What can we do now?
Yogic Activism – from the mat to the world
Be what you want the world to be!
David Attenborough sums it up in all his comments: don’t waste! It is as simple and complex as that. Don’t waste any food, no electricity, no clothes, no water. Less is more. Do I need the car? How can I reduce my flights? Do I still need a jacket? Who is making that jacket? What else can I use instead of a shampoo in a plastic bottle? What exactly is in that shampoo bottle anyway? Next to new inventions, complete rethinking is the only way of survival, according to Greta. Enough talking, let’s act. Start now. Start with myself. Start at home. Consciously save and consciously buy, use and return. Plastic-free. Co2 free. Less meat. Less or conscious packaging.
Our dear Bali Yoga teachers have been helping me for years with words and deeds to inspire our ecological thinking and life “on and off the mat”. Please find a few tips here:
shopping / eating / drinking
https://www.zerowasteaustria.at/verpackungsfrei-einkaufen-in-wien.html
Using cotton Bags + using paper bags (several times), preferably market or bulk shopping, plastic or packaging free, regional, organic and seasonal shopping, e.g. through Lebensmittelkooperative
Refill everything instead of buying new (https://füllbar.)
Flower box/Terrace for growing of organic herbs and vegetables, helping garden owners with harvesting / processing and in exchange receiving fruits & veggies; exchange, share and do not throw anything away; include wild herbs such as nettle into your menu (www.blattunddorn.at) for green Smoothies, soups, sauces, herb paste & salads.
Have a glass or metal straw and reusable coffee cup always on hand!
Kitchen
Removal of kitchen rolls – alternatives: the “good old” teatowels, Luffa sponge and compostable “Wettex”, biodegradable detergent from bulk containers or curd soap + dishwashing brush e.g. from Sonnengrün.
Baking paper and cling wrap in bio quality, or storing food in non plastic containers such as screw glass or in reusable waxing paper /wax cloth, compostable garbage bags, washable ENJO rinsing and wiping cloth, micro fiber cloth – holds up to 15 years – again and again washable.
Drain cleaning with leftover coffee and hot water.
Dry rub steel and stainless steel surfaces, e.g. washbasins, and polish them with flour.
Ceramic pans instead of Teflon pans, absorb oil from pan with used napkins – residual wast
Bath
Bamboo toothbrush, vegan dental floss in glass bottle, refillable (Sonnengrün), homemade toothpaste made of salt, coconut grease, mint oil & sodium bicarbonate, self-sawn make-up remover pads, no cotton swabs, brush or rubber glove instead of peeling, soap, shower bars (Sonnengrün) or self-made organic shower gel, also for hair in glass dispenser or glass bottle, hair soap or rye flour for washing hair (www.xenia-naturkosmetik.at), Cosmetics (www.blattunddorn.at) or buy in glass packaging (e.g. Sonnengrün, Xenia-Naturkosmetik, tw. Ringana), fresh face masks made of yeast, fruits or cucumbers and avocados or curd cheese mix, Aloe Vera plants as a moisturizer.
Drainage cleaning with 2 tablespoons salt and boiling water (dissolves hair), tub/basin/joints: lemon or vinegar for limescale deposits, sodium bicarbonate against mold or to scrub, (prescription for that paste at blattunddorn.at) ENJOlime fibre for cleaning in the bathroom with cold water WITHOUT detergents.
Goddesscup instead of tampons, organic tampons, self sewn washable organic fabric panty liners.
Toilet
Give up wet toilet tissues, packaging-free toilet paper from Austria, toilet brush made of wood, everything at Sonnengrün, matches or incense sticks instead of fragrance spray, cleaning with citric acid, baking soda, vinegar.
Cleaning/general waste tips
Removing adhesive labels: Rub oilstrongly, wire sponge.
Mop instead of vacuum cleaner, statically charged washable dust fibre for floors/surfaces (both ENJO), perforated jersey shirts or old hand and linen cloths as cleaning cloths, socks or nylon stockings for polishing shoes.
Change and re-saw stained old damask tablecloths to fabric napkins or table sets.
Do not empty out remains from water glasses, but give it to the flowers to drink.
Starting now will inspire others with your actions!