Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."— Mahatma Gandhi One of the best ways to recognize an advanced yogi is by observing their behavior. We’re not referring to gasping in awe when someone wraps her leg around her head or effortlessly floats up into a sustained handstand. Instead, you can judge a yogi by the consistency of their practice on the mat and their actions throughout the rest of the day off the mat. Practice and perseverance are two vital qualities needed to sustain your yoga practice over time. Especially in these uncertain times, when the external world feels different for all of us, we need to dig deep into our own inner strength and willpower. We’re here to support you in your yoga practice, no matter what stage of your practice you’re in today. Perseverance equals power!

It is spring in Estonia, and nature is slowly waking up again. We had a little setback this morning as it started to snow, but now the sun is back out, and I am always happy to see the sun. Beautiful weather or not, thanks to the virus, we are sadly still required to stay indoors. Luckily, I have a big terrace, and last week I cleaned up my little rooftop garden, so it is all ready to plant carrots and herbs and zucchini as soon as it gets a bit warmer. I was even lucky enough to find that my strawberries, mint, and parsley have survived the winter, so I could already pick some leaves for this salad too! Brighter weather means that my dishes also turn a little lighter, and this salad is an excellent transfer from colder weather to summer as it is light but warm and quite substantial. The recipe is simple and foolproof, but when working with eggplant, it is always essential to work fast brushing it with oil. It has a superpower to absorb absurd amounts of oil. Another important tip is always to make sure that eggplant is fully cooked – it should be creamy inside. It is one of few vegetables that does not win from being al dente at all.

Belly fat is very tough to battle with. Most of the time, this is one of the most stubborn parts of the body that retains and stores fat, which makes it difficult to manage. If you are trying to lose weight, and you notice that you are not shedding fat from your belly or abdominal area, then you may want to check on your food consumption. As it happens, there are certain foods that will surely help you with this kind of concern. Eating these delicious foods will not only help you lose belly fat, but it will also help you improve your overall diet too. 1. Fruits

Yoga mudras are emotional, devotional, and psychic gestures, usually done with the hands. While seemingly simple, these gestures help your body in restore it's physical, mental, and spiritual health. These benefits can be accessed by using yoga mudras on their own, or while performing yoga asanas (poses). Here is everything you need to know about what yoga mudras are, what they symbolize, and why they are powerful. Mudra comes from the combination of two words: “Mud” and “Dravay”. “Mud” means pleasure, and "Dravay” means to draw forth. Mudras can also mean 'to seal'. Thus, performing mudras is like creating a closed circuitry within the body. Mudras are simple hand gestures of arranging and touching fingertips in specific ways, to stimulate different parts of your brain and body. Mudras alter the flow of energy in your body and mind, and tap into energy on an astral level.

You can find santosha and cultivate contentment through yoga. Does your happiness depend upon what is occurring around you or does your sense of joy and serenity arise from within? According to Patanjali’s eight-limbed path of yoga, we can learn to cultivate contentment from the inside out. Santosha, the second Niyama or moral observance, means contentment. Like everything in yoga, the concept sounds simple, but the implementation takes discipline, desire, and focus. With a dedicated practice, we can shift our perspective and learn not to be constantly derailed by what’s happening around us. When we are living in the midst of a global crisis, you might wonder how in the heck to feel content or happy. You aren’t alone. We’re all in this together.

Happy Mother’s Day from the Conscious Cleanse! Since many of us are still staying at home, we may not all be able to celebrate in person with our moms so we wanted to share an easy recipe that makes the perfect Mother’s Day gift. As a mom of three boys (Jules) and a mom to a girl and one on the way (Jo), Mother’s Day is a very special day for us. This year we are especially introspective about what this day means to us. As the world has been turned upside down, we’re more grateful than ever for our families. We realize that health is not something we can guarantee and that the simple, everyday moments are the times we will look back on most fondly as our children grow up.

Alongside insecurity, anxiety and self-centeredness, one of my greatest emotional challenges in life has been anger. And while it was much worse in my teens and twenties, it still tests me. Even just a couple of years ago, when I was living in Hawaii, there were days when I just woke up with an unshakable and debilitating irritability and animosity towards everyone and everything, for no immediately obvious reason. And this was particularly disheartening because, at the time, I felt that I had everything for which I could ever wish; I was living where I had always dreamed of living and had a wonderful partner, all the time I desired for investing in my practices, meaningful and successful work that generated more than enough income to support our modest but very comfortable life – not to mention surfboards, paddle boards, hiking shoes, climbing gear, and the perfect environment in which to use them all, every single day. And here I was, waking up exasperated and resentful of a life that was failing to fulfill me, compounded by all the guilt and shame that resulted from judging myself for feeling this way. It was a horribly difficult time, but it did teach me at least one important lesson: anger won’t disappear at some point in the future, when external conditions are perfect.

We all want to celebrate Mother’s Day with our mothers, grandmothers and children. But this year, it’s not the case for many families due to the COVID-19 and social distancing measures. This might be the first time you’ll have to celebrate Mother’s Day from afar, and not spend it with your loved ones. However, there are many ways to feel close to your loved one’s this Mother’s Day, without being physically with them. This can also apply to any motherly figure in your life, even if they’re not your biological mother. There are so many ways to celebrate and show your mother appreciation without being in the same place. From planning a virtual party or surprise for your mother, to sending a thoughtful gift to show your love, there are so many easy ways to do these things. Now we live in an online era, you can be miles away and still be able to show your love to your mother. Host A Video Call Lunch

“Only through our connectedness to others can we really know and enhance the self. And only through working on the self can we begin to enhance our connectedness to others.” - Harriet Goldhor Lerner Every day is a perfect one to foster your connections with the world around you. Many places in the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, China, and Germany, celebrate Mother's Day on May 10th––we know our community of yogis in the UK celebrate in March, but why not celebrate again? It’s a great way to show appreciation and love for your mother or anyone that is a source of support in your life. Practicing yoga together is a wonderful way to spend time with loved ones, whether it is in honor of Mother’s Day or just any given Sunday. Yoga is centered on creating connection or union––with yourself, with others, and with the universe around us.

We’re in 80:20 mode! Who’s ready for a refreshing and delicious drink?! Be sure to check out La Paloma Rosa recipe below. Known as one of Mexico’s most popular cocktails, La Paloma is a perfect combination of sweet and tart with grapefruit, lime, and a pinch of salt. We’ve given this a Conscious Cleanse 80:20 spin by adding one of our favorite sugar-free sweeteners, Lakanto, plus a touch of mint.

As I sit here and think about this blog post, I can hear in the back of my head, "I will finally be happy when this post is written." Here I am placing conditions on my happiness and I know that I am not just doing it here, but I am guilty of it in many other area of my life. Thinking about this thought, I ask myself, “am I really going to be happy and content long term when this blog post is written? Or will I be seeking the next goal to place my conditions of contentment on?” Conditions on contentment was never something that I ever gave much thought to, I just assumed that they came with the process of being content, however, fleeting it may have been. However, true contentment does not lie in reaching the destination, but rather in enjoying the process. Something that I would come to learn through my personal yoga practice and the trials and errors of seeking lasting contentment.

The question isn’t whether you’ve experienced back pain, but whether you are one of the lucky ones who haven’t. Millions of people around the world suffer from aches and injuries to their backs on a regular basis. The good news is that yoga helps with more than the muscles and ligaments, which may be strained, sprained, or simply unbalanced. Often, the root of the pain is grounded in emotional or mental issues and yoga addresses the physical, emotional, and mental causes When you are hurting, ranging from a mild inconvenience to complete incapacitation, it is important to distinguish between acute pain and chronic pain. Acute back pain is intense and lasts from a few days to several weeks. It’s generally due to a fall, lifting a heavy object improperly, a car accident, and resolves within six to eight weeks. During this stage, rest and apply heat and ice to ease inflammation until you are ready to perform gentle exercise. Walking is an excellent option. Chronic pain lasts longer than three months and is more complicated. Yoga can provide temporary and potentially permanent relief. Our mind and body work together and cannot be separated. Only yoga restores harmony on every level. Physically, in addition to stretching and strengthening the spine, yoga helps you:

We’ve been seeing lots of people using this time at home to bake, so we knew it would be the perfect time to share this awesome recipe from one of our amazing cleanse community members – Susan of Nourish & Charm! Susan is a long-time cleanser and also one of our good friends! She runs an amazing blog where she posts healthy recipes and entertaining tips (she is a fabulous host!). So when (eventually!) you’ll be able to entertain friends and family again, make sure to check out her tips for hosting on her blog. These muffins are the perfect, easy home-baking project. They’re free from most common allergens, plus they’ll make your house smell like cinnamon spice and everything nice.

I am 100% on board with respecting and adhering to the CDC, WHO, and NIAID’s suggestions for staying home, maintaining social distancing, wearing masks in public, and washing hands. I am choosing to abide by the suggestions made by my governor as well as all of the medical professionals offering guidance, but as a psychic and energy worker, I will admit that I even take it a step further. I have found there are ways I can actually work the energy of my body and its energetic field to improve my feelings of safety, security, and well being during a time like this, and I wanted to share those methods with you. Everything is energy, everything.

Earth day is celebrated on the twenty second of April each year, and has become the largest non-religious observance around the world. Earth day had humble beginnings as a day to preserve the environment in the United States, and has now become the largest push for a cleaner and healthier planet - celebrated across the entire world. Earth Day is important to show that everyone can make a difference to the planet in a positive way. History of Earth Day During the 1970’s, the United States was experiencing a period of division, both economically and politically. During this time, the country was divided over it’s participation in the Vietnam War, and at the same time the economy was experiencing a boom. This boom however, had an adverse effect on the environment. Industries such as automobiles, chemical plants and oil were seeing huge growth, but that also went hand in hand with the production of air pollution and waste. Back then, the health of the environment wasn’t at the forefront of our minds like it is today, and many people were unaware of the damages this economical growth could have on the planet.

On April 22, 2020, the world unites together to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. This celebration of a universal commitment to protecting the earth can be embodied in the yogic concept of Ahimsa or Non-harming. Yoga practice, comprised of the earth’s elements of earth, air, fire, water, and ether, naturally honors our planet. Use Earth Day to remind yourself of your connection to it. Fifty years ago, Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator, was shocked at the damage from an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. The event ignited a fire in him for action to protect our environment. Once people saw how smog, oil spills, rivers so polluted they burst into flames, and damage from corporate waste were destroying the earth, they joined the cause. On April 22, 1970, 10% percent of the U.S. population took to the streets in hundreds of cities to protest environmental and demand change for our planet. Earth Day is the result.

I love risotto. All kinds – mushroom, seafood, peas, and asparagus – if prepared well, I love any kind. It is incredibly simple to make at home too. All you need is about half an hour, good rice, a little cheese and a good bottle of wine. If you don’t have wine at home, you can substitute it with apple cider or just omit it altogether. You might need to add a little more lemon juice, but you can adjust the taste right before serving, so don’t stress about it too much at first. If you do have wine and enjoy a few glasses now and then, then use the same whine you drink in the food too. For this recipe, any good white wine or bubbly will work. I used a nice crémant that I also enjoyed afterward next to my risotto. Today's version of risotto tastes like a spring to me. Spinach gives it an amazing green color, and lemon adds brightness to the taste. It would be amazing to add fresh grilled asparagus to the dish or seared scallops if you eat fish. This time I enjoyed it just plain as it is and truth to be told – I did not miss a thing!

To start living the life that you want, you need to work on healthy habits every day. This requires patience because you have to learn new things. The younger you are, the easier it is to do, but the truth is, we are all able to change our habits and ways of living. Now, in a life of quarantine, you have to make a decision between falling into a habit of having a bag of chips and unhealthy food, or doing things that are more beneficial for your body. Sometimes it is difficult to change daily routines, and this is being forced upon all of us right now, so it's important we all decide what our ideal routine will be. If you're unexpectedly stuck at home, here are some simple healthy habits you can implement. These eight inspiring ideas will keep the body and mind healthier during quarantine. Yoga This practice can be the beginning of a new way of living for you. Yoga brings relaxation not only to the body but to the mind as well. You'll learn breathing techniques and meditate.

If you’re getting stuck in a rut these days, and need something to boost your spirits, it’s tempting to lean into back habits and pick up fast food or a pint of beer. But before you head for the bad vices, try yoga for just 15 minutes. 15 minutes of yoga practice a day can help to improve your mood and your health. Whatever space or time you have, it can be easy to fit in 15 minutes of yoga a day and help to boost your health and make you feel better. Here’s some of the benefits of just 15 minutes of yoga a day. Better Fitness Levels

We all want to enjoy the benefits from a regular yoga practice, like a better mood, vibrant energy, and a stronger more supple body. And a consistent daily practice, however brief, can change your life in profound ways you may not have contemplated. According to the Yoga Sutras, practicing yoga is also considered the path to avoiding future suffering. Yoga Sutra 2.16- heyam duhkham anagatam, in the second chapter of the sutras on Sadhana or practice, loosely translated means, “pain yet to come is to be avoided.” What exactly does Patanjali mean in this thread of yogic wisdom? Essentially, we do have the ability to avoid or minimize future pain and suffering through our routine yoga practice. In other words, what we do today can help alleviate our future suffering. Our human experience includes pain, but through yoga you can shift your perspective and what you may have perceived as pain changes.

I am going to share my favorite recipe from last summer with you. This simple mix of toasted nuts and spices is just incredible sprinkled on top of all kinds of dishes – avocado toast, hummus, creamy soup, or just a sandwich, but most of all, I find it just incredible for dipping veggies in. I developed the recipe when my garden was producing more radishes than I was able to eat in salads and other dishes. I grew all kinds – red, yellow, white, and purple. Can’t wait until its getting warmer again, so I could start with my garden projects again – this time is not far away anymore, only a few more months to go… Anyway, soon after I made this dukkah for the first time, I needed to head out to farmers market for more radishes because I could just keep eating them this way forever.

To improve our level of health and fitness, many athletes and nutritionists emphasize on the importance of cardiovascular and strength training exercises and can easily overlook flexibility training (the yogis know the importance of flexibility). Flexibility training is a critical component of health and fitness and an overall balanced body. A series of studies support the short and long-term benefits of different forms of stretching such as dynamic stretching, static stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation commonly known as PNF. So, why should you stretch every day? Here are a few reasons you need to make stretching part of your daily routine. Remember, you don’t have to spend a lot of time doing it and that a yoga practice can give you the stretching you need, and also increase your strength in the process. Benefits of daily stretching include:

Staying at home? In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, many people are wondering what they are going to do during this lockdown or social distancing period, and how they will stay active. If fitness is important to you, you may be trying to find the new normal in indoor routines. The idea of being isolated during these stressful times can be daunting. Fortunately, taking care of ourselves and our health doesn't need to go to the bottom of the to-do list just because we’re indoors. In fact, the World Health Organization encourages movement and self-care during quarantine. Take care of your body, mind, soul, and family with our indoor health tips. Staying Healthy During Isolation

The world is a delicate balance between light and dark. Yin and yang. At this moment in time, most of us are experiencing a weight we’ve never shouldered before. Feeling overwhelmed with the constant bombardment of news, the new reality we’re living in, and the sense our world is forever changed doesn’t exactly encourage a feeling of well-being. Although many events are outside of our personal control, we do have the ability to manage our personal reactions and find balance. Yoga is an excellent tool to help us lighten the emotional and mental impact of all these changes and shift our perception. We all see the world through a unique lens shaped by our life and personal experiences. Sometimes we need a little polishing of the lens when it appears cloudy or dark. When we move energy through our bodies with certain asanas and breathing techniques, we can release stuck energy and alleviate patterns that aren’t serving us. This week, we’re here to offer some classes to help you lift your spirits.

All fast food does not need to be unhealthy, and this recipe here is a perfect example of a quick, delicious recipe that satisfies our junk-cravings (I still have them sometimes) without being loaded with unhealthy crap. I do love vegetable burgers, and I often use them in my burgers, but today I opted for halloumi cheese instead, because it is so incredibly salty and chewy that I just love it. Especially with avocado! If you are fully plant-based, I would recommend substituting it with tempeh. For the buns, I always choose dark whole wheat buns. I am sure you find something nice from your local stores. For my own burgers, I toast the buns, so they are a little crispy. My boyfriend does not like crispy and crunchy food (weird, if you ask me, but oh well), so I usually just add his buns to the pan on top of the halloumi slices for the last few minutes, so they warm through.