Nice Day for a Green Wedding
By Andi McDaniel
If you’d asked me in college whether I would consider wearing a traditional white gown with a train to my future wedding, I would have arched my brow, put my hands on my hips, and scoffed, “You have got to be kidding.” What planet- and self-respecting modern woman would be (continue reading...)

Celibate Good Times
By Dani Katz
“Are you sex positive?” Assigned the topic by the editors of this magazine, I asked every person I knew, and a few more I didn’t. Nobody knew what it meant, let alone if they were or not. And — aside from some vague notions involving Tantric eye gazing, three-ways (continue reading...)

The Marrying Kind
Conversations — By Rachel Dowd
At 5:01pm on June 16, 2008, Robin Tyler and Diane Olson made history. Four years after they had filed a lawsuit for the right to marry with the California Supreme Court, they became the first same-sex couple in Los Angeles County to tie the knot. When a reporter asked where (continue reading...)

Cupid’s Call
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Bestowing your beloved with chalky, heart-shaped candies and short-lived long-stemmed roses is hardly the best way to say “you rock my world.” This Valentine’s Day, surprise your sweetie with a heartfelt gift that will nourish body, mind and soul. (continue reading...)

Night of the Living Dead
On Our Radar —
New flat screen TVs are in, so cathode-ray tube clunkers are out — especially since TV stations will stop sending out analog signals come February 17. But a nationwide boob tube swap out could spell an environmental disaster if old TVs are sent to landfill graves en masse. Analog TVs (continue reading...)

Peace, Lovin’ and Happiness
On Our Radar —
Looking for love in all the wrong places? Fear not, dateless one. Cupid is striking the warrior pose and launching love arrows from his laptop this Valentine’s Day. New cyberdating spot Gaia Soulmates (soulmates.gaia.com) aims to hook people up with a more meaningful matchmaking service, connecting singles with shared (continue reading...)

Get Active!
On Our Radar —
Feeling red with anger this Valentine’s Day? Sure, there’s a lot to be peeved about. You’re probably thinking about all those virgin rainforests being cut down for throwaway V-Day cards. Or cringing about the absurd amounts of pesticides dumped into waterways for long-stemmed roses that will only last four days. (continue reading...)

What Counts?
On Our Radar — Compiled by Jenny Rough
2,600: People who die in car crashes each year in the United States due to talking or texting on their cell phones (another 330,000 are injured). 80: Percentage of accidents that occur within three seconds of a driver distraction. 7: Number of states — Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, (continue reading...)

Urban Essentials
Urban Essentials — By Andrea Manitsas
Open Up And Say Raw You don’t have to live near one of Café Gratitude’s abounding Bay Area eateries to enjoy the indulgence of having their raw, vegan chocolates delivered right to your doorstep. The small box comes complete with two handmade Caramel Cups and two Coconut Fudge Snowballs. But (continue reading...)

Off the Mat, Between the Sheets
Healthy Living — By Kate Hanley
You already know yoga can give you greater flexibility, better muscle tone, a surefire way to release stress and maybe even enlightenment. But better sex? Really? Yoga offers myriad physical and emotional benefits that add up to more fun between the sheets and a more fulfilling, meaningful sexual relationship with (continue reading...)

Partner Yoga
Healthy Living :: Yogapedia — By Julia Levitt
Background: We often put a lot of pressure on our relationships, setting a high bar for how we look and act, and obsessing over how to keep our loved ones and ourselves healthy and happy. This Valentine’s Day, why not try breaking new ground? Get close to someone you care (continue reading...)

Hibiscus for High Blood Pressure
Healthy Living :: Body Talk — By Elizabeth Barker
Sipping hibiscus tea may help tame high blood pressure, recent research from Tufts University suggests. For six weeks, a group of adults with mildly elevated blood pressure drank three cups of the tart tea or a placebo drink daily. By the end of the study, tea-taking participants had significantly lowered (continue reading...)

Sweet Spots
Healthy Living :: Tastebuds — By Jeanne Storck
When Valentine’s Day rolls around, sweetness and indulgence top the menu. You may not be able to avoid the calories, but you can alleviate some of your guilt — and even do a bit of good — by savoring natural, sustainable and locally sourced desserts. » Dynamo Donuts Chocolate (continue reading...)

Sweet!
Healthy Living :: The Mindful Menu — By Mani Niall
More than a few years ago, I spent a summer in England as a private chef for a family with five children. Those kids could eat a lot of cookies, so I did a lot of baking. Rather than using as the primary sweetener in these treats the standard American (continue reading...)

Hot for Teacher
Tune In — By Carly Milne
Sure, love comes naturally. But sometimes, a little extra help in the arts of seduction can mean all the difference between a pleased smile and all-out blissful exhaustion. We don’t have to guess which one you’d prefer. And while we’re all for sexual expression and exploration, (continue reading...)

The Age of Uncertainty
Prophet Motive — by Daniel Pinchbeck
Recently, I have taken as my personal mantra the not very transcendent phrase, “I don’t know.” The list of things I feel unsure about seems to be steadily increasing. For instance, I don’t know if our solipsistic species will survive much longer, and sometimes I am not even sure how (continue reading...)

Reviews
Art & Soul —
Food, they say, is an emotional topic — and nowhere is this fact of life more evident than in the constant controversy surrounding genetically modified foods. Heralded by some as a cure-all for hunger in the developing world and (continue reading...)

Mighty Love
From the Editor —
On an August day just before our wedding, my husband and I went down to San Francisco City Hall to apply for a marriage license. The experience might have been just one more item to cross off the pre-wedding checklist, if not for the handful of same-sex couples also in (continue reading...)

Rick Snyder & Alissa Kriteman
People In Your Neighborhood — TEXT & PHOTO BY ANDY Isaacson
San Franciscans Alissa Kriteman and Rick Snyder coach individuals and couples on creating thriving, loving relationships (askrisa.com). Alissa hosts a popular weekly podcast show called Just for Women: Dating, Relationships and Sex (justforwomenshow.com); Rick leads trainings on intimacy and somatic approaches to healing (ricksnyder.org); both facilitate workshops for men on (continue reading...)

Hello, My Name Is...
Life, the Universe and Everything — By Kristy Lund
My co-worker, originally from India, blushes as he asks, “Do you know what your last name means in Hindi?” “No,” I answer. Could it be the name of a flower? Or perhaps artistic one? I muse. “Well,” he replies, staring at his feet, “I don’t know (continue reading...)