New York Spirit : Resources for Natural Living

Features

Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis survey their acre of corn

King Corn is a feature length documentary about two friends, one acre of corn and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. When they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat, and how we farm.
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Warming up to Winter Ayurvedically

by Heather Ashare

New York City is home to a bevy of Ayurvedic resources for you to learn how to journey through the winter with ease and comfort.
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Columns

[Enlightened Sex in the City]

Making an Asana Out of Myself

by Liyana Silver

As I get ready for Yoga class, I begin mentally picking out what I am going to wear. And then I remember, where I am going, I won’t be needing clothes. » Read more...

[Thought on Food & Health]

Soy, its Benefits and its Surprising Risks

by Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., Ches

I made my own tofu a couple of times, but that was a huge amount of work and I think I ended up with about ¼ cup of tofu from 4 cups of soybeans. Not worth it, to make it at home. » Read more...

[Yoga Guide]

Integral Yoga Institute

by Danielle Winston

A virtual candy land of yoga centers has sprouted up in our city. It’s nice to have one that hasn’t disappeared during the stampede. After over 40 years Integral Yoga Institute remains as one of the few non-profit ashrams in Manhattan. » Read more...

[Integrative Nutrition]

The Truth on Diets and Weight Loss

by Danielle Winston

Weight loss is a huge issue for Americans today. We idolize people who are thin, while at the same time we are surrounded with an overabundance of snack foods, junk foods and fast foods, combined with a lack of daily exercise. » Read more...

[Greenmarket Guide]

Union Square

by Kathryn Papaanek

Say the words Union Square, and you probably think of protesters, artists hawking their wares, and NYU students gossiping on the grass. But did you know that Union Square is also the best place in the city to buy organic tomatoes? » Read more...

[Back to the Garden]

Bring on the Garden Gifts

by The Dirt Diva

Last month, when my local plant nursery had its annual fall sale, the rain was pouring down nonstop, yet there they were, those wild gardeners shopping for plants... outdoors. As if this was normal behavior! Those people are truly hooked. » Read more...

[Adventures]

Clamoring for Light in Costa Rica

by Jena LaFlamme

Usually I mastermind my adventures. This time, however, my then-boyfriend organized the escapade: Costa Rica. I browsed between five retreat centers websites and selected one that offered a “private evolutionary retreat.” I did not realize that this retreat center was in a cave!
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