Even though it is winter here in Estonia, I somehow crave summer food. Maybe it is because I miss summer, long days and sun. Maybe it is because Estonian traditional Christmas food is very much on the heavier side (think pork, sausages, lots of potatoes, etc.) and the light salad is a nice change. Or maybe it is because this spicy, zingy, and fresh salad is just so good and simple to prepare.
Whatever the reason – I have been eating this at least once a week for the last two months. It is so light but full of flavor. I love spice and this is definitely a salad for spice lovers. In fact, if usually, you can just choose to use less chili in case you don’t like heat then for this salad, I recommend just making something different if you don’t like heat as spiciness is essential for this dish. So is the fish sauce, so it is not suitable for vegetarians. I often substitute fish sauce in other dishes with extra salt to make them vegan friendly, but here it does not work – I have tried and it is just not the same. Sorry, my vegan friends. Luckily I have loads of vegan recipes available, so you will not stay hungry.
Asian Inspired Pomelo Salad
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
½ cup cashew nuts
1 tsp dry rice
1 large pomelo
2 shallots
A small bunch of fresh coriander
The juice of 1-2 limes
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 Thai birds eye chilies
1 tbsp coconut sugar
Instructions:
Start by toasting cashew nuts for a few minutes until slightly browned. Then remove from heat and set aside.
Continue by toasting the rice for a few minutes until slightly toasted. Remove from heat, set aside, then grind to a rough powder in mortar and pestle.
Clean the pomelo and place it into a bowl.
Cut the shallots into thin slices.
Tear the leaves off coriander and chop the stems.
For a dressing, chop the chilies finely and mix together lime juice (start with one), fish sauce, and coconut sugar. Mix until the sugar has dissolved completely and have a taste. Add extra lime juice if needed – the dressing needs to be zingy and spicy but also balanced by sugar and fish sauce.
Mix everything together and enjoy. Addictive!
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee.
Enjoy this FREE 25-Minute yoga class from home, before your delicious mushrooms!
25-Minute Full Body Yoga with Keith Allen
Breathing is a powerful tool. From relieving stress to improving lung health, breathing can have many positive health and emotional benefits for those who devote time to focusing on it and making it part of their daily practice. Getting into the habit of mindful breathing can be positive for anyone. As more people take on remote work or deal with the strain the pandemic has put on the workday, breathing can help negate feelings of burnout, stress, and anxiety that may arise while working.
So next time you start to feel anxious or stressed during the workday, put on comfortable clothes and focus on your breathing to help expel some of that negative energy from your body.
People who practice yoga and mindfulness at work are less stressed than their peers. More and more people are seeing these benefits and following suit and the number of people practicing yoga in the workplace has jumped by almost 10 percent in the past few years! If you don't have the time or space for yoga at work, simply breathing can also help people feel more grounded and centered during the workday, which can improve both focus and productivity. But as an added bonus, breathing can also help improve posture which, in turn, can reduce the back pain or muscle tension that may come with a repetitive office job.
Try these simple breathing techniques that can help manage negative feelings that arise during your workday.
Box Breathing: People in high-stress situations like nursing or even the Navy use box breathing. In this method, you sit comfortably in your desk chair and take slow, steady breaths. You should inhale, hold your breath and then exhale in equal time — four seconds is recommended.
Sitali Breathing: This technique involves curling your tongue into a “taco” shape to experience the cool feeling of air coming into your body. The cool air can help calm people who are feeling agitated. To do this, stick your tongue out and curl the sides up, inhale through your tongue to focus on the cool air, exhale through your nose and then repeat.
Lion’s Breath: The lion’s breath breathing method can help calm the body down while also being a good exercise for those with asthma or lung conditions. To practice this method, inhale slowly through your nose, then stick out your tongue and exhale forcefully while making a “ha” sound.
Here is inspiration for a week's worth of mindfulness practices for your workweek!
By Emily Gibson
Emily is a content creator from Austin, Texas, who loves camping, listening to music and petting her dog.
There is never a bad time to set new intentions for success. Intentions are a great way to tackle areas of your life that you would like to improve. It’s important to spend some time thinking and setting intentions with purpose, as this helps in ensuring that they’re successful.
Here are our top 10 tips to set intentions that will actually stick:
Think about what isn’t working
When you set intentions, it’s important to think about the ways you’re not meeting your goals, or what isn’t working for your life right now. For example, if you want to exercise more, maybe change your lifestyle if it is more sedentary. Think about the aspect in your life which you want to change, and start your intention journey from there.
Think about how you want to feel
Once you’ve chosen something to focus on, turn it into an affirmation. For example, taking the exercise intention, think about how you want to feel. You might say you want to feel stronger. Turn this feeling into an affirmation, and tell yourself ‘I am strong’.
Check in with yourself
Before you set your intentions, think about your gut instincts and what they are telling you about your goals. It’s important to think about, as our intuition is important. Think about if your new intention is what you truly want, and how it makes you feel. Your intentions should make you feel a big ‘YES’ in your gut. Think about the words and feelings that your intuition tells you, and incorporate them into your intentions.
Use symbols
The unconscious mind communicates using symbols, and using them can help to accelerate changes and make them stick. Imagine a symbol that represents the way you want to feel, and try to use all of your senses. Think of sounds, smells, tastes and feelings associated with your intentions and visualize them. This will help when you think about your intentions.
Meditation
Meditation is great for thinking about and focusing on your intentions. Sit down and imagine your new intention and desired reality. Imagine receiving everything you desire, magnetically without effort or struggle. This will help to regain your focus and keep your intentions close to your heart. You can always visualize a daydream with your desired intention already fulfilled. Visualization will help manifest your intentions.
Set small goals for yourself
While thinking and visualizing your intentions, think about the action steps you can make to make your intentions a reality. Having a plan with small goals is essential to acting on your intentions and reaching your goals. Think of several small steps you can take over the next few weeks or months. This will help you to avoid procrastination.
Find small ways you can meet your goals
If you already have habits where it’s easy to slip your new intentions into, it’s a lot easier to start slowly. For example, if you want to exercise more, try and do something active every time you take a break at work, like stretching or going for a short walk. Instead of finding extra time to add in a new habit, it becomes easier to add it to things you already do.
Brainstorm ideas
After setting your intentions, brainstorm ideas and ways you can bring your new intentions into your life. While you brainstorm, think of your symbol. Brainstorming is a great way to help you come up with ideas to bring your intentions into your day-to-day life.
Connect with your intentions often
Repeating your inventions to yourself in the morning and at night is a great way to stay focused and to increase your ability to achieve them. Try to think of your symbol too, throughout your day, and you will see much more success.
Celebrate your success
At the end of each day, check-in with yourself and see how well you’ve done. Celebrate your successes and check in regularly. Perhaps every morning or evening, while you connect with your intentions. This can help keep your momentum and help to find new ways to integrate your intentions into your life.
By Amy Cavill
Bring your resolutions and intentions to life with the Meditate to Manifest series!
Raise your hand if you committed to a consistent yoga practice in 2022 but now, you’re having a challenging time stepping onto the mat regularly. You aren’t alone.
We get it––life is busy. Despite our best intentions, sometimes our healthy habits are the first item dropped from our schedule. But self-care is essential to our well-being and the more energy we dedicate to our yoga practice, the more energy we have for everything else in our lives. We’re here to save the day with condensed classes that pack in all the yoga benefits you crave in half the time.
Thank quality over quantity. What is key to establishing a habit is consistency. Even as little as fifteen minutes a day can make a major impact on your health! Don’t feel you have to take a 90-minute yoga class seven days a week to be more strong, flexible, and balanced. Most of us can’t swing that much time, but every one of us has the same twenty-four hours in a day.
Look at your calendar and find a pocket of time where you can squeeze in a quick practice. Maybe that means setting your alarm thirty minutes earlier taking a yoga class at lunchtime or not turning on the T.V. when you arrive home. Choose to put your personal health at the top of your priority list and rejuvenate yourself.
By practicing yoga in consistent small chunks, you’ll tap into all of yoga’s myriad of benefits. On the physical level, you’ll build strength, enhance, improve your posture, keep your digestion flowing, and hone your sense of balance. We tend to store our feelings in our tissues, so on an emotional level, you’ll experience more level moods, increased energy, and a sense of santosha or contentment. Mentally, you can clear your mind of the clutter and enjoy more focus and clarity.
Ready to try it? This week, we have four classes that will satisfy your craving for that yoga buzz, all in less than thirty minutes a day. These quick practices will reap great rewards, with minimal time. Let’s do this!
Fitness 'n' Yoga: Energy Boost with Ben Davis
Caitlin Rose Kenney - Stability Practice
Maria Garre - Beat the Winter Blues Namaskar
Keith Allen - 20-Minute Yoga Fix
These squares are a nice sour pop to finish dinner. Do you know these fancy restaurants where at the end of the meal they bring you petit fours? These squares would be perfect there, so if you wish to feel fancy or surprise your dinner party guests with something extra – make these! They don’t take too long to make, but they definitely impress!
I love passionfruit in any form – so fresh, sour, and tropical and I often use it as a topping for cakes and panna cotta. It is a strong flavor and a little goes a long way. The same with these squares – only a few are enough to satisfy a craving. You can keep the rest in an airtight container in your fridge for several weeks.
The cooking process is very simple, but it is important to remember that agar-agar needs to be boiled for a few minutes to activate it. Believe me, I have missed the boiling part in the past and it does not work without it! So learn from my mistakes and simmer it for a few minutes!
Passionfruit Jelly Squares
Cooking time: 10 minutes + setting time
1 cup passionfruit puree (if using fresh just put the pulp through a sieve to remove the seeds. If used store-bought ones, make sure it is without much added sugar)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp agar-agar
¼ cup shredded coconut
Place passionfruit puree, sugar, and agar-agar powder in a pot, bring to boil, and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes stirring now and then.
Line a plate (a square one would be best) with clingfilm and sprinkle half of the coconut to the bottom.
Remove the passionfruit mix from heat and let it slightly cool. Then pour over the coconut flakes and sprinkle the rest of the coconut on top.
Let it set in the fridge for at least an hour, then cut to squares and store in an airtight container.
Try this Yoga Challenge for Busy People to get daily yoga into your busy schedule!
Alleviates Stress and Anxiety: Stress, pressure, fatigue, poor diet, alcohol, and drugs damage neural connections between the brain’s prefrontal cortex and the rest of the brain. When you are fatigued or under intense mental or physical stress, the brain bypasses its rational frontal executive circuits. This respectively causes you to respond to daily tasks impulsively with shortsighted decisions. Emotions, such as fear and anger, are heightened and take over.
Meditation brings restful alertness, reducing stress and strengthening the communication between the brain’s prefrontal cortex and different areas of the brain. Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex, causing brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex to move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression, and anxiety and there is less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear.
Helps fight Disease: Meditation can help reduce pain and enhance the body’s immune system, enabling it to better fight disease. Emotional stress has been shown to increase activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis. This results in activation of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol, which lead to faster heart rate, increased cardiac output, and narrower arteries. These processes result in increased blood pressure and enable the path to coronary heart disease and stroke. Meditation techniques reduce activation of the sympathetic nervous system dilating the blood vessels and reduces those stress hormones, such as adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol, providing stress relief.
Brings Peaceful Sleep: Without a doubt, meditation is excellent to battle insomnia. Techniques such as So Hum Mantra Meditation or Breath Awareness Meditation, and Zen Meditation Technique are excellent to help you get to a peaceful place in sleep.
Helps Invigorate Effectiveness in the Workplace: When the immune system is receiving some assistance, brain functioning is heightened and stress is handled effectively, anyone will experience ease in your everyday lifestyle. Relationships are more easily kept and increased, leadership behavior is increased, overall satisfaction is increased, impulsiveness is decreased, and there is a blissful calmness and desire to contribute to your work life more effectively with enthusiasm.
By Elise Fabricant
Elise Fabricant is a top teacher on YogaDownload.com. She's also always at your service for one-on-one coaching. If you’re ready to make big changes in all aspects of your life, sign up for a complimentary clarity session with her from her website here.
Practice this free yoga class with Elise!
Morning Yoga Quickie 2 with Elise
The bandhas are energetic locks in the body that help control of the flow of energy, prana, or life force, in your body. Engaging the bandhas creates more depth and richness in your yoga practice. They can help you get into postures more deeply, and in a safer way, as well as improve the function of energy throughout your entire body.
Jalandhara bandha – the throat lock
Jalandhara Bandha is the lock, or hold, that controls the flow of energy in the neck, throat, and chin. Jalandhara is the locking of the energy flow through the nerves and vessels of the neck area. When engaged with Khecari mudra (curling the tip of your tongue back to the roof of your mouth), its benefits are further amplified. This energetic lock helps fine-tune the flow of prana to the heart, neck, and head. It also helps keep the brain calm and helps balance the thyroid.
How to engage Jalandhara bandha:
Find a comfortable seat. As you breathe in, energetically lift up the crown of the head and the roof of the mouth. Retain the breath and lower your chin to your sternum and also lift your sternum to your chin. Hollow the front of the throat by lengthening the back of your neck and also relaxing your shoulders. Continue to feel the roof of your mouth and crown of your head lift upwards.
Similar to the other two bandhas (Mula bandha and Uddiyana bandha), explore this one gently to begin and don’t over effort. There is also an energy of lifting upward (through the top of the head and base of the throat) in this bandha, even as the throat constricts.
While this bandha can be engaged in most postures, there are postures that contradict this constriction of the throat. Think of postures like Camel or Wheel pose where the throat is opening. Even in these postures, you can find a hint of Jalandhara bandha, even while seemingly doing the opposite in the asana. Even as your throat opens in such postures, explore energetically drawing the base of the throat in and up, and towards the roof of the mouth to keep the energetic lock and length through the top of the head.
Align with nature and detox with Pradeep Teotia! One of the most powerful ways to feel your best is to align with nature. Instead of swimming against the current, when you go with the flow, it’s easier to lighten up. We’ve just experienced a Full Moon, which symbolizes the beginning of a period of releasing feelings of heaviness and stagnancy, inside and out. It’s the perfect time to join our 10-day Detox Immersion with Pradeep and shed what’s no longer serving you.
Now that we’re three weeks into the new year, take a moment to contemplate how you’re feeling. Are you ready to pause and assess exactly what you’re ready to release to create space for something fresh? Whether you’ve got some repetitive negative thoughts, unpleasant emotions, or tight hips that are preventing you from feeling content, it is time to purge.
For two weeks of the month, the moon waxes from a sliver to a Full Moon and it is the time to open up to new experiences and start new projects. But what happens if you don’t have the room to invite in the new?
During the two weeks when the Full Moon wanes, it’s an opportune time to shed whatever is weighing you down. We’re in that period right now and we know you’ll love the immersion’s focus on detoxification. Physically, this program will help you feel stronger and lighter. The choice of poses and breathing techniques provide powerful benefits for your digestion, elimination, and circulation. As a result, your vitality and energy levels soar.
On the mental and emotional level, the emphasis on cleansing can lift your mood and help you find a place of lightness and clarity. One of yoga’s greatest benefits lies in its ability to help us quiet our minds and filter out external noise. Sometimes we don’t even know what is weighing us down or preventing us from feeling our best. Through mindful movement and intensive pranayama (breathing techniques), we can consciously shift energy out and feel invigorated, no matter what it may be.
We’re here to support you while you focus on your optimal health. Just as the moon diminishes in the sky, you can reduce feelings of sluggishness on every level of your being. Happy Detox!
Here is a unique little snack for your next celebration! Everybody knows regular cheese balls, but these are 10 times better! Goat cheese balls!
I rarely eat deep-fried food, especially homemade deep-fried food as the amount of oil used is crazy. But these balls are an exception and totally worth it! The zinginess of goat's cheese cuts through the deep-fried fattiness and the balls end up being highly addictive. I recommend preparing a bigger batch and storing them in a container in the freezer. This way a quick appetizer is always ready in minutes. In addition to just snacking on them straight out of the bowl, I also like to use them instead of croutons for soups (pumpkin!) and in a salad with lambs lettuce and fresh pears dressed in lemon, olive oil, and honey.
Goat Cheese Balls
Cooking time: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)
Makes: 40 balls
14 oz soft goat’s cheese
½ cup flour
1 egg
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying (at least 2 cups depending on the size of your pot)
To serve:
¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts
2 tsp of honey mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice
Divide the goat's cheese into 40 equal pieces and roll into little balls.
Beat the egg in one bowl with a little salt and pepper. Place flour and panko in two separate bowls, so you end up with 3 bowls for a small production line.
Roll the balls in flour, then egg and let the excess drip off, finally in the panko.
Freeze the balls for at least 30 minutes before cooking. You can also make these ahead and store them in the freezer for at least a month)
Once ready to cook, heat the oil in a small pot until very hot. Fry the balls in small batches until golden. It only takes around 1 minute. Then drain on paper towels.
To serve, drizzle the balls with the honey-lemon mixture and sprinkle with walnuts.
The Full Moon moves goddess consciousness towards the initial framework for new creative expression. This is the first layer awakening beyond previous boundaries. We enter the phase of creating new references with the outer world from the soul self. Consciousness is always testing and recreating its ‘known’ spaces through the push and pull of divine feminine and masculine.
And this Full Moon the push and pull of forces shifts, marking a new feminine creative outpouring. The Full Moon will rise in her own house of Cancer at an exalted point within the cosmos.
The week leading into this Full Moon was very spiritualizing with all the planets clustered together between Rahu, North Node, and Ketu, South Node. The compounding energies work the deeper sense of self and how life force was and is distributed into ‘foundation’. Energies are moving along the restructuring and simultaneously preparing to welcome new forms within the self and the known. The simultaneous energy worked through healing old traumas, old foundations that once held ‘safety’ ‘perceptions’ ‘guidelines’ but also that bound expression.
What was, has served to be the new launching point of what will be. Yet, this time it’s different. The foundation is no longer there. You must carry forward deeper wisdom that is untethered from the previous world. It can feel disorientating, it can be thrilling then shift into fear. Call upon your trust. Honor what was in existence, offer the old self and the old world the highest form of gratitude and love.
These healing forces will pour love into self-acceptance so new realities may blossom beyond the known constructs of self and the world. All of these forces of undoing, rebuilding, soothing, pushing, is preparation. It is tilling the soil. This is what we call preparing the self and world for the soul, or higher conscious awakening. This moon will work heavily into healing and preparing the new foundation for new goals, new experiences, a new self. It is heavily aspected to how we nurture our dreams, goals, and higher self. There is a lot of healing energy but also a lot of introspection that will offer new mental connections to self and the world.
There is an undoing of karmic binds, and new wisdom will fill into the spaces to create new perspectives along with releasing negative emotions such as resentment or separateness (victimization). Unity within self is taking a stronger hold, which allows more grace and understanding to flow from the self unto all experiences. Challenges around embodiment, focus, and integrity will arise. This is alignment in its highest form. To be, think, act, see, speak that which you seek. To have truth, honesty, justice, and patience in alignment. It's a chance to clean the spaces within the mind, body, and environment that are misaligned.
Use Mercury retrograde to access higher wisdom and get clear on what you need to bring life into, what needs to be cleaned out, and what needs to be recalibrated to fit your highest self. February will bring a bit more energy for these insights to take form. But, this month it's about rechanneling your energy and getting focused on who you are and the total environment of the self-mind, body, soul, and space. Asanas (yoga poses) that best work with this Full Moon are rooted heart openers: Cobra pose, Lord of the fishes, Cat/Cow, and Mermaid
By Geenie (Gemma) Celento
Geenie, also known as Gemma, is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, astrologer and student of the Sri Vidya Tantric lineage. Her website is here. Her classes on YogaDownload are often inspired by astrology and aimed to guide each student to unfold a deeper connection from within. Her diverse knowledge and continued studies in the spiritual sciences can be felt in her class offerings. With humble devotion Gemma weaves the wisdom of yogic practices into accessible and impactful mat experiences.
You can book a Cosmobiology Consultation- Ayurveda with Astrology reading or other offerings of hers, here! Practice Geenie's Yoga & Astrology program now!
Prenatal yoga is a healthy practice to pick up during your pregnancy, but you might be wondering what specific benefits practicing yoga during pregnancy can give you - read on for our top benefits of prenatal yoga and some tips to get you started, so you can see a positive difference during your pregnancy!
Supports the changes in your body
Our bodies are constantly changing, and that’s, even more, the case during pregnancy. The body experiences a faster pace of change, and can sometimes need help adjusting, or compensating for the changes. Prenatal yoga is a great way to support your body in the ways it’s changing, as it gives you a healthy and safe way to stretch muscles and strengthen them, helping you to support your pregnancy belly.
Tones key muscle groups
Prenatal yoga can help to tone your body, especially in key areas for the birthing process including your pelvic floor, your hips, and your abdominal core muscles. Toned muscles have a perfect balance between length and strength, and this is important during pregnancy! Building up and maintaining your muscle tones during pregnancy through yoga can help to minimize any aches or pains during your pregnancy, and can also help you if you want to return to your pre-pregnancy body after delivery.
Prepares you for labor and birth
Prenatal yoga classes can help you to realize just what your body can do and how it can open up. Labor and birth is a stressful time and women can experience fear, leading to their bodies to tighten up and creating more pain. If you practice yoga techniques like deep and mindful breathing, you can help your body to relax and loosen, which will help you along the birthing process.
Connects you with your baby
Even going to a prenatal yoga class once a week will help you to remember to take time out of your busy schedule to do something for, and bond with your growing baby. If you start when you first fall pregnant, you’ll start to notice how your body responds differently to yoga poses, showing you all the physical changes that are happening within your body, and noticing how your baby is growing inside of it.
Relieves common pregnancy complaints
Being pregnant comes with a lot of side effects, including lower back pain, nausea, insomnia, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, and shortness of breath. Yoga can help alleviate some of these symptoms, by stretching and toning the muscles to help the blood circulate throughout the body. Additionally, the deep breathing that you do in yoga can help to bring oxygen to your baby and to your own body.
Studies have shown that mindfulness yoga, which combines the physical movements of yoga with meditation, can also help to alleviate depression or anxiety which many people suffer from during pregnancy.
Makes your pregnancy healthier
Unsurprisingly, research confirms that a healthy mother has a higher chance of having a healthy baby. And studies have actually shown that mothers who practice yoga regularly during their pregnancies are less likely to have an early labor or to deliver a low-birthweight baby.
Allows you to make friends with other like-minded people
One of the best benefits of a prenatal yoga class is the community you can find. It’s a great way to connect with other expectant mothers, and you can connect with people going through the same experience as you, which makes it easier to ask for advice, almost like a pregnancy support group. Sharing pregnancy with other people going through the same can help to ease any anxiety you may be feeling about motherhood.
Things to keep in mind for prenatal yoga: It’s important to protect yourself and your baby during any kind of exercise when pregnant. Here are a few safety guidelines to consider.
Talking to your doctor
Before beginning any exercise, make sure you have the all-okay from your doctor. Some conditions, such as back problems or heart disease, as well as increased risk of preterm labor, mean that prenatal yoga may be risky for you.
Set goals
While pregnant, you won’t be able to workout out as much or as hard as you used to. Try at least 30 minutes of moderate activity a day, and don’t push yourself too hard - any length of workout is still good and can help you to stay in shape and prepare for labor. And remember, if you can’t speak properly while working out - you might be pushing yourself too much.
Stay cool and stay hydrated
Make sure you practice yoga in a well-ventilated room that you can breathe in, that won’t get too warm. This can help you avoid overheating. Making sure you drink plenty of water before, during and after your workout can also help you to stay hydrated.
Watch out for certain postures
Your instructor should tell you which poses you can do while pregnant, but some things to watch out for are to maintain normal spine curvature - you can do this by bending from your hips instead of your back. Also, avoid lying on your belly, or your back. You should also avoid doing any deep forward or backward bends, as well as twisting poses that put pressure on your abdomen. You can modify poses and use props to accommodate changes in your body and center of gravity. Remember, if you’re not sure it’s safe - ask for advice!
It’s a new year and a wonderful time to celebrate new life, so if you’re anticipating the birth of your child or recently had a baby, this week’s classes are for you. Pre-natal and post-natal yoga can support you on your mother’s journey by helping manage stress, maintain strength and flexibility, and encourage overall well-being. Because your body is different during this important time, it’s important to practice yoga in a safe and effective manner that meets your specific needs.
Whether you’re an experienced yogi or a newbie, there are classes that will work for you. This week’s pre-natal and post-natal yoga practices are designed by teachers experienced with working with all phases for expectant mothers and new moms. If you’re looking for a studio near you, make sure the instructor has a special certification for pre-natal and post-natal yoga, because additional considerations are involved!
Pre-Natal Yoga: Pre-Natal yoga can help you prepare for labor by enhancing sleep, lowering stress levels, strengthening muscles engaged during childbirth, and maintaining levels of fitness while your body transforms. Many women find a sense of peace and calmness, along with relief from lower back pain and tightness. An emphasis on Pranayama, breath control techniques, can help you prepare for labor.
Different protocols apply as your pregnancy progresses, so having a knowledgeable teacher is vital. For example, twists should be avoided and once your baby bump grows, laying on the stomach and various core exercises are no longer viable. Also, it’s important to remember that the baby is always hotter than the mama, so stay away from hot yoga and getting overheated. Yoga can truly enhance your pregnancy by helping you feel great.
Post-Natal Yoga: After the baby comes, you may feel ready to resume yoga in a few days or maybe not for a few months. There’s no need to rush it, but if your doctor clears you for activity and you want all those yummy yoga benefits, take a class designed for your specific needs. Remember, nothing should hurt during yoga, so stay tuned in to how you’re feeling.
Many moms report that postpartum yoga helped them manage sleep deprivation, reconnect with their post-baby body, strengthen the pelvic floor and other muscles, and promotes calmness and peace of mind. If you’re experiencing diastasis recti, which is a condition where abdominal muscles separate after pregnancy, make sure to avoid heavy lifting and consult your doctor on exercises to avoid. In general, postpartum classes aren’t meant to be strenuous––be patient with yourself and seek a sense of well-being. Your body just performed a miracle, so give it time to recover at whatever pace works for you.
Check out this week’s classes from expert instructors who can guide you on your journey. And congratulations!
Kristen Boyle - Postnatal Relief
Kristen Boyle - Prenatal Relief
Liza Janda - Time Out For New Moms: Postnatal Yoga
Dave Farmar - Baptiste Power Yoga for Pregnancy - 2nd Trimester
I love curries! All kinds – fresh and zingy ones like they usually make in South-East Asia and also the heavier ones as they make in India. I understand that this is a serious simplification, but in my mind, the South-East Asian ones are brighter and Indian ones heavier. Of course, there are thousands of curry recipes in the world and every family has its own tricks and secret recipes. Here is one of my recipes that is leaning towards Thai green curry, but it is definitely not an authentic one being prepared in Estonia with the ingredients I can get my hands on. But it is delicious for sure! I add my curry paste recipe below but feel free to use a store-bought one or make adjustments.
Curry does not always have to be served with rice. I find it exciting to switch it up for noodles sometimes. Not going to lie – it has also happened that I give up starch completely, make a little thinner sauce and eat it as a soup.
As for ingredients that go into curry, for me, curry is a very creative food and you can decide what you like in it. I always add onion, zucchini, capsicum, and eggplant (this time I was out of eggplant), sometimes I add shrimp, sometimes chickpeas or beans. My boyfriend always only wants onion, tofu, and chickpeas. So you decide and make it your own!
Green Curry Noodles
Cooking time: 15 minutes (30 minutes if making your own curry paste)
3 tbsp green curry paste
1 tsp grapeseed oil
Around 2 cups of veggies/protein you like in your curry – I used zucchini, onion, red capsicum, leeks, and shrimp
1 cup boiling water
1 cup coconut milk
Lime juice, to taste
4 oz vermicelli noodles
Fresh coriander to serve
Chop the veggies and protein you use
Place the noodles in a large pot and cover with hot water to soak.
Fry the curry paste in oil for a minute, then add the water and longer cooking protein/veggies. Add the ingredients so that the longest cooking ones are added first and just continue adding them. In my case I added onion first, then leeks, capsicum, zucchini, and finally the prawns for only a minute or so)
Add in the coconut milk and have a taste – maybe you need to add a little salt, sugar, or lime juice.
Add in the soaked noodles and cook for another minute, so everything mingles together.
Serve with heaps of fresh coriander.
Curry paste:
My curry paste (makes a big batch that you can keep in the fridge for a few weeks or freeze and use within 6 months)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 medium onions
4 tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic
5 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks of lemongrass
1 tsp turmeric powder
7 oz fresh coriander
5 large green jalapenos
½ cup rapeseed oil
¼ cup fish sauce (substitute with salt to make it vegan)
2 tbsp coconut sugar
The juice from 2 limes
Toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind to a powder.
Chop all the other ingredients and add to a blender. Blend everything until you get a nice paste.
Breathing exercises can have a huge impact on your mental, physical, and emotional health. Pranayama practices of controlled yogic breathing, are an important part of the yoga practice.
Yoga is really a practice of breathing and we most commonly practice ujjayi pranayama during a yoga class. Aside from practicing pranayama while doing asana, it is important to have even a basic understanding of standalone pranayama practices you can do while seated.
Different techniques have different energetic effects on the practitioner. Some are energizing, some are calming, some are in between. Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), is a common technique that brings about focus and overall balance. Here are some of this technique's profound benefits, as well as how to practice it.
Benefits of Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing):
Improved cardiovascular health
Reduced risk of anxiety and hypertension
Helps to balance hormones
Improved lung function
Detoxification
Creates mental clarity and alertness
Balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain
Strengthened immune system
Improved mental concentration
Improves blood supply to the brain
How to practice Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing):
Sit up nice and tall.
Use the right thumb to close the right nostril and breathe in for 4-6 seconds through the left nostril. Pause briefly at the top of the inhale.
Then close the left nostril with your ring and pinky fingers and exhale through the right nostril. Pause at the bottom of the exhale.
Keep the left nostril closed and inhale through the right nostril. Then, use the right thumb to close the right nostril as you release the left. Exhale through the left nostril and pause again at the bottom of the exhale.
This is one full round. Repeat this pattern for 4-6 more rounds, visualizing the breath coming in and out of the body and staying calm in the process.
Practice this powerful pranayama breath now, from the comfort of your own home!
Pranayama: Nadi Shodhana with Pradeep Teotia
Happy New Year! It’s time to close the book on 2021 and embark on the next chapter in 2022. But, where to begin? We’ve got so many choices and possibilities that sometimes it’s hard to get focused on what we really want to manifest. This week, we’re here to help you visualize, clarify, and implement your personal journey for your best life.
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali often spoke of yoga as a process of planting seeds for the future. Each thought and emotion and action have immediate impact but also will either bloom or wither in the future. Using the ancient wisdom of the Yoga Sutras aids us on our journey. Yoga Sutra 1.2: Citta Vritti Nirodaha, is the pillar around which the entire text is built. This translates as yoga is the ability to direct the mind without distraction or interruption. Sounds simple, right? Just filter out all those external and internal distractions and focus on what you want to.
Of course, if you’ve been practicing yoga for one day or one decade, you know that this practice is challenging, especially in our fast-moving world. Through consistent practice, we can learn to direct our attention to what we wish to manifest and take consistent, measurable steps on our personal journey. To start 2022 with a clear vision of where you want to go, it’s helpful to get specific and define what is important to you.
Yoga gives us the tools to quiet and calm our distracted minds and become more clear. Part of the work is to overcome the obstacles blocking your way and focus on which seeds you are planting in your life and do so in a methodical, positive manner. Take the time to close your eyes and picture how you want to feel, on every level. Then identify what seeds you need to plant in order for your garden to bloom and which thoughts and emotions no longer serve you and are only hindering your growth.
This week, join us and hone in on your positive intentions to live your best life in the present moment and set goals to step into your highest spiritual self. Resolve to start strong this year. This week's classes give you the chance to strengthen all areas of your life, get into top physical shape, give your mind a breath, and nourish your soul.
Fitness n' Yoga: HIIT & Flow 4.0 with Ben Davis
Pradeep Teotia - Mindfulness Meditation
Jack Cuneo - Intro to Animal Movement
Desiree Rumbaugh - Strengthen, Protect, & Heal the Upper Body
The options for this soon-to-be-your-new-favorite go-to dressing are endless. Zeal restaurant is infamous for their Avocado on the Half Shell appetizer, which is simply an open-faced avocado with Zeal Dressing drizzled into the hole where the pit previously resided. A little Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground cracked pepper and you have one quick crowd-pleaser.
Enjoy the dressing on your favorite bed of mixed greens or some massaged kale. Do you have a restaurant favorite? Be sure to leave me a comment below and I’ll do my best to recreate it in a Conscious Cleanse way.
With love and zeal,
Jo and Jules
Zeal Dressing
Yield: About 1 cup
3/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 1 TB. lemon juice 1 shallot, diced 1TB. grated ginger 1/4 cup grated carrot (or leftover carrot pulp) 1/4 cup grated beet (or leftover beet pulp) Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
In a high-speed blender or food processor fitted with an S-blade, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon, shallot, ginger, carrot and beet. Pulse quickly for 5 to 10 seconds to blend ingredients but to keep grated carrots and beets intact. Add salt and pepper to taste. Store in a glass jar for up to one week.
Jo Schaalman and Jules Peláez are co-authors of two books The Conscious Cleanse: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body and Transform Your Life in 14 Days, a best-selling, step-by-step guide to help you live your most vibrant life and their brand new The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook! Together they’ve led thousands of people through their online supported cleanse through their accessible and light-hearted approach. They’ve been dubbed “the real deal” by founder and chief creative director Bobbi Brown, of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, beauty editor of the TODAY show.
The recent article on Mula bandha goes into more depth on what the bandhas are.
In a brief review, the bandhas are energetic locks in the body. They are utilized to gain control of the flow of energy, prana, or life force, in your body. Understanding and engaging the bandhas creates an added depth to your yoga practice.
What is Uddiyana bandha? The second bandha is Uddiyana bandha. Uddiyana bandha engages the diaphragm and inner organs. It is also beneficial for digestion and detoxification and strengthening and toning the abdominals. This bandha also creates an upward pull of energy, similar to Mula bandha, but with a little more intensity.
How to engage Uddiyana bandha: This bandha can be easier to first explore and experience standing up rather than sitting down. Stand up with your feet hip-width apart, and lean forwards slightly with your hands on your thighs above your knees. Take a full and complete exhale out, and before inhaling pull the area just below your navel in towards your spine and up towards your chest. It’s like you’re sucking your belly both in and up like a suction. This hollowing out of your belly will make your ribs protrude over your stomach and continue to create a lifting energy.
When first exploring this bandha it is okay to feel it intensely, and there are some practices that incorporate this bandha with intensity and breath retention. However, when adding Uddiyana bandha into your yoga poses, similar to Mula bandha, a subtle and light engagement is all you need to get the benefits and ideal flow of prana in your body. Less is more here.
Once you’ve got a feel for Uddiyana bandha, you can practice engaging with, while also engaging Mula bandha.
Here are three very different postures that are optimal to practice engaging and feeling Uddiyana bandha in:
Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Camel (Ustrasana)
Chair (Utkatasana)
This class goes into more detail to understand this banda and energetic lock in your body.
Uddiyana Bandha: Abdominals & the Enteric Brain with Bhavani Maki
“Commitment is the ultimate assertion of human freedom. It releases all the energy you possess and enables you to take quantum leaps in creativity. When you set a one-pointed intention and absolutely refuse to allow obstacles to dissipate the focused quality of your attention, you engage the infinite organizing power of the universe.” - Deepak Chopra
If you’re ready to leave 2021 in the rear-view mirror and manifest the 2022 of your dreams, it’s vital to have a clear vision of what you want and where you want to go. This week, we’ve got some excellent classes designed to help you get centered, visualize, and set in motion the life you want.
Often at the beginning of the year, we make a list of items we “should” be doing or resolutions to stop certain behaviors. Many of these New Year’s resolutions are vague, grandiose goals with no clear-cut path on how to reach them. Items like: No more wasting hours in front of the TV. No more sugar. No more alcohol. No more…fill in the blank. Travel more. Get a better job. Write a book. Simple lists of dos and don’ts, items to be checked off, don’t guide you toward a particular outcome.
Big goals, without clarity, are impossible to achieve. And inevitably, around mid-January, we feel defeated, and our self-esteem takes a beating because we feel we’ve failed. Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment, turn your focus within, quiet all the external noise distracting you, and discover what it is you do want. In order to manifest specific intentions, you must first be clear about where you’re headed.
One of yoga’s most powerful gifts is its ability to quiet and calm your mind. Each day of consistent yoga, meditation, and pranayama is one more step in your personal journey to creating the life you envision. When you learn to filter out the negatives and small worries taking up space in your mind and heart, you’re free to focus on what you want. And once you’re clear on your desires, each task you undertake becomes one more step in a delineated path toward your dream destination. Now that’s a list with a purpose!
When we operate from a positive mindset, we can employ all the power of our personal energy in one direction. If you’ve got no clue what you want to manifest for 2022 yet, no worries! But we encourage you to experience this week’s classes and see what opens up for you. If you’ve already manifested your perfect 2022, that’s great, too. These classes will serve to confirm you’re on your personal intentional journey.
Elise Fabricant - The Power of Intention
Christen Bakken - Soften to Stay Open
Kristin Gibowicz - Sankalpa Flow
Keith Allen - Manifestation & Visualization Meditation
Vegan Stuffed Shells
Tomato-Basil Marinara:
2x 28 oz. cans tomato puree (I love Muir Glen products. They're a little pricier but worth it.)
1/2 cup dried basil (That's not a typo. It's really 1/2 cup, not 1/2 teaspoon) 2 tablespoons of maple syrup 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* Mix all ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, prepare your filling and shells.
Vegan Spinach Ricotta Filling:
14 oz. package extra-firm tofu
8 oz. container vegan cream cheese (I used "Veggie" classic plain. Be sure to look for brands that use non-hydrogenated fat)
10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed
1 teaspoon salt
Directions: Begin by pressing all the water out of the tofu by wrapping it in a towel and squeezing it. A lot of water will come out. Likewise, squeeze all the water out of the thawed spinach over a colander. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher.
Prepare one 12 package of Jumbo shells according to the package directions. Rinse and drain. Spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Fill and line up your shells in rows. Cover with another layer of sauce. Bake in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes. This recipe will make about two dozen stuffed shells, enough for 4-5 people. Double, triple, quadruple...depending on just how happy you want to get and how many people you want to feed.
By Beth Mausert
Beth Mausert is a mom, a foodie and a yogi. She teaches vinyasa flow classes in Saratoga Springs, NY. You can find her on Instagram here @beth_beaton_mausert.
Practice the Yoga for Longevity program to live well and feel good.
Depression can be a detrimental part of one’s life. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.8% of the world's population suffers from depression at some point. For many, it's a seasonal problem, especially felt in the winter.
But how bad is depression? And how can someone overcome bouts of depression, whether you get seasonally depressed in the winter, or at other times in the year. There are a handful of ways that you can effectively reduce its hold on you. Just keep in mind, to do what works best for you.
First, let’s look at the symptoms of depression. Depression is what the American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines as a major depressive disorder that negatively impacts how you feel, what you do, and how you think.
As such, symptoms of depression often include the following:
4 Helpful Tips. Want to prevent depression from ruining your winter and your lifestyle? Here are 4 helpful tips in overcoming depression:
1. Set Goals That Are Doable And Positive
People who set goals tend to stay focused on said goals, rather than spend time worrying about things. Rather than give depressive thoughts the time of day, some people prefer to set some goals to accomplish. Now, when setting goals, it’s important to make them both doable and positive, so that goal-setting doesn’t become a chore. A goal is doable and positive in the following ways:
2. Do Something You Enjoy
Sometimes, the things you loved doing in the past can become a distant memory when depression takes over. The good news, you can combat depression by returning to the things you had once enjoyed doing. Essentially, you’ll be doing things that:
3. Reach Out For Support
Sometimes, you need the help of others to overcome depression. Friends and families are important in helping you feel better. Here’s how to can get support:
4. Remember, Tomorrow Is A New Day
Finally, don’t forget that every day brings something new and different. In other words, if things don’t go your way today, then there’s always tomorrow. Also, don’t focus on being perfect. Striving for perfection can make you stressed out, which can only fuel your depression. Therefore, learn to accept imperfection, and don’t let anything hold you back.
Ultimately, there’s no quick fix for seasonal depression or depression any time of the year. These tips are not meant to brush off different levels of severity for different individuals suffering. However, by following these 4 helpful tips, and understanding the symptoms, you can learn to say cope better. Also, if you start having concerning or suicidal thoughts from your depression, seek help immediately. We hope these tips help when exploring how to combat your winter sadness or more serious depression.
By Henry Wiegand
Henry Wiegand is a writer and editor at a speech writing service. He is also a contributing writer for Writinity and Draft Beyond. As a business development manager, he oversees projects in various companies nationwide. As a content writer, he writes articles about self-help, lifestyle trends, and dieting trends. In his spare time, he loves to read books about business development and self-help.
Beat the Winter Blues Pranayama with Maria Garre
Beat the Winter Blues Namaskar with Maria Garre
The holiday season is a busy time for everyone. There always seems to be so much rushing, stressing, planning, and preparation to do, which may lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, tired, and stressed. That’s why it’s so important to stay stress-free over the holidays, otherwise, you run the risk of feeling worn out and tired.
We’ve got 10 tips for everyone to try and keep calm and as stress-free as possible over this festive season.
Let go of high expectations
It’s easy to get wrapped up in a fairy tale of the perfect holiday, especially around holiday time, due to childhood memories, Christmas movies, or even what we see on social media. But it’s important to remember that nothing is perfect, even the holiday season. Getting together with family can often end in conflict, plans can get changed last minute, and things can go wrong. If you stay realistic and let go of expectations, you can look out for the happy special moments, whatever happens.
Set intentions
It’s often the little things that make the holidays so special, like being with family or taking a few moments out to relax. It can be easy to get swept up in the planning and the chaos of the holidays and miss those little moments. That’s why it’s important to sit down and think about the things that you truly want to do, so you can spend your time more mindfully. Figuring out what you love about the holidays and making sure that is front and center is a great way to stay focused on what really matters.
Simplify your schedule
It’s so easy to over-schedule during the festive season, on top of all the chores and planning we have to do. It can help to write down everything you need and want to do and plan out when you’re going to do it, so you can be sure you’re not taking on too much, and to help you feel present. Also, make sure you’re not saying yes to things you don’t have the time or energy for. Remember, no one has the capacity, energy, or time to do absolutely everything.
Plan ‘you’ time
While you plan your schedule, make sure you plan some time for yourself every day. Taking time for yourself can ensure you’re not constantly running around after other people. Try going for a walk, taking a bath, or cooking something nice for yourself - whatever makes you feel calm.
Ask for help
Even if you’re hosting, don’t feel like you have to take everything on yourself. Ask for help from your guests if you need it to help alleviate the stress of cooking and entertaining big groups of people. Why not ask people to bring a dish, to help lighten the load of preparing food?
Prepare, prepare, prepare
If you’re cooking, try to prepare dishes that can be left alone in the oven or a slow cooker, rather than having to watch dishes up until the last minute. That way, you can actually spend time with your guests rather than spending all your time in the kitchen. Again, let go of the need for everything to be perfect, and instead prioritize spending time with your loved ones.
Record memories
Remember to stop and remember the little and special moments that make up the holiday season. Being present and mindful is a way to remember the holidays and create amazing memories. Sit back, look around, and immerse yourself in what is happening right in front of you, and pay attention to the little moments you see. This is a great way to take time out and enjoy yourself fully.
Give meaningful gifts
Sometimes we give gifts for the sake of it, and stress ourselves out in the process, spending too much money and time finding the perfect gift. Try to reduce the number of gifts you give and receive this year, or draw names among your family and friends, so you can focus your efforts on one or two gifts rather than tens. Also, think about gifting experiences, and things to do together rather than something physical - this way you can make more memories with your loved ones.
Remember to relax
If you feel overwhelmed, try some relaxation techniques such as meditation and deep breathing. Muscle relaxation is also an excellent tool to have in your arsenal to help you let go of stress. Starting at your feet, tense your muscles for 5 seconds, then release them. Work your way up your body, you can identify areas of your body you might not realize are holding tension. This can be a great way to destress.
Postpone things until after the New Year
If your December is getting booked up, don’t be scared to push some of those catch-ups until January. You don’t have to see everyone before the holidays, and by delaying social engagements, you can take some things out of a busy schedule and buy yourself some more time.
Practice the Yoga Challenge for Busy People to help you get onto your yoga mat this holiday season!
Are you feeling joyous and peaceful or off-balance and fatigued? Even though you might be busier than usual or traveling for the holidays, it’s more important than ever to carve out some time to relax and recharge with yoga. And for some of us, this time of year might be tough and not feel festive at all. Yoga can help you build a sense of happiness and calm from the inside out.
This week’s classes will help you replenish your energy, no matter what’s going on in your life.
Here are a few ways relaxing yoga benefits you:
Soothes Your Nervous System: Slower-paced styles of yoga like slow flow, Yin, and restorative all encourage your parasympathetic nervous system to kick in and lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels. Cooling postures like forward folds (Pascimottanasana) and supported inversions like Vipariti Karani (Legs up the Wall) calm you down naturally. Even a few minutes in this restorative pose can make a big difference for your state of mind.
Balance Your Perspective: When we make time to truly relax and restore our body, mind, and spirit we create more energy for the times we need it. Whether you’re in hectic holiday mode or hibernation mode, give yourself permission to unwind and refill your well. When you move into a state of stillness where your focus is on deep breathing and relaxing, you are free to feel all the feelings in a safe space.
Encourages a Meditative State of Mind: We hold our emotions in our tissues and yoga gently helps us release feelings that may be weighing us down. This time of year, it’s especially important to deepen our awareness and balance our feelings. All the classes for this week promote equanimity and stress relief. The last few weeks of the year are the perfect time to wind down and focus on your meditation practice.
Remember to give yourself the gift of taking time for yourself. Try these classes and see how much more chill you feel!
Jeanie Manchester - Guided Dharana: Visualization on the Elements
Kylie Larson - Yin Yoga: Finding Your Center
Claire Petretti Marti - Chill Out Slow Flow
Shy Sayar - Yoga Nidra for Self-Healing
Here is another autumn dish. There is something in the air that makes me crave all the warm foods and this stew is definitely warm. Real comfort food that makes you feel warm inside out. And this warmth is very needed if you decide to pick the mushrooms yourself as I did. It is rather chilly outside already! Please make sure you always only pick the mushrooms you are familiar with and only from the places far away from big roads and cities. Estonia is a nice place to live because we still have plenty of wild forests and I just love foraging. So of course, I used chanterelles for the recipe as they are still available in the forest, but in case you don’t have access to them, feel free to substitute them with any other mushroom and the dish will still be good.
Feel free to make a bigger batch of the dish as it warms up very nicely over the next few days.
Barley and Mushroom Stew
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 2-3
1 large onion
2 stalks of celery
1 large carrot
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 cup pearl barley
2 cups of vegetable broth
3 large leaves of kale
2 tbsp butter
½ cups grated parmesan
7oz fresh mushrooms (I used chanterelles)
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ lemon
Chop the onion, celery, and carrot into small cubes. The smaller the better, a little larger than raw pearl barley you are using.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pot, add oil and a tiny bit of salt. Set it to medium heat and sweat the vegetables for 7-8 minutes.
Add the barley to the pan and pour over the broth. Bring to boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the barley is almost soft. It might be that you need to add a little boiling water, so check in every 5 minutes, give it a little stir and add water, if necessary.
In the meantime, fry the mushrooms in 1 tbsp of butter, season with salt and pepper.
Chop up kale.
Once the barley is soft, mix in the rest of the butter, parmesan, and kale. Leave to rest for 5 minutes, then serve topped with mushrooms and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Avoiding stress in the 21st century is quite the challenge. We’re still going through a global pandemic and even without that, there can enough things in our lives that cause us to be stressed — personal relationships, work issues, finances, etc.
Life can feel like a rollercoaster of things that affect our balance, which leads to us having less energy and being less happy than we can be. Just like avoiding stress completely, having control over the outer world and its chaos is impossible, yet we can do things to make sure our mental health will not suffer from the challenges of our daily lives.
There are regular habits that we can take to protect ourselves from stress.
What Is Stress?
Stress is the feeling of tension or emotional force. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand.
Stress plays a crucial role in our lives. Without it, we would not be able to stay energized and alert because it triggers a reaction to protect ourselves. The stress tells you to run or hide when there is a danger.
However valid it can be in dangerous situations, our bodies cannot tell a life-threatening condition from regular daily occurrences, like going to a job interview or arguing with a family member. Yet, we experience the same amount of stress as if anything causing us stress is the worst possible situation.
As a result, our body suffers significantly in cases that are completely safe and non-threatening. Because of that, we need to develop valuable and healthy habits of dealing with stress properly.
What Activities Help Relieve and Manage Stress?
There's a wide range of activities that can help you manage stress in different ways: calming your mind, your body, or both. Let’s take a look at what we can do to relieve stress.
Yoga
Yoga is a group of mental and physical practices that originated in ancient India. It is one of the best ways to relieve stress. Not only does yoga help with stress, but it also helps you deal with anxiety, back pain, arthritis, and even constipation.
What makes it so great is the accessibility. You don’t need an expensive gym membership or costly gear. All you need is a mat, a rug, or a hardwood floor will do just fine. There are tons of yoga videos online that can help you get started.
The benefits of yoga include relieving stress, improving coordination, strength, balance, and flexibility. A lot of professional athletes include yoga in their training routine. Last but not least, you can incorporate meditation in your yoga session, which is also great for managing stress.
Even eight weeks of regular meditation have been proven to be effective for stress relief. Numerous studies have shown that meditation is an effective stress-management tool, ultimately reprogramming the brain to the extent that meditators have more capacity to manage stress. Consistently practicing meditation leads to it.
When we train our minds to be less reactive and more open, we can better cope when various stressors accumulate: work, family, money, or relationships. You can give it a go any moment — you only need a quiet space!
Exercise
Exercising is known to cause your body to release endorphins, also known as the happiness hormone. It doesn’t just help us stay in good shape, it fills us with a sense of accomplishment. It doesn’t have to be a full-on hardcore workout either.
Just a few simple exercises, like push-ups or squats, will get you there. Of course, it is easier to grow your muscles in a gym with the help of a fitness instructor. But if your goal is to relieve stress in a healthy way both for your mind and your body, exercising is your go-to solution.
Give it a try, and don’t forget that exercise must make you feel good. You should stop if you start feeling any pain!
Dance!
Dancing is a fun form of exercising and stress relief. As we already know, exercise is excellent for stress-relieving. What can make it even better? Put on your favorite playlist and let loose!
It engages your mind and brings on feelings of inspiration. Listening to the music from great times or events of your life triggers positive memories, suitable for forgetting about stress.
Not everyone feels comfortable dancing in public or solo, but that is fine. After all, we need to get rid of stress, not bring on even more of it. However, if you feel comfortable, dance like nobody’s watching, and don’t hold yourself back! Who knows, maybe this will help you reduce stress and become your new passion!
Distract Yourself With Your Favorite Book Or A Show
For some people, it is hard to get lost in a story when they are stressed, especially when it comes to reading. But putting on your favorite TV show, podcast, or movie that transports you somewhere else and can be a good distraction. It’s not simply a distraction, but making an active choice to place your attention elsewhere, away from the sources of stress.
You have to stop your mind from trying to solve problems and switch its focus on something else. It is straightforward and accessible because we binge all the time, so why not turn our daily dose of entertainment into something healthy and beneficial?
Choose What Is Right For You
All the activities mentioned above are great for coping with the stress of living in the modern world. Make sure you pick one that suits you best, find outlets, not on this list, or combine activities. Make it more meaningful and match it with your personality and lifestyle.
Coping with stress is a form of relaxation which you need to increase your energy and boost your endorphins. Remember, we are all unique and deal with stress in our ways. Stay healthy, and don’t let the stress take the joy from your life!
By James Weber
Yoga can help! Enjoy the Yoga for Anxiety Relief program from the comfort of your own home!
This Full Moon marks the point in which we move out of the death phase and cross the waters into new territory. It is the dawning of a new day, of consciousness rising onto the next plane. The Full Moon will bring forward a stronger pull to dharma. Delineate between what serves you and how to birth your next evolution. It is not within the physical realm, yet. Outward action will come in January.
This point is when the feminine principle becomes impregnated with the wisdom from previous experiences and lives. It will then begin to bring this wisdom and direction into physical form. We are in the plane between the physical and the mind. This energy is when the conscious mind is starting to get glimpses of new horizons but the movement towards this creation has not come into fruition. This lunation will bring purifying and highly creative forces forward to manifest the new self, and how the self is individuated (Jiva Atman). Expect more of this to unfold in January. But this rebuilding will grow in momentum and manifestation over the next few months. A new world is manifesting through you.
The next few weeks following the Full Moon will be highly creative. It offers strengthening and rebuilding. The Full Moon will mark a point of polar shift. This can affect how cycles are created in time. It will mark the dawn of new cycles, so yes, karmic cycles will end. There is a lot of reflective energy that may trigger projections. These are to be released as the mind is being opened into new potential through the transformation of old experiences. Mirroring into reality or onto others is intended for higher wisdom to move down through the levels of the mind into one's reality. It is also a part of the archetypal Shiva/Shakti that emerges through this lunation. Think of it as potent creative forces of masculine and feminine. Tap into this higher wisdom by aligning efforts. It's a good time to get organized, create directive and positive intentions with body and health, and goals.
Focus the mind, use discernment on how attention and awareness are being spent. What you give your life force, attention to is very important at this time. Be conscientious on what is being created through thoughts and attention.
Remember, this is working what lies within the mind which then gathers more energy to become form- "reality." It's a great time to focus on new horizons, to come out of comfort zones, to recreate your relationships, your world, and your role within this world. Dharma and purpose are heavily aspected. Energy is shifting to seek something deeper, to know the depths of the self, and to venture into uncharted territory with love, courage, and freedom. This will call forward vigor, momentum, and bring power through to vision and creation.
Imagine the warrior sailing across to the seas to honor his dharma, as in many myths, or in Bhagavad Gita, it is Krishna advising Arjuna. The higher wisdom will guide action. If you have a dream, and it's starting to come to light, hold it within your heart. These energies support the seed of growth. It will be created through nurturance. More clarity, directives are on the horizon. Like light breaking the dark, it is a new directive illuminating from infinite potential. Hold faith and focus on what needs to move through you. A new world will awaken through you. Greater depth, connection, and creation are coming together.
Yoga poses to work with these full moon energies: Malasana twist, Anjanesana (low lunge), chair twist, lord of the fishes pose.
These poses will work with the water/fire energies to aid in strengthening intuition and guidance through trust. They move transformative forces into creation and rebuilding through the self. To empower courage, and focus hold your breath out for 1-3 seconds on the bottom of the exhale within the postures. Four purifications breathwork is incredibly powerful at this time.