What if relieving all that stress was as easy as kicking back for just a few in a hammock hung in the backyard or, even, back of the basement?

Sounds pretty good, right?

Here’s how it works.

According to research on the hammock site, Hangouts.com, everyday people, as well as trained therapists, have been using hammocks and hanging chairs as a means of relieving stress and physical aches and pains.

Back and neck pain is often quite quickly and easily relieved by lying perpendicular on a hammock.  To do so, you’ll find yourself lying across the hammock, rather than lengthwise.

According to Hangouts.com (also the source for the picture here), The support removes pressure points and thus allows the muscles of the body to relax. Support without pressure points allows the blood to flow to all body parts and thus maximizes the healing potential that our bodies have. Without pressure points the verdabrae of the body can begin to align themselves.

The hammock works, in a sense, like a massage, helping you achieve a similar physical state of muscle relaxation equivalent to a massage session.  Pregnant women have also found that hammocks help to relive prenatal pains and allow them to sleep more soundly.

Many enjoy sitting cross-legged, in a meditative yoga sit, in their hammock.  Doing so, allows the body and mind to relax so they can achieve a deep meditation and a state of muscle relaxation similar to a yoga session.

The swinging and spinning motions of a hammock can even help Autism patients.  By stimulating cerebral activity it can help  increase one’s ability to focus and concentrate.  Good not only for Autistic children, but for those suffering from ADD, ADHD, or for any of us who lack the ability to focus from time to time.

But if you find yourself without a backyard or front porch fitting for a hammock (or weather unfitting at the moment), don’t worry.  Hammocks can be hung and enjoyed just as easily indoors.

Though I remember swinging in our old rope hammock as a child, I more recently tried out a slicker version from Eagle’s Nest Outfitters.

The company was founded in the summer of 1999 by brothers Peter and Paul, who decided to leave the traditional workplace behind and make hanging out a full time occupation.

The brothers wanted something that would not only challenge them but would also be laid back, allowing them to live their lives in no particular way but their own. Starting with a sewing machine and a vision, they began sewing hammocks and slap straps in their sister’s garage.

They first traveled the  East Coast in a beat up old mini van, setting up shop selling and sleeping in whatever parking spots they could find. The response was beyond their expectations and soon the boys found themselves established high up on the Blue Ridge Mountains where they set up full-time shop supplying  hammocks and accessories to like-minded people all over the world.

Sounds like a story I’d like to be a part of!

Find their fantastic collection of beautiful and well-made hammocks and accessories at EaglesNestOutfittersInc.com.

Also on SaraSnow.com

The FairWild certification is a sustainability standard, first established in 2006, that sets international social, ecological and quality standards for wild-collected plant species, and provides a fair deal to all those involved throughout the supply chain.

For more than 35 years Traditional Medicinals (founded by Drake Sadler, a good family friend and mentor of mine – he was featured as a Green Bar Profile in my book) has worked with plant collector communities to ensure the most efficacious and highest quality pharmacopoeial grade herbs for its products.  Theirs is a long-standing company commitment to social responsibility, environmental stewardship and cultural preservation.  You may have seen them featured on either of my Discovery Network series Living Fresh or Get Fresh with Sara Snow. I’ve been lucky enough to visit TM at their headquarters in Sebastopol, CA many times.  It comes as no surprise to me that they would pioneer this important and very fitting certification in the US.

“Traditional Medicinals was instrumental in first identifying a critical gap in sustainability certification for wild harvested plants.  Most notably, of the 3,000 total plant species traded globally, only about 900 species – less than one third – are farmed, with the rest being wild-collected.”  Because these wild-collected species are not included under any existing Fair Trade standards, it became evident that a new certification was necessary with a framework for measuring Fair Trade practices on wild collected herbs.

The new certification will be used across all industries that use wild-collected plant species in their products, including medicines, teas, spices, and cosmetics.

Included in the framework is verification of sustainable wild collection including respecting customary rights, fair prices and fair trade premium, preventing negative environmental impacts, maintaing wild resources, and applying good management and business practices.

Traditional Medicinals “Just for Kids” Organic Cold Care and Organic Nighty Night are the first herbal tea products to have the FairWild labeling.  FairWild certified Organic Throat Coat, Organic Licorice and Organic Nettle will be introduced in 2010.

Also on SaraSnow.com

Green Garmento™ is making it easy for you to green your dry-cleaning in one simple step by eliminating all of those single-use plastic dry cleaning bags.

The Green Garmento™ is an eco-friendly 3-in-1 reusable garment bag that helps consumers “green” their drycleaning routine.  At home it functions as a space-saving hamper; on the trip to the drycleaner, it becomes a stylish duffel bag; and at pick-up, it transforms into a hanging garment bag to protect

cleaned clothes – without a single-use plastic bag in sight! The simple step of switching to The Green Garmento™ will help to reduce the estimated 300 million pounds of single-use plastic drycleaning bags a year that continue to clog our landfills and kill our marine and wildlife.

How It Works:

• Place all your “to be cleaned” garments in The Green Garmento™. (Use The Green Garmento™ in this state as a hamper or duffle bag for collection.)
• Turn the bag over to your drycleaners and ask them to return your clothes hung inside. (The cleaner will attach The Green Garmento™ to one of your garments so that it won’t get lost.)
• At pickup, the clothes will be neatly hung inside The Green Garmento™ (garment bag form). Wide gussets and a side zipper help to keep everything safely in place and allow you to easily access.
• It is recommended to have 2 Green Garmento’s™ so that you can “swap out” with the drycleaner and repeat the process.

Many professional drycleaners have adopted the use of The Green Garmento™ as well. Not only does it meet their desire to be more eco-friendly, it is cost effective and easy to implement.

• Features:
• Made from recyclable, non-woven polypropylene
• Breathable & water-resistant
• Side zipper allows easy access to hanging garments
• Drawstring closure at bottom
• Sturdy loop fits over any hook for use as a hanging hamper
• Durable shoulder strap for convenient carrying as a duffel bag
• Reinforced handles for compressed carrying
• Wide gussets allow cleaned clothes to hang gently at all times
• Machine washable (short cycle – cold) and hang dries quickly
• See-through front pocket for dry cleaning ticket or other customer ID

The Green Garmento™ is available in multiple sizes ranging from 40 inch to 72 inch (48” is most popular consumer size) and a variety of colors including: Black Night, Blue Water, and Green Grass. (Retail – $9.99.)

To purchase and for a listing of authorized drycleaners that currently utilize The Green Garmento™, visitwww.thegreengarmento.com.

I first became fired up with the idea of micro-lending a few years ago when my family decided to fund a bank and numerous micro-loans in lieu of gifts to one another.  It’s a beautiful idea: your loan of a “micro” amount ($20, $200, or anything above or in between) can completely change the life of someone living in a developing country.

Most often (84% of the time) these microfinance borrowers are women, and many experts believe the key to ending poverty and its resulting social problems is in empowering women.  Microlending allows this to happen!  According to the MicroPlace site, Although many women are initially hesitant to accept loans, their self confidence soars when they realize they can run a successful business and repay their loans. They use their profits to pay for things that will enhance their family’s welfare, like education, healthcare and nutritious food….making it more likely that future generations will end the cycle of poverty.

For more on how microlending works, visit the “how it works” page and the “small loans; big impact” page.

Only a few months after my family decided to engage in microlending, I found myself sitting over a plate of eggs and hash browns with the  General Manager of MicroPlace, Ashwini Narayanan.

We were soul sisters at once, and not long afterwards we were flying high about the Atlantic Ocean on our way to visit borrowers throughout the African country of Kenya; to hear their amazing stories of how small loans from people like you and me had changed their lives, the lives of their families, and ultimately their communities.

Now, I’m hooked!  And I’m hoping I can get you hooked on micro-lending, too!

This holiday season, I have partnered with MicroPlace to “Cook Up Some Change” and I hope you’ll join me in doing just that!

Your micro-loan can “serve” 1 to 100, depending on how much change you choose to cook up.  And because you’re loaning the money instead of donating it, you’ll earn interest as the loan is repaid so you can continue to lend over and over; thus recycling your money and helping more and more!

Visit my page on MicroPlace and “Cook Up Some Change” of your own!  This season, give the only gift that truly gives back and keeps on giving – the gift of promise, positivity, and change.

Also on SaraSnow.com

Well, men.  Suffer no more!   Forward-thinking, Chicago-based sustainable retailer, Connect, has launched its first ever e-commerce site C by Connect; the first and only online men’s store with an environmentally and socially responsible focus.

Log on to C by Connect and you’ll find eco brands Nau, Holden Outerwear, Topo Ranch, Coal, Icebreaker, LiViTy, Patagonia Footwear, The Stronghold, and others.  Connect’s private label, SideCar, which uses reclaimed and surplus fabrics and organic cotton, is also available, making the popular Chicago line available for the first time worldwide.  In addition to the men’s fashions, C by Connect includes a “gifts for her” section, as well as sustainable home furnishings.  It’s a one-stop-shop for the forward-thinking individual.

Jonathan Shaun, a Connect Co-Founder and friend of mine, says, “We realized men didn’t have an authentic and conscious online experience to shop.  It’s our honor to finally offer men a place to go where they can find functional and design-driven brands that are progressive and socially responsible,”

Every brand that Connect and their partners work with goes through a rigorous selection process to ensure that it aligns with their values and vision. The Connect manifesto is based on a “not-just-for-profit” method honoring the triple bottom line: planet, people, profit. C by Connect donates 3% of all profits to its Community Investment Portfolio that consists of local, national, and international NGOs.

Sustainable Features of C by Connect:

Save 10% on your first order!  Enter conscious at checkout for a 10% off savings on your first order.

Also on SaraSnow.com/blog

This results in a smooth, perfumey vodka.  In fact, according to the Rain site “There are smells of pear drop, moss and hay in the first sniffing.  Aeration allows the aroma to deepen, especially the appealing earthy moss and wet soil perfume.  Palate entry is feather-light; at mid-palate there’s a firm but satiny taste of sweet grain.  Aftertaste is grainy.  Delicious and delicate.”

Maybe you’ve never gotten that deep with your vodka.  But when it’s organic, small batch distilled, and occasionally blended with flavors like Honey Mango Melon, Cucumber Lime, Red Grape Hibiscus and Lavender Lemonade it’s time you did.

Here are a few recipes to get your weekend kickin’!

Cucumber Rain Refresher

• 2 oz Rain Organics Cucumber Lime Vodka
• 4 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix
• 1 oz. Ginger Ale
• Ice
• Cucumber Wheel

In a shaker, add Rain ORganics Cucumber Lim Vodka, sweet and sour mix, ginger ale and ice.  Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with a cucumber wheel.

Seaside Rain

• 1 1/2 oz. Rain Organics Lavender Lemonade Vodka
• 2 oz. Grapefruit Juice
• 2 oz. Cranberry Juice
• Lemon Wheel and/or Blueberries
• Ice

In a shaker, add Rain Organics Lavender Lemonade Vodka, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice and ice.  Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with a lemon wheel, blueberries, or both.

Laughter in the Rain

• 2 oz. Rain Organics Vodka
• 1/2 oz. Peach Liqueur
• 1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
• 1-inch piece of Cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 strip Lemon Zest
• 1 strip Cucumber Peel
• Ice

In a shaker, add Rain Organics Vodka, peach liqueur, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, chopped cucumber and ice.  Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with lemon zest and cucumber peel.

I first discovered Terra Plana a few years ago while filming my show in NYC.  Someone ran by their showroom to pick up some shoes for me to wear and I ended up purchasing two of the pairs they brought back because I couldn’t live without them.  About a month prior I had happened upon their SoHo shop and fell in love with the brand (and a handbag that, to this day, I get multiple compliments on every time I carry it).

What’s to love?  Everything.

The company offers fashionable shoes with an ethical twist.

The Terra Plana products themselves support theories and actions of sustainability: lightness, anatomic design, disassembly and durability.  They constantly strive to minimize waste, toxins (vegetable tanning their leather instead of using chemicals), and glues (using stitched construction instead), while using eco-friendly and innovative materials to create light, flexible, durable, and earth friendly shoes.  They say that “the totally sustainable shoe is still a long way off but with each collection we get that little bit closer.”

There are recycled elements in every Terra Plana shoe: recycled PET bottles for mesh, recycled rice husks for soling materials, recycled leather and recycled foam for footbeds, etc..

Their VivoBarefoot line goes one step further.  The construction of the show actually works to strengthen the muscles in your feet, realigning your posture, and stimulating sensory perception.  They give you the protection of a shoe with the health benefits of going barefoot.

But here’s what I really love about Terra Plana.  Their shoes and boots are not only ethical, they’re BEAUTIFUL!

Just the other day I slipped my foot into my newest pair of Terra Planas; a Grey (the hot color of the season) Juniper pump.  They hugged my feet in all the right places, felt so soft on the sole of my foot, and carried me on a bed of feel-good all day long.

Check out Terra Plana shoes out for your holiday parties, winter boots, or a special gift for someone you love.

Enter discount code TerraPlana20 for 20% off everything on the site!

It’s the Fruit That Crunches – made of all natural, freeze-dried fruit.  They have no added sugar, preservatives, color, or flavors and they’re all completely gluten-free, wheat-free, and dairy-free.

While most freeze dried fruit is made up of teeny tiny pieces of fruit, Funky Monkey Snacks uses a proprietary freeze-drying process on whole slices and large pieces of fruit.  Each one-ounce bag contains three servings of fruit.  Sadly, 72% of Americans don’t eat their fill of fruits and vegetables in a day.  Funky Monkey Snacks can help!

Funky Monkey just announced the addition of three new flavors:

• Applemon™ (freeze-dried apple and organic cinnamon),
• MangOJ™ (freeze-dried mango and orange juice), and
• Pink Pineapple™ (freeze-dried organic pineapple and guava)

This trio joins the existing varieties: Bananamon^®, Carnaval Mix™, JiveALime^® and Purple Funk^®.

As for where to get it:  Funky Monkey Snacks can be found in the produce or snack sections of grocery stores and natural foods stores across the US, including Super Target and Whole Foods.  They retail for about $1.99 – $ 2.49 for each one-ounce bag.

Snack a little funkier today.  I will!

My favorite, by the way….the MangOJ.  Delic!!

Skin care expert and founder of the natural skincare company, Skin Authority, Celeste Hilling offers the below five tips for maintaining radiant skin even through the dull winter months.

She says that just as we all know it’s important to exercise our bodies every day to stay healthy, it’s also critical to give ourselves a “five-minute beauty workout” each day to protect and maintain healthy skin.”

1. Hydrate Your Skin through Exfoliation: Old skin care myths led people to believe that exfoliation can dry or thin the skin. Modern research shows that regular exfoliation speeds up the cell turnover process allowing the body to produce much needed moisture-bearing properties like hyaluronic acid and helps to plump the skin by churning up elastin and collagen production. That’s why Hilling recommends using a resurfacing agent like glycolic acid. Commonly derived from sugar cane, glycolic acid gently dissolves dead surface skin cells signaling the body to replace those skin cells with new, plump cells. With nightly use, moisture can be increased by 33 percent over eight weeks.
2. Become a Mask Maven: Masks play an important role in calming inflammation or combating dehydration that can result from overexposure to summer heat or cold, dry winter air. For extremely irritated skin, Hilling recommends applying a mask of eucalyptus and sulpher once a week, in addition to your daily skin care regime, which puts nutrients and moisture back into your skin while fighting inflammation.
3. Love ALL of the Skin You’re In: Our face is the most visible portion of our skin, but it’s important to resurface the entire body, including those summer- and winter-time problem areas such as knees, elbows, hands and feet. Hilling recommends resurfacing each night by using an external exfoliator, such as a shower scrub, followed by a moisturizer with 20 percent glycolic acid.
4. Don’t Put the Sunscreen Away with the Pool Bag: Sunscreen helps prevent signs of aging as well as immune disorders, such as skin cancer, so it’s important to protect your skin throughout the year. To ensure your sunscreen works for you this winter apply to all exposed skin (which in the winter months often includes our faces, neck, ears, décolletage, hands, forearms, feet and ankles) and use a sunscreen that gives you full-spectrum protection (those with SPF 15 or greater yield the best results).
5. Sun-kissed Recipe for Beautiful Winter Skin: To recreate a healthy summer glow, use bronzing powders and tinted moisturizers. These products give you a safe, sun-kissed look without going in the sun. Quick, money-saving tip: take a moisturizing sunscreen and add two drops of foundation. Mixing the two together gives you a more natural look for winter, saves you money and gives you healthier skin.

Committed to a sustainable future, Skin Authority uses natural ingredients in their products, recycled and recyclable materials in the packaging, renewable energy in the production, and never adds dyes, synthetic fragrances, or parabens.  And, of course, no testing on animals.

This November Skin Authority is hosting Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camps at stunning spa locations from Key West to San Diego to take everyday people through a Boot Camp circuit and send them home with glowing skin, a personal coach and pages of tips to shape a healthier life.  Find Boot Camp locations and dates on www.skinauthority.com/holiday-boot-camp.

Rainbow Light Nutritional Systems is best known as the manufacturer of the number one selling natural multivitamin line, Just Once®, and the top selling prenatal line, Prenatal One™.

I’m a personal fan and user of Rainbow Light vitamins because I believe in their dedication to delivering all-natural, food-based formulas that are potent and created for optimum absorption.

The new fun and tasty gummy vitamins are designed to help families boost their immunity and digestive systems.

Gummy Get Well Soothing Herbal Drops is the most potent, 100 percent natural, stimulant-free kid’s immune formula. With vitamin C and a calming herbal relief blend that includes elderberry, eucalyptus and peppermint, Gummy Get Well provides soothing comfort for sore throats, stuffy noses and respiratory discomfort. It is the only gummy-form remedy available in the market to deliver more than 1,000 milligrams of potent, calming herbal relief per gummy drop.

Fiber Garden Gummies provides over 3 grams of fiber per serving, more than any other brand. Delicious, 100 percent natural and sugar-free, Fiber Garden Gummies is a great way for kids – and adults – to get more fiber, fruits and vegetables in their diet. Since dietary fiber helps reduce after-meal elevations of blood sugar, sugar-free Fiber Garden Gummies are also appropriate snacks for adults with pre-diabetes, with blood sugar imbalances or those dieting.

According to Rainbow Light president, Linda Kahler,“Rainbow Light’s new gummies can help promote immune resistance, digestion and regularity for both children and their parents.  They are a smart addition to any family’s diet and medicine cabinet this season.”

The new gummies are available at “fine health retailers” across this country and online at www.rainbowlight.com. SRP is $10.99 for 30 Gummy Get Well gummies and $19.99 for 30 stay fresh single serve packets of Fiber Garden Gummies.