Home Plants - Clean Air
We are in the midst of a cold winter which means that the heat is on, we gravitate to inside activities, and our skin gets dry (I’m lathering up with moisturizers constantly). But actually, the best air cleaners are… plants!
HOUSEPLANTS! Yes, plants remove pollution and clean the air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be up to 5 times worse than outdoor air. Naturally, scientists are finding proven ways to clean the air inside your home and office, and they look so pretty, too.
The Best Houseplants That Remove Toxins:
(Source: Dr. Niri - American Chemical Society)
Bromeliad Plant - cleans air toxins
Spider Plant - leave out of direct light, best in shade - cleans air from toxins
Jade Plant - symbolizing of friendship - cleans air toxins
Aloe Plant - associated with good luck - healing - lots of sunlight - cleans air toxins
Peace Lily - brings luck into the home - prevents mold - cleans air toxins
gratitude for the energy and lessons we learn from trees and their roots
Tu B’Shevat is the New Year for the Trees. It occurs on the 15th day of the month of Shevat in the Hebrew calendar - this year it falls on January 24. This is when we celebrate the ascension of the sap that flows up the trees, infusing the tree with renewal life force. Tu B’Shevat is when the trees begin to awaken even in the coldness of winter. It's the earth's beginning of health, healing, and awakening.
I still have memories of a project I worked on in high school called “Man is compared to a tree in the field” - a biblical phrase from Deuteronomy. These words remind us that we are also waking up through our inner ‘sap’ - the heart of the tree that sweetens the tree's waters. The trees then began to grow fruit, a metaphor - some sort of breakthrough, insight, imagination, word, action - after all, this is a world of action.
As we eat from the trees that we’re so blessed with, we realize the source and rootedness in the blessings that the fruits give us.
It’s so meaningful to have a specific time of year to remind us to pay attention and ground ourselves in the earth, and then - as I always repeat over and over again in yoga class - ROOT to RISE - draw the sap up through your body into its full expression.
taking in the energy
Genia’s Spoon Me Tips
Tasty Tuesday is tasty and abundant because we have nature that feeds us. Taking a step back and relishing in the acknowledgment of our earth's bounty. All the fruits, vegetables, and oxygen we receive come from the trees and plants. Having gratitude for our gifts is a gift back from ourselves.
FIlling your home with plants is really special. I’m not the biggest plant expert, but I must say that when I talk to my plants and even massage their leaves and play them music, our plants thrive. It’s a great feeling!
Much love and clean air,
Genia Taub