October 2006 | From the Editor
Inspiring Intention
By Bob Condor
Don’t know about you, but my good intentions don’t always equal results.
For instance, I have been telling myself for years that I need to get more regular about a yoga practice. The ancient healing art energizes me in body and mind and spirit. Yet I don’t find the time for it.
Regular contributor Ritzy Ryciak reports from the Shakti Vinyasa Yoga West studio this month to help encourage the would-be yogi in all of us. Our idea for the story was to inspire through specific example and not necessarily to say vinyasa is the singular way to practice yoga.
As it happens, the Shakti West space in Ballard is Seattle’s largest, so our example is expansive in more ways than one. Ritzy notes that Shakti translates to “the power that pervades everything in life.” She gives us a clear view of the power in the Shakti studio on one particular Sunday morning.
“M ore than 50 bodies, dressed for stretching, have gathered at Shakti Vinyasa Yoga studio in Ballard within the butterscotch walls. Participants place their toes at the edge of their mats and hum three powerful Oms. The room begins to vibrate.”
The Shakti center is the only West Coast affiliate studio for instructor and best-selling author Baron Baptiste. His book “Journey into Power” is the No. 1 selling yoga book in the U.S. His approach has Shakti West co-owner Lisa Black’s intentions into desirable results.
"When I found flow it was like coming home,” says Lisa Black, co-owner of Shakti with her husband Peter Avolio, describing the type of yoga offered at their studios. “The sequencing and postures feel like a long and powerful dance."
I have to admit my personal “dance” sometimes feels out of whack when I consider my eco sensibilities. Case in point: I took a couple of trips to the Midwest this summer for reunion and family events. My kids came along and I pondered just how much carbon emissions we generated as a travel party.
My dilemma: I wanted to take those trips for our hearts much more than for any sense of obligation, but I am determined not to ignore the planet compromises I make by flying from one city to another.
So along comes Travelocity’s new “Go Zero” program. It allows travelers to easily click and choose an offsetting donation to “cover” the carbon emissions cost of a trip. The money (not much as outline below) goes to alternative energy projects. The money is this case goes to the Conservation Fund, which in turn plants trees to absorb carbon dioxide. to allow customers to purchase “carbon offsets” when they buy a vacation package.
A contribution of $10 offsets an average trip including air travel, a one-night hotel stay, and rental car for one person; $25 negates air travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for two people; and $40 equalizes the effects of air travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for four people.
The first grove of Travelocity trees will be planted in the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge, which is located 45 miles north of New Orleans,
We can only hope the other major travel sites and, hey, why not, airline sites will follow Travelocity’s needs.
Bob Condor is the editor of Seattle Conscious Choice.
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