Lunapads Blog

(Madeleine’s note) Right from the first moment that I started talking with Danielle Hoogenboom I knew that I had discovered a kindred spirit: a passionate woman unafraid to take risks to create change (she also teaches wicked yoga!). When she told me about her experiences in Jamaica and asked to bring Pads4Girls kits to a group of 20 marginalized girls that she knew there, I didn’t hesitate, and also received the almost-immediate blessing of a neighbour friend offering to finance it (Thank you Tasha!). Here is Danielle’s story of the trip:

I recently went to Jamaica to teach in Kingston and run my Yin Yoga retreat and training at a small family run space in the hills. I brought a handful of students, a talented sound healer and of course my Diva Cup (I never travel without it!) for two weeks of yin yoga study and rest (yes, we are going back next year, join us!)

I approached Lunapads about a donation from Pads4Girls, an amazing project that helps empower young woman thru planet sensitive cotton reusable products. I was really interested in bringing Lunapads to a group of girls and new mothers in Discovery Bay. Last year when I was in Jamaica I met Sister Jackie and her collective family at the fittingly self proclaimed ‘House of Love’ and wanted to support her dedication and her huge heart for the work she was been doing for nearly her whole life. This woman has an amazing story.

Sister J is an incredible woman to be in the presence of. So much heart, so much love; you must be full of faith and spirit to do this work. This woman has 14 children with her on the regular, 2 of them wheelchair bound and 4 of them HIV positive. The House of Love is Jackie’s small home, well known safe haven for hungry kids, young moms, those orphaned to AIDS, kids whose parents were murdered, young girls raped by family members and then kicked out for being pregnant.

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Written by Ezgi E.

One of the most wonderful things about having a business in a city as active, conscious and aware as Vancouver is that we get to be part of the work of wonderful people everyday. The Lower Mainland Green Team is an example of a local organization full of inspiring people who come together to better their environment–and we were lucky enough to help their cause!

Why do we love them? Because they pull out invasive plants that are dangerous to local plant life and plant native ones! And they do this by bringing together volunteers from all over the Lower Mainland area and exposing them to new parks and plants they have never seen before. According to Lyda Salatian, the founder of the LMGT, people are already interested in helping out and contributing, but they need an outlet just like the LMGT to participate. It gives the volunteers a chance to connect with nature, start thinking about environmental responsibility and realize that they can be part of change towards better. We are all about that at Lunapads!

But that’s not the only reason. The Lower Mainland Green Team goes above and beyond by engaging youth and at-risk youth. As Lunapads, we’re supportive of the young members of our community who are thinking about their environment and taking action because they are leading the way as activists for their generation. We’re so excited to see many young volunteers set an example regarding the personal ecological choices we make.

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We’ve been selling Cloth Wipes at Lunapads for many years now. It’s a reusable alternative to toilet paper that most people don’t even consider. Lunapads fan, Allison Lee was kind enough to give us her top 6 reasons to consider using Family Cloth!

Always looking for more ways to go green, I made the choice to switch to “family cloth” (that is, cloth toilet paper…that’s cloth. Not paper.) almost three years ago. After using cloth menstrual pads, cloth breast pads to catch milk leaks, and cloth diapers for years, I decided to make the switch to washable, reusable toilet cloth after watching a documentary called No Impact Man.

Maybe you’ve thought about ditching the disposable toilet paper in favor of something more eco-friendly or perhaps you’ve never given it a thought. Either way, ponder if you will my top 6 reasons for using family cloth—maybe you’ll find some convincing reasons to consider the switch for yourself.

1.       I save trees when I use less paper.

2.       No extra work is involved. I just throw my soiled cloths in the wash with all my other laundry, and I almost always wash in cold water. One quick caveat:  I use family cloth only for urine. If you’re game for using it for #2, give it a go. But washing those soiled cloths may be a bit more involved.

3.       It keeps textiles out of landfills. I take holey socks, ripped shirts, torn underwear, worn out pajamas–you name it–and turn them into pieces of family cloth instead of trash!

4.       It saves money.

5.       Family cloth is versatile. I have a two-bowl-system:  One wooden bowl for clean cloths; one bowl (with a lid) for used cloths. When I clean a bathroom, I usually grab a few clean cloths to scrub and wipe up. Then into the “used” bowl they go.

6.       It’s portable. When we travel, I take along a bag of family cloth and simply launder the cloths when we get home.

I only wish I’d thought of incorporating family cloth into my always-trying-to-be-more-green lifestyle years ago. Is this something you’d be willing to do?

Meet Myrriah. She’s one of the leaders of Sacred Pregnancy. As a pregnancy and birth professional, Myrriah helps women appreciate their bodies and have a peaceful birth experience. Of course, helping us love our bodies is a big part of our work at Lunapads, and we’re grateful that Myrriah agreed to tell us about her work and why she chooses Lunapads.

How long have you worked with Sacred Pregnancy? What is your role there?

I met Anni Daulter, author of Sacred Pregnancy, a little over a year ago at an Ina Mae Gaskin book signing. My heart had an instant connection with Anni and she invited me to write articles on Chinese medicine for her blog. I began working for the Sacred Pregnancy company not long after that.

Presently, I have many roles with Sacred Pregnancy. Anni and I work closely planning the retreats and sharing the movement with the world. My partner Julie Colby, an amazing acupuncturist in Minneapolis, and I are the creators of Sacred Fertility and Sacred Medicine Woman. Julie and I lead the Sacred Fertility and Sacred Medicine Woman retreats all over the globe.

Sacred Fertility teaches women how to naturally conceive and the focus is conscious conception; at the retreats we go deep emotionally and spiritually with women. Sacred Medicine Woman invites all women to uncover their own innate healing potential. By understanding what healing truly means from a holistic and earth-based perspective, we remember the ancient wisdom passed down by our ancestors that is stored in our cellular memory.

Describe your period for us– what’s your monthly flow like?

When a full moon is about to happen, I know that my menstrual cycle will happen any day. The first day of my period is the only day that I get cramps. The second day is the heaviest. I must be aware of having enough supplies if I am leaving the house. I pack Lunapads in a little baggie in my purse and head out the door. The baggie is used to keep the used Lunapads in to transport them home. My menstrual cycle lasts 5- 6 days. It gets lighter as the days pass.

How did you first hear about Lunapads?

I first discovered Lunapads a few years ago when I was working part-time at a local health-food store. One day while stocking shelves I noticed them and decided to give them a try. I’ve been using them ever since. And I still have the first one I ever bought!

Why do you use cloth instead of disposables? What made you switch?

Taking care of the environment is extremely important to me. I have two children and I dream of them growing up on a beautiful and clean Earth. Lunapads cut down on waste products. When I use Lunapads I feel like I am offering a small act of kindness to the world.

Do you feel there is a connection between positive attitudes towards menstruation and sacred fertility? What is that connection?

There is definitely a connection between positive attitudes toward menstruation and sacred fertility. Our internal dialogue and belief about our bodies have a direct connection to our physical health. Being ready for fertility means loving every aspect of being a woman, and that means embracing and honoring the menstrual cycle. You can thank your body for cleansing and preparing your reproductive system to conceive. A good exercise around the time of ovulation is visualizing the egg releasing and thanking your body for being “Open to Receiving” (which is also our tag line). Any way that you can find to appreciate and be grateful for your body will create a positive effect.

Here in Vancouver, Lunapads is part of a vast web of changemaking people and organizations. Having the opportunity to creatively collaborate with them is one of our greatest pleasures, and we are thrilled to announce what just might be the best one yet!

Pads4Girls, our commitment to supporting the education (and therefore liberation) of girls, dates back to 2000. Over the years we have been thrilled to see the emergence of studies, groups and media that share our passion for creating a better future for girls. We have particularly anticipated the release of Girl Rising, a powerful and innovative new feature film that spotlights the stories of nine unforgettable girls born into unforgiving circumstances. Girl Rising is the centerpiece of 10×10, a global campaign to educate and empower girls.

Given that some of the fabulous people and organizations who we spoke of earlier include Katie Schaeffers, ED of the Projecting Change Film Festival and Sharon Davis, Leader of the Vancouver Chapter of Room to Read, it seemed like a natural thing to do to get together to support the Vancouver premiere of Girl Rising as part of PCFF’s programming. We are beyond thrilled that the film will be the centerpiece of the festival’s closing night screening & gala.

Girl Rising tells the story of girls like Sokha, an orphan who rises from a life in the garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; Suma, who writes songs that help her endure forced servitude in Nepal and today crusades to free others; and Ruksana, an Indian “pavement-dweller” whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter’s dreams.

Each girl is paired with a renowned writer from her native country, and their stories are narrated by celebrated actresses including Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Selena Gomez, Salma Hayek (Peru) and Meryl Streep.

As an added super bonus (and yet more fabulous Vancouver colleagues!), the evening will also feature a screening of Global Sorority, a film created by Loretta Cella of the Passion Foundation, a longtime Pads4Girls supporter and changemaker who has touched the lives of thousands of girls here in the lower mainland, as well as overseas with her powerful teaching, coaching and programming.

Hurry – tickets are going fast. See you there!

One of the most interesting things about this-here Lunapads journey is exploring the fascinating terrain that lies in the intersection of our spirits and our business practice. In our world, it’s completely normal to see businesses as deeply personal expressions of value systems or social change agendas. What doesn’t happen so much is taking a deep dive on how to leverage our inspiration for maximum personal and business growth.

Sounds good, though, doesn’t it? If you’re in Vancouver on April 19th, you will have exactly this opportunity: Suzanne and I will be there, and we hope that you will join us.

Danielle LaPorte — Vancouver-based author/power-blogger, and strategist is joining formidable forces with business development adviser (Starbucks, Microsoft, lululemon) Bix Bickson of Institute B to call on entrepreneurs with visions ready to be fueled and finessed. For solopreneurs, start-ups, team leaders — this is a great opportunity to plug into an incredible range of business wisdom, and take your strategic thinking to the next level.

FREEDOM TO CREATE:
Full-day, Direct Access, Bring it on…

Smart marketing. Big bucks and social impact. Raising capital and raising consciousness. Building a team, a digital empire, a product line. Wheeling the deal. Doing the right thing.

Stamina. Service. Wealth. Creativity. Failure. Love… ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

Date: Friday April 19, 2013
Time: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Place: STUDIO 1398, 3rd Floor – 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R8

Tickets: $500 CAD – includes lunch, a few surprises, and $50 from every ticket goes to charity — to be voted on by participants.
Note: Only 130 spots. Register HERE. NB: Exclusive $75 discount with promo code “LUNA”

Now for some background on the Lunagals’ relationship with these characters…

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What do you get when you mix women, their thoughts and interests, and WordPress? So many things, however what’s on my mind as one lasting impression is that cowboy boots look fantastic with skirts and dresses. Maybe it’s because two of the three organizers of Blissdom were wearing exactly this type of getup on stage at the end: they were crying and embracing and looking absolutely kick-ass, tears and all.

I had actually wondered at a few junctures what the real benefits of having a women-only blogger conference were. None of the workshops had anything at all to do with gender (after all, one does not operate a camera or computer differently depending on gender), so what was the point? And yet, in this poignant final moment, seeing the organizers together, something in me understood.

Technology has of course redefined the way we all work, however in the case of women and especially Mothers, I feel like it’s offered us a “third path”, one that intersects parenthood and paid work in a novel way that allows greater flexibility for the former and creativity for the latter. A further reinforcement arrived via the news of a tech conference incident where a woman tweeted about some offensive comments she heard from some male participants: Blissdom would harbour no such sentiments.

So what did I learn at Blissdom? As is typically the case, not exactly what I expected. I went in thinking that I would hone my writing skills, and came away with a deep appreciation for the immense passion and creativity of those who pursue blogging for a living, or even as a hobby.

In many ways, identifying myself as a blogger is a bit of a luxury – for any of you under the impression that it’s actually me or Suzanne tweeting for @lunapads (hello Morgan!) or sharing on Facebook (hello Lisa!), it’s actually dedicated staff members (who do a far better job of it while we’re figuring out how to keep the plane in the air, as it were ;-). I get help with everything from content ideas to photo editing, all without having to go out and secure advertisers or sponsors.

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I’m at the Blissdom bloggers conference in Dallas, Texas (note the cowboy over my shoulder!) Being here is a very big deal for me on several levels: not only is this my first time at Blissdom, it’s my first time attending a conference as a blogger ever.

Over the years since I started Lunapads, I have gone through a challenging path of personal redefinition from being an artist to being a businessperson. So being here, identified as a blogger (ergo writer, ergo artist) first and businessperson second feels WONDERFUL, like I have reclaimed a very important part of myself and brought her out to shine.

For anyone new to me and Lunapads: who am I and what do I like to blog about? The first thing that you’ll notice is that the Lunablog (“periods, politics and personalities”) is not a personal blog, in fact some might even define it as “corporate”. It’s actually both. Lunapads is a company whose entire rationale for existing is deeply personal, and it’s a quality that we love and value highly in all our interactions.

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My temporary tattoo has now completely faded away, however it seems like just a few days ago that Amber Krzys was here in Vancouver brightening up our dreary, rain-soaked winter with her fantastic smile and contagious energy.

As can often be the case with beautiful visions, Amber’s BodyHeart movement was borne of a painful personal journey. As a girl, Amber’s heart’s desire was to be a dancer. The culture of dance, however, wanted Amber, specifically Amber’s body, to be different: namely taller and thinner. For years Amber tried endless diets in an effort to conform to an impossible standard. The toll of all this self-rejection finally came to a head when she embarked upon a year-long experiment to see whether she could learn to love herself exactly as she was.

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