Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

How is your inner dialogue? Would you talk to your best friend or a stranger the way you speak to yourself? Often, we are more critical, judgmental, and hard on ourselves than we are with others. If this sounds familiar, it may be time to work on developing a deeper sense of self-compassion. Yoga can help.

According to the AAFP, about 4-6% of people struggle with seasonal depression. Another 10-20% have mild cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you tend to get the “winter blues” or feel down this time of year, it’s important to know the difference between depression and SAD, and how you can combat either one. Let’s take a closer look at some of those differences, as well as the common symptoms of SAD. When you have a better understanding of what you’re dealing with, it’s easier to take charge of your well-being and fight back against it.

Do you have a mantra that guides your thoughts and actions? If you do, great! If you’ve heard the term but weren’t quite sure what it meant or how to utilize mantras, we’re here to break it down. The concept isn’t complicated but like most traditions, some guidance and explanation can help you personalize and integrate mantra into your daily life.

Morning rituals set the tone for the rest of the day. How do you begin yours? Do you bury your head under your pillow and hit the snooze button a few times? Automatically pick up your phone and start scrolling? Or do you have a morning routine designed to help you feel your best? Practicing yoga in the morning is one of the greatest ways––yes, we’re biased––to start the day how you intend to live the day. No matter what happens after you’ve stepped off your mat, you’ve done something positive for your well-being.

Who is ready for a boost of energy into the new year? It’s time to wipe the slate clean and inject all your enthusiasm for life and growth potential into moving forward with a positive mindset. A new year is a milestone for all of us to not simply pause and reflect on the past but to commit to living our best life. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting from Square One or you just need some simple tweaks to feel your best, yoga can help!

While you’re reflecting on everything that’s happened over the past year, you can start to think about the things you are grateful for, maybe making a list. Gratitude can help to increase your life satisfaction, as well as help you feel more positive. It can help you to feel more positive about the year ahead, and help you to feel excited too!

Who is ready to kiss 2022 goodbye and welcome 2023 feeling your best? The end of the year is a great time to sit down and review the last twelve months and decide what to keep and what to let go. It’s an opportune time to release all that’s no longer working for you, like stagnant energy, unhealthy relationships, and negative behavior patterns. A strong, dynamic yoga practice can free emotions trapped in your physical body and help you feel lighter and brighter.

As the pace of modern life continues to accelerate, it can be difficult for busy people to find the time to take care of themselves properly. One way to prioritize self-care is by incorporating yoga into your routine, even if you're short on time. Here are some tips for practicing yoga on the go...

Can you believe we’re closing in on the end of 2022? December is a time where we’re managing the holidays on top of tying up loose ends at work or school, traveling…doing all the things. With the added busy-ness of the season, some days it’s tough to find time for your yoga practice. If you feel overwhelmed and are tempted to throw in the towel on your yoga or fitness until January 2023––don’t! It's more important than ever during this stressful time of year to carve out time to step onto your yoga mat. No matter if you’re away from home or juggling life’s demands, squeeze in a quick class––quality over quantity is what matters. In as little as ten minutes, like in Claire Petretti Marti’s new Quick Yoga Break, you can feel more clear, flexible, and calm. It only takes a few minutes to shift your mood and quiet your mind.

The holiday season brings with it all sorts of fun and good times, but it's also important to rest yourself for the year ahead. This time of year is always fun and exciting, but it can sometimes be hard to switch off and relax when so much is happening. But it’s important to take some time out to rest in preparation for the year ahead. Over the holidays, there are always plenty of parties and people to catch up with while you take time away from work. But it’s also a time to step back and unwind, which can be hard to do if you find it difficult to switch off. Here are our top tips to take some time to rest over the holidays...

“The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.” –Anonymous No matter what holiday(s) you’re celebrating this December, this time of year can stir up mixed feelings and create stress and tension. It’s the perfect time to step back and reflect on all you appreciate in your life and spread some joy to the people around you. We know it’s busy, busy, busy, but it’s even more important to refill your well to manage the hectic pace. If you love this time of year, perhaps you’re going to parties and indulging in tons of sugar and cocktails. If you’re not a big fan of the holidays, perhaps heavy emotions are weighing you down. Either way, you may miss your regular sessions on the mat.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new” -Socrates How about a little ancient Greek philosophy to start manifesting change and creating the life you desire? If you’re ready to leave 2022 in the rear view mirror and start 2023 with a powerful foundation, we’ve got the perfect solution for you. Our New Beginnings–January 23 Day Yoga Challenge is designed to assist you on your path for your best year ever. December is a busy month with holidays and end-of-the-year deadlines but it’s not too busy to begin mentally preparing to launch your 2023. In fact, it’s a great time to tap into your intentions for the future. In order to move forward, it’s vital to release what’s weighing you down, so you’re free to create your ideal life. Carve out a little time and journal about this year to clarify what worked and what did not. Plant the seeds for your future by focusing on gratitude.

If you work as a manager, firefighter, nurse, police officer, or anything that is fast-paced and comes with high stakes, then you know what it is like to have a stressful job. While you may be honored to have your career and know that you are making a difference, it can still be hard to wake up every day and face another tough shift. Instead of turning to unhealthy behaviors to put your mind at ease, you should consider practicing yoga. Yoga is a great way to settle your mind and get the exercise that you need to take on each new day with gusto. To help you out, we will talk about the effects of stress at work and why you need to make a change today.

Much like for a balanced diet you need a range of different foods and vitamins, for a healthy exercise regime you should try and add variety in what you do to workout. Yoga has many benefits and is a great practice for your overall health, but it can be easy to forget the many other exercise options out there. You may want something more intense, with a higher calorie burn and work up a sweat, or maybe you’re just looking to change it up and do something that feels different from yoga. Here are our top fitness activities that will be able to provide you with anything you feel you’re not getting from yoga - as well as help you hone down your skills on the mat and make progress.

Everybody likes cookies, right? A perfect small treat to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. Here is a super simple and quick recipe using only the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. The cookies will be extremely short and crumbly, so they are perfect for enjoying at home and do not like to be transported. But in a way, it is a good thing because you just need to enjoy them at home and there are more for you! In fact, don’t let yourself be fooled by the image where the cookies are pictured in a jar – taking them out several crumbled, so I recommend storing them on a flat surface, cookie rack, or a plate. Let’s not fool ourselves, they will be eaten super quickly anyhow, so no need to place them in a jar.

This week, take a deep dive with us into some classes that explore the depths of yoga philosophy and offer inspiration and insight into the yogic path. All yoga is valid and works simultaneously to benefit physically, emotionally, and mentally. Some days a juicy physical practice is what you need, other times you’re seeking a deeper message.

The recipe I share with you is an Estonian classic. Well, almost. Traditionally it is cooked with a lot of fatty pork, but my version is completely vegan. Also, the potatoes and carrots are not traditionally added here, but rather served as a side. I wasn't planning to cook this recipe, but a fridge clean-out soup, but while cooking, it got way too thick. Of course, there is always an option to thin out the soup with extra water or stock, but this time I felt halfway through the cook that maybe a stew is a better option. So, a stew type of a thing is what I ended up with and I am most likely going to eat it for a few days in a row now.

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” Alan Cohen Now, we’re not suggesting that by mixing up your yoga and exercise routine you’ll transform your life, but it’s a start! We show up on our yoga mats the way we show up in our daily life. It’s easy to fall into a rut and repeat the same workouts, practice with the same teachers, or walk the same route.

Autumn is a perfect time to enjoy hot meals and a slightly spicy bowl of steaming soup is just a wonderful meal to have right now. So warm and comforting. Loaded with the goodness of fresh vegetables and I also added in some edamame beans to load it with even more protein. I enjoy the texture edamame beans bring to the soup. So good!

Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it. - Tori Amos. Life is a meandering journey filled with highs and lows, twists and turns, and during difficult times, it can feel unbearable. We all experience pain and suffering––it’s inevitable. We also enter this lifetime with Samskaras, or shadows of past pain and suffering. For example, an emotional trauma suffered as a child that was never fully processed can show up as pain in the hips and lower back. Yoga offers a way to deepen your awareness of your subconscious emotions and process them.

Physical healing is often very straight forward, we rest, we take medications, and follow doctors orders. Emotional healing on the other hand, can be a tricky journey that can be hard for many people. People look for emotional healing after all types of trauma, and growing after these types of trauma can be hard, in fact, we might never be the same as we were before.

Do you ever feel like you are losing focus or having trouble thinking clearly? If so, it may be the result of stress and burnout, and these factors can contribute to the condition often referred to as brain fog. This mental fuzziness can be frustrating, especially when your focus needs to be on your life, work, and family. The good news is that you can remedy this issue by staying active and practicing yoga. Today, we will talk a bit about the reality of brain fog and how you can use yoga to clear your mind and get back to life as you know it.

Are you ready to feel passionate about your life, right now? If you’ve been feeling lethargic or in a rut, here are three ways yoga helps you stoke your inner fire. 1. Improve Your Digestion: Yoga and pranayama techniques can literally stimulate your internal organs, which helps your digestive system operate at ideal capacity. In the Heart of Yoga, T.K.V. Desikachar says in order to operate at our optimum levels we need to burn up “the rubbish.” When we focus on working our solar plexus or core, it helps us to digest, assimilate, and eliminate our food efficiently so we feel energized. When our gut is healthy, our prana or life force energy flows freely.

As you know, I love gardening and friends gave me two chili plants for my birthday this year. One of them is the habanero, and I don’t even know what the other is, but it has fruits very similar to the habanero. Surprisingly it turns out that they are both super spicy – so spicy that I ended up cooking 15 times more hot sauce than I intended as the batch started with was so super spicy, I was not able to eat more than a drop. And I love spice! So now my fridge is basically filled with hot sauce and not much of anything else fits in there anymore. I guess my future is spicy. And if somebody invites me to a birthday party, you better believe that the gift is going to be in a nice bottle of hot sauce. For you, I calculated the more reasonable amounts as nobody needs a ton of hot sauce.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a seminal text on yoga, states that “when the breath wanders the mind is unsteady. But, when the breath is calmed, the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.” The practice of controlling or extending your breath is called Pranayama, one of the eight limbs of yoga. In Sanskrit, the word Pranayama consists of “prana” and “ayama”. “Ayama” means to stretch or extend, and “yama” means to regulate and direct. Prana is life force or energy that consists of the three gunas, or nature’s building blocks.