“The more free time we devote to shaping our minds, the better off we will be. I recommend waking up early to use the morning to meditate “. -Dalai Lama
Journaling daily has surprising benefits, many of which intersect with and complement a yoga practice. Journaling, like anything, takes dedication, consistency and practice, but the benefits are well worth the work. Use these tips and ideas below to explore and support your life, mornings, and yoga practice!
Journaling is an amazing ally, as you can do it anywhere and all you need is a writing utensil and a book with paper. Basic notebooks do the trick, however there are also more specialized journals for everything from goal setting to journal's for yoga practitioners.
Here are 5 morning journaling ideas that can jumpstart you towards amazing days. Have fun with them and explore which work best for you.
1. Get Grateful
A little gratitude can go a long way. Start you day by waking up and immediately listing 3 things you are grateful for. This habit can help you avoid picking up the smart phone, which fills your mind with outside thoughts, and instead helps you focus inward. The question to consider is “what do you have to be grateful today?”. Consider this question every morning and write down what comes each day, regardless of what it is. This helps set a positive tone for the day by showing appreciation and contentment for your life. It also relates to the yogic niyama of santosha, or contentment. You will be able to carry this gratitude throughout you day with this simple mindful practice. Plus, it feels good to do.
2. Set Your Daily intention
What is your main goal today? Where do you want your energy and focus to go? This is your intention, or the underlying thread that helps to connect your daily actions, forming a large, connected quilt of meaning. Think about it. A quilt has a collection of pieces, sometimes scraps of fabric that, on the one hand, look completely disconnected from the other scraps, but can positioned in such a way that makes sense. Each day is comprised of many parts, like the scraps, to form the whole of your day. Setting an intention helps you connect the various scraps in your life to create the pattern of actions and thoughts you desire for your day. Write your intention down, either every day or at the beginning of every week. Setting your intention is connected to the yogic niyama of self study, or svadhyaya.
3. Make a Plan
Making a plan helps to lay out a structure we so often need when first starting a new routine. Consider what your morning routine is now, and how you can adjust it to allow for new activities. Use the morning to place reminders on your calendar, finalize loose plans with a friend, or take notes to yourself to help keep your mind focused.
It can also be helpful to write down a reason you are wanting to start your new morning routine- is it for better health? Focus? Mental clarity? Whatever your reason, remind yourself of it when you feel unmotivated. A plan will help you get started and provide a platform to forming healthy habits. Making a plan to help stick to your ultimate goal, is an example of using the yogic niyama tapas, or self-discipline.
4. Tell yourself you are awesome
When you value yourself, your perspective on things changes greatly. At first it may seem odd to “talk” to yourself, by in reality we talk to ourselves all the time. When this talking is positive, you are starting to support and believe in yourself. When you believe in yourself, you are more likely to stick to your goals, move forward and find growth. Starting the day with a positive self-affirmation (spoken or written) can help your keep your inner voice positive, supportive and your number one fan as you move forward. Start each day by choosing an affirmation using the “I am” structure. For example, “I am strong. I am capable. I am happy” all follow this basic structure. Write “I am”into your journal and fill it in with a positive message. Showing this love and kindness toward yourself is an example of inserting the yama ahimsa toward yourself.
5. Take Care of Your Physical Body
When your physical body is strong, you layout the framework for a strong mind. Commit to caring for your body by keeping a regular yoga practice, a healthy diet and exercise. Use your journal to monitor your diet, yoga practice and how you are feeling each day. Looking back on these notes is a great way to explore your habits and notice where you could be healthier, how your refining your patterns, or how your yoga practice fits into your life. Journaling can surprisingly help keep you in top shape physically, by writing about the patterns you notice about your body, or how well you're maintaining healthy habits. Taking care of your physical body is an example of the yogic yama brahmacharya, or “right use of energy’ and of the niyama saucha, or cleanliness.
Starting a new habit takes time, but a journal and morning journaling routine can help you and improve the quality of your days. It requires dedicating time and focus your attention, something that many of us feel limited on or stretched to do, but it does not have to be an extensive time commitment. Journaling is like any practice that requires time and space to flow so you can explore, learn and grow. Give it a try to get to know yourself better and take your yoga practice off the mat.
Stay tuned for the 2nd part of this article where will explore setting an evening routine using a journal!
By Laura Heggs
Laura is an anthropologist and 500-hour RYT based in Norwich, UK.
Support your morning journaling with some morning yoga that you can do in under 30 minutes to start your day beautifully!
Morning Manifestation Meditation with Jackie Casal Mahrou
Start your Day Right with Robert Sidoti
Are you a morning person and already practice yoga when you wake up? Awesome! Feel free to skip down to our list of four fabulous new classes to start your day with and push play. Or, review the benefits of a regular morning practice and let us know if we included all your reasons why you salute the sun first thing.
If stepping onto your mat before the sun sets in the west isn’t your preference, check out five great reasons why practicing yoga in the morning could become a ritual you embrace and even learn to love. So, stop hitting the snooze button and who knows, you might even become a morning person.
Here are 5 reasons to make yoga part of your healthy morning routine!
1. Create a Good Mood: Start your day out right and create a positive mindset before circumstances conspire against you. Energize your brain and be awake and alert before you face the rest of your day. The morning is one of the most crucial times of day to create productive, happy, and healthy days. With online yoga, you can roll out of bed onto your yoga mat––easy right?
2. Yoga as your New Morning Coffee: When you practice first thing in the morning, you naturally raise your energy levels. This means you can minimize or possibly eliminate your need for morning coffee.
3. Reserve Your Personal Time: Once the day starts, professional and personal demands can take over the day and suddenly, your planned afternoon or evening practice is no longer an option. Get your personal time first and no matter what happens, you completed your practice. Remember taking care of yourself first allows you to take care of those you love.
4. Stoke your Digestive Fire: Many yoga asanas like twists and forward folds compress and massage your internal organs and stimulate circulation. These movements aid in increasing your digestive fire and increase the circulation throughout the digestive system, which will help you feel invigorated and renewed.
5. Improve Your Sleep: Whatever time of the day you practice yoga, more restful sleep is a benefit because you soothe the nervous system and learn to relax more readily. By practicing in the morning, you encourage more regular sleep patterns because your body knows it needs rest before waking up and stepping onto the mat.
If these benefits sound appealing, create this powerful morning ritual and see what happens. Experts advise it takes 21 days to cement a new habit.
Start with these four varied new classes designed for the morning, and see how centered and energized you feel.
1. Robert Sidoti - Start Your Day Right (Free Class)
2. Pradeep Teotia - Wake Up and Flow
3. Kristen Boyle - Calm People Breathe
4. Keith Allen - Quick Energy Boost
“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep! You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep! People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep!” -Rumi
The snooze button being pressed repeatedly, breakfast on the go, and a general feeling of racing against time to get to where you need to be. Does this sound like your morning everyday? Many people associate the morning with an anxiety ridden mad dash. A mad dash to the finish line that’s ironically the beginning of the day. As easy as it can be to fall into a habit of doing everything on auto-pilot to make it out the door on time, could this be negatively impacting you more then you realize? If you think about it, isn’t the way you start your day going to set the tone for everything that follows? If you begin with chaos and disorder, can you expect to be as connected, productive and happy as you want to be?
If you feel like you need to start off the day in a more peaceful and relaxed way, adding morning rituals can be the answer.
The sunrise symbolizes new beginnings and beneath all the busyness, the morning holds a special kind of magic that’s always there to connect with.
Begin to test out morning rituals and see which ones feel right. Choose morning rituals that make you want to get out of bed in the morning. Make sure you decide on ones that you can make into a habit without dreading. Maybe you can’t dedicate 30 minutes or more of your morning time to rituals, but even 5-10 minutes can make a world of difference.
Here are 8 Morning Rituals that can help you start your day with a clear mind and ppen heart:
1. Wake up and really enjoy your coffee
Coffee is one of those things you get used to having and can easily be taken for granted. If you are a coffee drinker in the morning, imagine not having it available tomorrow. Just that thought alone could bring a sense of panic on. Appreciating coffee for all its glory can really create a sense of gratitude and joy early in the morning.
2. Drink water with lemon
If coffee isn’t your thing, lemon water is a detoxifying and calming drink to begin the day with. During winter months, hot water and lemon is warming and really helps to heat up the body. Lemons help with digestion and to balance pH in the body so making this a morning ritual can really help you feel a sense of letting go of the day before and starting a brand new day.
3. Do some yoga poses
If yoga isn’t part of your morning yet, consider it. Yoga is a great and gentle way to get the body moving and to start to clear your head. During the warmer months, try and do yoga outdoors to connect with nature. Sun Salutations in the morning are energizing and a way to open your heart and strengthen your mind.
4. Breathwork
Breathwork is often pushed to the back burner because of the lack of time people have to commit to it. However, different forms of breathing techniques are the perfect thing to try as a morning ritual. Breathwork helps with overall well-being and is a potent and effective self-healing tool you can turn to.
5. Start a meditation practice
Developing a meditation practice in the morning helps to control your thoughts and help ease any leftover stress from the day before. Our mind is much more at ease first thing in the morning so meditation can be even more beneficial if you do it then. When you start out, be patient with it and start to take note of the way your day goes on the days you do it versus the days you don’t do it. Meditation is possibly the most powerful morning ritual you can do for a clear and calm mind.
6. Ground yourself by eating greens
Eating or drinking greens first thing in the morning just feels right. It’s refreshing, healthy and a way to start off fueling your body with good nutrition. Consider blending or juicing greens as a morning ritual and start to add fruits and vegetables that are in season to really connect to nature.
7. Foam Roll
Foam rolling is one of those things that falls into the category of I know I should do it more but I forget about it. Adding foam rolling as a morning ritual is a smart way to take care of your muscles while giving yourself a little quiet time.
8. Set An Intention
Whether it’s in your mind or you write it down, set an intention for the day. Being mindful about your day and how you want to feel can make a world of difference. Energy flows where attention goes so it only makes sense to set yourself up for what you hope for.
Get creative and use these 8 ideas for morning rituals for a clear mind and open heart to explore what works for you. Remember, your morning sets the tone for your day, so use this powerful time to get into the best headspace possible to enjoy the days of your life.
By Suzanne Kvilhaug
Practice Yoga or Meditation to Start your perfect day, right now on YogaDownload.com.
Wake Up and Flow with Pradeep Teotia
Morning Yoga In Bed with Shy Sayar
Before fall forces you to surrender completely to all things pumpkin, give summer one last hurrah (for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere) with this refreshing Raw Key Lime Vanilla Bean Tart. Our Key Lime Tart has all the creamy goodness of the original but without the wheat, dairy, processed sugar, or eggs, so you can feel better about having that second slice (we won’t tell!).
For more great recipes, habits, tips, and inspiration for how to continue living vibrantly long after the cleanse ends, be sure to check out our 80:20 Plan HERE.
With love and key lime bliss,
Raw Key Lime Vanilla Bean Tart
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients for the crust:
2 cups raw, unsalted cashews ½ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut 1 cup dates, pitted 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Ingredients for the filling:
1 large avocado, pitted and peeled 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours and drained ½ cup melted coconut oil ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice ½ cup maple syrup 1 vanilla bean, scraped Pinch sea salt 1 TB. lime zest
Instructions: To make the crust, add the cashews, coconut, pitted dates, and sea salt to your food processor, fitted with the “S” blade. Whirl together until the ingredients are mixed and finely broken down sticking together when you squeeze a small handful. Press the crust ingredients evenly into the bottom of an oiled, 9-inch spring form pan.
To make the filling, using a high-speed blender blend together the avocado, cashews, coconut oil, lime juice, maple syrup, vanilla bean seeds, sea salt, and lime zest until smooth. Spread the filling over the crust using a spatula to make the top very smooth.
Chill the pie in the freezer for an hour, then transfer it to the fridge and let it set for another 3 hours, or overnight. Cut into slices and serve with coconut whipped cream.
Jo Schaalman and Jules Peláez are co-authors of the book 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. 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.
Practice yoga with Jo from the Conscious Cleanse now!
Conscious Cleanse Detox Flow with Jo Schaalman
“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is lethal.” ~ Paulo Coelho
While nestled in the mountains near Granby, Colorado on the YogaDownload.com retreat this August, a student called her week away a “pattern interrupt.” (That’s us in the picture, having a coaching session “al fresco”).
And indeed, unless one’s regular life consisted of camping in teepees, being served three colorful vegetarian meals per day, receiving Thai massage in a tent in the meadow, hiking to waterfalls, outside yoga twice daily, sipping fine whiskey at the state’s smallest bar, and throwing an impromptu dance party with new friends, then the experience surely interrupted the daily routine.
We all need such breaks in the routine.
There’s something so refreshing and heartening about infusing our senses with different sights, sounds, tastes and smells. Switching things up makes us come alive again, especially when we’ve dug ourselves into a rut of repetition.
A pattern interrupt is a concept popularized by Neuro Linguistic Programming to change a particular thought, behavior or situation.
Over time, we all develop strategies and behaviors that turn into patterns and habits. These patterns and habits are largely unconscious, meaning you do many of them without being aware or at choice. If the pattern of behavior is unhealthy, this can cause you to be stuck and unfulfilled in life. Running the same old behaviors can sabotage close relationships, stunt any career growth, and even cause you to give up on the dreams you once had.
Even if the pattern is healthy, there can still be a feeling of stagnancy and boredom in life.
Sound familiar in any way? Maybe it’s time to implement a pattern interrupt.
What can you implement to change up your routine behaviors and habits? Drive a different route home from work today? Try a new recipe for dinner? Sign up for a fitness challenge or a creative arts class?
A pattern interrupt can come in many forms, but it must start from awareness. Perhaps you aware of redundant repetition, stifling stagnancy or just a sense that you’re not living a life of purpose and happiness. Luckily, life is full of experiences to choose from to break monotony and stagnation. Being stuck in any routine is simply an illusion. Treat yourself to do something different and shake things up in your world. The benefits can be more far reaching that you imagined.
By Elise Fabricant
Elise is a top teacher on YogaDownload.com and life and health coach. Want to have a pattern interrupt with Elise? She's offering several opportunities to treat yourself to a pattern interrupt. If so, please join Elise for any of these pattern interrupting events. Reach out to Elise directly if you believe your life could benefit from any or all of the above pattern interrupting offerings.
14 Day RESET cleanse. Nothing like a cleanse to interrupt your patterns of eating. I’ll be leading a small group through this elimination diet to give the gut a vacation. September 15-October 1, $49.
Yoga and personal growth retreat in Mexico with me March 25-30, 2019. Prices start at $600.
Total Transformation Discovery session on the phone with me. Help me help you out of the rut of your daily life by signing up for a coaching session on the phone with me. Uncover where you’ve been stuck and develop a plan of action to start living a more fulfilled, powerful life. Absolutely FREE!
Practice yoga with Elise now to interrupt any stagnation in your day!
Reset Refuge: Come Home to Yourself with Elise Fabricant
We like strong bones and we cannot lie…and toned muscles and healthy joints are awesome yoga benefits too. A regular yoga practice gives you flexibility and mobility, but this week we bring you four classes especially targeted toward building bone and joint health. Without stability and strength, you can become more susceptible to injury and who wants that? Invest some time into bolstering your bones and protecting your joints in order to continue all of your daily activities feeling great.
To balance out the flexibility and mobility aspect of yoga, we suggest you try these new classes from two of your favorite YogaDownload.com instructors. Ben Davis' - Fitness n' Yoga: Sea Star Flow will get you moving and ensure you are working your muscles to build strength, stability and functional fitness. You may already know that weight-bearing exercise is vital to keeping your skeleton healthy. You don’t have to jog or run in order to build muscular strength and bone health, because all standing yoga poses are weight-bearing.
So, when you’re in Warrior II or I, you are actually creating more stability and balance in your muscles and bones. Move into Tree Pose for just thirty seconds and by balancing on one leg you start rebuilding the bone we all lose as we age.
A healthy spine is essential for great posture and preventing back pain. One of the best ways to maintain spinal health is with a toned, strong core. Check out the latest class from Pradeep Teotia - Core & More.
Solid bones provide the foundation for solid joints, where the bones connect. Yoga can help increase the range of motion in your joints, like those in your shoulders, elbows, and knees, which translates into ease in your daily activities. It is vital to keep your joints healthy and strengthening your muscles with yoga asana can help support the body and keep the joints stress-free. If you don’t have the muscular strength to balance on one leg for example, your joints will begin to bear the stress and become unstable. A well-rounded yoga practice will encourage the circulation of synovial fluid in your joints. This liquid, along with cartilage, ensure the bones can move without pain and grinding. Healthy joints keep your movements smooth and steady.
Take a little time to supplement your regular classes and get a gentle release for your joints with Shy Sayar’s Therapeutic Yoga for the Joints and Caitlin Rose Kenney’s Gentle Joint Release. These practices will complement all the other activities you do. Healthy joints and bones, strong and supple muscles, and a balanced calm mind––step onto your mat today and enjoy all the benefits yoga offers.
Enjoy this week's new classes now!
Caitlin Rose Kenney - Gentle Joint Release
Shy Sayar - Therapeutic Yoga for the Joints
Pradeep Teotia - Core & More
Ben Davis - Fitness n' Yoga - Sea Star Flow
If you’re struggling with painful or weak joints, you may be avoiding exercise, to reduce the inflammation and sensitivity. But did you know that practicing yoga can help strengthen the joints and certain poses can actually reduce joint pain? Here’s our top reasons why yoga can strengthen the joints, as well as some poses to practice if weak joints are affecting you.
A joint is the place where two bones meet, and are made up of bones, tendons to connect your muscles to your bones, ligaments, cartilage for cushioning and synovial fluid for lubrication and to reduce friction. Most joint injuries occur from working out too hard, lifting weights that are too heavy, repetitive movement or falling. Common injuries are sprains and strains that inflame the joints and cause pain.
Yoga is a great way to ease back into exercise while also helping to strengthen joints.
Yoga works to increase your range of motion, which reduces future injury. As each joint has a range of motion that is usually measured in degrees. This includes extensions, which is moving the joints backwards, and flexion, moving the joints forwards. This can differ between person to person and joint to joint, but practicing yoga more often can increase this range of motions, and help reduce the risk of joint pain while also serving to strengthen the joints.
Yoga also works to improve the strength of the muscles around your joints. The tendons around the bones support the joint, and by practicing yoga you can strengthen these muscles to help support the body, and reducing strains on your joints. If you have weaker muscles, your body starts to rely on its joints to stay stable, running the risk of your joints locking out and causing stress. Keeping strong muscles is a simple way to keep your joints strong.
Yoga also increases bone strength, which is another key component to keeping healthy joints. Bones are the main part of joints, so it’s logical that healthy bones equal healthy joints. Activity such as yoga signals to the cells of the bones to increase production. This leads to stronger bones which help joint strength in turn.
Another part of the joints is the cartilage, and yoga can help keep joint cartilage healthy. Staying active and mobile can help keep your joint cartilage in good health, so yoga can really help improve joint strength. If you don’t keep mobile, cartilage can actually deplete, increasing the risk of joint injury.
Finally, practicing yoga can help circulate your synovial fluid around your joints. Keeping active and mobile helps keep your synovial fluid healthy. Synovial fluid is crucial for healthy joints, as the right amount of fluid allows the ends of your bones and cartilage to move around easily instead of grinding on each other.
Yoga Postures to strengthen your joints
While practicing yoga as a whole will undoubtedly help keep your joints healthy, there are a few poses that will specifically help strengthen the joints, and heal them if you are post-injury.
Vaerbhadrasana, or warrior pose, is an ideal pose for strengthening your knee joints, as well as helping stretch and release any stress and tension from the shoulders. It is great for bringing balance to your body. This pose also strengthens your legs and upper back, and stretches your hip flexors. If you are a beginner, you may find it easier to raise your back heel on a block, as it may be difficult to keep your back heel on the floor while lengthening your lower back.
Dhanurasana, or Bow Pose, is great for opening your shoulders and helps strengthen the four joints that make up the shoulder joints. It also provides a great stretch for the front of your body, as well as the deep hip flexors, and can strengthen your back muscles, though be careful in this pose if you have back or neck injuries. You can use a strap if you cannot hold your ankles directly in this pose, or deepen it by touching your legs together.
Setu Bandhasana, or Bridge Pose, is another pose that is great for strengthening your knee joints, and can also help if you suffer from weaker bones. It can also stretch your chest, neck and spine and improve digestion issues as well as reducing anxiety and stress. Avoid this pose if you have neck injuries, avoid this pose. You can modify this by lifting the pelvis and using a block underneath you, or deepen this pose by lifting your heels off the floor.
Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose is a great pose for strengthening the leg, knee and ankle joints. It can also stretch your hamstrings and relive back pain. If you can’t comfortably touch your bottom hand to the floor in this pose, make sure you support yourself with a block. You can also align your front heel with the arch of the back foot for a deeper stretch.
As well as staying mobile and practicing yoga, there are other changes you can make in your life to help you improve your joint strength. Always make sure that you look after your body when you’re getting active and playing combat sports, and listen to any aches and pains. You may need to wear a brace on your wrists or knees if you have issues with these joints. If you are exercising, always remember to warm up lightly first to loosen your joints – and low impact sports are better to protect your joints. Finally, make sure you are getting enough calcium and fish oil in your diets, as these are key components to help healthy joints.
By Amy Cavill
Practice yoga for healthy joints right now!
Gentle Joint Release with Caitlin Rose Kenney
With this super easy cocktail recipe, we’ve got you covered. It takes about 10 minutes to make and is so delicious and refreshing your guests will never guess just how easy it is! It also features our all-time favorite kombucha, Rowdy Mermaid! They have tons of delicious flavors, and their formula is much lower in sugar than other kombuchas.
With the addition of fresh peach slices and raspberries, this cocktail is a celebration of the bounty of summer. Plus, this is a great cocktail for those of you who need a lower sugar option. If you’re looking for a great selection of low sugar wines, check out Dry Farm Wines. We love that they curate wines specifically to make sure they are both high quality and low sugar.
We enjoy the challenge of giving a traditional cocktail, like this one, an 80:20 spin!
With love and kombucha kisses,
Kombucha Sangria
Yield: 4-6 servings
2 peaches, pitted and sliced 1 cup raspberries Handful of fresh mint 1 750 ML bottle of dry white wine 1 12 oz bottle of kombucha (we love Rowdy Mermaid’s Savory Peach in this recipe) 1 lime, sliced in discs
Instructions: Add the peaches, raspberries and mint to the bottom of the pitcher. Pour the wine and kombucha over top. Garnish with the lime discs. Serve over ice with fruit in the glass.
Want to make it a mocktail? Replace wine with an additional 12 oz of kombucha and 12 oz of sparkling water.
If you have too many Kombucha Sangrias, detox with Yoga Download's Yoga for Detox from Overindulgence program.
Do you feel that your hair looks dull and dreary? Do you go through your old pictures and wish for that thick and beautiful hair to return?
Well, quit sulking, stop blaming your hair products and start practicing yoga for long, healthy and shiny hair.
Hair loss is a major concern for both men and women. There are a number of reasons that can lead to hair loss, such as age, pollution, poor diet, stress, and thyroid problems. Thanks to the sedentary lifestyle many lead, stress has become the primary reason for hair loss and unhealthy hair.
That’s right! Now, you can stop cursing your hair products and straighteners. They probably play only a small role in damaging your hair.
Stop right there and don’t waste another penny for those expensive hair products and treatments. Choose the harmless, happy and healthy way to combat hair loss and accelerate hair growth.
Yes! You heard it right! Yoga is a great way to protect your hair, restore its strength and prevent hair loss.
It enhances blood circulation and oxygen flow to the head and scalp region for the regrowth of healthy hair and improves your physical and mental health as well.
Here are 7 yoga poses that can work wonders for your hair. Let’s take a look at them now.
Balayam Yoga
Balayam Yoga is also known as the rubbing nails posture. It is a very simple and natural exercise according to the ancient books of yoga. The biggest advantage is that it can be done anytime anywhere.
Turn your palms inwards, curl your fingers and start rubbing the surface of your nails firmly against each other. It is considered one of the best exercises for hair growth.
Vajrasana
Vajrasana is known by many names, such as the thunderbolt pose and the diamond pose. As the name suggests, the diamond pose will make your body as strong as a diamond! It is one of the few poses that is beneficial when done post a meal.
Vajrasana can benefit the body in many ways:
Cures constipation
Reduces obesity
Relieves stress
Increases blood circulation
Calms the mind
Ustrasana
Ustrasana which is also called the camel pose is a very effective yoga exercise. Stand on your knees, bend backward and touch the heels of your feet. Practice the asana in the mornings on an empty stomach for best results.
Ustrasana improves digestion and excretion. It heals and balances your chakras, ameliorates your posture, and nourishes your body. It also balances any abnormalities of the thyroid gland that can lead to hair loss.
Uttanasana
Uttanasana is also called the standing forward bending pose. Stretch your hamstrings and abdomen muscles, bend downwards and try to touch the floor or toe with your palms. This yoga pose completely revives the body and refreshes the mind.
It energizes the cells in the head, provides a sense of calm and keeps the headaches and insomnia at bay. It provides relief from stress and anxiety, which are the primary causes that lead to hair fall.
Sirsasana
It is popularly known as the headstand pose, it’s tough to master this pose but once you do, it can help you in plenty of ways. Sit with your knees on the floor and your buttocks resting on the heels of your feet. Slowly, lean forward and place your forearms on the floor and interlock the fingers of both of your hands. Press the back of the head against the inside of the interlocked fingers and place the top of the head on the floor and lift your heels. Stay still in this position for a few minutes. Relax and breathe deeply.
Sirsasana is the king of all asanas. It helps to rejuvenate the brain by directing a good supply of oxygenated blood to the brain cells. As a result, scalp cells gets nourished, which leads to hair growth.
Sarvangasana
It is also known as the shoulder stand pose. It is nicknamed the queen of all asanas. Lie on your back and slowly raise your legs till your feet points to the ceiling. Your body should rest on your shoulders and the back of your neck. This shoulder stand works best when done in the morning on an empty stomach.
Sarvangasana supports hair growth by activating the most important glands of the body like the thyroid gland. While practicing this yoga pose, more blood flows into the throat, and the thyroid gland will be invigorated. Thus, hair loss and premature greying of hair are controlled or put to an end.
Adho Mukha Svanasana
The asana is also called the downward facing dog pose as it resembles a dog bending forward. Stand on all four limbs, then gently lift your hips and straighten your elbows and knees. Make sure that your body has formed an inverted ‘V’. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and, legs hip-width apart. Press your palms to the ground and lengthen your neck. This beginner level asana needs to be practiced in the morning on an empty stomach.
Adho Mukha Svanasana, if practiced regularly, has numerous benefits. It strengthens the abdominal muscles. It improves blood circulation, thus enabling fresh blood to flow into your head and increase the hair growth. This pose also helps you to relax and calm your mind, thus reducing anxiety.
These are some of the best yoga asanas for combating hair loss and for staying healthy. These asanas have been practiced and recommended by people all over the world. For best results, add a healthy, balanced diet in your daily routine as it will provide proper nourishment to the hair and prevent them from falling.
In addition to a healthy and balanced diet, add some matcha to your life. Matcha green tea hails from Japan and is made into a powdered form, from tea leaves that have been grown in the shade— a condition that forces the plant to produce health-benefiting compounds.
Researchers have concluded that drinking matcha tea regularly or applying it on the hair and scalp promotes hair longevity. And the best part- you can easily prepare matcha tea at home or anywhere because it’s a pretty simple recipe.
Another important tip is to drink plenty of water. Water plays a crucial role in combating hair loss and premature greying. So drink at least 8-10 glasses of water everyday.
Say yes to Yoga! Say yes to thick and healthy hair.
By Catalin Zorzini
Catalin is the founder of Ecommerce Platforms and Web App Meister. He blogs about matcha, Japanese lifestyle, and mindfulness at matcha-tea.com. He's a design enthusiast and loves matcha, and is uber passionate about blockchain technology and travel.
Practice one of these postures now with this class from YogaDownload.com
The Safe Path to Headstand with Shy Sayar
Hey yogis, this week is all about the men. Broga is our new series of classes geared toward the guys. If you’ve felt that yoga is directed toward women, these new classes are created specifically for the male body and perspective. Look at these classes as a return to the time where only men practiced yoga. What you may not know is that up until 1937, women were specifically forbidden to study yoga.
So, how did yoga become a seemingly female dominated practice in the West?
Yoga’s eight-limbed path was studied in India, by men only in it's origins. Then, a Western woman, Indra Devi, convinced Sri Krishnamacharya, considered by many to be the father of modern yoga, to allow her to study with him in his school where the pupils were all teenaged boys. Most of the Ashtanga based Vinysasa classes and Hatha yoga come from what Krishnamacharya taught at his school in India. Devi, along with Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, worked to bring yoga to the West. The rest is history. So yes, real men practice yoga.
Yoga has the power to offer real tools for coping with daily stresses and demands of life. Learning to breathe, focus, and balance on the mat translates to true benefits for the rest of your day. This accessible yoga-based fitness program can also connect you to your best version of yourself: strong, peaceful, internally and outwardly connected. Become powerful and compassionate from the inside out.
This program is specifically designed with the male perspective and special attention to strengthening your core, quieting your mind, as well as opening tight shoulders and hamstrings. Look at your practice as a way to prevent injury in sports or daily activities, enhance performance for your daily run or swim, and a method to hone your mental focus and minimize stress. Yes, holding some of the yoga postures can feel humbling and learning to breathe and be present during your yoga practice is challenging, but the benefits are real.
This 5 class program, designed for men is accessible to all levels of men, whether you are brand new to yoga, or an experienced practitioner.
Classes include:
1. Robert Sidoti Stretch & Stress Relief
2. Robert Sidoti Sun Salutation Breakdown
3. Robert Sidoti 5 Best Daily Stretches
4. Robert Sidoti Squat Sun Salutation Flow
5. Robert Sidoti Core Strong
It improves your physique as well as your mental health, but even though yoga is one of the most beneficial exercises to do, many men still shy away from the practice. From increasing your strength to helping your sleeping patterns, there’s a wealth of reasons why men should do yoga.
Here’s our top nine reasons why you should incorporate yoga into your workout regime.
Builds your muscles evenly
A lot of men schedule their workouts to build their muscles on certain parts of their body, for example their arms or shoulders. Yoga works to build muscles all over the body evenly. Yoga practice will work the muscles many men ignore in their workout regimes, which makes it a great exercise for overall body conditioning, an ideal reason why men should do yoga, especially if their aim is to build muscle.
Reduces the risk of injury
As yoga works out the parts of the body we may not usually work or think about, it means that it strengthens the muscles that men don’t usually use efficiently. This is a great reason why men should do yoga, as it reduces the risk of injury when partaking in other sports and exercises.
Promotes weight loss
If your workout aim is to aid weight loss, yoga is a perfect exercise to aid this. Yoga helps weight loose as is lowers the levels of cortisol, or stress hormones. Cortisol causes your body to collect fat. As well as lowering cortisol, yoga also helps build lean muscle, by using your own body weight and resistance.
Relieves back pain
If you’re a guy who sits at a desk day in and day out, you may be feeling the effects on your lower back. This is a great reason why men should do yoga, as it can help relive this pain. Back pain can be caused by underuse of muscles, which yoga can help counteract. Studies have actually shown that yoga can help alleviate lower back pain, as well as other chronic pain.
Reduces stress and anxiety
Yoga is a practice that utilises mind-body techniques. The combination of physical movement and poses, with controlled breathing and relaxation can help reduce stress. This is because it lowers the heart rate and blood pressure, which helps reduce the stress hormones. Yoga will also help combat anxiety and depression.
Improved Breathing
If you’re new to yoga, you might find it challenging to focus on inhalation and exhalation, especially while you’re trying to hold unfamiliar poses using muscles you’re not used to working. Yoga challenges you to slow down your breathing, taking in long and slow breaths. This helps to expand your lung capacity and allows you to train your body to take in oxygen more efficiently. This will help you when you’re working on your regular workout regime, especially if you’re working on cardio or muscle building.
Active Rest
If you’re serious about working out, the words active rest won’t be new to you. Many men struggle to take rest days from their regular workout, which is important as it allows your body to recover, heal, and build muscle. Yoga offers a great opportunity for ‘active rest’, which is a great reason why men should do yoga. It allows you to be active, without overwhelming your body. If you’re a guy who can’t stand to sit around and not move on your rest days, yoga is a perfect way to take some down time.
Increase in flexibility
If you solely partake in high intensity workout sessions and heavy lifting, you may be causing a build-up of lactic acid in your body and muscles. Yoga is extremely helpful to get rid of this build up and reduce the stiffness. This is because yoga works to stretch and release tension, flushing out lactic acid. This will allow you to get back to your regular workouts faster, and improve your flexibility.
Better Sleep
If you’re a guy who struggles with dropping off at night, yoga could be your answer. There’s so much evidence out there that regular yoga practice can actually help to relieve insomnia, improve your sleeping quality and cure anxiety and stress that might be keeping you up at night.
So now that you know the reasons why men should do yoga, you might be wondering how you can incorporate the practice of yoga into your regular workout regime. There are a few ways you can fit yoga in and around your workout regime.
You can add a yoga cool down after your regular workout to help reduce muscle soreness the next day. This should be around fifteen to thirty minutes consisting of restorative stretches like downward dog, pigeon and lizard. This will relax and lengthen your muscles and reduce the risk of injury from over-working.
You can also add a starter yoga workout to the beginning of your regular workout, lasting anywhere from five to thirty minutes. This will activate your muscles that you are about to use in your workout; align your body to allow you to workout with proper form, and reduce the risk of imbalance; and warm up your body, to help reduce the risk of injury. As you’ll be working out after this yoga practice, stay in each pose no longer than 30 seconds so you don’t wear your muscles out.
A solo yoga workout can be done on a rest day the day before your regular workout. These can last up to an hour, and will help to address any imbalance in your body and flexibility, as well as improve your range of motion and increase your strength. It can also improve your core strength before a workout. You can hold each pose for a little longer, as longer poses will allow your muscles to lengthen and grow more – a great ‘active rest’ for your body. Include strength building poses such as warrior and warrior two, and cobra.
Did our reasons why men should do yoga sway you into adding the practice into your daily routine? Take a look at our Broga: Yoga for Men program to get you started!
Ever go to a kid’s birthday party and realize there’s nothing your little one can eat? That’s a regular occurrence for me and my daughter, Ilse. Ilse, like me as a child, is super sensitive to a LOT of common allergens like sugar, eggs, gluten, dairy, and nuts. Wherever we go, there’s often times not a sweet treat she can eat and it’s never fun to be the only kid at a party who doesn’t get to eat any dessert.
So my husband Adam and I came up with a super easy, allergen-free cookie we could always bring so Ilse would be able to have a sweet treat with the rest of the kiddos. And guess what happened? Not only did Ilse love these cookies, all the other kids loved them, too! Even when there was a conventional cake or cupcake option, other kids gravitated towards our cookies instead. I even started having parents ask me for the recipe or request that I bring the cookies for their next party! This recipe is truly kid-tested and approved!
Since it’s the end of the summer (for those in the northern half of the world), we wanted to share this recipe with our community because these cookies make a perfect healthy back-to-school treat. They are allergen-free (perfect for peanut-free or nut-free schools) and don’t take much effort to make. And they are a healthier alternative to conventional packaged oat bars or snack bars, a staple of many school lunches. Plus, it’s such a simple recipe even your kids can help make them!
We hope you enjoy these cookies as much as our family does! Do you have another back-to-school snack you’d like us to give the Conscious Cleanse makeover? Let us know in the comments!
With love and allergen-free treats,
Oatmeal Banana Cookies
Yield: 18-20 cookies
1 cup gluten-free quick oats, whole 1 cup gluten-free quick oats, ground 2 ripe bananas 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder 1 TB. lakanto*
*1 TB. of honey can be used as a substitute
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium size bowl, combine whole oats, ground oats, sea salt, baking powder and lakanto. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with the vanilla until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop cookie batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, let cool, and enjoy.
Complement this healthy recipe with Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, & Vitality, now!
Yoga's flexibility benefits may be more obvious and known, however, this practice can visibly tone your entire body as well. Strength is just as essential in yoga, as flexibility, and because of this, yoga builds strength and tones the entire body. Whether you want to tone your arms, legs, core, or back, there are specific poses to make each area more lean and strong. Enjoy this easy to follow yoga infographic, that clearly gives postures to practice to tone your body.
By Irina Gabriela
Irina Gabriela is a Contributing Writer for BookYogaRetreats.com. She is a rookie yogi and meditator and a continual seeker of truth and spiritual adventures.
Practice yoga to tone your body right now!
Fitness n' Yoga: Body Awakening Flow with Ben Davis
Nothing but Core with Claire Petretti Marti
If someone asked you what the biggest benefit of yoga for your upper body is, how would you answer? Would you say that all the Down Dogs and chataranguas gave you muscular endurance and strength? That your chest and shoulders are more open and your posture is excellent? Would you mention how your spine is protected because you’ve built up a girdle of mobile muscle to keep you safe from injury?
Or perhaps you’d expand beyond the obvious physical benefits. You could share how you are now a person able to live from a place of compassion, speak your authentic truth, trust your intuition, and visualize Samadhi or enlightenment because you’ve balanced your heart, throat, third-eye, and crown chakras.
Yoga’s benefits are infinite and whatever your answer, you’d be correct. The fruits of a well-rounded yoga practice encompass the physical benefits for your muscular, spinal, nervous, and digestive systems. Opening the physical body creates corresponding openings in the heart and emotions, as well as helping develop a clear, calm mind.
This week’s classes focus on the shoulders, heart, throat, and neck region. You’ll have the opportunity to create strength and mobility and maintain excellent posture. On a deeper level, you will correct imbalances in your subtle body, where the chakras reside.
The Anahata or Heart Chakra is considered the seat of compassion, where we rise above the ego and self-love to develop the ability to love others. By practicing heart openers and strengtheners as well as learning to breathe deeply and fully, we balance this ability to be selfless.
The Visshuda or Throat chakra resides at the base of our throat and is considered the place from which we speak our truth. Many of us find it hard to clearly state our thoughts and feelings. Working to remove blockages of our verbal expression allows us to speak from the heart.
The Ajna Chakra or Third-Eye is located above the brows and is where our inner vision or intuition is located. Stimulating or calming the third-eye helps us to see more clearly and wipe away any blurry lens obscuring our perspective.
The seventh Chakra, Sahasrara, is on the crown of our head and is said to be where we can connect with the divine. Focusing energies on creating an open channel to the Universe is yet one more benefit of dedicating our time to building endurance and opening ourselves to true bliss.
The beautiful thing about these practices is even if you are simply focusing on getting physically stronger, you’ll receive the emotional and mental benefits as well.
Take some time on the mat this week to trying out these new classes and see how you feel.
1. Ben Davis Fitness 'n' Yoga: Body Awakening Flow
2. Eric Paskel Wall Flower: Upper Body
3. Kristen Boyle Speaking from the Head & Heart
4. Desiree Rumbaugh - Upper Body Strength Flow
Do you know where you hold your stress? Chances are the majority of people reading this hold stress in their upper body or have at one point. And if you don’t hold stress in your upper body, are you aware of all the pressure put on it from the modern day society we live in? Think about what slouching over in a desk all day or sitting at home on the computer can do to your upper body, specifically your posture. Not only do these things wreak havoc on your posture, they also can contribute to overall tightness and pain. Eventually down the road, muscular imbalances in the upper body may even start to occur.
Our bodies are made for physical activity and being stationery for a long period of time with unnatural movements can take a real toll. Even spending lots of time in the texting pose (which is definitely not a yoga pose!) can cause problems to the upper body.
How To Tell If You Have Good Posture
When it comes to having a strong and healthy upper body, good posture is key. Assess your own posture and see how it is. For starters, check in with yourself and see if you are constantly hunched over. Correct posture is when your body is aligned. Think, back straight, shoulders squared and relaxed, chin up, chest out, and stomach in. Over time bad posture can lead to neck, spine and back problems.
Learning good posture is key, and once you learn it, being mindful of having good posture is just as important. Our brains can go on auto pilot mode and the hunching over habit begins again. Make sure to do a mental check in throughout the day on your posture and if it’s not good, fix it. Over time with mindfulness, good posture will come more naturally.
Tips For Good Posture:
Tuck the chin to lengthen the back of the neck
Bring ears back above the shoulders
Shoulders are over the hips
Draw shoulder blades together and down the back
Pull your elbows back toward where your back pants pockets would be
Lift up through the sternum
Make sure the spine is long
Yoga Poses Help Your Upper Body Release Tension & Tightness
Practicing yoga is a great way to strengthen, stretch out and relieve tension in the upper body. If your upper body feels tight, it won’t likely be an easy overnight fix. It took awhile for your body to feel that way and it will take while for your body to feel better.
Yoga Poses To Stretch Out The Upper Body
Cat and lion
Sphynx
Uttansana/Rag doll
Thread the needle
Seated twist
Upward dog
Eagle arms
Backward hand clasp
Deep Breathing Can Change Your Upper Body (And Life!)
Breath is the most important element of yoga. You hear yoga instructors say to connect with the breath, stay with the breath, use the breath to push through difficulty. Breathing deep and with awareness brings us to the present moment. It helps to slow down racing thoughts and to connect us within. When we focus on breathing, the control of the breath helps us work through thoughts and emotions and we feel an inner sense of calm. Breathing shallow puts the body in a state of stress and creates tension.
Shallow breathing can be a major factor to upper body discomfort. Using yoga principles to breathe deeper can help to alleviate upper body stress. Deepen the breath by slowing down, checking in and engaging your diaphragm. The diaphragm is the body’s primary breathing muscle and if it’s not used properly, our body uses accessory breathing muscles in the throat and chest which can lead to upper body tension.
How To Take A Deep Healing Breath
According to Harvard Health here's how to take a deep, healing, diaphragmatic breath:
First steps. Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit or lie down. Start by observing your breath. First take a normal breath. Now try taking a slow, deep breath. The air coming in through your nose should move downward into your lower belly. Let your abdomen expand fully. Now breathe out through your mouth (or your nose, if that feels more natural). Alternate normal and deep breaths several times. Pay attention to how you feel when you inhale and exhale normally and when you breathe deeply. Shallow breathing often feels tense and constricted, while deep breathing produces relaxation.
Now practice diaphragmatic breathing for several minutes. Put one hand on your abdomen, just below your belly button. Feel your hand rise about an inch each time you inhale and fall about an inch each time you exhale. Your chest will rise slightly, too, in concert with your abdomen. Remember to relax your belly so that each inhalation expands it fully.
Yoga is a great way to find relief from upper body issues. For best results, practice yoga with patience and consistency, and don’t forget to breathe...deep!
Enjoy Yoga to Improve your Posture and Relieve tension in your upper body, now!
Yin for your Upper Body with Erin Wimert
Can you really get a cleanse-friendly meal on the table in 30 minutes?
Yes, you can!
Between kids and full-time work, we’re always looking for fast, healthy recipe options. And who doesn’t love Taco Tuesday?
Well, say goodbye to boring taco night! These Chicken Meatball Tacos are spiced with a premade low sodium herb blend, rolled into meatballs, popped into lettuce leaves, and topped with a bright veggie slaw.
Serving a non-cleansing family? No problem! Simply provide the hard corn shells or soft tortillas and some shredded cheese and you’ve got a meal that the entire family can enjoy.
Do you like simple and easy dinners? Be sure to leave us a comment below with your recipe requests. We would love to hear from you.
With love and tacos,
Chicken Meatball Tacos
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 pound organic ground chicken (ground turkey works too) 1 TB. organic-low sodium taco seasoning 1 tsp. sea salt 2 TB. olive oil ½-¾ head red cabbage, julienned 3 green onions, chopped 2 carrots, grated 1 bunch radishes, sliced Zest & juice of 1 lime 3 TB. olive oil Sea salt and pepper to taste 1 head red leaf lettuce, leaves whole, washed, patted dry Cilantro sprigs (optional, for garnish)
Instructions: In a small bowl. place ground chicken, taco seasoning, and sea salt and mix with your hands to incorporate. Form into golf ball sized meatballs.
In a large nonstick skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot and sauté the meatballs until done.
Meanwhile in a medium-sized bowl combine cabbage, green onions, carrots, radishes, lime zest, lime juice, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place two meatballs in a lettuce leaf and top with the lime slaw. Serve garnished with cilantro sprigs.
Complement this delicious and detoxifying smoothie recipe with Yoga Download's Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, & Vitality package!
I’m in Spain, north of Barcelona on the Costa Brava, the rugged coast. They drink here, not to excess, but as a daily, mealtime accompaniment. I’ve been observing this casualness and decided to partake in this celebratory, nonchalant part of the culture. A glass of wine (or two) at dinner seems to be part of the culture here which I don’t mind as I explore the coast solo.
This while Dry 2018, is about being honest, getting clear, cleaning up the murky and messy. It’s not about perfectionism. It’s about intention. So I’m having a glass of Tempranillo, a local varietal. Not to numb, but because I’m on a solo vacation and it will help me sleep. My sister, who is basically my spirit guide and on what’s app whenever I need her, is basically saying yes to everything.
Should I buy this dress that’s a little expensive? Yes. Should I indulge in this decadent meal? Yes. Should I have a glass of wine? Yes. It felt as though she was not advising but rather enabling. When I inquired, she clarified.
She’s seen me go to extremes. As a dancer I was very strict about what I didn’t eat. In relationships I’m usually the one going above and beyond for my partner. She wants to see my giving to myself. I’m also aware that when I find myself running decisions like what to eat, or buy, or wear by my sister, it’s a sign of anxiety.
When I, as a mostly confident woman need input on how to run my life it’s a red flag.
A pattern I’ve seen in the past and can now recognize. I’m fortunate to have such a solid support, but my desire is to be more centered. My older sister has always been my cheerleader, but even when input comes from a trusted source it’s still through a biased source outside of me. Ultimatley, we have to make peace with our own choices, benefits and consequences included.
So I’m in Spain for a friends wedding, but in 6 weeks I begin my 500hr TT with Dharma Mittra. I’m past the half way mark of my (mostly) Dry 2018. When I land back in NYC I return to a fresh start, vegan, sober and only 1 cup of coffee per day. For now, I’m on the Costa Brava and enjoying this moment. When I land back in NYC I’ll enjoy in a different way. A recommitment that I’m choosing and ready for.
By Anna Farkas
Anna is a Brooklyn based yoga teacher and writer. She loves looking at all the sides of the health and wellness industry and shedding some playful light on tough issues. Her favorite hobby is buying plane tickets and she leads retreats internationally. She is AcroVinyasa certified and pursuing her 500 hr certification with Dharma Mitra. She will eat all the avocados in the sunshine.
Support cleansing and detoxing now, with Yoga Download's 3, 4, or 5 Day Yoga for Fasting Program!
Periodic fasting benefits on the human body tremendously, and so does yoga. Fasting is a thorough and healing reset for most systems of our body. Practicing yoga during a fast has the power to amplify the benefits of fasting. Fasting is deeply purifying multi-day process that will cleanse your body and mind in powerful ways.
Why is fasting beneficial? Our digestive system is always working hard to digest our food and drink, which requires a lot of energy. During a fast your body gets a break from digesting food and converting it to energy, so it begins to work on healing other parts of the body that need it. Your body then focuses on repairing, resetting and working to get things in better condition. Your immune system, adrenals, hormones, brain chemistry and metabolism can all positively be affected by fasting. After around one day, our bodies transition into a metabolic state known as ketosis. When your body is in ketosis, it begins to convert fat into ketones which become your body’s new fuel source, and is extremely detoxifying.
Some benefits of fasting (and entering a state of ketosis) include:
- Improved Brain Function - Strengthening of the Immune System - Cancer Prevention - Skin Clearing - Weight Loss Assistance - Cleansing of Organs
How does yoga help the process of fasting?
Yoga and fasting are complementary, and yoga amplifies the benefits of fasting. Both are purification practices. Yoga can also help give you more energy during the process of your fast. Furthermore, the detoxifying benefits of yoga will increase the detoxification of a fast. Fasts can also be a mental and emotional process and the practice of yoga provides a mental reset during the sometimes challenging and intense process of a fast.
How long should you fast?
If you're new to fasting, trying it out for one day is highly recommended before committing to a longer fast. See how you feel after the first day and assess if you want to continue for more days, or make your next fast longer. Stay present with your body. Also be sure to to fast with an open schedule if you're doing it for the first time as it can be common to feel tired and restful! To learn more about fasting (including safety precautions) and enjoy giving your body and mind the gift of fasting and yoga, enjoy Yoga Download's Yoga for Fasting program!
Fasting. It’s one word that can ignite a lot of emotions and thoughts in people, and one of them is usually fear. Simply hearing the term “fasting” might make you head out to the grocery store ASAP to stock up or call your favorite pizza place and order an entire pizza...for one. With that said, some people may feel a rush of excitement at the thought of fasting. People who are familiar with fasting usually look forward to the mental challenge, inner peace, and the health benefits of fasting. Fasting is an ancient concept in yoga culture, a self-cleansing and self-healing practice that can help strengthen your mind, body and soul connection while improving your overall health, digestion and well-being.
If you’ve never fasted before, it is inevitable you may feel scared and apprehensive about doing it. Your mind may be consumed with repeated thoughts of how am I going to do it and the feeling of lack. Lack of food, lack of food and well yeah, lack of food! It’s common to think that fasting may cause too much mental anguish and even potentially be harmful. It is important to know that for most people, fasting is safe and has a lot of health benefits. Yoga and fasting in combination enhance these health benefits. Make sure to drink ample amounts of water during your fast. Water allows the body to handle what’s going on during fasting and also reduces cravings. People who shouldn’t fast include children, diabetics, pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding and people who suffer from hypoglycemia.
One of the best things about fasting is how it helps to kickstart your system to rid toxins that have been stuck in the body for some time. The accumulation of toxins, is the root cause of poor health and is problematic for the human body. To effectively deal with the root cause of poor health, it is necessary to eliminate accumulated toxicity in the small intestine and colon on a regular basis in order to maximize your overall health. Any kind of fasting program stresses the importance of getting rid of toxins, so what exactly are toxins anyway?
To give you a better idea of the large amount of toxins out there, here is a list of everyday toxins you may encounter:
Toxins
Environmental pollutants
Mercury contained in fish
Lead contained in old paints, blinds and canned goods
Aluminum contained in deodorant
Poor air quality
Contaminated water, food
Chemicals found in personal care products, household cleaners
Medications
Dietary: Intake of trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, processed foods, refined flours
Excessive stress
Our digestive system is always working hard and requires a lot of energy. Depending on your diet, your digestion system may be working overtime more then you realize. During a fast, the body isn’t busy digesting food and converting it to energy, so it begins to work on healing other parts of the body that need it. Your body focuses on repairing, resetting and working to get things in better condition. Your immune system, adrenals, hormones, brain chemistry and metabolism can all positively be effected by fasting.
When your get rid of old toxins from your body, you will also be releasing negative emotions, so expect emotions to come up during a fast.
It can be hard to explain until you experience it for yourself, but when you aren’t focused on eating, you can start to have completely different thoughts. A lot of the time, we are eating to soothe or stuff down our emotions and not to fuel our bodies. This means that it is inevitable that during a fast, things start to come up and emotions can be heightened. We no longer can eat to bury or avoid certain emotions and things start to feel much more raw and honest. Try and see this as a good thing (because it is!) and use it as a way to deal with your stale emotions that are stored in the body. Now you finally have the opportunity to process, deal with, and release emotions in the body that could be contributing to poor physical and mental health.
Everyone has different reasons for fasting. Emotional, mental, physical and spiritual - there are many different reasons to fast. Some reasons are the more obvious ones like to lose weight or to feel better overall. Sometimes you don’t feel well and can sense that you need to give yourself a break from eating and once you do, you may start to feel better. As Hippocrates said, "Everyone has a physician inside him or her; we just have to help it in its work.The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick is to feed your sickness."
A common question from those who practice yoga and are thinking about fasting is, can I still do yoga while I fast? And the answer is YES! Absolutely!
Yoga and fasting are two activities that seamlessly fit together. Depending on how often you fast, your lifestyle and diet, you may have more or less energy when fasting. Sometimes people feel more energetic and sometimes people feel lethargic. Either way, yoga is perfectly safe to practice while fasting. Gentle movement, stretching and deep breathing are all ways to add to the detoxification process that happen during a fast. Not only can yoga help to clear your mind when fasting, it can help you connect to your center and enter a calm and meditative state. Yoga can help you twist, move out and bend stagnant and negative emotions out from your body.
On the more spiritual side, there’s symbolism of new beginnings and fresh energy that goes along with fasting and practicing yoga simultaneously. It’s an incredible way to jumpstart something great in your life that you’ve been waiting to do. Fasting and yoga combined can be the catalyst you need to go in a more heart-centered and happier direction in life. A direction that you’ve been wanting to go in for a long time. Fasting and yoga can help to give clarity, better health, a renewed spirit and an overall positive perspective on life.
Treat your body and mind to a fast right now, with Yoga Download's Yoga & Fasting program!
I scream, you scream, we all scream…for vegan ice cream!
Ice cream is synonymous with summer (if you're in a part of the world where it's currently summer), but all that dairy can leave your belly and sinuses feeling less than happy. That’s where this recipe comes in! Dairy-free and vegan, this ice cream it gets all its creaminess from cashews. Yum!
Caramel is one of those flavors that can be hard to make without the dairy, but we feel we’ve come up with a pretty good replacement using dates that really makes this recipe fantastic. You can also use this vegan ice cream base and customize it with some of your favorite flavors (think cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips, berries, mint, you name it!).
That’s how we roll in the 80:20! For more great recipes, habits, tips, and inspiration for how to continue living vibrantly long after the cleanse ends, be sure to check out our 80:20 plan.
Do you have another flavor of ice cream or summer dessert you’d like us to give a healthy makeover? Let us know in the comments!
With love and ice cream screams,
Vegan Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream
Yield: 8 servings
Ice cream base:
*Coconut oil can be used as a substitute for palm oil
3 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours 2 cups almond milk 3 TB. melted sustainably sourced palm oil* ½ cup maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla extract Pinch of Himalayan sea salt
“Caramel” sauce:
10 dates, pitted and soaked for 10 minutes ¼ -1 cup almond milk ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions: Place a shallow glass baking dish in the freezer for at least 1 hour. In a high speed blender, blend cashews, almond milk, palm oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt until creamy. Pour mixture into the cold glass baking dish. In a food processor, fitted with an S blade, combine dates, almond milk and sea salt until smooth. Combine the date mixture with the cashew mixture and freeze overnight. Set out for 20 minutes prior to scooping. Will keep in the freezer for up to one week, but best when fresh.
Jo Schaalman and Julie Peláez are co-authors of the book 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. Together they've lead 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.
To learn more about “Jo and Jules” and to download a free e-cookbook for a sampling of the delicious food served up on the Conscious Cleanse, please visit their website.
Get fit for summer now, with Yoga Download's Yoga for Weight Loss Program.
What is Uttanasana?
Uttanasana might be known to you as a ‘Forward Bend’ or a ‘Standing Forward Fold’, but the Sanskrit name literally translates as ‘Intense Stretch Pose’. This is translated from the three Sanskrit words; “Ut’ which means ‘Intense’, “Tan” which means “to stretch” and “Asana” meaning “pose”. This pose is great for a deep stretch to the hamstrings or back, but should also been deeply relaxing, despite the name ‘intense’! The more you relax into the pose, the better the benefit will be.
Uttanasana is found in most yoga sequences, but is a key component of sun salutes and vinyasa flow. It’s usually found as part of the transition sequence between standing poses and chaturanga dandasana, or the four-limbed staff pose. While it can be used as a transition pose, taking the time to practice this pose stand alone, or as part of a slower flow, can help to give more time to work on the technical aspects of the pose.
Uttanasana can calm the brain, while also stretching the entire body and leave you feel rejuvenated. This post can help prepare you for even deeper forward folds.
What are the benefits of Uttanasana?
Practising Uttanasana pose can help you strengthen your legs, lengthen and understand the connective tissues in your body. The symmetry of the forward fold helps to highlight any imbalance present between the left and right sides of your body. As Uttanasana is also an inversion pose, you can feel the benefits of inversion much more accessible than from a handstand. This forward fold helps to gently stretch your neck using the weight of your head hanging.
Dropping your head below your heart in poses such as Uttanasana will help calm your brain. This helps to reduce stress, bad headaches, anxiety, fatigue and insomnia, as well as relieving tension in the neck and the shoulders.
Other benefits of Uttanasana include improvements in flexibility, especially if you have a job where you sit down all day. The forward fold helps to lengthen the legs and back. This pose also helps massage internal organs, and stimulates the liver and kidneys and improving digestion.
How to do Uttanasna
Start by standing in Tadasana, or mountain pose with your hands on your hips. As you exhale, bend forwards – making sure you’re folding from the hip joints and not your waist. As you get lower, bring your torso out, opening up space between your hips and your breastbone. Focus on lengthening out of your torso as your bend over.
Bend your arms at your elbows and hold onto them with your hands. Let your head hang down and push your heels into the floor. Lift your sitting bones upwards and turn your thighs inward slightly, without letting your knees lock.
If you can, straighten your knees and bring your hands to the floor, either in front of your feet or holding the backs of your ankles without losing the length in your torso. Engage the front of your thigh muscles IF you can’t do this, stay folded forward and cross your arms and hold your elbows. Engaging your quadriceps, the muscles at the front of your thighs will also help your hamstrings to release. Bring your weight into the balls of your feet, and keep your hips directly over your ankles.
As you inhale, lift your torso and lengthen it slight, relaxing into the bend with each exhalation. Let your head hang, and stay in this pose for up to one minute.
To come out of the pose, place your hands onto your hips, pressing your tailbone down and bending upwards, keeping the length of the torso.
Cautions
Uttanasana pose requites a lot of patience to be able to perform it fully. This isn’t a pose to rush, as it can take up to years to reach the deepest variation. It can be easy to injure yourself if you try and push yourself too soon. Work with blocks and bent knees to start off if you do not have the flexibility to begin with until you can straighten your legs without your back rounding. If you have back injuries, always have bent knees, or hold it halfway so you don’t injure yourself further.
If you suffer from tight hamstrings or lower back, keep your knees bent and let your belly touch your thighs. If your back is feeling rounded, take the bend in your knees further. If you’re feeling unstable, take your feet a little wider to help with balance – this is especially important if you are pregnant, as well as only folding forward as deeply as feels comfortable without compressing the belly.
To make the stretch in your hamstrings deeper, lift the balls of your feet by folding your mat.
How to improve
Keeping your torso long is crucial in Uttanasana, to avoid injury to your back and knee joints. Always remember to concentrate on lengthen the torso as you fold, instead of pulling your head and hands down. Think about bringing your stomach towards your thighs, instead of your head to the ground. If you’re having trouble bending from your hips, place your hands over your hips and fold forward slowly from where your hands meet your body.
Once you have Uttanasana pose down, you might want to try some of the variations below:
Side Flexion Forward Ford
Once you are in and relaxed in Uttanasana pose, walk your hands to the left side, pointing your fingers to the left outside your left foot. Stay here for five breaths to stretch out the right side of your body, and repeat on the right. Remember to keep your torso long as you come back to centre and out of the pose.
Cross Legged Forward Fold
Start in mountain pose, and shift your weight into your left foot, before lifting your right in front of your left foot and placing it to the left. Try to spread your weight in-between your two feet equally, and bend your knees and begin to fold forwards. Stay for a few breaths before returning to mountain pose and repeating on the opposite side.
Practice and enjoy the benefits of Uttanasana now!
Ashtanga Standing Postures with Jack Cuneo
Alignment Guru: Forward Fold & Halfway Lift with Kristen Boyle
One of the most magical aspects of yoga is how you can vary the practice based upon the way you feel today. It’s always fluid and adaptable to not just your physical needs, but your emotional and mental state as well. Some days, you just need a well-rounded yoga practice to keep you feeling strong, flexible, and balanced. Other days you need something more targeted and specific. Yoga can be your medicine.
You probably know that certain asanas or postures offer particular benefits. Breathing in a deliberate way and utilizing different pranayama techniques can revitalize you or relax you. Back bending opens the heart and energizes you. Twists encourage healthy digestion and are excellent for neutralizing your spine. Forward folds are not just about stretching your back and hamstrings, they also calm your nervous system and encourage you to shift your gaze inward. A well-rounded yoga practice moves you through a full range of motion to encourage a healthy spine and balanced body and mind.
This week, our focus is on forward folds, offering you ways to calm your nervous system, manage anxiety, stretch and strengthen the back body and improve your posture.
We’d love to share some of our favorite benefits with you and can’t wait for you to experience them yourself, perhaps with a new appreciation for why you are doing them.
Physically, forward folds stretch your entire back body––your back, hamstrings, and calves and help keep your spine supple and mobile. Creating more length and space between your vertebrae will help counteract all the time you may spend sitting. You will also release tension and strain you are holding from your neck to the base of your spine.
Poses like Paschimottanasana, or seated forward fold, are excellent for your digestion because your abdominal muscles like the intestines, kidneys, and liver are activated and compressed in this position. Your metabolism also receives a boost and don’t we all need that? And best of all, forward folds are cooling and can help you quiet your mind and actually lower your temperature if you are running hot.
This ability to cool your system is linked to how forward folds calm and soothe your energy and encourage your parasympathetic nervous system to engage. Once you are able to relax, you can truly begin to delve into introspection and contemplation. One of the primary reasons we practice yoga is to cultivate more quiet inside, right? To become less reactionary?
Less stress, less anxiety and tension culminate in a calmer mind can translate to deeper sleep too.
Of course, forward folds are not without their challenges. If performed without proper attention to alignment, these poses can exacerbate back pain or even create problems. What is vital to remember is to hinge from the hip crease and soften or bend the knees if you feel too much pressure in the lower back. If you are in a seated forward fold, use a blanket or block under your hips to maintain space in your spine. Remember the principle of shtira and sukham––maintain a balance between strength and softness. All you are seeking is sensation and steady breath. There’s no need to push further than that to garner all the benefits.
Try one of our four new fabulous classes this week and discover how a focus on forward folds will benefit you
1. Ellen Kaye - Fine Tune Your Forward Fold
2. Jack Cuneo - Ashtanga Standing Postures
3. Elise Fabricant - Yoga for Back Pain
4. Robert Sidoti - Balance, Bends, & Core
Can I tell you a secret about my work as a health coach?
There’s a misconception that health coaches prescribe a diet plan or exercise regime to their clients. In fact, that’s not what I’m up to at all. The reality is that most (not all) people come to me knowing exactly what they should be doing to have a healthy, vibrant, powerful life. And yet they just aren’t doing the things they know would propel them towards their goals. They are getting in their own way. So then my job becomes to help my clients not with a meal plan but with motivation, not with diet but with discipline, not with exercise ideas but with overcoming self-sabotage.
Have you ever been all hell-bent and determined to change something in your life and initially attack it with passion then somewhere along the way drop it to the side, perhaps looking back at it every so often with regret or shame? Think New Year’s Resolutions. The honest truth is that improving one’s life and health takes work and often that work can be uncomfortable and unfamiliar. It can be easier to get in your own way, and not move forward towards the goals you're apsiring to. When faced with discomfort it’s absolutely normal for we silly humans to interfere with their own progress.
We are indeed slaves to our yearnings for pleasure, comfort and ease.
An incredible human privilege is to set goals for ourselves – although champion self-saboteurs don’t even get as far as setting goals due to subconscious fear of failure. Most goals of any girth take some chutzpah to achieve. When putting in the effort towards accomplishing these intentions our “critter brain” (the less evolved part of the brain that is concerned with safety) will inevitably protest and cause us to continue getting in our own way. Fortunately, as humans we also have the ability to hone our awareness of the critter brain’s complaints and override them.
Without awareness of the primal brain’s subtle strategies to keep us safe and comfortable, we might not be able to identify and intercept our ways of self sabotaging.
Some of the classic flavors of sabotage are procrastinating, not showing up to the task at all, quitting and numbing out (using over-shopping, over-drinking, over-eating, over-sexing… you get the picture).
Any of the above tactics sound familiar? Have you ever desired an outcome so desperately that you just didn’t even attempt to get there? Or maybe you quitted almost as soon as you started? When I hear a client express impatience to meet a goal, I often have to remind them that the most productive way to arrive at the finish line is through slow, steady persistence. Start now, show up, don’t numb out, stay the course, don’t give up.
What do you truly desire to create in your life? Why hasn’t it happened already?
Just for a moment, close your eyes and imagine what your life would look like if you were able to put down the need for immediate comfort and begin to eliminate all your forms of self-sabotage. You could begin to change the speed at which you accomplish our biggest goals!
That, my friends, is what I am here to help you with as a health and life coach. Interested in learning more? Contact me today to schedule a Free Total Transformation Discovery Session on the phone to start to identify how your self-sabotage has been impeding your vibrant life and what to do about it. Connect with Elise on her website here!
Get out of your own way and practice yoga with Elise now!
Reset Refuge: Bliss Out & Be Blessed with Elise Fabricant
Yin: Release Resistance with Elise Fabricant
Nut milks are a healthy alternative to soy and cow milk products! However, processed almond and coconut milks in the grocery stores still have some strange and scary ingredients! Making your own nut milks with natural and healthy ingredients gives you full awareness of what you are putting into your body. Making your own nut milks is also so much fun and much easier than you may think!
With all the environmental toxins we are now faced with, eating and preparing raw and vegan foods is a way we can support our bodies in detoxing toxins and sustaining peace with our environment and other beings we share this planet with. There are also health benefits in replacing dairy products with non-dairy alternatives. Plus, nut milks are delicious and offer a variety of unique flavors and textures!
Almond Milk Recipe: You can use this same recipe and ratio for any nut milk or hemp milk. What you will need: Food Processor, VitaMix, or Blender. Fine Strainer (optional), clean water and your choice of nut, maybe a date or two, or other super foods such as maca and cacao.
Get bulk organic raw almonds or cashews or hemp seeds or any nut you would like to make milk out of.
Soak Almonds for at least 8 hours in clean water (I like to soak almonds over night, and make my nut milks in the morning). Perfect for my morning fruit smoothies!
Peel off the brown shell coverings on almonds exposing the white meat of the nut. Soaking and peeling nuts can assist in digestion, so digestion is less rancid, and produces a better pH balance result. Peeling the shell on almonds also allows for a smoother and creamier texture. The peeling is fun too, the almonds will jump out of their shells, so be ready for some to fly!
Use 2:1 ratio of water to nuts, for example 2 cups of water to 1 cup of soaked and peeled almonds.
Place water and nuts in food processor or blender and blend till smooth. I also sometimes add a pitted date for natural sweetening. I will sometimes add other superfoods such as cacao (my favorite!) or maca for taste and nutrients. I use a heaping spoonful of cacao to make a chocolate nut milk. Maca is a excellent superfood that is helpful for balancing hormones and is great for both women and men.
I personally like the gritty texture of having some bits of nuts in my milk. If you want a smooth and watery milk, strain the nut milk through a fine strainer, or use a cheese cloth. I personally feel using a cheese cloth is messy and time consuming. But some people dig it.
I store my nut milk in mason jars and use it for other recipes and meals such as sauces, smoothies, etc. It is incredible! I find that I make nut milk 2-3 times a week, and that they last for several days.
By Shannon Connell
Shannon is a certified Jivamukti, Power, Hot Yoga, and Mindfulness Meditation Instructor, Usui and Karuna Reiki Master Teacher, and Registered Psychotherapist. She honors the interconnectedness between All-beings and All-things and is passionate about participating and supporting her community in physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Visit her at her website www.shannonconnellhealth.com.
Support your healthy body with the Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, and Vitality program!
We all have that one place we dream about and long to go back to, whether it is home, for those of us that live life away from home, or maybe just be an unexpected place that stole your heart.
For me it is definitely the latter, a tiny little island called Koh Phangan in Thailand known for its crazy full moon parties (which I still have not attended), vast jungle, beautiful water, warm people, great food, and all things yoga. It's been the most inspirational travel destination I've been fortunate enough to experience.
The island place stole my heart when I first unexpectedly ended up there in 2016 before my big move to Singapore. I stayed there for a month and quickly fell in love with the community and the infinite love and ability that existed in this retreat to have whatever you desire.
I returned a few times for weekends away to get my fix but it was never enough, and was never of course the same. In total I went back 4 times after the first time. I would keep in touch with the beautiful people I met and would make new friends along the way each time. I was still however longing for more time with my magic island, my inspirational travel home.
Ask and you shall receive they say, well sure enough a new opportunity presented itself and I was told about a life changing program called modern nomads which ran for a month at a time.
When I heard of this, I knew it was exactly what I needed so I put in my leave, packed my bags and went back to the island.
That month changed my life in so many unexpected ways. Gelareh, the founder of the program and my now wonderful coach and friend, guided me intensively through my strengths and weaknesses, teaching me to appreciate and love myself and to go for whatever I wanted. The magic of this island of course helped to concrete my newly self-assured state.
I was surprised at how you do not realise how many things you are bad and good at until someone really makes you see it, and you know what, if you’re really bad at something – leave it, forget it, put your energy into something you’re good at instead.
I started working on my fears, which were holding me back so much.
My biggest obstacle was public speaking – which I am getting better at – but I had smaller fears too like driving a scooter (yes I learnt!) and opening my heart again to love and to being loved, which we all know can be very difficult after an emotional trauma.
I even got to spend 4 days with a monk, meditating, which actually proved to be more challenging than the 3 weeks I once spent in silence, because my head was THAT BUSY with all the noise. He really made me understand that if I was not ok, how could I ever accomplish anything at my highest ability? To be still in the mind is difficult, and necessary.
I learnt to really be independent, to grasp and seize every opportunity and also to appreciate what I have, every bit of it. In fact the very reason I am even writing this post is because I started this “katiakolour” project during the retreat. I’ve been doing hair for SO long and always had a hard time appreciating myself, my work and the people that come my way every day, not to mention the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years.
In that month, of inspirational travel and daily life, I met some of the teachers who taught me what I needed to know. The time I spent in the quiet and serene beauty of the jungle and the ocean taught me to appreciate quiet and have time to myself, to learn more and remain curious. Most of all to understand that we do not know everything, and if you think you do, you know nothing at all.
So therefore I encourage everyone to step outside their comfort zone, spend some time alone, put in leave and take that vacation you’ve been dreaming of.
Go back to your “magic” place and live a little, learn and grow in ways you never imagined possible, and LOVE a little – or a lot. Yourself first of course.
By Katia Trotsenko
Over the past 15 years Katia has lent her diverse expertise to the top hair salons of Australia and Singapore. As an established hair-colourist, she brings a fresh, conscious approach to the client-colourist relationship, believing harmony and open-mindedness provide the best salon environment for great client experiences. Katia is currently based in Singapore where her passion for health, travel, spirituality, and all things hair deliver a unique perspective of hope to spread the love. Connect with Katia on her website.
Need some yoga after a long trip? Practice now, with our Frequent Flyers program especially designed for travelers!