Alyssa Ponticello // In Good Taste

View Original

Calm // Giving Back for the Holidays


The theme of this week has been calm, something we’re all searching for, especially during this hectic time of year. While it’s important to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, slowing down, savoring the season, basically all the calm things, it’s just as important to share some of those calming vibes with others who might need them. Below ARE A FEW WAYS TO do that + calming gifts to buy that give back.


WAYS TO GIVE BACK


  1. Help to clean a disabled/elderly person’s home. A clean space = a calming space.

  2. Spend some time cleaning up a local beach or park. Less trash = a more calming environment.

  3. Get involved with https://givebackyoga.org.

  4. Anonymously pay of a lay-away bill and help calm someone by relieving them of their anxiety to get presents and/or spend money they might not have.

  5. Volunteer at a local children’s house. Whether it’s to spend time with the kids or the parents, you’ll provide a welcome distraction that will help to calm them.


BRANDS THAT GIVE BACK


This week’s featured do-good brand, SUDARA, is a perfect fit for calm week for so many reasons. Not only do they sell clothes that are perfect for all your calming needs (think leggings for yoga, robes for self-care Sunday, etc.), but each piece is made by (and helps to support) women who are at risk, or are survivors, of sex trafficking in India and Nepal. In other words, buying one of Sudara’s pieces means you’re helping provide a calming sense of peace for a woman, through job skills, independence, education, being able to support herself and freedom from a horrible life of sexual exploitation.

A few of my favorite pieces of their’s that would make great gifts include this robe (similar to one I’m wearing here) and these leggings (that I’m wearing here). Their robes are so soft and have incredibly beautiful prints and patterns, and the leggings are, no lie, my favorite leggings ever. I wear mine almost every day. They just fit so well, are so soft and comfortable, and, unlike other leggings, they actually stay in place. Leggings that feel good and do good? That’s a win-win, if I do say so myself.