A high heel shoe puts your foot in a plantarflexed (foot pointed downward) position, placing an increased amount of pressure on your forefoot. This causes you to adjust the rest of your body to maintain your balance. The lower part of your body leans forward and to compensate for that, the upper part of your body must lean back to keep you balanced.
This is not your body’s normal standing position. The normal s-curve shape of the back acts as a shock absorber, reducing reduce stress on the vertebrae. Wearing high heels causes lumbar (low-back) spine flattening and a posterior (backward) displacement of the head and thoracic (mid-back) spine.
A plantarflexed foot disables you from pushing off the ground with much force. This causes your hip flexor muscles in your legs to work harder to move and pull your body forward. If your hip flexor muscles are chronically overused, the muscles can shorten and contracture can occur. If a contracture occurs, this could lead to flattening of the lumbar (low-back) spine and back pain.
When wearing heels, the knee stays flexed (bent) and the tibia (shin bone) turns inward. This position puts a compressive force on the inside of the knee, a common site of osteoarthritis.
High heels limit the motion and power of the ankle joint. The calf muscles are shortened because of the heel height. The position of the ankle may also cause a shortening of the achilles tendon which increases the pull of the Achilles tendon where it attaches on the back of your heel bone and may cause a condition called insertional Achilles tendonitis.
Wearing a 3 1/4 inch heel increases the pressure on the bottom of the forefoot by 76%. The increased pressure may lead to pain or foot deformities such as hammertoes, bunions, and neuromas. The narrow, pointed toe box that is often found in high heel shoes also causes damage such as corns, callouses and blisters. Things need to be in alignment. It is recommended that you only wear high heels for special occasions and even then only a heel height of 1 1/2 inches.
The friends and clients of Elise who regularly wear heels are being challenged to wear only flats for one month and to chronicle the difference in their bodies. See how you can be involved in the challenge, too!
By Elise Fabricant
Elise's course Revive: 30 Days to Vitality, Health & Ease
Along with teaching for YogaDownload, Elise works one-on-one with clients around the globe to help them up-level their energy, turn their new healthy behaviors into habits that last, and discover how best to express their gifts to the world. Elise nurtures her creative streak by producing online courses on a balanced, purposeful lifestyle. Along with giving massage to Denverites, Elise also teaches group yoga classes in central Denver. Elise feels blessed to be able to combine her love of travel with her work by taking yoga and health coaching to workshops and retreat centers around the world. Connect with Elise on her website.
Enjoy one of Elise's amazing yoga classes now!
Open Your Heart to Gratitude with Elise Fabricant
According to eastern health sciences going back decades, every living being is alive and functions because of the life force (or pranic) energy that is circulating throughout their bodies - through channels known as Nadi channels.
Nadi channels follow the same path around the body as our sympathetic nervous systems. There are so many energy channels that are flowing around our body, connecting every part of our bodies to each other.
Ayurveda sciences and yoga make use of these channels connecting our bodies and flowing energy to harness the power of prana energy. Prana energy can flow seamlessly around our bodies when the Nadis are strong and clear. But if we have blockages in our Nadis, energy flow can slow and ebb, leading to health issues and complications.
Certain types of yoga, especially Hatha types of yoga, talk about the balance of the sun and the moon energy in our bodies to achieve a balance between the mind, the body, and the soul. When performing yoga asanas, hand gestures (or mudras), pranayamas (breath control) and binds and locks, these energies can build up and flow up the body along the spinal cord, merging with the main Nadi, or the Sushumna Nada at the third eye chakra, which is located between the eyebrows.
When this happens, the Sushumna Nadi can create a force that opens all the chakras together towards the Sahasrara Chakra, which helps to lay the path towards enlightenment. This is one of the major goals for many people who practice Hatha yoga.
How many Nadis are there?
According to yoga texts, there can be at least 72,000 nadis that circulate energy around the human body - but this number can be as high as 350,000! It’s impossible to single out each individual Nadi - however there are 14 important Nadis and 3 main Nadis.
The 14 Important Nadis consist of:
1. Alambusha Nadi
This Nadi helps to bring energy to the organs and parts of the body that eliminate toxins and waste. It goes all the way up the body to the mouth.
2. Gandhari Nadi
The Gandhari Nadi begins at the Muladhara Chakra, at the base of the spine, and ends up at the Anja, or third eye, chakra. This provides energy to your left eye!
3. Hasti Jeeva Nadi
This Nadi provides energy to our arms and legs, and begins again at the Muladhara chakra and the end of the spine, and ends at the Manipura Chakra, which is behind the navel.
4. Ida Nadi
The Ida Nadi begins at the Muladhara Chakra and then, ends at the left nostril, and is said to activate the left brain. This can promote feelings of emotion and love, as it brings lunar and cooling energy to the brain.
5. Kuhu Nadi
This Nadi begins at the throat and ends at the genitals, and brings energy to this area.
6. Payaswini Nadi
The Payaswini Nadi begins at the right side, and flows up the body to end at the right ear.
7. Pingala Nadi
Said to promote perception and analysis, the Pingala Nadi begins on the right side and ends at the right nostril. It’s also known as solar, or heating energy.
8. Pusha Nadi
Beginning at your Muladhara Chakra, and ending at the third eye Chakra, this Nadi provides energy to your right eye.
9. Saraswati Nadi
This Nadi powers your mouth, tongue and throat. It begins at the Muladhara Chakra and ends at the Vishuddhi Chakra, which is located at the base of the throat.
10. Sankhini Nadi
Bringing energy to your left ear, this Nadi begins at the Muladhara chakra and ends at the Ajna chakra.
11. Sushumna Nadi
Again, beginning at the Muladhara Chakra, this Nadi ends at the crown of the head at the Sahasrara Chakra, this Nadi is the central Nadi that flows prana to the other Nadis around the body.
12. Varuna Nadi
This Nadi brings energy to the whole body through the nervous system. It begins at the Muladhara chakra and ends at the Anahata chakra.
13. Vishwadhara Nadi
Providing energy to the digestive system, this Nadi begins at the Muladhara chakra and ends at the Manipura chakra.
14. Yashaswini Nadi
Finally, the Yashaswini Nadi brings energy to the right limbs, through the Muladhara chakra and ends at the Manipura chakra.
The Three Main Nadis
Out of these 14 important Nadis, there are three main Nadis, which are Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna. Ida and Pingala are said to be the two major energy pathways, flowing either side of the main nadi, the Sushumna nadi.
The Ida Nadi is known as the passive left channel, and also the lunar energy channel. It represents feminine energy in the body, which is the passive, yin energy of the body. Flowing on the left side of the main nadi, it deals with mental energy, and is linked to the moon. People who have dominant Ida energy are said to be nurturing and intuitive.
The Pingala Nadi is known as the active right channel, and also the tawny energy channel. It represents the masculine energy in the body. It is the active and young energy channel of the body. Flowing on the right side, its energy compliments the Ida Nadi. Linked to the sun, Pingala energy makes us creative, and confident.
Sushumna Nadi is the main nadi, and passes through the center of our spines. This nadi represents the balance between all the sets of energy in our bodies, when we balance this energy we can awaken higher consciousness.
By Amy Cavill
Geenie Celento - Sri Vidya Yoga
Life Force Project - Gentle & Accessible Yoga: Subtle Body Awareness
Alanna Kaivalya - Energetic Awakening: Understanding the Nadis
If you’ve been practicing yoga for any length of time, you’re aware the practice works in ways that aren’t linear, aren’t clear-cut, and aren’t often explainable. Even though yoga is a science and a philosophical system, its benefits go much deeper than what can be seen by the naked eye. Yoga impacts us on the level of our subtle body, which expands beyond the Western understanding of anatomy and physiology.
Each of us is made up of three bodies: the gross or physical body (Stula Sharira), the subtle body (Sukshma Sharira), and the causal body (Karana Sharira). The physical body consists of what we can touch and see: our muscles and skeleton. It forms the Annamaya Kosha, the coarsest of the five sheaths. It is vital to craft a yoga practice which benefits our entire system.
One way to visualize the subtle body is as a blueprint of our physical body. Energy channels called Nadis carry energy throughout the body, like electricity through a machine. The Sushumna Nadi runs along the spine from Muladhara (Root) Chakra to the Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra. Two other primary Nadis, the Ida and Pingala, flow through us in spiraling energy centers known as chakras. In Sanskrit, chakras mean “wheels of light.”
When we practice yoga, we impact our body, our mind, our emotions on the deep level of the subtle body. Different asanas and pranayama impact the way we feel, not just in our muscles and bones, but in our life perspective. Different asanas and combinations of asanas enable us to feel differently from the inside out.
For example, Dhanurasana (Backbend) is a challenging posture that strengthens and opens the spine, shoulders, and legs. This position stimulates your Anahata (Heart) chakra and opens your Visshuda (Throat) chakra and is energizing and uplifting for mood. Forward folds like Paschimottanasa (Seated Forward Fold) are more introspective asanas where you open the muscles of the posterior chain of your body while quieting the nervous system. So, if you need to lift your mood, try heart openers, and if you need to calm or soothe your soul, fold forward. Understanding how asanas can balance out the energy within you can help you stay healthy in every level of your being.
You'll have a chance to explore these various yogic systems of your body in this week's classes. Savor the joy in knowing you are changing your thoughts and emotions by stepping onto your yoga mat. There’s no need to understand all the intricacies of the subtle body (unless you want to!) in order to garner all the benefits. Happy practice!
Chickpeas are one of my favorite ingredients. They are extremely versatile, they work well in curries, vegetable patties, salads, and even in desserts. To be honest, sometimes I eat them straight out of a jar. Not often, but it does happen in some busy times when I don’t even have time to shop for fresh produce. Fortunately, I am quite good with time management and these times do not happen often. Besides – I don’t think that 10 minutes to prep a full meal is that much and this is about how long this simple recipe takes. If you are good with knives you most likely only need 5 minutes to make the salad. But even the most inexperienced cooks should be ready with the salad in 10 minutes.
The secret to this recipe lays in the sauce. The combination of tahini, lemon, and yogurt is irresistible with just about anything and I often use it as a dip for fresh cucumber.
To make a full meal out of it, chickpeas are a wonderful addition. Feel free to swap out any veggies you don’t like or just add in more different veggies – peppers, radishes, or anything else you fancy. For tomatoes, I am very lucky to have several relatives who grow their own, so I have a wide variety of different colors and sizes to play with right now. If you only have regular red tomatoes, just use those. And in case you wish to make a bigger batch ahead of time go ahead and do it, but keep the tomatoes and cucumbers separately and mix them in right before eating as otherwise they make the salad watery.
Filing Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
1 tbsp tahini
Juice from ½ lemon
½ cup Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 spring onions
A small handful of fresh coriander
2-3 small cucumbers
2-3 larger tomatoes
14 oz of chickpeas
Instructions: Start from the sauce – mix tahini with lemon juice and a tiny bit of salt to loosen it up a little. Then mix in yogurt and season with salt and pepper.
Chop up the onions, coriander, tomatoes, and cucumber.
Mix the chickpeas, chopped veggies, and the sauce, have another taste to make sure the seasoning is on point, and share the salad with a friend!
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.
The graceful gifts of yoga include the attainment of higher consciousness, health, abundance, love, and harmony. Yoga naturally yields all attributes of yogam - which means good luck in Tamil. Yoga, in the Western sense, spearheads this awakening, even if it is considered a simple exercise for health benefits and fashion, instead of a spiritual discipline; the taste of a drop of honey will eventually lead to the honey pot of higher consciousness.
The body is an effective tool to lead the mind towards the inner core of realization. By yoga, we refer to various styles of “Hatha” yoga as practiced in the West – the sequences of physical postures and the inner journey created through this practice. If you're newer to yoga, we recommend utilizing simple practices like traditional Sun Salutation sequences to experience the teachings below.
Below are some of the more esoteric benefits, lessons, and secrets of the teachings of yoga:
1. Yoga is a journey through breath and consciousness: “Ha” and “Tha” of Hatha yoga mean the intertwining of Sun and Moon energies of the breath. Hatha yoga is in reality the journey of consciousness through breath. The right breath is the Sun and the left breath is the Moon. The sages call these two breath streams the inner rivers through which we ride through awareness. By being aware of our breath in its Sun and Moon energy, we are able to utilize the natural currents of the breath via yoga. To swim along with the predominant breath and to stimulate the Sun breath and the Moon breath equally enables us to flow with the inner currents of the mind and consciousness. To know breath and the source of breath is to know life, death, and our spiritual immortality. Harnessing breath, we can awaken to the wisdom of our spiritual self.
2. Yoga awakens gratitude: Our consciousness begins from each cell and each cell could owe its existence to our parents. One of the initial steps of awakening consciousness is to acknowledge our Father and Mother in gratitude, both literally and symbolically. Through the first round of Sun Salutation, we utilize the asana sequence of the left to visualize and express gratitude to our Mother – the Moon breath. Likewise, we utilize the sequence of the right to visualize and express gratitude to our Father – the Sun breath. By acknowledging our Father and Mother (as in thought, dedication, and gratitude) who are the seeds that created our body, and who are part of the thinking process we possess, we shift our body consciousness and field of energy.
When we are thankful and grateful to our parent’s unconditional love from the moment of our birth, we are able to vitalize every cell of our body into a state of wellbeing. Moving towards higher consciousness begins with gratitude. Focusing on gratitude can pave the way to the present moment and this is where the yoga practice begins.
3. Yoga activates the root chakra: The success of the inner journey, Kundalini awakening, and journey to higher consciousness relate to the strength and power of the root chakra. The root chakra, once activated through yoga, holds the key to the wellbeing of the body in physical reality, as well as in the spiritual essence, and this creates a strong foundation of harmony. The root chakra (Muladhara) can be activated through the bandhas (the inner lock, called the mulabandha), visualization, and mantra. The Muladhara is our inner foundation.
4. Yoga with mantra can be powerful: The mind and thoughts are vibrations. Mantras are vibration-inducing resonances that shift and transform the frequency of the mind in order to generate thoughts that are more aligned to the energy within the mantra. When we recite mantras throughout our yogic sequences, our breath entwines with the mantra to unravel the higher energies of consciousness within the mantra.
Each chakra or energy center can be activated through the mantras, through breath, and through our awareness. Awakening our inner fire, the Kundalini, we utilize our daily yoga to transform ourselves. When we do yoga simply as a physical exercise without awareness of the sacredness of breath, we are more likely to injure our bodies and not receive the amazing and beautiful benefits of yoga.
5. Yoga activates your Third Eye: All rituals and disciplines lead to the supreme state of being still – the attainment of the vibrant stillness of meditation. This stillness within happens when we find our center. By practicing yoga, we awaken the inner fires that lead to vibrant stillness.
This surge of bliss initially is like a nuclear explosion rushing above the crown chakra. A yogi can direct the explosive energies of the crown chakra towards the third eye to harmonize this inner fire with focus. This third eye focus takes us to the seat of the universe – the magical space that is the meeting point of source and human. Awakening the vast energies within ourselves through breath, asana, and the grace of mantra, we rise to the seat of consciousness, to the third eye.
The third eye is where we can experience samadhi – a state of awareness that exists while being absorbed in meditative oneness. In bringing all the focus through the third eye, we can focus on the energies of bliss, manifested as wisdom and super-normal strength in our physical realities.
The objective of yoga is the attainment of the awareness that you are a spirit having a human experience, or in more practical terms, to be able to bring source energy into your present physical reality moment to moment.
Much of the Hatha yoga styles we have in the West are beautiful hybridizations of the traditional yoga practiced in India, but with a focus on the needs of pro-active modern individuals and directed more towards the body than towards the mind.
6. Yoga can connect you to the five natural elements: The yogi understands that the human body contains all of the universe and Earth. This connection relates to the five elements — Earth, water, fire, air, and ether (the void, space, and infinity).
The yogi understands the divinity and energies of each of the five elements. Each element represents one aspect of the universe. Once this is understood mastery of consciousness can be attained. So in our daily yoga, awareness of our inner journey through the elements paves the way toward wholeness and connection with the outer world.
The body is represented as the earth element. Water represents our fluidity, life force, and our intellect. The fire element represents all the various fires within our body, from digestion to thinking processes. The air element represents our breath, the air we breathe, and our prana. Ether, the infinite void element is our experience of the meditative state. The experience of the element of infinity is bliss and joy.
7. Doing yoga nude (only when appropriate and if possible!) can be powerful: While the idea of practicing yoga in the nude may sound alarming, for a yogi, wearing minimal clothing means practicing in our natural state. Digambara, the sky-clad one, is another name for Lord Shiva, the supreme yogi. Practicing yoga in the nude enables us to integrate the five elements as one body, one being. It can be extremely liberating. If you have the opportunity to practice somewhere private, in nature, it can be extra powerful.
8. Walking, dancing, cycling, and running complement yoga: The yoga practice we do comes originally from the sages who lived in the wilderness of caves and mountains in India. Every day they walked and climbed up hills. Most temples and shrines in India are located up in the hills to facilitate such pilgrimages. Their daily Hatha yoga practice complemented their walking, and their food intake was minimal or optimal.
In our society, we consume far more calories than we need and are exposed to huge blasts of stress energies. Many live without the need to walk on a daily basis. We can transcend this environment by including skipping, walking, dancing, running, and/or cycling to complement our daily yoga practice. I recommend including any additional activity that gives more joyfulness, as joy paves the way to daily discipline.
9. Do your own daily yoga: Utilize a yoga studio or online classes as you would use a walking stick. Yoga classes are for us to learn sequences of asanas, but this is not a substitute for your daily yoga practice. Your daily yoga practice with or without a yoga studio is important for your daily inner journey in its practice, learning, wisdom, and experiences.
There is a deeper wisdom that stems from the yogic perception of time. When we commit to our own daily practice that does not rely on anyone else or other circumstances (such as a yoga studio), we begin to step into a realignment of our 24-hour cycle through the gift of yoga — that of timelessness. Practicing yoga is a powerful form of worship and a journey into timelessness. Each day consists of 24 hours of day and night that limit us. When we step into timelessness just once a day through yoga, we reflect life as though we are the Sun; the Sun does not experience night or day, and so the mind ceases to be limited by the perception of diurnal change.
10. Yoga is tantric: Tantra comes from the pre-vedic teachings of South India, from the Dravidians. The worship of Lord Shiva and Goddess Sakti and its associated yogic teachings was called “Tantiram”, the roots of tantra. Tantiram is to unite source with our human reality through the wisdom of joyfulness. Tantiram wisdom teaches that the root chakra, the Muladhara, holds all the power in our journey towards realization and the journey through consciousness after waking up. The root chakra holds the key to the inner journey.
When we tread the yogic path, we realize the vastness of ourselves; we are like an onion, layered in realities, from the roots all the way to the crown – realities to unite with source. The core of tantra is the experience of orgasmic bliss within each and all layers of reality that we can enhance through our daily yoga. When we awaken to the wholeness of yoga, we transform our primal energies of sex, sensuality, and survival instincts into evolved potent thoughts of manifestation. Our daily yoga is a tool of transforming and evolving through the embrace of wholeness.
By Nandhiji Yogi
Nandhiji is a Siddha Yoga Master, humanitarian & visionary awakening humanity through mystic wisdom, community and service. He is an artist, award-winning, ecstatic chant musician, author and teacher- representing the path of the Liberated Siddhas.
Want to practice yoga for its array of spiritual benefits?
Every person needs to rest. Even the computer, at which you many eight hours or more per day, periodically needs to be recharged. It is important and valuable to know which are the best ways for you to switch gears switch between work and productivity mode into rest and leisure.
With many working from home, the lines between work and home life are blurring. Smartphones that allow us to be in touch 24 hours a day and constantly trying to notify us can make it more challenging to switch out of work mode and into leisure mode. Do you still remember those distant days when the work was not urgent?
While work can seem urgent and like the top priority, it's important to remember that friends, family, children, hobbies, and your life are urgent and important too.
We're not meant to have a 24-hour workday and there's no proof that this will make our lives, well-being, or career better. The key to happiness is balance.
If the balance shifts way too far toward work, then there is a great risk of emotional burnout. Thus, the ability to smoothly move from solving work issues into relaxation, rest, and laziness, will help you not only maintain mental health but also enjoy life and its diversity. Here's how to learn to switch between work and rest quickly.
Meditate or Exercise After Work
Even some professional athletes go through some kind of meditation activity after a competition that helps them to recover from the main activity and let it go. Take this life hack into service, because it is suitable not only for professional athletes but also for ordinary people. Yoga can be a good option too. You can even find suitable online meditation and yoga classes that will fit your time and mood.
Moving your body will help shift gears also. Go to the park, practice yoga, or get off the bus a couple of stops early to walk. You will be surprised by the results. Turn Off Your Cellphone
While your phone is on you might regularly get notifications that grab your attention at an instant. You can put it into airplane mode or turn it off to help you switch off after work is up to you. No one will arrest you for not checking your email after work hours.
When you are driving home or on the subway, the best thing to do with your smartphone is to listen to relaxing music, a funny podcast, or a good audiobook.
Create a Ritual
Taking a bubble bath every evening, preparing dinner listening to your favorite albums, or going to the gym right after work. These habits not only have a positive effect on your body but also help you relax and shift from work to life. Even watching TV helps to take a breath and abstract from the hard-working days. Just don't overdo it and waste the entire evening thoughtlessly switching between channels and plunging deeper into your thoughts. And by the way, leave your phone and laptop charging in another room - you don't need them all of the time.
Use Your Commute as Decompression Time
If you have to sit in traffic, put on your favorite music, recite affirmations, or an inspirational podcast. If you take public transportation, reading is a simple way to give your brain a rest during your commute. It's even possible to meditate on the train. While commuting hours can sometimes feel like a waste of time, but if you utilize these hours to benefit your well-being and shift into and out of work mode, these can be valuable hours in your day.
Be Realistic About Your Worries
Ask yourself, when was the last time something terrible, irreparable, and urgent happened, while you were having fun with friends, reading a fairy tale to a child, or just watching a movie? Let's be honest, our worries are usually unfounded.
The decision to work at night and constantly monitor your tasks is usually a person decision, sometimes out of good motivation, but oftentimes out of fear and guilt, and rarely a requirement of your boss. Of course, there are circumstances when you really need to work overtime, but such situations are not every day. If you're in perpetual workaholism, maybe you haven’t found an interesting hobby to do, you need to control everything, or you want to get excessive approval from superiors.
You have every right to devote some hours in the evening to relax, without feeling guilty, but it has to be your conscious choice. Find what works for you to let go of any workday stress, and shift into leisure mode and can be more present for your loved ones and yourself.
By Angela Johnson
Angela Johnson is a skilled content writer who writes articles on topics like HR, business, education, self-growth, and many others.
Need yoga after work? This yoga challenge for busy people program is for you!
The challenge begins on October 4th! The seasons are shifting, and it is the perfect time to align with nature and release whatever is weighing us down. If you’re feeling stagnant or heavy in your mind, heart, or body, we’re here with a 3-week plan to make it easy to hit the reset button. As a global community, we’ll practice a variety of yoga classes designed to detoxify and destress.
In the Heart of Yoga, T.K.S. Desikachar wrote that one of yoga’s primary functions is to help burn off the “rubbish” or toxins that can build up in our systems. Whether that means learning to shed a series of repetitive negative thoughts, recover from heartbreak, or lose a few unwanted pounds, the practice of yoga provides a framework for us to release extra baggage and shine our inner light. Sometimes life simply bogs us down and a periodic challenge or program can help set us back on track.
Each time you step onto your yoga mat, you have the opportunity to grow stronger, more flexible, and more balanced. Yoga is the time when you can practice self-care and tune into your center. Ask yourself if you are feeling your best or if some aspects of your current life no longer provide you joy. Our needs and desires evolve, so learning to let go of the past and open to the future is vital to feel our best. If we aren’t operating at our optimal levels, we can’t fully engage in our life.
By combining various physical postures like twists, forward folds, and inversions, you’ll stimulate and enhance digestion and elimination. Gentle compression gets your blood circulating efficiently and encourages toxins and waste through your lymphatic system. If our body feels heavy and sluggish, our minds and hearts experience a parallel sense of stagnation.
We can’t claim that joining our 3-week all-levels challenge will fulfill your life on every level, but if you join us, you’ll be planting the seeds for a life where you shine your brightest. Physically, you’ll feel lighter, stronger, and more supple. Mentally, you’ll experience more clarity of thought and intensity of focus. Emotionally, your mood will improve and you’ll be able to truly tune into your personal power.
For many of us, the real challenge is just showing up on the yoga mat every day. Now all you need to do is press play and have the daily class choices and daily inspiration delivered directly to your inbox every morning. Just press play!
Sign up for this challenge, HERE!
Berries are loaded with phytonutrients that prevent cell damage that comes with aging. Studies show that people who eat 2 cups of berries a week experience less mental decline compared to those who don’t. Berries are also known to enhance your immune system and limit your chances of developing Parkinson’s. For those who are looking to lose weight, try to consume 2-4 cups of berries a week. The cayenne and turmeric also help increase fat metabolism which is necessary for weight loss. This healthy smoothie is the perfect replacement for a mid-morning snack; it tastes delicious and will keep you full during the day. Get yourself into the habit of making a healthy smoothie every morning. They are quick and simple to prepare. If you don’t have them in the morning, try having them sometime during the day with a side of something light like a salad or sandwich.
Berry Blast Smoothie
Cup of berries (frozen or fresh)
Cup of leafy greens
Teaspoon of pumpkin/sunflower seeds
Pinch of cayenne/turmeric
Unsweetened rice milk
By Zyana Morris
Zyana Morris is a passionate health and lifestyle blogger who loves to write about prevailing trends.
Want to get better posture with yoga? Try this program!
Depression is not easy to live with, but there are things you can do to help you feel better about yourself. Depression makes it hard to do what you need to do to start feeling better, though. It can drain your energy, drive, and hope. Overcoming depression is not quick or easy, but it is possible.
Here is a useful list of tips for depression and things you can do to help you overcome it, and feel good.
Don't listen to sad music: Listening to sad music won't help you fight depression. A lot of people are drawn to sad music when they're depressed because it validates their thoughts. This can be good for a short time but can keep you in a depressed state if overdone. Ditch the sad music and you'll find yourself feeling better.
Talk to people: If you are depressed, you should discuss your feelings with someone. Be it a medical professional or just a close friend, getting things off your chest can help a lot.
Exercise: One of best ways to beat depression and kick the blues is to become active and exercise. It is not a quick fix to the problem of depression but it is an ongoing way to make life better and gives you something to look forward to. Not only does it release stress, but it makes a person feel better about themselves and gives you some control over your life. It can also help prevent depression from returning.
Yoga: Yoga can help with depression and anxiety significantly.
Be mindful of your language: Try your best to avoid the words "depression" or "depressed" in your vocabulary. While very real, the words "depression" and "depressed" have a lot of extra baggage attached to them and can actually worsen the feelings of hopelessness. When you are upset, say "feeling down" instead. It's easier to think of it as raising your mood levels than battling depression, even though that's what's happening.
Don't accept negative thoughts as factual: In your battle against depression, challenge your negative thoughts. One of the by-products of depression is putting a negative spin on how you see yourself, your future, and situations that you encounter. If you are like many people who suffer from depression, you are a perfectionist and hold yourself to standards that are impossibly high. Permit yourself to be less than perfect and quit beating yourself up if you don't meet the impossible standards you have set for yourself. Negative thoughts will cause depression to become an endless cycle.
Aromatherapy: There is tremendous power in scent. Having a few pleasant-smelling candles burning throughout the house can help you to feel better very easily. One of the best scents for evoking pleasant thoughts is vanilla, although any scent that you like will work.
Be kind to yourself: Do not blame yourself for your feelings of sadness when you have depression. Often times, people think that depression is their fault, when in fact, it is something that is beyond their control. The blame they put on themselves just ends up making their depression symptoms get worse and lowers their self esteem.
Use herbs for support: If you have depression but you do not want to take an anti-depressant, you may want to think of trying an herbal remedy, such as St. John's Wart. Studies have proven that certain herbal remedies are just as effective, if not more effective than prescription anti-depressants. Consult with a doctor before taking herbal remedies.
Groom yourself: A simple tip that is easy to do if you are depressed is to keep yourself clean and groomed. It is easy to sleep a lot and feel too lazy to take a shower when you are depressed. However, staying clean is important to remaining healthy and keeping your spirits high. Just the simple act of brushing your teeth or shaving will improve your mood. Within minutes, you will feel better.
Set goals for yourself: An important way to deal with depression is to make sure that your goals and expectations are realistic. This is important because you are setting yourself up for further depression and disappointment if you are longing for something that is not possible. Be sure to share your wishes and desires to keep yourself in check.
Eat enough: Eat three meals every day when you are feeling low, but don't overdo it. When you are depressed, it may cause you to lose your appetite, but if you don't eat you will feel lethargic, less motivated, and even more down. Your body will not be able to function correctly if you're not taking in enough calories daily. When you eat the right kinds of meals, your body has better energy.
Step outside of your comfort zone: Making an effort to get better might make you uncomfortable and people will often stay depressed because it's comfortable. Attempting to fix your problems may be temporarily uncomfortable but it can lift you out of your depression.
Eay healthy: Freshening up your diet can relieve symptoms of depression. Take a look at your pantry and avoid junk foods and other foods high in sugars and fats. Replace these with healthy foods that offer your body good nutrition. Giving your body the right fuel can allow you to increase your focus on the important things in your life.
Go into nature: A great tip that can help you out of your depression, is to simply spend more time in nature. Nature has amazing healing qualities when it comes to depression. Being out and about in nature will help lift your mood and get you out of your deep depression.
Sleep well: Make sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, and no more than 10 hours. Many times people who are depressed will have sleep problems like insomnia or sleeping too much. Every evening do activities that are calming and relaxing and plan out a sleep schedule for yourself.
As you can see, it is possible to make a huge dent in depression with some lifestyle changes. Feeling better will take you some time, but you can get to where you would like to be if you will make positive choices each day and have the support of others.
By Andy McCoy
Want help feeling and sleeping better? Yoga for Better Sleep and Yoga for Healing.
Diabetes is one of the most common health disorders among people irrespective of age, gender, and ethnicity. Also, it is increasing exponentially over time and has been a never-ending challenge for medical experts throughout the world. In medical terms, diabetes mellitus is a type of metabolic disorder. It involves an increase in sugar or glucose levels in the blood due to insufficient secretion or failed usage of insulin in the pancreas.
While there are many factors that cause diabetes, your improper diet and a sedentary lifestyle can make it a chronic condition. If left untreated, diabetes can become a serious threat to life as it results in the damage of vital organs of the body such as the heart, pancreas, kidneys, nervous system, blood vessels, etc. Also in many cases of alopecia areata, there is a definitive connection between diabetes and hair loss.
While most people seek allopathic treatments for diabetes, one can also help with the condition by making a few changes in the lifestyle. One such amazing lifestyle practice to keep your blood sugar levels normal is Yoga. This ancient practice, which involves synchronized body movements with your breathing, not only boosts the blood circulation and stimulates your organs, but also enhances the metabolic activities in your body. This eventually promotes the chemical activity within the body cells that benefit diabetic patients.
Here are some of the most effective yoga asanas that help you prevent a sudden increase in blood sugar levels and keep it under control.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
Lie down on your abdomen by keeping your legs straight.
Place your palms beside your last rib cage with your fingers facing towards your head.
Now, lift your trunk and head slowly with the support of your palms. Take a deep inhalation while you do so.
Try to arch your neck gently and look upward.
Make sure that your abdomen and toes are pressed on the floor.
Try to hold yourself in this position for 5 seconds with normal breathing in the beginning. You can extend the duration to 30-40 seconds with regular practice.
Then, drop your chest slowly and gently on the floor. Rest your head and arms on the floor.
Benefits: Bhujangasana is highly beneficial for diabetic people as it stimulates the internal organs while stretching the spine. It helps to tone the reproductive system and boost heart functioning. Also, it helps in relieving constipation problems and acts as a mild therapy for asthma patients.
Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
Lie down on your abdomen.
Slowly, raise your both legs along with your torso backward.
Now, extend your arms backward and hold your feet with your palms.
Try to pull the feet towards your head slowly as much as you can while you take a deep breath.
Hold in this bow position for 10-20 seconds and then release yourself to the starting position slowly.
Benefits: Dhanurasana helps in strengthening the pancreas and regulating insulin production, which in turn benefits people with high sugar levels in the blood. Also, it helps in resolving digestion problems, backache, sinus, cold, and cough symptoms.
Viparita Karani (Legs Up The Wall Pose)
Sit 3 inches away from a wall while you face the wall.
Lie on your back slowly while you swing your legs upwards along the wall.
Bring your tailbone towards the wall gently such that your thighs rest against the wall comfortably.
Make sure your legs are held straight onto the wall while your feet are positioned perpendicular to the wall on your heels.
Hold yourself in this position as long as you can while you take deep breaths.
Benefits: Viparita Karani enables proper lymphatic drainage. It evens out blood circulation and controls stress hormones in your body. This eventually reduces high blood sugar and blood pressure within your body. Also, it helps in fighting pain or inflammation related to your back and hip.
Ardha Matsyendrasana (Sitting Half Spinal Twist)
Sit in a straight position while keeping your legs outstretched in front.
Bend your right leg and place your right foot on the outside of your left knee. The toes of your right foot should face forward while you do so.
Now, bend your left leg and position your left foot close to your right buttock. The outside edge of your left foot should be in contact with the floor.
While you keep your spine erect, grab your right foot with your left hand firmly.
Place your right hand behind you and twist your trunk, shoulders, and neck towards your right side.
Hold in this pose for 10-20 seconds and return to the initial position slowly.
Now, repeat the pose on the other side.
Benefits: Ardha Matsyendrasana helps in stimulating the abdominal organs and lowering blood sugar. It helps in boosting your immune system. Also, it is very useful to relieve tension, stress, and breathing difficulties.
Paschimottanasana (Seated-forward Bend)
Instructions: Sit down and stretch out your legs straight.
Bring your hands up over your head with fingers pointing towards the ceiling.
Slowly, bring down your hands and touch the toes with your fingers while your knees are maintained in a straight position.
Hold yourself in this position for a minute with normal breathing.
Benefits: Paschimottanasana balances the insulin levels in your blood and thus helps in controlling diabetes. It helps in weight loss and lowers blood pressure. Also, it helps in relieving anxiety and stress disorders.
Halasana (Plow Pose)
Lie down on your back by keeping your legs straight.
Slowly, lift your legs perpendicular to your abdomen and keep them together and straight.
Raise your buttocks gently by applying thrust on your arms.
Now, continue to bend your spine slowly until your big toes reach the floor over your head. However, do not force your toes to touch the floor.
Keep your spine as straight as possible with the support of your arms.
Now, try to interlock your hand fingers slowly.
Tuck your chin in the center of your collar bones and hold in this position for 5-15 seconds while you take deep breaths.
To release from the pose, lower your spine gently and position your legs vertically. Then, bring your legs down to the floor slowly and relax your body.
Benefits: Halasana is tremendously beneficial to prevent sudden spikes in blood sugar levels. It helps in stimulating thyroid glands, enhances blood circulation, and combat stress. Also, it is useful to deal with GI tract disorders and insomnia.
Savasana (Corpse Pose)
Instructions: Lie down on your back by resting your arms at your sides and keeping your legs straight.
Keep your palms facing upwards and your feet drop open.
Now, close your eyes and relax your body as well as mind.
Keep your breathing normal and let your body feel heavy and relaxed on the ground.
Stay in this asana for 5-10 minutes.
To release yourself from the pose, start with gentle movements such as wiggling your toes and fingers to bring awareness to your body.
Then, roll to your right side slowly and lift yourself into a comfortable seated position.
Savasana should be the last position of your Yoga practice for the day.
Benefits: Savasana helps in cooling down your body and brings ultimate calmness to your body and mind. It is great for people dealing with most of the health ailments including cardiac problems, respiratory problems, high blood pressure along with diabetes.
Yoga is one of the best gifts from our ancient sages to stay healthy and fit by bringing harmony to your body, mind, and soul.
By Soumya Taylor
If you want to give your overall health a good boost, the Yoga for Detox program will help!
This week is all about reminding yourself that true wellness begins with a stable foundation. Establishing alignment from the ground up is key to being stable and powerful––inside and out. Whether both feet are planted on the earth or you’re balancing on one leg, you are building strength and fortifying your mental and physical awareness. Yoga classes focused on standing asanas help you embody a sense of profound connection with yourself and the world around you.
Physically, standing poses cultivate proper posture, including aligning your bones and joints from the feet to the crown of your head. Standing asanas from the simple Tadasana or Mountain Pose to the more complex Virabhadrasana or Warrior poses and to Vrksasana or Tree pose, develop both muscular and bone strength. Whenever you’re practicing standing yoga poses, you’re also working your joints through their full range of motion, enhancing mobility and flexibility. Standing poses assist in building core awareness and power, which are required to maintain excellent posture and prepare the body for deeper poses.
These active asanas benefit mental and emotional health through an emphasis on regulating breath and focusing your gaze. Filtering out distractions and concentrating on a single point of focus, encourages calmness and clarity in our minds. If you fail to focus when you’re balancing on one leg, you’ll topple over. Even in poses like Trikonasana or Triangle, you may have wobbled and had to continually work to achieve a sense of balance and peace. Cultivating self-discipline on the yoga mat creates mindfulness, which is key to remaining steady regardless of external circumstances.
Standing poses remind us we are connected to the earth beneath our feet and the vast world around us. Comfort exists in reminding ourselves that we are an integral part of nature. These steadying postures help us feel more alive by allowing our energy to flow freely, our circulation to improve, and our awareness to deepen. When we focus on these active standing postures, we create a sense of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Try this week’s yoga classes at home and experience a renewed sense of stability.
Michelle Smith - Stand Tall Like The Trees
Patrick Montgomery - Focus on Form: Standing Poses
Dia Draper - Get Up, Stand Up
Today I invite you to take a trip to your fridge and clean it out properly. I hate food waste and make a fridge clean-out type of dish at least once a month to use up all the odd ends of produce that are still good, but maybe not for very long. I will go for a vacation soon and this means nobody will eat anything out of my fridge for the next few weeks. So everything that is there needs to be used before I leave!
I do share a recipe of what exactly went into my soup this time, but feel free to customize. In case you have any other veggies waiting to be used up – go for it! Carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini. They all work wonderfully! I usually always use onion in the base of my soups, but this time I did not have any. If you do, throw it in with leeks and celery. Adding the vegetables, always try to figure out which ones take the longest to cook and add them in first. If you have something that you don’t wish to puree, maybe it works as a topping? If you are a meat-eater, just crisp up all the odd ends of your sausages and bacon. If you eat cheese, maybe just sprinkle it on top or melt it in. The options are endless and these types of recipes always work out. And in addition to a good meal, you also get some peace of mind because you avoid food waste. Win-win!
Vegetable Medley Soup
Cooking time: 20 minutes
½ leek
2 stalks of celery
1 small broccoli
A quarter of small cabbage
3 ½ oz (vegan) cream cheese
The juice from ½ lemon
A handful of green beans
3 ½ oz fresh chanterelle mushrooms
1 spring onion
Salt, pepper, oil
Instructions:
Chop up the leek and celery, and place on the stove on medium heat with a drop of oil and a little salt.
At the same time put on the kettle with the water.
Cut the broccoli to florets (the stem and everything) and make ribbons out of the cabbage.
Pour about 2 cups of water over the leeks and throw in the green beans for 4 minutes. Then fish them out with a slotted spoon and throw in broccoli and cabbage. Put on the lid, and let the veggies cook for about 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
In the meantime, fry the mushrooms in a frying pan in a drop of oil. Season with salt and pepper. I also fried the beans in the same pan to get them a little crispier.
Once the vegetables are tender, add cream cheese and lemon juice, and whizz the soup up to a smooth consistency. If you like your soup more liquid, feel free to add more boiling water. Season with a little extra salt and a ton of pepper.
Top with green beans, fried chanterelles, and spring onion.
Stress in the 21st century is seemingly normal. It can seem present everywhere – demand from work, family challenges, economic concerns, world news, natural disasters, relationship dramas, etc. This can take its toll on our mental health if we allow it.
You might have no control over the outer world, however, you can take positive steps to protect your mental health and prevent the effects of stress.
Understanding Stress
Stress is the pressure that comes from occurrences and experiences of everyday life. Interestingly, humans might benefit from small doses of stress. It helps keep you alert, energized and triggers a positive reaction in all situations to protect yourself. The stress hormone tells you to flee and take cover when there is a shooter on a rampage.
However, our bodies never really evolved to differentiate between life-threatening situations and daily occurrences. As a result, when stress persists in the face of cases that are not life-threatening, the body suffers hugely. Stress, when uncontrolled, makes one prone to various illnesses like stroke, diabetes, insomnia, heart problem, etc. This makes it essential to develop simple and practical tips to manage stress effectively.
Here are some tips, activities, and strategies that can help you manage stress:
Yoga
Yoga is a combination of movement, breath, and mindfulness. All of these work together to relieve stress almost instantly. It stands out as one of the top stress reliving practices that can provide practitioners with instant relief. The long-term stress relief benefits of yoga are real too.
Yoga benefits the body, mind, and soul in various ways. As a beginner, it helps to take introductory yoga classes to gain a solid foundation.
Cardio Exercise
When stress weighs you down, getting your heart rate up and your blood pumping can be an effective therapy. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate exercise. Consider going for a walk, jogging, or cycling down the street to relieve some stress.
Exercise triggers the release of endorphin – the feel-good hormones, according to research. This hormone reduces cortisol and does an excellent job of calming the nerves. You get multiple benefits with exercises like improved blood flow to various body organs, better heart health, and improved sleep.
Get Rid of Things that Stress You Out
While you might not be able to avoid all sources of stress like deadlines from work, it is possible to remove the ones you can control. Doing this can go a long way to bring peace to your life.
Excess exposure to news, for instance, can get you all worked up. Constantly getting notifications of conflict or natural disasters around the world will only end up sapping your peace. The same goes for fighting with people about politics online. Stay away from such and surround yourself with experiences that delight you and fill you with joy instead.
Breathing
Deep breathing taps into the body's ability to relax and calm itself in the face of chaos. This explains why soldiers practice deep breathing amid some of the scariest imaginable situations, to enable them to calm their nerves. The process allows for the brain and vital body organs to get more oxygen which provides relaxation. It tricks the body into believing that everything is normal and there is no immediate source of danger.
In the heat of danger or a stressful situation, the body responds with rapid breathing alongside a rise in blood pressure and heartbeat. However, taking a step back to catch a few deep breaths can relieve stress as it communicates to the brain that all is well. Breathing exercises can provide calmness.
Practice Visualization
The human body is programmed to respond to both actual occurrence and perceived experience in the same way. With this, visualizing a calm place where you feel safe without anything troubling or terrifying can be incredibly helpful.
The idea of going to a beautiful and peaceful place in your imagination is to relax and relieve stress. Guided imagery allows you to take that vacation mentally. It can be as simple as picturing yourself on a sublime beach. Imagine the breeze from the water caressing your skin while you lie with a cup of your favorite drink.
Stress is a common occurrence in our present world. It is a menace that sets the stage for various health issues. This makes it essential to take positive steps to get rid of stress before it ruins your life. The good news is you can inculcate some habits into your lifestyle to beat stress. Many of the points discussed above are user-friendly and cost-effective habits that you can include as part of your lifestyle. Making them a routine can help you take charge of your life to avoid unnecessary drama in your life.
By Tammy Parker
Ready to Relieve Stress? Step onto your yoga mat now and practice for 14 days in a row!
Developing positive habits in your home life can impact your mood and overall well-being. Here are some positive household habits that will help you build a framework for a happier life.
Building and maintaining good habits can provide our lives with a positive framework, but these habits don’t simply happen by chance. It’s pretty easy to fall into bad habits that impede life around the house. A happy routine can support a happy mood, so if we stick to positive routines around our homes, we stand a good chance of keeping negative slumps at bay.
There is psychological evidence behind the power of routine to support contentment and even happiness. Although adventure and spontaneous action can lend spice to our lives and are important, if out of balance, they can make life a bit chaotic or stressful. Many people become bothered and decidedly unhappy when their pleasant routines are disturbed. While we always want to leave some space for change and flexibility, we can certainly protect our positive frame of mind by keeping consistent positive habits.
What Are the Benefits of Creating Habits That Stick?
Creating good habits around the house allows you to reach your goals, even though some habits may seem more mundane than others. For instance, can a cleaning routine really propel your work success? The mere act of disciplining ourselves to complete our routines helps us create a self-culture of positive behaviors. Being productive at home can mirror our workplace productivity. Plus, there’s a decided benefit of having a clean house that’s always company-ready; it can become our retreat, a sanctuary that we can unwind in.
How to Make Good Habits Stick and Bad Habits Vanish
First, it helps to take stock when trying to get into a healthy routine at home. Our healthy routine might involve a nutritious diet, healthy sleep patterns, and routine chores. But, what are the bad habits that threaten our well-being and our healthy habit-forming goals? Carefully assess some of your most frustrating bad habits, the habits you want to change. You might have a bad habit of falling asleep on the couch after work, which prevents you from exercising or eating an early dinner. You might have a habit of allowing the television to distract you from performing the chores outlined in your daily routine.
To make the bad habits disappear, you first have to identify them and commit to change. You have to understand your pitfalls so that you can avoid falling into them. Maybe you love potato chips - one way to counteract this is to avoid the snack aisle at the grocery store and opt for fruit and healthier sections instead. Avoid temptations and replace them with more healthful options. Only when we tackle our bad habits head-on with definitive strategies can we transform them into the positive habits that we know can improve our lives and mood.
The Importance of Routines for Our Happiness and Stability
People spend considerable time at home, and increasing numbers of people are working from their homes too. If you’re working even some of the time from your house or simply want to improve the quality of your life when you are at home, you should strive to create routines that lead to enhanced stability and happiness. Good habits can set a foundation for our lives; they can form the bedrock of each day. Our habits can become the building blocks we use to create the good life we crave.
Here, we’ll provide some tips for developing a healthy routine designed to ensure greater stability around the house. Feel free to adapt this advice as needed. However, take care when creating your routines that each supports the well-being of your mind, body, and even your spirit.
At Home Morning Routine
Establishing a good morning routine is particularly important because it sets the mood for the day. If your mornings are without a routine, building a productive day on a shaky foundation can be challenging. To help you create a positive morning routine, consider the following tips:
Wake Up Early
Even if you relish sleeping in, there are some essential benefits of waking up early that you don’t want to overlook. First, you can get the early-morning brain fog over before you begin work. Brain fog and sleepiness can last anywhere from two to even four hours. Starting work while you’re still sleepy can undermine your productive day. By waking up early, you can ease into your day and set yourself up for more success once you arrive at work.
Meditate
Starting the day with a clean and clear mindset can help us reduce stress and even form an effective barrier against it. You can clear your mind of bad dreams or worries by actively meditating for a few minutes or even longer every day. Some people choose to wake up and sit at the edge of their beds to meditate first thing in the morning. Others choose to set aside time before breakfast to sit on their back porch to watch the birds. After a long day, some prefer to alleviate the day’s stresses with meditation at night. Some people prefer yoga or meditating outdoors in their garden. Taking a moment to clear your mind can help you prepare yourself mentally for the day ahead.
Eat Breakfast
If you’ve slept for eight hours, your body wants to refuel in the morning. It needs to be hydrated and fed. Breakfast is a mealtime that’s fraught with bad habits. Too often, people skip breakfast, forcing their bodies to function for hours before lunchtime. Others may grab a doughnut or something similarly unhealthy, which is not doing their bodies any favors nutritionally speaking either. Set yourself up for breakfast success by purchasing healthy items that don’t require a lot of preparation. Yogurt, fruit, and whole-grain toast are a few items to have on hand so you can eat something healthy each morning.
Exercise
Exercise provides us with an energy boost. Stretching or even taking a walk can help us improve our circulation and ready us for the day. Waking up late and rolling into work still feeling tired and lethargic is no recipe for productivity. Exercise sharpens our minds while supporting physical fitness. Include a walk each morning, even if it’s a short one so that you get your body into gear for the day.
Get Ready for the Day
Even if you work from home, it’s essential to create a routine that gets you ready to be productive. Put on your work clothes. Fill your water bottle with fresh water. Shower, brush your teeth and hair, just as if you were going to commute to a job across the city. These habits may be usual, but they support a positive routine.
Plan Your Day and Begin
When you’re ready to start your main workday, create a plan. Your goals may be small. You may want to start the day by checking emails. Whatever you do, ensure that you portion out your time appropriately to address all the goals outlined in your plan.
At Home Afternoon Routine
If you’re working from home, it’s easy to get off track because no one will notice except for you. However, if you want to maintain your productivity and get your work accomplished without having to cram it all in later, you’ll want to create a positive afternoon routine.
Designate Your Workspace
Having a designated workspace at home will allow you to feel as if you’re going to work after all. Ensure that you have all the tools you need to get your work done and good lighting, a comfortable and supportive chair, and good ventilation.
Healthy Snacks
Keep your healthy diet on track by reaching for healthy snacks during your workday. Fruit, almonds, and water will help you stay energized physically and mentally.
Take Stretch Breaks
Be sure to give your brain and body breaks. Take five-minute breaks to walk the dog, stretch, or even throw a load of laundry in the washer. A short break in the routine helps you reset and gives your mind and body a chance to recharge.
Lunch
Try to avoid taking a working lunch and leave your desk to eat. Too much work can stress your brain. Allow yourself to unwind. Enjoy a healthy lunch in your kitchen or on your patio.
Evening Routine
Your evening routine is important because it allows you to unwind and relax doing things you enjoy. Here are a few ways to fill your night with positive activities.
Nutritious Dinner
Get into the habit of making a nutritious dinner during your workweek. Ensure that you have a balanced meal each night to support your health. As your dinner cooks, use the time to plan the next night’s meal so that you’re always a step ahead.
Journal
Journaling can also help you destress and set new goals like creating plans for the next day or week.
Me Time
It’s essential to fill your “me time” with things you enjoy doing, like mingling with family, watching television, reading, or crafting. No matter how busy you feel, it’s helpful to do what you love to do because it alleviates stress and supports your overall well-being.
Skin Care Routine
Taking care of your skin is part of maintaining your health. Moreover, it can feel great to deep clean and nourish your skin before getting ready for bed.
Relax
Finally, establish a sleep routine. Some people prefer to listen to music before bed. Others like to unwind with some essential oil. Try to avoid using any electronics before bed as they can stimulate the brain, making it hard to fall asleep. Try to avoid drinking water before bed, or you may have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, which can impede a good night’s sleep.
Use these tips to create a consistent daily pattern. If the idea of a rigid routine bothers you, remember that you can always take the weekend off or create a different pattern of behavior for the weekends. After all, you want to make the most of your weekends too! Try these activities for a month and see if you don’t begin to feel better physically and mentally. Remember, you can continuously refine these tips to enhance your personal schedule.
By Lorena Romo: Originally posted on Porch.com
Ready to start implementing some of these healthy habits at home? Sign up for a 14-Day Rise & Shine Morning Yoga Program, now!
Who needs to cultivate a stronger sense of self or perhaps tone down an ego that is slanting more toward arrogance than confidence? Finding the balance between inner strength and insecurity takes effort but is vital to living the life you love. This week, we’ll focus on the Manipura or navel chakra, which yogis identify as the source of our self-confidence, willpower, and inner fire.
Your personality and personal power stem from the “fire in your belly” or “tapas.” At different points in our lives, like starting a new job or ending a personal relationship, our self-confidence may need a boost or a reality check. When the Manipura is in over-drive, it manifests as arrogance or ego. A lack of navel chakra energy can fill us with insecurity and self-doubt. Know that no matter what stage you’re in, focusing on your Manipura chakra can bring you back into balance.
Manipura is defined as the jewel in the city and expounds that the jewel is the ego that is your wealth. The essence of Manipura is the desire to be seen and acknowledged as a unique individual––to be recognized for your true self. When you stimulate your self-confidence, you can shine bright without fear of criticism or judgment. Learning to assert yourself without fear is a true benefit of balancing your solar-plexus energy.
Yoga practices designed to enhance your navel chakra can help you burn through layers of self-doubt and learn to trust your gut instincts. Physical asanas like twists and core-strengthening moves will build your strength from the outside in. Poses emphasizing balancing on one foot or on your hands require focus and engagement of the muscles in your center, which keep your spine healthy. These asanas and pranayama also stimulate our internal organs, which encourages energy to flow freely through our systems.
Transcending the physical, you can change how you feel from the inside out through targeted breath and meditation. Pranayama techniques like Kapalabhati breathing will stimulate your inner fire. Using meditation and mantras like, “I act on my desires and motivations” or “I honor the power within me” will boost your belief in your strength and abilities. Manipura chakra is the location where we can stoke the energy to manifest our desires. It is important to stay in touch with our center and trust our instincts.
This week’s classes are specifically designed to enliven your Manipura chakra, boost your mood, strengthen your core, and leave you feeling shiny and bright.
Pradeep Teotia - Core Flow (Free Class)
Claire Petretti Marti - Nothing But Core: Advanced & Turbo-Charged
Cicily Carter - Manipura Chakra: Core Flow
Valerie D'Ambrosio - Awaken Your 3rd Chakra
When was the last time you thought about your hormones? When it comes to health and well-being, hormones don’t typically take center stage. But hormones play a big role in healthy organ function, metabolism, bone health, and even our sleep (think melatonin).
Jules and I are both in our forties, and we both had babies over 40. So needless to say, hormones have been on our minds. We’re focused on up-leveling our hormone health so we can look forward to maintaining energy and strength as we age.
What do we do to keep our hormone production healthy?
We seek out nutritious foods that will help balance our hormones.
So today, we’re excited to share this delicious hormone-balancing smoothie recipe with you! It’s rich in superfoods and antioxidants our bodies need to regulate our hormones and keep us feeling our best.
If you’ve been around for a while, you probably know that hormone-balancing superfoods are a major part of our health formula. Smoothie recipes like the one below are a great way to get a high concentration of these nutrients without a lot of time and effort.
Here’s the breakdown of our chosen ingredients and their hormone-friendly benefits:
Flaxseeds: a superfood that’s rich in healthy Omega-3 fats and fiber. Healthy fats are crucial to healthy hormone production and may even help reduce hot flashes. A diet high in fiber is important for flushing excess estrogen out of the system.
Ashwagandha: a powerful adaptogen that helps to decrease cortisol levels and lower blood sugar.
Maca: an adaptogen that’s become famous for its hormone-balancing and stress reduction benefits. It’s commonly used to boost libido and fertility.
Hemp seeds: nature’s perfect protein powder! Hemp seeds are rich in healthy fats and they’re one of the few plant-based sources of complete protein.
Organic Acerola Cherry Powder: a great source of vitamin C, which helps increase progesterone levels and eliminate excess hormones from the body. Vitamin C also helps with optimal thyroid function.
Blueberries: a low glycemic fruit and an antioxidant powerhouse! When talking about hormone balance, maintaining healthy blood sugar is important. Eating fruits like berries that are naturally low in sugar and high in nutrients is a great way to get your fruit in without spiking your blood sugar.
Cauliflower: cruciferous veggies like cauliflower contain sulforaphane, which helps reduce excess estrogen. They’re also great blood sugar regulators!
Spinach: leafy greens like spinach are great for balancing blood sugar. They also contain antioxidants that help the liver detox excess hormones.
Lemon: in addition to balancing flavor and bringing brightness to your smoothie, the vitamin C in lemon juice helps your body absorb the iron in spinach (and other leafy greens).
Not only will this smoothie help you keep your hormones in check — it’ll fight brain fog and make you feel energized, clear-headed, and calm.
Give it a try and let us know how you feel! Do you have any go-to hormone-balancing recipes? Share them with us in the comments!
To happy healthy hormones,
Jo & Jules
Hormone Balancing Smoothie
2 cups macadamia nut milk (or any other plant-based milk) 2 handfuls of spinach 1 cup cauliflower (raw or lightly steamed) 1 cup blueberries 1 lemon, peeled 2 TB. Conscious Cleanse Chocolate Hemp Protein Powder 2 TB. flax seeds 1 tsp. maca ½ tsp. ashwagandha root powder 1 tsp. organic acerola cherry powder 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients. Blend on high until smooth and creamy.
Optional: Garnish your finished smoothie with some fresh mint.
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.
Our world can be so full of rushing bustle and high energy that it leaves many of us perpetually exhausted and suffering from many fatigue-related issues in our home and work lives. When we lack adequate sleep, we suffer from more than a case of Monday yawns.
Sleeplessness and chronic fatigue contribute to a variety of problems. Extended sleep deprivation can lead to even more severe mental and physical health concerns. Burning the candle at both ends isn’t a pleasant or safe way to move through life.
Yoga is proven to reduce your body’s production of the stress hormone, Cortisol. It also helps you relax into your body and release much of the tension you carry through your day. Stretching your muscles and certain styles of yoga before bed can help your body sleep more soundly and reduce insomnia.
Another benefit that many people overlook is that better sleep helps you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Yoga helps with both sleep quality and keeping your body in motion to promote your physical health.
Poses to Try: When you’re preparing for bed, avoid yoga poses that will increase your heart rate, like standard backbends and other energizing poses. Hot Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga are also not ideal for rest. You can do backbends so long as they’re adjusted for restoration and relaxation.
Child’s Pose
This pose will help stretch and open the shoulders and chest, lengthen the spine, bring focus to your breathing, stretch the buttocks and sides of the torso and extend the psoas muscles.
For Child’s Pose, start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Press your hands into the mat, and move your hips back toward your feet. Your knees and big toes should be touching in this pose, though there are variations that are wide-legged.
Cat-Cow Pose
This combination of poses lengthens your spine and gently stretches the muscles in your neck. This pose also opens the chest and brings more evident attention to your breathing patterns.
For Cat-Cow, start on your hands and knees, with your hands shoulder-width apart. On your inhale, drop your tailbone, sink your stomach, and raise your heart into Cow. Hold your breath for a moment before exhaling into Cat. For Cat, you’ll maintain your hand and knee position. Pull your tailbone in and your stomach to your spine. Arch your back, and pull your head into position to look at your legs. Repeat these two positions while focusing on your breathing.
Seated Spinal Twist
One of the most frequent contributors to sleeplessness is back pain. This pose will help lengthen, strengthen, and stretch the spine and reduce back pain. This pose also encourages healthy breathing habits and reduces sciatica-related pain in the hips.
For Seated Spinal Twist, sit back on your buttocks with your hips on the ground and your knees bent. There are a few variations on this pose to accommodate different physical body needs. This is a pose that you’ll want to focus on lengthening your spine for best results.
Standing Forward Bend
As we move through our day, a lot of tightness can build up in the calves, hamstrings, and glutes. The Standing Forward Bend is an excellent pose for releasing the tension and letting gravity gently stretch these muscles before bed. If this pose seems complicated due to a lack of flexibility, you can make alterations to achieve the same outcomes with better comfort and stability.
For Standing Forward Bend, engage your core muscles, slowly lower yourself down, reaching for your toes. Without locking your knees, reach as far to the floor as you’re able and exhale. When you’re ready to stand back up, roll up slowly, keeping your core engaged.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra isn't a yoga pose, but a guided meditation style of yoga that teaches your body to sink into rest and calm your mind in preparation for sleep. This type of yoga encourages a deep state of relaxation and is recommended as part of your nightly bedtime routine. A typical Yoga Nidra series can take as little as 10 minutes and can go for much longer if preferred.
Your yoga practice may be the game-changer you’ve been looking for to reset your sleep habits and renew your bedtime routine. However, yoga can only go so far in promoting healthy sleep. It’s essential to make sure your bedroom is restful and soothing.
Maintain your room at a comfortable temperature, and maintain air movement with a fan. Before bed, during your nighttime routine, dim your lights and reduce excess noise. You may need to hang curtains over windows or textile decorations on walls to dampen outside noises.
By Jennifer Chonillo
For more information about how to get the best sleep of your life, check out more infographics like the one below from SleePare Miami’s blog.
Practice the Yoga for Better Sleep Program and the 1-Week Yoga Nidra Program for to help you sleep soundly!
Yoga is an extremely popular practice around the globe, and that’s because it was made to be accessible to everyone, to heal, strengthen, calm and empower whoever wants to try it, regardless of age, gender, race, size, shape, background and fitness level!
Everyone should try yoga at least once in their life, and here are just a few reasons why this practice is for everyone.
Stress Relief
Yoga relieves stress for everyone from any walk of life. Yoga helps to bring attention to our breath, which is the quickest and easiest way to change our mindsets and emotional states. Deeper, fuller breaths help to relax our parasympathetic nervous systems, which in turn helps to alleviate anxiety and tension. Whoever you are, once you try connecting and controlling your breath through yoga, you will notice your stress levels reducing. The mind-body practice of yoga allows for meditation and relaxation and gaining some knowledge of how your mind works is a great long-term stress management technique.
It Strengthens the Body
You might think that yoga is an easy sport, but it actually is hard on the body, after one session you will realize how hard you actually work and how tough you need to be. Yoga uses our own body to support different postures and helps to develop strength by using the core to support and engage the muscles to keep you in the pose. Easy pose usually focuses on a specific group of muscles, and even simple poses can help tone muscle groups all over the body.
It Increases Flexibility
Yoga is great for limbering us up and helping us tap into our flexibility - and anyone can do it! When you start a yoga practice, it’s about stretching and pushing yourself and your limitations. When you start to combine movement and breath, you will find that you can go deeper and deeper into each posture, and you open up more every day. It can take some time, but you’ll see the progress every time you practice. When you let go of tension and lengthen out your body, you’ll feel the amazing benefits.
Yoga Helps You Connect with Yourself
Yoga is a time to connect and tune into your voice. As it’s a non-competitive practice, it encourages you to listen to your mind and your body. And when you get to know yourself on the mat, it will help you be more authentic in the real world. Connecting with your inner voice is very important for your mental health, when you’re able to connect to your inner voice, you can understand your feelings and become more aware of your thoughts, and help process them.
Yoga Can Be Practiced Anywhere
All you need to practice yoga is your body - even mats are optional if you’re happy using the floor. You don’t need any fancy kit of equipment, and you can do it anywhere you are in the world, even if you only have a few minutes. Bringing a mat, if you need to, is easy to carry around and isn’t too cumbersome. You can also use alternatives for props with whatever you have around the house.
Yoga is Adaptable
No yoga practice is ever the same, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all practice. It’s easy to adapt yoga to your body, and although there is a basic outcome and alignment needed for each posture, most of the practice comes from listening to your own body and moving from within.
Yoga is Fun
Yoga lets you channel your inner child, and you get to move your body in all sorts of different ways. It’s one of the only sports when you can let yourself completely be free. There is also a common saying, which is ‘yoga is a practice, not a performance’, which also means that when you are practicing yoga there is no competition also - making it a more fun practice.
Yoga is Low Impact
Yoga is a low-impact exercise that can help to lubricate the joints and massage your muscles. You can practice yoga for the rest of your life, and use it to help you stay young and agile - both physically and mentally. The slow and careful movements improve strength, flexibility, and balance, and it’s ideal if you have injuries. This also means it's great for active recovery. With the focus on breathing and bringing in good energy, it will also help you to rest and let out your negative thoughts and emotions, preparing you for the days ahead.
It’s Empowering
Yoga can help to boost your confidence by letting you rely on yourself, and help you discover the power of your breath, body, and potential - making you feel stronger and confident. Yoga can also help you to tune into and trust your instincts, leading from your heart and your gut. Learning to listen to your inner voice helps you trust in yourself, filling you with power and kindness.
It’s easy to find a class to fit your needs. There are a lot of yoga styles such as Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Power, Bikram, Iyengar, and Yin - to name just a few! It’s easy to find a style and type of yoga that works for you.
This week's classes are for everyone and more specific demographics. There are yoga classes for men, some for those who are aging, one from Dana's Body Positivity yoga program, and one for new moms. These classes are a reminder that while yoga is for everyone, it can be adapted to suit each person's unique needs and body.
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” - Bhagavad Gita
Every single one of us is unique. No identical fingerprints exist. Nobody can feel your feelings, think your thoughts, or experience the physical sensations you have. This week we are celebrating the differences between us––while keeping in mind what connects us––with yoga practices designed specifically for certain populations.
No one size fits all yoga practice exists. The considerable benefits of yoga for the physical, mental, and emotional bodies are available to everyone regardless of age, current health, and energy levels. We all progress through different seasons of our lives and our needs and desires change. Your yoga practice at age 21 is and should be different than your experience when you are 71. We are constantly evolving and so should our yoga practice.
Of course, you could take a variety of different classes and modify or amplify the sections which don’t work for your body or resonate with your inner self. Sometimes, you simply want a class that feels like the teacher created it just for you.
Perhaps you’re a new mother and need to ease back into your regular practice and accommodate the changes in your body and emotions. Yoga for New Moms with Casey Feicht is the perfect class to help you transition back onto the mat. Or, as a guy, you want to check out Robert Sidoti’s Broga program, and receive a specialized program just for you. Two vastly different focuses but both classes offer all the benefits of flexibility, strength, balance, and peace of mind we all receive from yoga.
Dana Smith’s Open Your Heart from her Body Positivity program helps you focus on finding your inner joy, regardless of your external physical abilities. And if you’re not a teenager anymore, your yoga practice needs to evolve with each decade. Desiree Rumbaugh and Michelle Marchildon’s Find Strength Through Your Feet emphasizes staying strong from the ground up. These classes are a reminder that while yoga is for everyone, it can be adapted to suit each person's unique needs and bodies.
No matter who you are, there is a yoga practice that will be perfect for you. Enjoy!
Robert Sidoti - Yoga for Men 1: Begin
Desiree Rumbaugh & Michelle Marchildon: Find Strength Through Your Feet
Dana Smith - Open Your Heart
Casey Feicht - Yoga for New Moms
Today I am sharing a different idea for you to try out on your next pizza evening. My aunt has a wonderful summerhouse and a few years back we built a wood pizza oven there that takes several hours to heat up and bakes the most amazing pizzas in very high heat. So every time I visit, there is pizza. A lot of it!
This time I made a nice sourdough base, but I am not sharing the dough recipe with you as it takes around a week to make (assuming that you don’t already have a sourdough starter living in your fridge). Obviously, you also don’t need to spend an entire weekend building an oven. Your regular pizza base recipe and the regular oven will be totally okay to use.
As always, we had a ton of veggies, different cheeses, and other toppings to play around with so everyone can make their own pizza exactly how they like it.
This one was actually created by my sister, so I can not take the credit here, but since it was magical, I will share this with you here. It is a very regular Margherita topping as we all know and love it, but after the oven, it will get extra love by a smooth avocado cream and toasted pine nuts. Yum.
The exact quantities here depend on the type of your avocados and sour cream and how juicy your limes are, but start with 1 tablespoon of sour cream per 1 ripe avocado, add the juice from ½ lime and keep adding ingredients until you are happy with the taste. Spoon the cream on top of the pizza and add some toasted pine nuts.
Avocado Cream Pizza Topping
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella
Fresh basil leaves
Avocado, lime, salt, sour cream, and pine nuts mixed into a smooth cream
Directions: Put on top of homemade or store-bought pizza and enjoy!
This August full moon is full of power and will bring forward a resurgence of lifeforce. It is 'Go Time" my loves, and in the beginning of this month the transition into these new energies and directives could have felt like pressure or uncertainty. Everyone collectively felt and received an intuitive push from the soul to step into the new self that has been unfolding this entire year.
Here we are. The rise of the sun. The theme for this full moon is positive masculine outward forces that will bring new energies into self-expression, new goals, and dharma. A key aspect of self-expression is possession. The movement forward asks for ownership of who you are becoming. Own and take possession of your greatness and rise into it. It is a shift of consciousness.
The energy is working and transforming the earth element. We have water, air, and earth working to transform into a new being. This point is when the evolutionary outgoing path meets the involuntary ingoing path. The evolution of the self meets the inner self for an outward expression. The material becomes more stable and muddles less. Maya (illusion) is overcome through owning self, the gift of Leo is the separation from Anima Mundi-universal soul.
The individual self is strengthened, dharma has greater footing, clarity, and the rise of the soul-sun moves forward with vigor, courage, and brighter horizons. These energies are working to manifest on the outer plane. There has been so much energy earlier this year, developing the levels of consciousness, and awakening dharma. Here it is new energy moving to develop dharma and gifts outward. These energies have also developed the individuated self (unique soul self). This lunation is masculine dominant energy within feminine creative power. This level of shakti moves the soul self to create within new realms. For many of you, this will affirm new aspects of self.
Many of you will have desires, and dreams reach new forms of manifested reality. It is a fortunate lunation, marked by supporting planetary placements. Jupiter will play a key role in uplifting the Sun and Mars, while the moon will work with illuminating what lies behind Maya (illusion). This revealing is unifying of the self within dharma. Do not fight the flow, surrender into it. Allow the self to be carried away and allow the illumination to purify the dross.
There is a unique energy of spiritualization that is transforming the interrelationship of self and others. This will work through material life, it will work through all facets of relationship. Some may feel tempted to resort to past placation or pleasure-seeking. Follow the heart of creation, nourish what is arising, this can be done by ownership of all aspects of self. Make love to your ‘lesser nature’, woo the traits that aren’t as pretty.
Again ownership of self will raise one into new heights. Move beyond what you perceive and how you are perceived. Silence and devotion to this new you is required. That means applying directive to the positive force of masculine energy into outward action. This can be in any area of your life, but your commitment to stabilizing these new creative forces and the energy that is moving is important. The individuated self will seek new heights.
To work these energies in asana, open chair twist will work with the elements and with the actions of the planets during this full moon.
To book a personal chart reading click here. Cosmic Resources and deeper esoteric practices can be found on my website.
Geenie, also known as Gemma, is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, astrologer, and student of the Sri Vidya Tantric lineage. 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. Her website is here.
Practice the Yoga & Astrology series with Geenie now!
Iyengar Yoga is a style of yoga that was developed and named after someone called B.K.S Iyengar, in the 1960s. This style of yoga is very meticulous and places importance on precision and alignment. Iyengar yoga is about breath control and posture and is great to build strength and flexibility, as well as teaching the correct alignment of the body.
B.K.S Iyengar was born in 1918 in Bellur, India. He studied and practiced yoga for over 85 years. He studied under T. Krishnamacharya - who is often referred to as ‘The Father of Modern Yoga’. He brought his style of yoga to the west in the 1970’s and wrote his book: Light on Yoga, which has been a source for yoga students all over the world. B.K.S Iyengar taught for over 75 years in the 5 continents, bringing yoga to many people around the world. He even invented a lot of the yoga props we still use today and helped explore how yoga can treat medical conditions.
Iyengar yoga is different, and it’s accessible to anyone. It is the most widely practiced yoga style in the world. Iyengar yoga focuses on postural alignment, and it is good to treat postural problems. It requires a high level of concentration to achieve the precise details of each pose. The emphasis is on quality of movement rather than quantity and encourages safety throughout the practice. It might seem a bit slower, but you’ll soon realize how hard you have to work.
Iyengar practice utilizes props - such as blocks, blankets, straps, chairs, and bolsters. This is to help each student to find the proper alignment in each pose. Props are useful as they help students to hold poses in the proper alignment even when it’s the first time they’ve tried it, or if they are stiffer or injured. Props should always be available in an Iyengar yoga practice, but they’re not always necessary. They should be used to simplify the poses and to make each pose accessible to everyone. Make sure you take advice from your instructor if you’ve never used props before, or you’re not sure if you need them or not.
In an Iyengar yoga class, the technique in which the postures are taught is the exact same worldwide. Each teacher will choose a series of poses for each class for different reasons, but each pose will be exactly the same worldwide. That means you will not feel out of place whatever Iyengar class you attend.
Beginner classes tend to focus on standing postures, to help you learn and understand the fundamentals of how to align your body correctly. Standing poses form the foundation of the practice, before moving onto more advanced postures. However, standing poses need to be practiced and studied regularly - even if you’re a master at the practice.
Teachers who teach Iyengar yoga must undergo lots of training to ensure they give out the right instructions needed on alignment and postures. A fully qualified Iyengar teacher will hold a current Iyengar Yoga Certification Mark.
You can expect a class to include lots of information on technique and sequencing, progressing safely through the postures.
The benefits of Iyengar yoga include physical benefits, such as increased flexibility. You don’t need to be super flexible to try it, and increased flexibility may be a great side effect. It is a slow and gentle practice that allows you to hold poses for one minute, and using props to help hold poses can increase your flexibility.
Another benefit is toned muscles, as the physical demand of holding the poses will build up strength in your muscles as well as stretching them. Iyengar engages your whole body, allowing you to build strength in all the muscles, including connective tissue that you might not usually work out. This results in a full body toning experience, and allows you to be aware of how your muscles work deep in your body.
Iyengar yoga can also be used as a type of pain relief, to help relieve back and neck pain. This is because it focuses on alignment, to combat slouching, hunching, and muscle weakness. Iyengar can also help to stretch the muscles in your back and relieve any tension that might be causing pain in these areas. Additionally, this focus on proper alignment can help to strengthen the muscles of your body that are responsible for posture, like your legs, back, and core. With these adjustments to improve your posture, you will also find that smaller muscles become stronger and you find yourself standing taller, and you’ll have more energy, less pain, and feel more confident.
Practicing Iyengar yoga can also help to protect from disease. Disease happens when the normal processes of the body don’t happen exactly the way they should. Iyengar helps to improve the functioning of your body, from circulatory and nervous systems, to lymph systems and digestion. When your body is working properly, your organs are nourished and can eliminate toxins, decreasing the risk of disease.
Finally, Iyengar yoga can help to improve your breathing. While you hold your asana and focus on your alignment, you also move your focus to the breath. The more you practice Iyengar and practice breathing, the less you end up holding your breath unconsciously in your day-to-day life. This encourages a constant flow of oxygen to the brain.
“It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.” -B.K.S. Iyengar
Are you ready to immerse yourself and learn all about Iyengar yoga from expert teacher Dana Hanizeski? We are delighted to share this new 7 class program which will leave you feeling energized, calm, and knowledgeable.
Before we dive into a deeper description of Iyengar yoga, here’s a little history about the man who created this unique style. B.K.S. Iyengar was one of T. Krishnamacharya, the Father of Modern yoga’s, most famous students in Mysore, India. Other prominent Krishnamacharya disciples include Pattabhi Jois and Indra Devi. Iyengar is one of the teachers who introduced his style of yoga and interpretation of the Eight-Limbed Yoga Path to the Western world.
Iyengar penned the famous book, Light on Yoga, and other well-known texts studied and revered to this day. His books Light on Pranayama and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali delve deeper into his shared wisdom. In his teachings, Iyengar states that yoga is a classical Indian science dealing with the search for the soul. The word “yoga” signifies both the way to discovery of the soul and union with it.
In addition to his significant contributions to yoga philosophy, Iyengar developed his style of yoga that arose from personal necessity. He suffered from poor health throughout his childhood and could not perform the vigorous Ashtanga routines created by Krishnamacharya. Often described by his students as the “Lion”, Iyengar was fierce, disciplined, and stubborn. He overcame his personal health issues by experimenting with blocks, straps, and other props to achieve proper alignment in each pose.
Iyengar yoga is a slower, more deliberate style of yoga with long holds emphasizing proper alignment from the feet to the crown. Iyengar believed that extended time in each pose provided major benefits physically and mentally. The addition of props allowed anyone who wants to practice the opportunity to do so with proper support. This style of yoga encompasses a therapeutic aspect excellent for students seeking to recover from injury or simply become stronger.
Whether you are a beginning yogi or an advanced practitioner, you’ll enjoy this well-rounded Iyengar yoga program!
Sometimes the only thing you need is a cake. Feels familiar? So let me introduce you to a chocolate and beetroot cake. No need to be afraid – we do use a lot of beets in this recipe, but you can’t taste it in the result. Also, if you are afraid of too many beets, then just skip the beetroot powder in the frosting (yes, there also is a frosting!) and substitute this with pink pitaya powder or just fresh berries or skip it altogether. The main purpose of the powder here is to color the “cheesecake” frosting into a nice pink-purple color anyway, so if you are happy with white, just go for it.
The cake itself is quite moist and decadent anyway and a few of my friends have mentioned that this is the best vegan cake they have ever had. To make it even more luscious, I added a whipped tofu frosting for extra moisture. And of course, I needed to go the extra mile and also candied some beetroot ribbons. For this, I first created a sugar syrup – 1 cup of water and ½ cups of regular sugar. Bring to boil, add beetroot ribbons (or just very thinly cut beetroot slices), and simmer them for 30 minutes until they turn slightly translucent). Then drain them and leave them to cool. I also cooked the rest of the syrup down to beetroot caramel, but I am honestly not sure yet, where or how I will use this.
So you can go a little crazy with this cake. Go all in and do all the elements for an extra fancy cake. Or keep it simple and only do one element. It is delicious either way!
Vegan Beet-Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cooking time: 1 hour
For the cake base:
14 oz grams boiled beets
3 ½ oz dark chocolate
2 tbsp flaxseed flour + 4 tbsp water mixed
2 oz coconut oil
½ cup cashew milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz cocoa powder
5 oz coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Extra coconut oil and cocoa to cover the cake pan
For the frosting:
12 oz silken tofu
1 tbsp coconut oil
3.5 oz oat-based whipping cream
1 tsp agave syrup (or sugar)
1 tbsp beetroot powder
Place the parchment in the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan, cover the bottom and the sides with a thin layer of coconut oil and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Keep the prepared pan in the fridge until you prepare the batter.
Preheat the oven to 360F.
Melt the chocolate and leave it to cool slightly.
Blitz the beetroot to a smooth puree and mix in the melted chocolate, flax and water mix, coconut oil, cashew milk, and vanilla extract.
In another bowl sieve and mix all the dry ingredients.
Gently mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients only until incorporated and do not overmix.
Pour the batter into a pan and bake for 40 minutes.
Blitz the tofu until smooth. Stick blender works wonderfully here or use a regular blender.
Mix in the coconut oil, agave syrup, beetroot powder, and vanilla extract.
Separately, whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold it in.
To assemble, let the cake base cool completely, then cover with the frosting (or if you feel extra fancy, you can cut the base into two and create a layer cake – there is enough frosting for two layers!) and decorate with candied beetroot, edible flowers or raspberries.
Enjoy this FREE 25-Minute yoga class from home, before your delicious mushrooms!
25-Minute Full Body Yoga with Keith Allen
The second limb of Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga system are the Niyamas, which are five internal practices. These practices extend the ethical codes of conduct provided in his first limb, the Yamas and look more within. The practice of Niyama helps us maintain a positive environment in which to grow, and gives us the self-discipline and inner-strength necessary to progress along the path of yoga.
Similar to the Yamas, the five Niyamas, while ancient in their origins, are very applicable to everyday modern life. These concepts can help you self-reflect and live a more peaceful life.
Saucha. Purification: The first principle of Patanjali’s five Niyamas is Saucha. It is often translated to “cleanliness” and relates to good hygiene and self-care. It also goes much deeper than that. It is the idea that your environment impacts your state of mind. For example, if you walk into a messy room, you are more likely to feel scattered and anxious internally, versus how you feel when you walk into a clean and orderly room. The same goes for your body. If you feel well-groomed and clean, you’re more likely to feel better and even clearer in your mind.
There are a number of yogic cleansing techniques that create cleanliness internally. Things like a neti pot, nauli (abdominal massage), and bhasti (colon cleansing), are examples of techniques that support Saucha and a clearer mind and body. Treating your body like a temple, with care is part of yoga.
Santosha. Contentment: In simplest terms, Santosha teaches us to be grateful for what we have and not waste energy craving for things that we do not have. Advertising wants us to think that true happiness can come through the accumulation of objects, but yoga teaches us that happiness that comes from materialism is only temporary.
Practicing Santosha frees us from perpetually wanting more and feeling dissatisfied with what we have. Right here, right now, you have the ability to appreciate everything you have. Contentment is a powerful perspective and one that can allow us to feel joy for all of life’s blessings. Unnecessary suffering comes from always wanting things to be different.
Tapas. Asceticism: Tapas is the yogic concept of self-discipline and willpower. Tapas can be seen as doing something you might not feel like, that will have a positive effect on your life.
Tapas is related to our inner fire and our passion, purpose, and willpower. Tapas is trusting yourself to do the things you say you are going to do and following through with things you’ve committed to. Tapas gives us more control over our unconscious impulses and poor habits. It can build the willpower and personal strength to become more dedicated to our practice of yoga and other good habits.
Svadhyaya. Self-Study: Svadhyaya is the practice of being able to look at yourself, your patterns, behaviors, flaws, strengths, and self-growth. It’s simply being able to contemplate and reflect upon life’s lessons, as well as your own behavior.
Life is an ever-changing journey, and we change throughout life as people. That is why Svadhyaya is not a one-time thing, but an ongoing practice. Do you consider conflicts with others from perspectives other than your own? Are you willing to realize and admit when you’ve made mistakes and choose to grow from them? It’s harder to grow when we’re not able, to be honest with ourselves and take a good look in the mirror once in a while. Yoga and meditation are practices of looking within. There is an opportunity to practice Svadhyaya every single time you step onto your yoga mat.
Ishvara Pranidhana. Devotion: This is the dedication and devotion of the fruits of one’s practice to a higher power. This Niyama fuses two common aspects of yoga within it: the devotion to something greater than just yourself and the selfless action of karma yoga. Patanjali tells us that to reach the goal of yoga we must dissolve our egocentric nature and let go of our constant identification with ourselves.
Ishvara Pranidhana is not religious, but about dedicating the benefits of your yoga practice, to the benefit of all. It has ripple effects that go far beyond just you. Through this simple act of dedication, we become reminded of our connection to an energy that connects us all, and our practice becomes sacred and filled with grace and love.
By Keith Allen