Paulo Coelho on saying 'Yes'

Love yourself first x

Are you a first-time Yogi / Yogini?

Going to your first Yoga class? Excited and nervous at the same time? Going to your first class is the first step to accepting a new phase in your life - a commitment to your well-being. So good for you!

Let go of the fear of the unknown - what's the worst that can happen? You attend a few classes, try a few teachers and decide it's not for you. At least you tried. 

Here are a few pointers for how to be a first-class pro:

1. Equipment - ask your instructor if you need to bring anything so that you can be prepared.
2. Be on time - respect your instructor and your fellow Yogis. If you are late try to come in discreetly with minimum disruption to the class.
3. Put your stuff down - leave your socks, shoes, bags, phones (switched off or on silent) at the back of the room or in the designated area. You will be required to take your socks off so try and stay hygienic throughout your day.
4. Communicate - introduce yourself to your instructor and ask for help if you need it. Also be aware of your mind and body and communicate to yourself about it.
5. Breathe - if you do anything... just breathe through the practice. Even if you take Child's pose (Balasana) often continue to keep up with the breath cycles.
6. Trust your instructor - listen to and follow visual cues and you'll soon get into the flow of sequences. The first session will be the most challenging as you'll be breaking your body from it's usual conditioning. That's okay.
7. Be mindful - of the tensions in your own body and remember to work on these each week.
8. Stay for the practice - the practice is usually 60-90 mins so respect the class duration. It's also important to stay for the last pose (Savasana) as this is where the body consciously acknowledges the mental, physical and emotional work from the session. Try to avoid 'sleeping' during this pose and if you need to leave early, let your instructor know before the class.
9. Relax your muscles - have a warm shower after the practice and the following day to relax your muscles. 
10. Massage therapy - you may find your body is aching and it may be worth roping a loved one, family member, friend or even just massaging your limbs to relieve the tightness.

The power of lemons

Check out this great article by Holistic Healthy Living about the benefits of lemons >

Letting go of the ego

Focus on your own practice...

How often have you been to a yoga class and spent the whole hour comparing yourself to your yoga mat neighbour? You end the practice swearing you'll position yourself next to someone else next week. Why lie to yourself? We've all done this. 

Those sessions where you challenge yourself and keep pushing because you should be able to look amazing in that posture - she's doing it or he's doing it! Let's forget all of that. It took me years to learn to leave my ego at the door. We can ruin our mindful practice, strain our muscles and even cause some serious damage just by welcoming the ego onto our mats. 

 I understand now that each practice is my personal practice and that we're all at different stages in our experience and existence in terms of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. It's important that we avoid comparing ourselves to our peers, as our own emotional blockages and wounds will vary. We all need to work on these at our own pace and your practice should be about you and not your neighbour.  

Let go and enjoy your mindful session. Happy practising!

Love and light x

Love yourself healthier

It's Valentine's week and most of the Western world will be working out what to get /do/ organise/book etc for their loved one or ones if you're open ;-)

Personally, I believe everyone should do whatever it is that their heart asks on this or any other day of the year for their love. But what about loving yourself? I'm loving myself today with an orange, spinach, celery, kiwi, matcha (green tea extract) and honey juice. Hmmmm Mmmmm. The fresh parrot green colour and the bitter-sweet taste of the spinach/celery against the sweet orange and the honey is delicious. And I love the black seeds from the kiwi. The whole thing pops in my mouth. 

Here's a few benefits to loving yourself with a juice:

• Oranges: low in calories, helps clear skin and contains Vitamin C, A and calcium - good for skin, a healthy heart and diabetes.
• Spinach: improves blood quality, restores energy and contains vitamin K, A, B2, Magnesium & Iron - good for bone health, acts as an anti-inflammatory and aids function of the red blood cells.
• Kiwi: an antioxidant, reduces high cholesterol levels and contains Vitamin C, K and copper - good for reducing arthritis, asthma and diabetic heart disease. 
• Celery: super low calorie, reduces stress and contains Magnesium, natural Sodium and pheromones - good for the nervous system, age-related degenerative eye diseases and your sex life (when chewed).
• Honey: natural sweetener, aids digestion and contains Fructose, Glucose and water - good for acne, mosquito bites, digestion and immunity.

Why not make your lover a Valentine's treat for breakfast by swapping out the oranges to include the items below to keep him / her energised, detoxed and to get them in the mood. 

• Watermelon
• Saffron (a little goes a long way)

Practise self-compassion

This is something I tend to remind students frequently. Be compassionate with yourself. This often comes from learning more about yourself as you become more aware and mindful of yourself and those around you. 

It's okay if you have a less productive day today than you were hoping for and it's okay if you don't feel like you'v'e got it all together like Linda from number 40 who makes it look so easy. I'm not excusing sheer laziness however, but love and accept yourself. Get energised. Find out what your body needs and when, and then implement it into your daily life.

Yoga is finally backed by scientific studies

Some of you will already know that I encourage doing something nice for others every now and then and offer a free class if you can tell me what it is that you did for someone else. I've had great responses in the past where students have; given the homeless a meal, offered to babysit for new parents so they can have a night off, offered to cook a meal for others and so on.

I truly believe that there's an innate connection within each individual that allows us to relate, sympathise and empathise with others. 

I often remind Yogis to be compassionate with themselves in class and with others in our daily lives, as well as accepting things for what they are. Sometimes we just need to let things be instead of trying to save the world. Once we become present in a moment it allows us to free ourselves of the world's burdens. Learning this technique and practicing daily meditation (even for 5 mins a day - which is challenging in the beginning) also relieves the body of stress and therefore promotes health and well-being. 

There's an article on themindunleashed which gives more information on the findings of the studies conducted. Read the full article here >

Modern day yoga forgets...

Nowadays, we go to a yoga class either for a deep restorative or relaxing class, or for an intensive physical workout. Whatever the reason for your occasional interest or dedicated bi or tri-weekly practice let's try to remember some of the basics. I've outlined some of my thoughts for you below:

1. Food: have your snack / meal at least two hours before your practice. It is best to practice Yoga on an empty stomach so the mind and body can focus on the experience rather than the digestion process. This can often cause acid reflux or heart burn if you practice too soon after eating (especially in the evening classes).
2. Practice time - a morning practice offered to the Sun is always deeper and more focused. An evening practice offered to the Moon, I believe should be restorative as the body prepares to slow down its functioning for the day.
3. Purpose and benefit - each Yoga posture has a specific purpose and benefit. The asanas influence and activate our general well-being, but also our various bodily systems such as; the central nervous system, endocrine, digestive, lymphatic, reproductive, urinary, circulatory and respiratory systems.
4. Spirituality - Yoga is a way of living and encourages positive intentional thoughts, words and actions, as well as awareness of the Self, acceptance of the Self as a Soul, and conscious awareness of the food and drink we welcome into our body for nourishment. 
5. Awareness - the art and science of Yoga advocates mindfulness. The idea of being present in any given moment and offering consideration is really important to slow down the pace of our busy modern lives. It also allows us to ground ourselves, offering valuable time to the current moment; to feel, to taste, to hear our thoughts... to allow ourselves to be.

You can read the full Elephant Journal article here >

Forget fad diets and detoxes...

January is the month where many of us set ourselves new goals and health and well-being targets. I don't believe in resolutions as such, but I do believe in setting goals for myself. I think it's a good way for me to focus my time, energy and effort in order to enhance my own well-being. As well as exercise, we should be mindful of what we eat, drink and the people we keep close to us. As a more holistic approach to 'cleansing' in January. - why not just eat well, sleep well and maintain regular exercise?

Below you'll find a sequence that will help with your detox this or any month of the year:
Parivrtta Utkatasan
Tri Pada Ardho Mukha Svanasan
Parivrtta Prasarita
Marichyasan
Sirsasan
Shalabhasan
Saravangasan
Halasana
Supta Matysenrasan

Can Yoga change the world?

Here's an interesting video about Yoga, climate change and universal consciousness. Watch the full clip here >