Balance and the environment: saving our oceans, one t-shirt at a time

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Sheryl Checkman

Anyone who knows me, knows that the ocean is my second home (or would be if I already owned my dream home). From the time my father taught me to swim as a little girl, I have always felt comfortable in and around the water. Whether I’m sitting on the beach watching the ocean’s waves roll in and out or immersed in it, not only do I feel at peace, but I feel a connection to something special. When I scuba dive I am a visitor to another world — a world beneath the sea. There is an enormous amount of life under the ocean’s surface. Coral reefs are teaming with life, fish and animals both big and microscopic all living together in a fine balance. Each time I dive, I notice more damage to the reefs and less and less fish life. There are many organizations who dedicate themselves to protecting and preserving our ocean environments and educating divers, fisherman and the general population about ways they can help.

One of my Life is Balance® designs (above) represents our need to protect and preserve our oceans and their inhabitants. I have decided to donate portion of sales from this design to an environmental charity. The question is, which one? I am currently considering two different organizations. Blue Ocean Institute uses science, art, and literature to inspire a closer bond with nature, especially the sea. As an artist and ocean lover, I like this.

Another ocean environmental organization that I am looking at is Oceana Oceana is the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans. Oceana’s vision is “to make our oceans as rich, healthy and abundant as they once were.” The oceans cover 71 percent of our planet. They control our climate, drive our economies and feed our peoples.
A sentence in particular from their vision statement struck a chord with me:
“For millions of sailors, swimmers and vacationers of all stripes, they offer a refuge from the metal and concrete that encase our working lives.” Now if that’s not what Life is Balance® stands for I don’t know what is!

I’d love for my readers to share their thoughts and opinions about these particular organizations and help me decide which one to contribute to.

Don't ever take for granted the coming and going of the ocean's tide!

No pain, no gain? Trying to keep balance skiing.

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Sheryl Checkman

A Yard Sale at Mt. Snow.

I went to Mt. Snow, Vermont this weekend to ski, chill out (and considering the frigid temperatures, I believe that I succeded). I’ve been working non-stop on my new t-shirt business so a weekend away, in the fresh air and snow was just the right balance that I needed in my life. Saturday started out as a beautiful, sunny day. It was cold, but without any wind, it was a perfect ski day. Now I am a pretty good skier, although I haven’t skied since the beginning of December and haven’t worked out much in the past month due to a nasty cold. I started my day skiing with friends on intermediate trails on the front of the mountain, terrain I know so well I can almost ski it blindfolded. No sooner did I make my first few turns when I noticed something off about my skiing. I could barely control my skis. Turning on hard pack felt like ice and I could not get an edge at all. Was I so out of shape that my skiing could have gotten this bad? Every turn was an effort and I kept having to stop to rest. This couldn’t be me!

Coming down Ridge Run, I felt my skis cross in front of me and I found my self heading head first down into the snow, hard! My friend Bill stoping behind me couldn’t believe how hard that I fell. Nothing but my ego bruised (so I thought) I got up and continued skiing. My next fall proved to be more of a yard sale. Again my skis tips crossed and I found myself separated from my skis, once again sitting in the snow. So unusual was this for me, that my friend Susan, felt the need to capture this with her camera.

At the end of the day I decided to take my skis into the ski shop and see if it was really me or the ski. When the ski tech took a look at the bottom of the skis after I explained to him what had been happening all day, he told me that it was no wonder that I was falling. It seems that my skis were sharpened too many times and in doing so, the edges were higher than the base, so I was actually skiing on two boards with no edge at all. The skis had been throwing me off balance! Well that certainly made me feel better. I left them overnight for stone grinding, where they grind down the base to match up with the edges, and headed to the bar for a much needed glass of wine!

Life is Balance "Keep Your Edge" Ski and Snowboard t-shirt

The following day, setting out on my newly tuned skis, I discovered that I wasn’t in as bad a shape as I had thought. It was like night and day. I was skiing just like I used to ski – effortlessly! Hallelujah!

It was only when I got home and woke up the next morning, unable to move that I realized just why I don’t like to fall in the first place! Oh well, nothing is broken and the spasms in my back will eventually go away (soon I hope) and I am looking forward to the next time. What I learned from this experience is that while the activities like skiing may balance our lives, it takes well-maintained equipment to stay balanced!

Life is Balance Gets Away!

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Sheryl Checkman

I took a yoga class at Club Getaway wearing my Life is Balance Yoga Tee.

Practicing yoga at Club Getaway wearing the Life is Balance Yoga Tee.

One great way to balance out your life is with exercise. Another is to get away from your daily grind, even if it’s just for a nice long weekend. This past Labor Day Weekend I managed to do both! I spent three glorious days in the Berkshire Mountains of Kent, CT at Club Getaway, a weekend sports resort for adults. It’s like going back to camp! During the course of three days I managed to take a yoga class (wearing my Life is Balance yoga t-shirt of course), play lots of tennis, swim across the lake and hike alongside a waterfall, kayak around the lake and even strap on a regulator and scuba tank and go face to face with an inquisitive fish! All the stress of my daily life disappeared the moment I stepped off the bus from NYC and into the fresh country air! At Club Getaway you can practice your favorite sport or learn something new. There is something for everyone: tennis and mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing, kayaking, trapeze, yoga and fitness classes and much more. The food is terrific and there is never a lack of things to do. There are still a couple of weekends left before they close for the season. So go check it out! If you like this t-shirt, check out the rest of the designs here.