Vibram Five and Yoga

It's a good thing it's yoga day on my training schedule as the air in Austin today is going to suck. We're supposed to reach the orange level of alert for Ozone later today. The orange alert means being outside for certain groups is unhealthy. I don't see myself fitting in one of the designated groups but I know how it affects me and that means inside workouts for today.

Shana led the group of 11 in more of a stretching yoga routine this morning. This proved great for my hip flexors, calf muscles and hamstrings. I wore my new Vibram FiveFingers which provided a little more traction. And despite what others may say, that yoga is all about stretching and toning and flexibility, it's really about traction. The more the better. I'm surpised a company like Vibram was able to get a stronghold on this market. I would've thought Goodyear or Pirelli would've locked up the market on yoga shoes, mats and clothing years ago. In fact Goodyear plainly states, "Traction is everything on their site. Look at the image above. You should take a look below how their ad for shoes would've looked.

More on Outdoor Air Quality

I just got through publishing the latest article on GoodHealth.com. It deals with the outdoor air pollution in Central Texas and asthma. The readings for particulate matter 2.5 pollution yesterday were through the roof. Looking around town it was strange. Thick haze was obscuring views of the hills. The readings had us at a 238.1 reading for 2.5 particulate matter which is insane. I think someone had their Hummer backed up close to the measuring equipment. I stayed in and drank some red wine rather than play tennis with my next door neighbor.

I woke up this morning and checked the readings thinking there wasn't enough wind to keep the Mexican fire smoke south of the Austin area. However, when I checked at 5:45 am, the levels for 2.5 and for ozone were decent enough to get a run in. 13.1 for the PM-2.5 and 19 for the ozone.

On This Almost Earth Day

On this almost Earth Day I sit inside (10:00 am) and not on the patio as the ozone level has already climbed over 50.

and food for thought from The New Yorker, In the Air.

In a recent survey, the Pew Research Center asked Americans about their priorities for Congress and the new President. “Dealing with global warming” ranked at the bottom of a list of twenty choices, far below “strengthening the nation’s economy” and “reducing health-care costs,” and even below dealing with unspecified “global trade issues.” The recession seems to have dampened the nation’s enthusiasm for any measure that could affect—or, perhaps just as important, be portrayed as affecting—people’s pocketbooks. Last month, when Gallup asked Americans whether “protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth,” only forty-two per cent said yes. This was the lowest proportion in the twenty-five years since the firm started asking the question. Results like these do not make action on climate change any less imperative. But—especially since opponents can be counted on to spend tens of millions of dollars on lobbying—they do make it that much less likely.

This week, when Earth Day turns thirty-nine, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will plant trees. The Interior Department will host a fair in Washington’s Rawlins Park, and in Bloomington volunteers will teach sixth graders about karsts and creeks. As perhaps befits a middle-aged celebration, these are all eminently reasonable activities. But Earth Day has lost its edge and, with that, the sense that a different world is possible. Even more than in 1970, what’s needed now is an outpouring that organizes itself—with millions of people and, for good measure, some stinky dead fish in the streets.