Drishti ('focus' in Sanskrit) is a monthly dialogue at the intersection of yoga and social justice.

It’s no secret that shifting the impact of climate change begins outside of the home with policy change, buy-in from big businesses, and large-scale shifts in global mindset. However, individuals can support the ripple effect of small changes. As we considered this month's theme of collaboration and our company-wide value of Compassionate Community, we reached out to our management team asking for creative tactics they have implemented in their world to support our Earth. We need big change, but here are some small steps that may collectively add up to a giant leap.

Yoga is about learning to feel: feeling both what's delicious and what's uncomfortable. Practice prepares us to tackle what matters most (especially when it's difficult) and Earth Day repeats that climate change matters (and it too is difficult).

While typically our teachers write, this month our wonderful managers share the small steps they take that ripple.

💙 At home, 30 solar panels mean our family is living off the sun. At work, our focus is voting and political will. Our students helped us raise over $30,000 for social justice, helping Sunrise Movement and the Environmental Voter Project change elections and get more voices heard.
—Justine, School Director

🌎 Just as the studios compost all their waste (Black Earth Compost across Boston is wonderful), we strive for zero waste at home through composting and our vegetable garden.
—Stephen Gresham, Faculty Director

💙 I am very politically active with both legislative and non-profit institutions in MA on Climate Change"
—Kim Povey, Ayurveda Director

💙 I do what most of us do - buy green products, eat intentionally, recycle, and as my father says 'turn off the damn lights when you're not using them!' But selling my car in 2019 to reduce carbon emission meant walking, biking, and public transit made such a difference to my life.
—Kyle Morgan, Newton Studio Manager

Sustainability in my life? No way!

When I started thinking about sustainability and my life my first response was “Me? Living sustainably? No, not at all.” I have three children, two cars, a big old drafty house—I couldn’t possibly be living a sustainable lifestyle.

Then I googled it. I was happily surprised that I could check all of these things off this list:

✅ Bring your reusable cup to the coffee shop.
Pre-pandemic I definitely did this and now I make coffee at home and put it in a mug.

✅ Bring bags to the grocery.

✅ Reuse produce bags.

✅ Store food in glass storage containers.

✅ Have many types of reusable straws.

✅ Recycle.

✅ Always carry a water bottle.
Especially if it has a Down Under logo on it!

✅ Compost old food.
I don’t compost since I live in Southie and we don’t have much space for fertilizing soil. But I do have a garbage disposal and I use it.

✅ Opt for no receipts.

✅ Meal plan.
I plan meals every week and take pride in my kitchen management skills.

✅ Keep plants in your home or plant them outside.
Although a reluctant gardener, I keep houseplants and I plant herbs in the warmer months.

✅ Buy better-for-the-earth feminine products.
I use Diva cups so have cut back on years of feminine product waste. Although 3 kids have gone through their share of diapers, so that probably doesn’t count as helping the environment.

✅ Turn the lights off.
I try to turn off the lights, but again 3 children are always leaving them on. We installed all LED lights.

✅ Only run the dishwasher or laundry when it’s full.
We run the dishwasher and laundry daily, but we try to make sure it’s always full.

✅ Take Public Transit or Walk.
We walk a lot in our neighborhood and are barely driving anywhere these days.

I feel silly when reflecting on this list with a sense of accomplishment because I realize that this means I’m doing the easy stuff. There is always more to do.

When I was a kid Earth Day was a big deal in school—there was a book called 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth. I remember pestering my parents to put a milk jug in the toilet tank, to dig up worms for compost, and to start recycling. I can imagine how strange those requests seemed to them, but now the things in that book are just how we live our life. So what are the next 50 things we can do to save the earth?

I will commit to teaching my children about sustainability and the wonder of our planet by exploring nature through hiking and camping, inspiring their curiosity about how they can protect the Earth. Setting sustainability goals regularly will help my family discover new things we can introduce into our daily life to help reduce our footprint on our planet.

—Bronwyn Kieve

💙 🌎

Join our social communities on Facebook & Instagram and share ways you invite sustainability into your world.