WEGO NHBPM - Day 12 - Smoking is NOT a right.

Today’s Topic - Call BS on something. What’s something that is just ridiculous?

That smoking is a right that deserves legal protection. That is BS.

Everyone has a right be who they are. Everyone has a right to access safe and affordable health care. Everyone has a right to practice their religion, vote for the candidates they choose, marry who they love, live in a safe place, get an education.

But I call BS on that fact that people think smoking should be considered a right.

No one has a “right” to make themselves and those around them sick. No one has a “right” to become a burden on the health care system. No one has a “right” to die a slow, agonizing death. No one has a “right” to ruin people’s meals, make others cough, drive people away from a table or a chair or a bench or other public space.

No one has a “right” to make the parking deck impassable and finding a seat in an outdoor café impossible. No one has a “right” to take break after break throughout the workday while everyone else stays on task. No one has a “right” to give their children cancer.

There is no reason to smoke. None. If you want a high, dance, run, bike, hike, kayak, exercise. Fill your lungs with air, move across the floor, run down the sidewalk, glide across the water, reach and stretch and spin and paddle and play. If you want to feel relaxed, meditate. Forget about what’s burdening you, clear your mind, steady your heart rate. If you want a break, go on an adventure. Slip out of the world and into discovery and enjoy a break that doesn’t kill or cost.

It may not be illegal. But that does not make it a right. It’s a burden to everyone, the smoker and non-smoker alike and there’s no excuse for partaking. If someone, somehow feels they simply must smoke, they must insure that NO ONE else is affected in any way from the smell to the second hand smoke. They must not look to health insurance to pay for the results. They must work longer hours to make up for their breaks. When it comes to others, they must make it as if they aren’t smoking at all.

Smoking is not a right. Breathing clear air, however, is. It’s an inalienable right, and its a right that demands protection. No BS.

Guest Post from Megan Wood - the YoFoMat

Traditional yoga mats makes terrible travel companions. In an effort to open my hips I've dragged a rolled up yoga mat with me through Belize, to California, and around Argentina. The mat either had to be brought on the plane as a cumbersome carry-on or smashed into my suitcase. Not so zen. Which is too bad, because one of the many perks of yoga is that practicing it is low-hassle—all one needs is their body and a mat.

When I found out I'd be spending two weeks in Southern France, I abandoned the idea of bringing my yoga mat altogether. I figured I'd just use a towel. (My poor spine.) Then, I stumbled upon YoFoMat, a foldable yoga mat. I had to have it. I ordered the Travel Yoga Mat, which comes standard in extra long and in a variety of colors. ($37 and free shipping)

The YoFoMat folds into a tidy square the size of a textbook and comes in a plastic carrying case. The case with the mat folded inside weighs under three pounds and neatly fit into my suitcase. After arriving in France, I was a little weary of opening the mat for fear I'd never properly fold it back up. I can barely fold a map. But the YoFoMat is designed to fold without any frustration. Best of all, the bottom of the mat never comes into contact with the top surface, meaning I don't have to put my hands or face on a dirty mat.

After an eight hour flight I did a 20 minute post-travel practice with the YoFoMat on top of a rug. I found the YoFoMat to have a sticky grip and enough padding to support my sensitive spine. The material doesn't smell like chemicals, as some yoga mats do. After, I was able to quickly fold the mat back into a square and sit on it as a comfortable alternative to a meditation prop.

YoFoMat is now a must-have in my travel arsenal. My hips are happy.

-Megan Wood