Green Your Body & Mind

Make Earth Day a Personal Wellness Day

Earth Day, April 22nd, is a day dedicated to raising awareness about the health of the planet, dating all the way back to 1970. Not surprisingly, many of the things we do to keep our bodies healthy can also keep our planet healthy.

1. Make Friends with Your Food

Food is probably our most primal connection to the earth and the natural world. Thinking about the food we eat on Earth Day is an important first step to making healthier choices. Here’s what you can do:

• Join a CSA to get regular farm-fresh produce and meat. Or, grow your own!
• Pay attention where your food comes from and how it is produced. Check out SeafoodWatch.org, for example.
• Take a food hike! Foraging is another way to learn about food. For inspiration, check out urban forager Pascal Baudar’s Instagram.

2. Reconnect with Your Community

This is probably more important than ever after a year of isolation. Fortunately, as springtime rolls around there are more opportunities to safely gather outdoors. Some examples:

• Organize a neighborhood cleanup day. Get out of the house, get some exercise and help bring together your community for good.
• A community garden is a great place to socialize with neighbors while doing a healthy outdoor activity while learning new skill.
• Green your neighborhood and plant a tree! Check out the Arbor Day Foundation for information on planting trees (and getting free trees if you sign-up for the membership).

3. Finally, Green Your Mind & Body

It is also important to take the time to prioritize what really matters to youMore ways going green on Earth Day can do good for your mind and body:

• Turn of devices (not just the TV!) to decompress.
• Find a quiet place outside to stretch and practice breathing or lookup local (outdoor) community yoga classes.
• Ditch the car and grab the bike. Invite friends to go on a ride with you.

Not everyone can do all the things to be the Greenest Citizen Ever! Hopefully, this is some food for thought on how some small lifestyle changes can improve your overall health and wellbeing by reconnecting with the environment.