan in the US is so easy. Lots of convenience food, options in restaurants everywhere… Definitely not as easy in Europe. But getting there. I try to lead by example, showing that I am not craving any foods because I can always make a vegan version of it, being very active and healthy so that nobody contests the fact that being vegan is healthy. Of course, you should pay attention to your B12 levels, but then again I believe vegans are asked about their health so often that they have to be healthier than meat-eaters, who often do not care about their diets and think they eat healthy without actually ever checking (beware, this is a generalization!).

It’s not always easy to know what is the best option for all of these choices we have to do everyday. For example, I sent some shoes I had (from before I went vegan, so leather) to get repaired. I love these shoes, and I thought this was the best option – repairing rather than buying new ones would be both cheaper and better for the environment. However, what I did not realize until I got the shoes back, is that since the lining of the shoe was in leather, the shoemaker used leather to repair them. It was too late when I got them back to change anything, but I don’t know what I would have done if I had realized this before.

Other of my difficult choices include products which use palm oil (extremely bad for the environment), gluten-free breads that contain eggs (I usually don’t buy them anymore but it’s hard…), clothing (what about sweatshops and human exploitation?), and so many. Still, I try to inform myself to make better choices each time. I’m not perfect. I will never be. But I can strive for self-improvement and make a better choice than the previous one. That’s what veganism is all about for me.

Conclusion? Inform yourself (especially if you claim to be a scientist!), and maybe you’ll end up becoming a vegan too!

In the same spirit:

So, I’m just gonna leave this link here in case you decided you want to learn more; you’ll see links to some of the movies I referenced (and some more here in case you think it’s different in your own country, I know it is an argument I used to have), Vegan Sidekick in case you have very logic arguments against veganism (don’t think they’re original, we’ve heard it all before ;)). I highly recommend Happy Cow to find out nice restaurants (also linked). And of course, you can always reach out to me or any other vegan friend you might have, I’m sure they will be more than happy to help you transition to veganism or answer any questions you might have!

Brand sustainibility check: https://rankabrand.org/home/what-we-do

Some cool vegan youtube channels and blogs if you’re looking for ideas:

https://www.youtube.com/user/hotforfoodblog ❤

https://www.youtube.com/user/rawvegannotgross/videos ❤

http://veganheaven.org/

http://accidentallycrunchy.com/

http://www.twocityvegans.com/

http://cookieandkate.com/

http://minimalistbaker.com/ ❤

http://www.unconventionalbaker.com/

 

Veg’anniversary

I can’t believe it’s been a full year since I became a vegetarian, first as a month-long experiment which ended by being fully integrated into my lifestyle. It’s time for an assessment.

Original blog post of the experiment

So, what happened meanwhile?

• It wasn’t nearly as hard as I originally thought it would. I was already not eating much meat/fish, so the home transition was easy peasy. I only need a little bit more planning when I am eating out.

• I had “the talk” with my parents (understand: mom). It ended up with the disloyal “I wonder what your grandparents would have thought” to which I answered that they’re not here anymore so it definitely doesn’t harm them. And though she does not understand my choice, she respects it, and that’s good enough for me. It’s weird for me that she keeps on telling me what type of meat she has been cooking, but I just nod and keep going. I cook for myself when I’m home, and I cook a full vegetarian meal for the whole family once or twice during the few days I’m there.
  My (older) brothers are more understanding, but still question some of my choices, like not eating seafood. However, they are trying to reduce their consumption and eat vegetarian once in awhile, so they don’t feel culturally attacked like my parents.

• I still kind of like the smell of meat, but it seems very strange for me that people eat it.

• I’ve started reducing my consumption of eggs as well. I don’t have anything about consuming eggs per se, if they were coming from happy chicks in my garden, but knowing that male chicks get grounded alive and the remaining female are debeaked makes me want to throw up. Since I can’t watch a video like this without hiding my eyes, I decided I should do something about it:

• Talking about which, I once again had the realization of how many eggs are in everything! I remember when I got diagnosed with a milk (casein) allergy, I realized that I was eating SO MANY milk products in a day and I had no idea. Now that I’m paying attention to eggs, same old same old. Many prepared products such as pasta, bread, puff pastry, or even QUORN, contain eggs.

• I got an omni, flexitarian boyfriend, who happily eats whatever I cook (and is actually hooked on coconut bacon)  but will still order meat from time to time if we eat out. I want to watch Earthlings again (I watched it way back in 2010, five years (!) before I finally acted on it, which shows how strong peer pressure can be) and he said he would watch it with me.

• I bought my very first vegan bags from Matt&Nat. I might as well vote with my money and support brands who make a clear effort toward sustainability (and cool designs!).

• I still have issues talking about my choices. Even though I feel much better since I am living accordingly to my principles, I have issues advocating the vegan lifestyle. Yes, I know it tastes good, no, I still don’t want to try it. You do you, I do me.
  I find it problematic because many people are misinformed and may potentially change their mind upon being provided with new information about the food they eat.
  On the other hand, few people are genuinely interested in what I have to say, the large majority just wants to hear that it’s great I’m doing this but it wouldn’t work for them (best case scenario) or that I’m stupid (because I’m not eating meat so I’m deficient) and what I’m doing is stupid, and do I really need to be this dogmatic?

• The opposition veganism gets from people still astonishes me. Even when I wasn’t vegetarian, it never crossed my mind to attack people who would not eat meat. After all, veganism is all about reducing suffering as much as possible, whether it is the planet, animals or humans. However, I see in my surroundings that some people have really strong, gut-wrenching reactions to a simple proposal of going to a vegan event. Said people, however, enjoy the animal-free food I cook…

• But there’s progress! More people, sometimes the least expected friends, diminish their meat consumption and/or try food I bring to a meat-heavy barbecue. Hopefully, by showing that I can enjoy a meat-free life and have delicious food nonetheless, I help bringing meat consumption down.

Oh, and if you’re wondering how I celebrated, well  I made my first jackfruit pulled “pork” recipe, nice burgers with horseradish and pickles ❤