I don’t know how it looks like all over the world, but in Estonia, Christmas time often means overindulging big time. I am talking about eating way too much meat (mostly pork) in different preparations – roasted, as blood sausages and aspic. Aspic is a meat jelly, set with natural gelatin from cooking the bones and a pig’s head for a long time on a low temperature, and blood sausages are exactly what they sound like. Both of them may seem weird, but actually, they are much more delicious than expected.
Besides – if the poor pig is anyway, then I am always voting for the whole animal to be eaten. Next to this enormous amount of meat, there are also loads of different sides and sweet treats throughout December.
There is also a tradition for the kids in Estonia, that if they have been good throughout the year, then ’päkapikk’ (Santas little helper, similar to elves, but not quite), will bring them something sweet every morning from 1st of December through 24th of December. So, to summarise, there is too much eating going on here right now.
I love food and eating. Still, I always try to follow the logic that over-consuming is not good for my bank account, not good for the environment, and definitely not good for my health, so I try to stay reasonable and recommend everybody else to do the same.
In case the traditions are similar where you live I figured you might need the recipe for a sweet treat that is actually good for you, so you could give it as a small present for your dear ones and maybe get your kids to prefer this healthier treat instead of caramels and milk chocolate too.
Energy Balls: perfect for a small present
Yields: about 50 balls
Cooking time: 30 min
Ingredients:
3.5 oz dates
3.5 oz dried apricots
3.5 oz prunes
3.5 oz sunflower seeds
2 oz raw cacao powder
2 oz vegan protein powder of your choice (I used pea protein)
A pinch of salt
Instructions:
Put all the ingredients to a food processor with the chopping blade and pulse until you have a coarse crumb.
Test if you have got the right texture – squeeze a little bit of the mixture between your fingers – if it sticks together nicely, you are good to go. If not, then add 1 tbsp of water and whizz for a few more seconds.
Have fun rolling out balls between your hands. I made quite small balls and got about 50.
*If you want to give them as small presents, then spend some extra time wrapping them nicely.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves healthy food and cooking and for her, these two are often the same thing. Cooking meals from scratch, you know exactly what goes in it and even without holding back with sugar or fat we end up using a lot less compared to ready-made frozen stuff from the supermarket.
She does love to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: http://www.kahvliga.ee/
If you eat too much during the holiday season, enjoy the Yoga for Detox program afterward!
For anyone who has given birth, a strong and supportive pelvic floor is crucial to overall health and vitality.
Your pelvic floor is a thin layer of muscles that run from the pubic bone to the Coccyx. The pelvic floor plays an important role in many things, like supporting your body’s internal organs (bladder, intestines, uterus, etc.), enabling you to maintain urinary and bowel control, and providing support vital for reproductive and sexual functioning.
Your pelvic floor supports your organs during activities that stress them physically, such as laughing, sneezing and coughing and also plays a vital role in supporting the spine.
Unfortunately, many new moms are not aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy pelvic floor. Strong pelvic floor muscles are a crucial part of your body’s internal core stabilizers, so if you want to strengthen your core, you can’t ignore your pelvic floor.
In addition, weak pelvic floor muscles cause serious issues for mothers. Many moms think that it’s normal to leak urine while laughing, sneezing or coughing. This is NOT normal, and it’s a sign of a serious issue.
After pregnancy, weakened pelvic floor muscles often cause Urinary Stress Incontinence. Signs of this issue include the accidental release of urine while laughing, sneezing or coughing. Weak pelvic floor muscles can also contribute to uterine or bladder prolapse, which is a very serious condition where one or both organs drop down and sag into the vaginal wall. Unless you adequately strengthen your pelvic floor muscles after childbirth, these types of problems will worsen with subsequent vaginal deliveries, weight gain, and aging.
Here are 4 things every mom must know about their pelvic floor and ways to keep it strong for optimal health and well-being. 1. Stretch: Pregnancy Stretches Your Pelvic Floor
During pregnancy, your abdominal wall slowly expands over 9 months. But that’s not the only thing that stretches.
When it comes time to deliver, your pelvic floor muscles also have to stretch to make room for your baby. But their stretching isn’t done slowly over the course of 9 months. They stretch and often tear in just a matter of hours as your body prepares for childbirth.
In many cases, pelvic floor muscles do not automatically rebound after childbirth. To prepare for delivery and help you recover faster, you need to strengthen them through kegel exercises, comprised of repeated contraction of your pelvic floor muscles, as well as other exercises like squats and bridges that engage your core as well as your pelvic floor.
2. Strengthen: You Can Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor
Pelvic floor muscles are no different than any other muscle on your body. When your pelvic floor muscles are well conditioned, they have greater flexibility than they would if they were weak. Muscle weakness and atrophy decreases flexibility in your pelvic floor just as it would any other muscle. If you fail to strengthen your pelvic floor, you greatly increase your risks for the problems mentioned above.
It’s important for all women who are pregnant or postpartum to be consistent with pelvic floor strengthening through a program that’s designed to prevent weakness and protect these important muscles. In addition to kegel exercises, women should engage in core and pelvic floor strengthening that involves full-body movements to retrain these areas. Yoga is an excellent way to maintain pelvinc floor strength after childbirth, specifically postnatal yoga.
3. Contract: Kegel Exercises and Yoga Can Help after Childbirth
As mentioned above, you CAN strengthen your pelvic floor. Kegel exercises alone are generally not enough and should be combined with other exercises designed to strengthen the core and pelvic floor. Prenatal and postnatal yoga helps maintain a strong pelvic floor also. Kegel exercises are contraction exercises that can be helpful in increasing blood flow to the pelvic floor and helping to speed healing after childbirth.
The proper starting position for kegel exercises include any comfortable position that isolates your pelvic floor muscles from the inner thigh and buttocks muscles. It’s best to avoid doing kegel exercises while crossing your thighs, or while standing, as this also engages the large muscles of the hips and thighs and does not isolate the pelvic floor. Try doing your kegel exercises while sitting, lying on your side, or on lying your back with your knees bent. How to Perform Kegel Exercises Properly:
Squeeze the anal sphincter (not your butt cheeks) as tightly as possible, then squeeze the vaginal sphincter as tightly as possible.
Slowly increase the intensity of your squeeze. Imagine an elevator rising up higher and higher as you intensify your effort.
Hold the contraction as tightly as you can for five or six seconds – no more than 10 seconds.
Completely relax your effort, allowing your muscles to soften.
Rest and repeat 10 times.
For optimal recovery after childbirth, experts recommend that you perform 5 sets throughout the day.
4. Connect: Connection to Your Core Matters
As you are performing your postnatal yoga or kegels, you may notice that you feel your deep abdominal muscles contracting simultaneously with your pelvic floor muscles. This is because your pelvic floor and core are so closely connected. You may notice your belly button move, waist narrow, or abdominal muscles tense during your practice. Your deep abdominals (transverse abdominis), pelvic floor muscles, and deep spinal muscles are all designed to work together to provide internal support and stability for your torso.
That’s why core-conditioning programs that strengthen the pelvic floor simultaneously with the deep abdominals are such powerful core stabilization techniques.
Keep a consistent practice to repair your body and maintain optimal health after expanding your family.
By Brooke Nally
Brooke is a freelance writer who has been traveling the world for about two years, teaching yoga everywhere she lands.
Find her on instagram @brookenally
Need some support for your pelvic floor after pregnancy? Check out the postnatal, Yoga for New Moms program, now!
Depending where you are in the world, you’re either in the midst of cold weather or gearing up for a hot summer. If you’re wrapping up warm and finding the days growing darker, the winter solstice is arriving, whereas if you’re in warmer climates, the opposite is true, and the summer solstice is growing near. The shortest and longest days of the year retrospectively, the solstice is a time to think inwards, reflect, and set intentions for the season ahead.
Symbolically this is a turning point in the seasons and a powerful time to stop, reflect, and give thanks for what we each have in our lives. It's also a momentary step back from our day to day successes and trials, and remember and feel our place in the bigger picture and the cosmos. It is a powerful time to honor the sun, which gives all things on our planet life.
Taking some time for some simple solstice rituals is a great idea to bring in the new season, and to think about what you want to welcome into the year ahead.
Here are some simple rituals to honor the solstice, wherever you are in the world.
Winter Solstice Ritual Ideas
Create a yule altar
Ancient cultures used to make offerings during the winter months, to ensure the sun would return from beyond the horizon each day. You can carry on this ritual by creating a yule altar, to honor the return of the sun. Bright candles in colors of gold or yellow are perfect for this, to light and reflect on your intentions for the season ahead. You can even create a shrine of natural objects such as pinecones or berries (or use a Christmas wreath), and cleanse the air around you by burning sage. You can even adapt your Christmas tree into your altar, by adding sun shaped ornaments.
Create a meditation space
Creating somewhere quiet and sacred to set your intentions is a great ritual for the winter solstice. Find winter colored fabrics and cushions such as white, red, blue and green, to represent purity, prosperity, stability and harmony. Use these colors and watch the sunrise on the solstice, to set your intentions and connect with the earth around you.
Journaling
Find an empty notebook and use it for a journal dedicated to the winter solstice. Make wishes for your friends and family, and perhaps the rest of the earth. Use your journal to write down your intentions for your new year ahead.
Candlelight Circle
This easy ritual just requires a few candles. Gather your loved ones for a celebration, and light one large candle to represent the sun and symbolize the power of oneness. Then light a candle for each of your guests, and have them blow it out, offering gratitude for the warmth and light of the sun.
Summer Solstice Ritual Ideas
The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year. It can be a celebration of light, and invites a connection to all your senses and the elements with the sun - the source of all energy.
Show gratitude to nature
Getting outside when the sun is shining light in the sky is a great way to celebrate the summer solstice. Summer solstice is a great time to get back to nature, and immerse yourself in the sunlight. Give thanks to the sun while you’re getting back to nature, and think about how it supports all life.
Self-Reflect
Even though it’s at the middle or end of the year, summer solstice is a great time for growth and fresh starts. And growth starts best when you have some time to self-reflect. It’s empowering to acknowledge and understand where you are, and think about the ways you’d like to grow or change to get to where you want to be.
Do something creative
Your mind and soul will crave creativity during a solstice, and summer especially helps to unlock creativity and expand our way of thinking. We’re far more likely to do something different or creative during the summer, such as taking on an adventure, going to galleries, go on holiday. Create an ‘experience’ for yourself and unlock your creative juices. If you’re still at a loss for creative inspiration - why not start a dream journal? The best way to remember your dreams and listen to your subconscious is the writing down your dreams as soon as you wake up. You can have some serious breakthroughs in creativity just by remembering your dreams.
End the solstice with a sun ritual
You can set up a sun ritual to draw in the energy of the sun and new season. Do this by drawing a circle with a dot in the middle, which will represent the sun. Place four candles in each direction of the circle, and face south. On the north side of your circle, write down everything you want to leave behind in the new season. On the south side, write down everything you want to take with you in the new season. To the left, to the east side, write down everything you want to learn and things you’d like to manifest. Now light the candles, north then south, then west, then east.
Practice yoga
You can offer your thanks to the sun by practicing yoga, especially sun salutations. Sun Salutations are included in many yoga practices, and are an energizing sequence of poses which link your body, breath and mind, to revitalize your being - both physical and spiritual. Practice your sun salutations outside if possible, to fully experience the energy that the sun gives.
By Amy Cavill
Try these two solstice rituals with Natalie Maisel!
Yule (Winter) Ritual
Summer Solstice Ritual
One of the most powerful ways to manifest change in our lives is by aligning with nature and stepping into its flow. On December 21, 2019, the last Solstice of the decade occurs. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year and the shortest night. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the longest night of the year and wherever you live, this momentous day marks the time to pause and reflect and renew our energy. While the world is shifts and transforms, it’s the perfect time to assess how you want to shift and transform individually.
Here are 3 ways to harness the power of nature in your own life and harness the power of the solstice:
1. Go Outside!
Drop what you’re doing and head outdoors. If it’s the longest night for you, embrace the darkness and look up at the stars. Cultivate a sense of awe and appreciation for the beauty of nature and the vastness of the Universe. Take a moment to contemplate your individuality as part of the enormity of the cosmos. What’s your role in the bigger picture? This lengthiest night, followed by a renewal of the sun can be a beautiful ritual reaffirming that we are all unified with nature.
If it’s the longest day where you live, take your yoga mat outdoors or even stand with your feet in the grass. Practice some Sun Salutations to offer up thanks for the warmth and life the sun bestows upon us. Savor the heat and the power of the light.
Consider volunteering in a cleanup project where you live, whether that’s a beach or park cleanup, a recycling program, or anything that helps the environment around you. Every effort matters.
2. Reflect and review the past year.
Now is the perfect time for reflection and evaluation of 2019. Jot down notes on the shifts that occurred in your personal life, the growth or lack of growth in your professional life, and the changes in your personal health and well-being. Meditate on the blessings and the challenges you’ve lived through and consider how you can best utilize all these experiences moving forward into a new decade. Often seeing what we’ve accomplished can be a surprise and confidence booster.
3. Set your intentions for 2020.
Once you’ve spent time figuring out what you’d like to leave behind and what you’d like to cultivate, it’s an excellent time to create a vision or dream board, or a goal list. Be intentional in the life you’d like to create. There’s power in setting down your intentions on paper. The possibilities are great, so dream big!
On December 21st, use the power of nature as a helpful push to manifest the life you want to live. Did you know that sol means "sun" and sistere means “to stand still?” This powerful planetary pause is your opportunity to grow!
We’ve got four classes, including two solstice rituals, this week designed to honor the solstice, so enjoy!
1. Pradeep Teotia - Sweaty Flow
2. Robert Sidoti - Sun Salutation Breakdown
3. Natalie Maisel - Yule Ritual
4. Natalie Maisel - Summer Solstice Ritual
Today we want to share a healthy holiday recipe that you can whip up for a holiday party or just sip on in front of a warm crackling fire – eggnog! Our version is a vegan eggnog, free of eggs and dairy, but before you freak out, don’t worry – we’ve made sure this recipe just as creamy and delicious as the holiday original.
Not only is this recipe tasty, but it’s also chock full of healthy ingredients that will help you keep your glow this holiday season in the face of too much sugar, stress and spirits. Maca reduces symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue, and can also help to alleviate stress, anxiety and depression. Cinnamon stabilizes blood sugar and reduces LDL cholesterol, while nutmeg calms nerves and helps with sleep. Cashews are a good source of bioavailable iron and tryptophan, which can help boost natural serotonin levels.
We hope you enjoy this healthy holiday drink! If you want to turn this recipe into a Conscious Cocktail, add 1-2 oz. of brandy, bourbon, or dark rum to each glass, depending on how strong you like it. This time of year, it can be easy to overdo all the sweet treats, drinks, and rich food, so bear in mind one of the central questions of the Conscious Cleanse before indulging in each and every holiday treat and ask yourself, “how will this food make me feel?”
Have a happy, healthy holiday! Let us know what your favorite holiday treat is in the comments below and we’ll add it to our list to give a healthy makeover.
With love and vegan eggnog kisses,
The Best Vegan Eggnog
Yield: 4-6 servings
1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4 hours) 3 cups water 1/2 cup dates 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. sea salt 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 1-2 TB. maca Cinnamon stick for garnish (optional)
Instructions: Soak cashews for 4 hours. In a high-speed blender combine, cashews, dates, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, vanilla and maca. Pour into a festive glass, garnish with a cinnamon stick (if using) and enjoy!
Would you like more healthy holiday recipes like our eggnog recipes? Download our free Healthy Holiday eCookbook. This is a collection of holiday recipes, including Christmas and Hanukkah classics that will make your holiday celebrations happy AND healthy this year.
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.
Allergies are a reaction of the body on getting in touch with the specific allergy initiating particulates called allergens. The two ways that these allergens enter the body are inhalation and direct skin contact.
Allergies are mostly seasonal and cold weather allergies are the most common type of seasonal allergy. Some of the most common allergens that are responsible for cold weather allergies are snow dust, pollen, cold weather in general and some other unknown allergic agents. There are various tests to figure out what exactly is causing your cold-weather allergies.
Some of the common symptoms of cold weather allergies are skin rash, reddening and inflammation of the skin, coughing, and eye dryness and irritation.
Fortunately, most symptoms from these allergies can be prevented and alleviated by some of the most popular natural remedies for allergies. Many of the best allergy remedies are from common natural foods and household items. These treatment methods are generally free of side effects and are work! Only in severe cases will someone suffering from intense allergies really need medication and drugs.
Best Natural Remedies for Cold Weather Allergies:
Onions
A raw onion is helpful by lowering any inflammatory symptoms caused by the presence of the chemical compound quercetin. This antihistamine compound is present in very high amounts and belong to the group of flavonoids.
Mint
Mint is one of the other popular natural remedies for allergies, and is used in various forms like sprays, tea and in food for alleviating digestion issues, relieving sore throats, colds, coughs and other respiratory symptoms.
Oregano
It is another herb like mint that is a popular natural remedy for allergies and has been used for a long time in Chinese medicine for treating asthma and coughing. It is also known to soothe hives when applied as a paste.
Omega - 3
Intake of omega-3-fatty acid rich food like nuts and fish has been known to defeat asthma and boost the immune system, making them effective in battling common allergens. Salmon is particularly helpful to the body in winter. Also note that most nuts are not recommended, as some people with strong allergies can be prone to slight nut allergies also.
Yogurt
There is nothing like a natural remedy for allergies, that is homemade and is easily available. One such product is the Yoghurt, which contains the healthy bacteria, lactobacillus, which aids in alleviating the allergic reactions from occurring, by preventing the allergens from reaching the trigger spot, and by binding to the allergens.
Hot Green Tea
A popular natural remedy for allergies, Green Tea contains the compounds quercetin, theophylline and theanine that can relieve the bronchial congestion and tightening of the chest that can result in anaphylactic shock.
Apple Cider Vinegar
It is usually included in the diet or can be diluted in water for external application to relieve itchiness and prevent the onset of inflammation.
Honey
It is one of the best natural remedies for allergies and when consumed as raw honey, as it increases the power to resist allergies and boost immunity to keep infections at bay. Local honey is even more effective.
Ginger
It is one of the most popular tropical natural remedy for allergies, but is also popular as a decongestant and anti-inflammatory and when added to tea or honey, can help prevent allergies in the winter also.
Garlic
Garlic has a number of antiviral properties. Try mixing three or four chopped up cloves of garlic with honey and eat off of a teaspoon, to prevent allergies in cold weather.
Peppermint Tea
It is one of the best anti-decongestants due to the presence of menthol and is effective against infections and allergies. This also aids in reducing coughs.
Conclusion: These home and natural remedies for allergies during the colder months will help! Also get good rest and drink sufficient amounts of water to keep the body hydrated. Also, boost the body's immune system by including food rich in vitamin C and E like red and orange fruits and vegetables. You can do a lot to more than you might think to reduce and relieve symptoms of allergic reactions from simple natural foods.
By Nicholas Parker
Need a boost in winter? Try some yoga and breathwork designed for the colder seasons, to keep you warm and happy inside!
Beat the Winter Blues Pranyama
Beat the Winter Blues Namaskara
"The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat." - Napoleon Hill
Get fired up! Are you ready to tap into your innermost desires and stoke your motivation? Join us for our incredible 2020 challenge and we’ll be right there with you getting fired up for not just your best year ever, but your best DECADE ever. We’re going to give you every single little thing you need to help you kick off 2020 and manifest your desires for your best life. All you need to bring to the table is your Tapas…
Tapas? If you aren’t familiar with this Sanskrit term, Tapas is one of the Niyamas or five internal practices from the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali’s Eight-Limb Yoga Path. This path outlines your journey through yoga and life. Cultivating these qualities before and during your time on the mat will lead you to success.
Here’s a quick review of the eight limbs of yoga:
1. Yamas—the five moral restraints or behaviors:
Ahmisa––non-violence
Satya––truthfulness
Asteya––non-stealing
Brahmacharya––moderation
Aparigraha––non-hoarding
2. Niyamas––the five internal practices or observances
Sauca––cleanliness, purity
Santosa––contentment
Tapas––discipline, perseverance
Svadhyaya––self-study
Isvara-pranidhana––devotion to a higher power
3. Asana––Posture
4. Pranayama––Breath control
5. Pratyahara––Withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana––Concentration
7. Dhyana––Meditation
8. Samadhi––Enlightenment/Union/Absorption
“Tap” translates to Blaze, Burn, Shine, Suffer Pain or Consume with Heat. Patanjali explained Tapas as a burning zeal for practice and a zest for life. Cultivating your internal tapas or discipline is key to living up to your highest potential. Combine a sense of joyfulness with outer discipline––you know, get out of bed and get on your mat no matter what––will lead to inner discipline.
Are you in? We’ll help personalize this challenge just for you and send classes right into your inbox with a variety of yoga styles, teachers, levels, and class lengths.
All you need to do is decide you want to start 2020 off with a powerful boost.
Take some time to look inward and recognize your deepest desires and set your intentions. Yoga is magical and that intangible feeling you get when you are practicing regularly cannot be duplicated in any other way. You’ll be part of our community and share in each other’s success.
Especially as we head into the busiest holiday season of the year, consider planting the seeds for soaring to your highest potential in the next decade. No matter what else is on your plate, a consistent yoga practice will guide you into the flow of where you want to go. If you can stoke up your powers of perseverance for your yoga practice, imagine where else you can extend yourself? Let’s do this!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and for some, that also means the most stressful. You know that feeling when you have holiday parties to plan for, gifts to purchase, dinner to host and it feels like you’re never ever going to stop?
During the holiday season, it’s so important to find a way to relax and recharge. So here are a few quick ways to do just that, just in time for the holidays!
Don’t strive for perfection
Sometimes ‘good enough’, is just that! Don’t always strive to be best, or perfect, especially when you’re juggling a lot of tasks. When planning your holiday season, give yourself a break and let ‘good enough’ be good enough for you. After all, is anyone really going to notice the ‘perfect’ Christmas tree, when you’re having fun with your loved ones?
Ask for help
Ask your guests for help with small things, instead of sitting around watching you run around like a headless chicken. This will make them feel useful too and will take some small tasks, like preparing drinks or greeting guests out of your hands.
Get gift wrapping!
Make your life so much easier and leave the gift wrapping to the professionals. Many stores or online shops provide gift-wrapping services, there are also organizations that wrap presents for a small fee. It’s really worth it to not have to have a last-minute wrapping frenzy!
Citrus Scents
If you’re feeling stressed out, light some lemon-scented candles, or spritz some citrus perfume. A citrus scent can instantly improve your mood and help to reduce stress, according to research
Don’t shop too much
Material gifts can often be forgotten in a year, but fun experiences with the people you love can create memories that last a lifetime. Forgo the stressful shopping trips and instead think about shared experiences you can have with your loved ones.
Don’t give up your daily de-stressors
If you usually meditate every morning or read for a while before bed - keep doing that! Keeping onto your daily habits will help you keep grounded, and gives you some ‘you’ time before you have to get another holiday chore completed.
Don’t over-indulge
Yes, we know, it’s the holiday season and that means lots of treats. But too much sugar can cause your blood sugar levels to rise and crash, leaving you feeling more stressed and anxious. Try not to over-do it, while still allowing yourself a treat.
Forget traditions that no-one likes
You may have gotten into the habit of holiday traditions, and don’t notice that your family is less than keen. If they’re dragging their feet to an event or tradition you could honestly do without, don’t worry about foregoing it this year, and think of something new and fun you can do instead.
You don’t have to home-make everything
Ordering things premade isn’t a bad thing and can save you heaps of time and stress! Maybe you don’t have time to prepare a salad or bake a dessert. Rather than stressing about this, just pick something up that you can serve straight away - your guests honestly won’t mind!
Make a change
Is there a task or event that you hate during the holidays? Try to make a change and either cut it out (who needs to send out 50+ holiday cards anyway?), enlist help, or simply try to see it in a new mindset. It might just make a difference and help you see that task as less stressful!
Think ahead for travel
If you’re going further afield for the holidays, think and prepare ahead to avoid any travel woes. If you’re driving, make sure your vehicle is in good working order and there’s not going to be any nasty surprises - and check for road closures and traffic warnings before you set off.
Flying? Arrive a good couple of hours before to avoid a last-minute dash through the airport, and arrange airport transfers so you’re not wasting time looking for an expensive car parking spot.
Do something for yourself
Don’t forget to add things that make you happy to your to-do list can make your holiday less stressful. Find a hobby or an activity you enjoy and make space for it amongst all the festivities.
Stick with what you know
A busy holiday season is not the time to experiment with something new, especially when it comes to recipes. Got something you know you’re awesome at making? Stick to it! Experimenting and trying to impress with something complicated you’ve never done before can be a recipe for well, disaster.
Saying no when necessary
Try to only say yes to important events that are meaningful to you, rather than use up all your precious free time going to events you’re not that fussed about. Keep your gatherings small and intimate, and invite only the people you want to spend the holidays with.
Get in a workout or yoga
Working out is perhaps one of the top ways to beat stress. It releases endorphins - the ‘happy’ hormone which reduces stress. Why not try one of this week's classes?
We encourage you to stay on track and keep taking care of yourself, to enjoy this month, instead of feeling overwhelmed by it and use yoga as a useful tool to alleviate holiday stress.
Practice this relaxing FREE yoga class to help you keep your zen during this holiday season!
Slow Yoga Reset with Jackie Casal Mahrou
Two almost empty packets inspired this recipe. From the name of the recipe, you can already guess what they were. Yes, you are correct – red lentils and quinoa. Both of these are always favorites in my house, so that they would have been used soon anyway, but since there are never too many plant-based burger recipes, I figured if those two together would make sense. They did.
The patties are simple to make, and they hold together without adding any flour, so the recipe is also naturally gluten-free.
To serve, this time, I made a very simple salad of baby spinach and cherry tomatoes and topped the patties with mashed avocado, green onions, and jalapeno. If you fancy a bigger meal, these patties also work exceptionally well in a burger bun or with a side of rice.
Oh, and I have made the same recipe as a snack. If you wish to serve these as a snack, I recommend making them 3-4 times smaller, so they would be bite-sized and hold together nicely.
Lentil & Quinoa Plant-Based Burger Patties
Serves: 2
Cooking time: 40 minutes
60 g red lentils
60 g quinoa
½ tsp paprika powder
½ tsp curry powder
Salt
Coconut oil for frying
Directions:
Add lentils and quinoa to a small saucepan and cover with boiling water. Add water so that it is about an inch over the grains. Simmer until tender. Depending on the type of lentils, it takes 20-25 minutes. Check halfway if there is enough water and add some, if needed – you wish to end up with a mixture that resembles a thick porridge.
Add the seasoning and let it cool.
If the mixture is more or less cooled down, then heat a little coconut oil on a pan, form 4 patties, and fry until crispy and golden on both sides.
Serve with a simple salad or as a burger.
She does love to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: http://www.kahvliga.ee/.
Practice some FREE yoga before or after you enjoy these plant-based lentil and quinoa patties!
Head Up, Heart Strong with Christen Bakken
While most people are getting ready for bed, others are heading out the door for work. Not everyone is on a typical 9-to-5 schedule; according to the American Psychological Association, about 15 million Americans are on the clock for the night shift. Nurses, doctors, factory workers, and even employees in creative fields like radio and television are often hustling before the sun comes up.
Working while the rest of the world is dozing off presents some unique challenges because this routine conflicts with the body’s natural circadian rhythm. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get quality sleep when you return home from your shift. Here’s how to create a cozy sleep environment and enjoy eight hours of sleep, even if you’re working from sunset to sunrise.
Have a Good Mattress
First things first, you need a quality mattress to ensure that you can always get a good night’s sleep. According to the American Chiropractic Association, sleeping on an older mattress, or a mattress that isn’t suited to your sleep style, can tweak your spine out of alignment, resulting in aches, pains, and inflammation. Furthermore, if you already struggle with back pain, sleeping on the wrong mattress can make it worse.
If it’s time to purchase a new mattress, consider your usual sleep style, your body type, and what makes you feel most comfortable. Are you a side sleeper? Consider a hybrid bed to get the support you need to alleviate back pain. For heavier individuals, an innerspring mattress could be a good choice. And if you sleep on your back, try a moderately firm mattress for maximum comfort.
Aim for Consistency
Even if your schedule doesn’t quite line up with everyone else’s, you can maintain a healthy sleep routine by working consistent shifts. If possible, discuss your schedule with your manager and arrange it so that you can wake up and go to bed around the same time each day. Your body will adjust to this sleep-wake cycle, and you’ll feel more alert and energized at work.
Go Easy on Caffeine
You may find that you need a quick pick-me-up before your shift. To prevent drowsiness, a caffeinated beverage like coffee or green tea can do the trick. However, relying on caffeine to keep you awake throughout your shift can backfire.
Caffeine can stay in your system for four to eight hours after consumption, and if you chug a cup of coffee to get through the end of your shift, you might still be wired by the time your head hits the pillow. Caffeine can be a lifesaver for shift workers, but it’s best to cut yourself off a couple of hours before you head home.
Limit Screen Time
Once your shift ends, it’s time to put away any devices with screens that emit blue light, like your laptop or smartphone. This is because blue light disrupts the production of melatonin in the body.
Melatonin, also known as the “sleep hormone,” is released as it gets darker outside, making you feel sleepy at the end of the day. Blue light sends the signal to your brain that you need to stay awake. Looking at screens before bed makes it harder to fall asleep, and insufficient melatonin production can leave you tossing and turning.
If you still find it hard to sleep even after limiting your screen time, you can also try melatonin supplements. These supplements can help in a pinch, but it’s best not to become reliant on them.
Turn Down the Lights
Light coming into your bedroom from the rising sun outside can make it hard to get enough shut-eye after your shift. Invest in blackout curtains to keep the sunlight from streaming in and keeping you awake. You can also slip on a sleep mask. In addition, it doesn’t hurt to cover up the light from any electronic devices in your room.
Even if you’re on the opposite schedule of most of the workforce, you don’t have to run on empty. Shift work can be exhausting, but with the right approach to sleep hygiene, you can show up to work feeling refreshed and productive.
Add Yoga or Meditation to Your Routine
Particularly if you have a hard time winding down after your work shift, these practices can do wonders to bring your mind and body back into balance and ready for bed. There are styles of yoga designed to give you better sleep. Explore different meditation, breathing, and yoga techniques until you find ones you like, that help you get those important 8 hours of sleep.
By Dana Brown
Dana is the creator of Health Conditions, which aims to provide Internet users with helpful content and resources that will lead them to making healthier decisions.
Ready to get better sleep? The Yoga for Better Sleep program will help you get your 8 hours regardless of your schedule.
When you’re feeling stressed - and it happens so easily - it can be hard to relax. Getting rid of your day to day stress often seems really hard. However, there are a few simple ways to relax, which are especially useful if you can’t get away from the thing that's stressing you out!
Relax Your Body
A relaxed body equals a relaxed mind, according to Harvard Medical School. A relaxed body actually sends calming signals to the brain that can help to reduce mental tension. Working out can help to relax the body, as it releases endorphins, which can boost your mood. Exercise can also reduce stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.
You can also relax your body by taking a warm bath. This can help to increase your blood flow, which in turn reduces stiffness and pain in your body, especially the joints. You can even go one step further, and visit a sauna. This is a great way to alleviate the body from any tension caused by stress, and allow your mind to quiet down. Saunas can also help to trigger anti-inflammatory responses in your body which can help to give some relief to conditions such as asthma and arthritis which can add to your stress.
Get a Massage
A study that looked at the effect of back massages on students who were studying for exams found that the group that received back massages had less muscle stiffness and a lower level of cortisol - this is the hormone that is associated with stress. This can make it a simple way to relax, whether you book a spa afternoon or simply buy an at-home back massager.
Animal Therapy
Spending time with canines can come with many feel-good benefits - the simplest of these is that making eye contact with your dog can release the feel-good chemical oxytocin! This chemical can reduce stress responses and can help reduce your blood pressure. It's not just dogs, animals, in general, can help us humans let go of stress.
Meditation
Meditation is a great way to relax, which is backed up by science. In one analysis that looked at several studies of relaxation training, specifically in people with anxiety, the effects of a daily meditation were much more substantial than other relaxation techniques. Meditation can also be used as an antidepressant method.
Get into Nature
When everything is just feeling a little too much, it’s ok to take a break and step into nature. Being outside can make you feel relaxed and de-stressed, and there’s scientific reasoning behind it. Being in nature can reduce blood pressure and lower your heart rate, as well as lower the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Being outdoors can also release tension in your muscles. If you can’t get outside in nature, just listening to nature sounds can have the same effect on your mind - a study that monitored MRI results of participants who listened to natural sounds found the results outward focused - which means less stress, anxiety and depression.
Take Deep Breaths
Breathing deeply can be the most effective way to bust stress. When you’re stressed and feeling anxious and panicked, you tend to take shorter breaths, reducing the supply of oxygen to your brain. By deliberately taking bigger and deeper breaths, you can increase the supply of oxygen to your brain, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the system that slows down your heart rate, and increases your intestinal activity, relaxing your stomach muscles.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
One of the best relaxation techniques involves slowly tensing up all your different muscle groups, from toes to head. Hold the tension for up to five seconds and then slowly relax the muscles. This may help to boost your awareness of the physical sensations that are associated with being relaxed and not-tense.
Take a Vacation
A relaxing vacation can boost your mood. In a study that looked at happiness levels in people who rated their travels ‘very relaxed’ reported feeling happier than those who didn’t go away, or even those who went away but didn’t rate their travels as ‘relaxed’. This feeling of happiness lasted up to 2 weeks!
Practice Yoga
Yoga as a stress reliever is a tried and tested method. Many types of workouts are good to combat stress, but yoga is unique in the way it makes you focus on your breath as well as movement, as well as stretching and releasing any tension in the body. Yoga also includes a level of meditation and mindfulness which can help you focus and forget what’s stressing you out.
Chewing Gum
A study in 2008 found that chewing some gum can reduce the levels of cortisol in your saliva by up to 16 percent! This can be a simple way to de-stress if you’re really busy or don’t have time for some of the other options on this list.
Let it Out
Sometimes if you’re really stressed, all you need to do is let it out. One of the easiest ways to release stress is by just some good old fashioned shouting or screaming. Even a sign can help to release tension - or singing a song you love can release happy hormones such as endorphins and oxytocin.
Why not try this weeks classes? Our multi-day restorative yoga immersion to have you relaxed, more flexible, and in optimal health and alignment.
Restorative yoga is the key to your holiday survival guide. No matter where you live in the world and no matter which holidays you celebrate, it’s the time of year where your regular routine can get tossed out the window. Some of us are spending more time with family, or perhaps spending more time alone, indulging in food and drink we usually wouldn’t consume, and generally caught up in the busy-ness of the season. Whether you’re overjoyed to take time off from work and hang out with extended family and friends or you dread every moment, we’re here to help provide some balance.
This week’s Restorative Yoga Package is here to give you an escape. Of course, if you already practice Restorative yoga on a regular basis, you’re aware of the myriad of physical, emotional, and mental benefits of a slower, quieter class. Restorative yoga is helpful to balance your nervous system and quiet your mind.
Many of us enjoy vigorous Vinyasa style yoga and use it to balance stress and burn off energy. That’s a great plan for most of the year, but when we are constantly active and vigorous, our system can get stuck in adrenaline mode, which leads to adrenal fatigue and constant tiredness. Slowing down and taking a soothing class can balance out this active energy, calm your nerves, and promote a stress-free holiday season.
Need more convincing to spend your practice time on Restorative yoga? Consider that more passive postures, held for an extended period of time not only increase your flexibility, but also help quiet anxiety. Restorative practices encourage us to “be” as opposed to “do,” which will also help you fall asleep faster. While it may be more challenging than you anticipate learning to hold poses for longer periods of time, the benefits are worth it. Basically, you’re learning to relax more consciously by slowing down and focusing on your breathing. Your mind-body connection is enhanced and your connection to your thoughts and feelings deepens.
So, if you need a way to cope with the overstimulation this time of year can bring up, consider slowing down and go inside. Each of these nourishing, calming practices will help you relax and develop your attitude of gratitude from the inside out. Slow down for yourself so you can show up feeling your vibrant best. Happy holidays!
Treat yourself to this relaxing Restorative yoga experience now!
The holiday season can be tricky to navigate as a Conscious eater when faced with the temptation to overeat or skip meals in preparation for the big healthy family feast. That’s where this recipe comes in!
During the holidays, we often eat around 4 or 5 pm, so it’s nice to have something light earlier in the day. This way you avoid being too full for the family meal and you don’t make the mistake of skipping lunch and then binging at dinner because you haven’t eaten all day.
This soup is packed with nutrients and high in protein to help you power through your holiday meal prep without weighing you down. It’s super easy to make and eat; if you’re pressed for time, you can make it ahead of time and freeze it until you’re ready to eat, and since it’s puréed, you can even sip it from a mug to make it more convenient.
This soup can also be a great recipe to modify! Simply leave out the beans and sip up all that green goodness.
Do you have a favorite family tradition or healthy ritual for the holidays? Share with us in the comments below!
With love and family traditions,
Grammy’s Greens & Cauliflower Soup
Yield: 10 cups
1 TB. olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 cup leeks, chopped and well washed 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped 5 1/2 cups veggie broth 1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed 8 chard leaves, stems removed and roughly chopped 1/4 cup chopped dill plus more for garnish Pepitas for garnish (optional) Freshly ground black pepper to taste Sea salt to taste
Instructions: In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil, add leaks and cook for 4-5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 3 more minutes. Add cauliflower and veggie broth. Pour veggie broth so that it’s just below the top of the cauliflower. Bring mixture to boil. Add 3 tablespoons of dill. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Stir in the chard and beans and simmer for 5 minutes.
Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes and then add remainder of the dill. In a high speed blender, puree the soup in batches. Add more veggie broth to reduce thickness if desired. Add soup back to the pot to reheat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with more dill and pepitas (spicy or salted) and drizzled with olive oil (optional).
Do you get worried you might be getting out of shape as you move further into adulthood?
We sometimes take for granted the beauty of having massive loads of energy experienced during youth. It's not uncommon for people to feel like they've let themselves go as they move into middle age, or that their midsection is getting more robust. However, it's never too late to turn things around, and even simple lifestyle changes can help keep you healthy and feeling in top shape, even if you've been feeling like you've gotten out of shape.
The very fact that you’re scanning the internet for fitness ideas is an indication that you are on the right track. Be kind to yourself wherever you are on your fitness journey right now, and implement some of these simple tips to stay or get into better shape in the coming year.
1. Wake Up and Drink Warm Water
People are often surprised when fitness articles start with mundane instructions like drinking a glass of water in the morning – but it’s actually simple things like this that make digestion easier and enable your metabolism to burn extra fat. If the water is lukewarm then it won’t be too much of a shock to your system, and it will keep your fat-burning machine in high gear for the rest of the day.
2. Join a Training or Yoga Group or Find a Workout Partner
The benefits here are obvious. A workout partner is even more important if you are likely to lose morale halfway during a workout. A good indicator of this is when you try multiple fitness programs but keep dropping out for personal reasons or because you don’t see any progress. Having someone beside you can help keep your mind on track, and that will be very beneficial to you both. Accountability works!
3. Walk More
I never really appreciated how calming and refreshing a walk can be until I started to see the impact it had on my mental state. Not only does it help by exercising the joints and muscles, but walking also has a profound impact on your mental health as well; and as we all know, managing stress and being centered is as important as being physically fit. Walking will increase your awareness; and if you are close to nature, that’s even better.
4. Fuel Up for Better Fitness
Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables as these will keep both your brain and body active. Another important thing to have is a good protein source. Some options here are eggs, chicken, seafood, nuts, and beans. Speak to a nutritionist about a high-energy diet, and use this energy by staying active.
5. Stay Active Outside of the Gym or Yoga Mat
We mentioned walking earlier, and that is just one of the many activities that you can take up to stay healthy outside of the gym or yoga studio. Swimming is an excellent activity for the whole body; and if that’s not for you, the find some other activity that you enjoy, and spend more time per week doing it for added strength, and for the impact on mental and physical health.
6. Avoid Smoking and Drinking
Cigarettes and alcohol are depressants and they have a destructive effect on human health if overdone. But course this doesn’t stop millions of people from indulging. Balance is the key here. If the health warnings don’t faze you, then think about the fact that you’re probably going to gain weight and have a very hard time losing it if you prioritize smoking and drinking more than fitness. In addition to getting larger, you won’t last as long in bed. Cigarettes will also age your teeth quicker.
7. Get Enough Sleep to Rest and Recover
Sleep is always an integral part of our health, and this might actually be more important as we age, because the body needs more time to repair itself and metabolized food to generate energy. Failing to get enough sleep not only reduces your energy levels, but it sets off a series of damaging effects in your body. For instance, your immune system will start misfiring, and you can forget about hormonal balance– which is far worse if you drink or smoke a lot also. Cognitive function is severely impaired, and you’re likely to experience tremors all over from lack of sleep. To avoid all this, set a proper time for sleep, and keep a regular routine to allow alignment of your circadian rhythm. Final tip
If you don’t already have a practice to help you detox from time to time, start adding something to your routine. Cabbage juice and lemon water are common methods; as is eating raw garlic cloves. But maybe you don’t need an extreme method, so just start with water, and then see how it goes. Eight glasses per day should be fine. Good luck!
By Kelsi Burley
Ready to get into shape now? Try either of these programs to get toned or start detoxing and making healthy lifestyle changes.
Those cookies are healthy enough to be breakfast. They include all the ingredients used for sweet oatmeal, just in a different way.
I must add that I don’t like sweet oats – I always have my oatmeal with butter or extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Even adding berries or milk makes the oatmeal too sweet for my liking. However, take all the same ingredients and bake cookies out of them – a very different story, and I have made already three batches this week.
Luckily, most of them I have given away as a present for my yoga students. I say luckily, because even if they are healthy – eating a full tray of these babies as an evening snack is probably not the best idea.
The cookies are not super sweet, so if you prefer sweeter treats, feel free to add more sugar. All the ingredients are edible raw, so feel free to taste the dough before baking it and add sugar if you feel like it. My partner thought they were not sweet enough, I find the sweetness to be just enough, so I kept the recipe as I prefer it.
These cookies are a perfect healthy treat to give as a gift over the coming holiday season, but I do need to warn you that if you plan to transport them, then it is better to keep them in one layer be careful transporting them. I once was carrying a box of cookies with me for about 6 hours before my class. By the time for after-yoga snack, most of the cookies were broken in half or even quarters. Tasted good anyway, and several people asked me for a recipe, so at least it proves that they must be good no matter what they look like.
Healthy Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies
Yields: 12 cookies
Cooking time: 30 minutes
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
¾ cups cashew milk
1 ¾ oz coconut oil
2 oz coconut sugar
2 ½ oz peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla paste
7 oz oats
1 oz cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 oz dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 360 F and line a tray with baking paper.
Mix the first 6 ingredients and set them aside.
Add the oats to a blender and pulse until you have a coarse flour. Then add cocoa, baking powder and salt, and blitz for few more seconds.
Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients, add in the chocolate chips and mix with your hands until it’s nice and smooth.
Roll into 12 balls, and press the balls down on the parchment paper.
Bake for 13 minutes, take the tray out of the oven and let the cookies cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying them.
Practice this free yoga class before or after enjoying these delicious cookies!
When we are considering different things to pair together, it is always a subjective matter. For instance, there might be people who love salted chocolate, while others want salt nowhere near their chocolate!
The same can be said about adding music to your yoga practice. Some people love vibrational support and melodic inspirations when they are flowing from one pose to another and find it improves their practice. Others revel in the silent internal waves of just their breath and prefer yoga without any music. There’s no right or wrong answer here, it’s simply a matter of preference. Regardless of yours, music has become increasingly popular to complement a yoga practice and seems here to stay for those who like this combination. Because of this, there are people who are always looking for new excellent music choices for their yoga practice.
If you’ve been moved by music during a yoga class, you can appreciate the beauty of this combination. Music can add another layer to a deep, rigorous flow and can support you in the challenging moments of a class, or keep your mind from wandering. Many have opened to new music artists and styles of music from tracks they discovered that moved them while on their mat.
What Is Yoga?
Before we dive deep into the possibilities between the collaboration of music and yoga, let us get some basic idea about the yoga practice as a whole. The meaning of 'yoga' is 'union.' In the etymological form, it is connected to the English word called Yoke. The meaning of the word means union with your divine self and the universe you’re a part of.
Yoga is a spiritual, mental, and physical practice that originated in ancient India. By the end of the 20th century, it gained real popularity in the West. The yogic practice has been observed for thousands of years in a variety of forms that continue to evolve.
During this time, many different elucidations have urbanized about what yoga is all about. Each type of yoga discipline has its own unique techniques and emphasis.
In the West, yoga is often associated with the physical practice of the asanas, especially the stretching exercises that relax the body and build flexibility. Yoga poses also builds stamina, balance, coordination, and strength.
However, asana, the physical practice of doing yoga poses, is just one of eight branches of the practice, according to several sacred texts on the philosophy of yoga, such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, written almost 2,000 years ago.
These eight limbs include Samadhi (Liberation), Dhyana (Meditation), Dharayana (Single-pointed concentration), Pratyahara (Withdrawal of the senses), Asana (meaning Self and refers to the physical posture of the body), Niyama (Five inner observances), and Yama (Outer Observances).
Additionally, there are several different paths of yoga-like Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga. However, they are all rooted in the Niyamas and Yamas and have the same ultimate goal of Samadhi, or liberation from suffering and experiencing presence.
Yoga is thought to be therapeutic for many mental and physical conditions. Studies have been conducted that demonstrate the effectiveness of yoga as a treatment for schizophrenia, stress, and back pain. There are even more targeted and specific kinds of yoga emerging, like face yoga asanas that help the muscles of your face to relax.
The Connection Between Yoga and Music
If you listen to a deep house beat, you know there can be a feeling that you are sinking into a state where your breath and body can align in perfect timing. Your body is in a perfect groove, lost in space, flowing in rhythm, and along with the timing of the music. Your body becomes an instrument that is in sync with the tempo of the metronome.
The extensive physical benefits of yoga have been studied for a long time. However, not all yoga teachers encourage the use of music along with yoga. But if you can select the music carefully, a well-curated playlist will be able to spark your peaceful moment in your practice for yourself or for students.
Yoga, Music, & The Flow State
Performing yogic practices and listening to music are inherently similar activities, despite their apparent differences. In simplest terms, both can enhance our well-being and make us feel good. Both are the universal languages of love. It can be said that music is as old as the human race itself and has remained constant all through the evolution of the human race and culture.
Similar to yoga, music also offers a lot of physiological benefits. It has been studied that music can effectively lower cortisol and decrease anxiety levels better in patients who are about to undergo surgery than those who take anti-anxiety drugs.
New science continues to explore the medicinal properties of music as well. Recently, it has also been studied that music allows a person to enter what is known as the 'flow state.' It is a term for the optimal state of consciousness where we are at our best.
For a long time, artists, musicians, and even athletes have been utilizing the creative flow state, even before the term was coined. When the flow state is reached, the brain switches to the borderline state between the alpha waves; this phenomenon is commonly associated with REM sleep, hypnosis, and daydreaming.
When you reach this state, it means that your brain has temporarily stopped projecting beta brainwaves (which are part of your waking consciousness). This action also deactivates the part that identifies with our sense of self, the prefrontal cortex. In short, you lose yourself to the moment.
Pairing yoga with music makes it easier for some to experience this flow state, while on your yoga mat.
How Certain Types of Music Work for Yoga
Here are some popular music genres to listen to when practicing yoga. We've listed some of the most popular and important ones and will look at how each genre of music can enhance your yoga practice.
The thing to remember is that there are no rules on what music you can or cannot listen to while practicing yoga. If you’re continuing to explore adding music to your yoga practice, you are not confined to just these styles below. Each style will bring a different feeling and set of benefits, much like the music or different styles of yoga themselves.
Meditation Music
A majority of people who practice yoga frequently prefer listening to meditation style music while practicing. People prefer listening to this kind of music because yoga is commonly related to peace of mind, relaxation, and meditation. Meditation music is linked to all of these and hence is amongst the most widely listened to style of music by yoga practitioners.
Classical Music
Classical music is another popular music genre among yoga enthusiasts. On average, a yogic workout can last somewhere between 30-75 minutes, which is more than enough time to listen to a lot of different and advanced pieces of classical music. Classical music is appreciated because it improves the peace of mind and relieves stress. Some famous traditional artists include Beethoven and Mozart.
Pop
Not a lot of yoga practitioners listen to pop music during their workouts, but it is continuing to grow in popularity. Artists like Rihanna, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga give some people a lighthearted boost during their yoga sessions, and help make yoga more fun and less serious. Pop music during yoga can help classes that involve fast-paced and eccentric moves.
Folk
Folk is a less common musical genre when practicing yoga. However, for some who seek refuge, solace, and peacefulness in their yoga practice, simple acoustic folk music, helps calm them down. Furthermore, a lot of people go onto their mat to work through emotional challenges, and inspiring lyrics that provoke a deeper range of emotions can help some. It can be common for people to have folk in the beginner or end of a class, and switch to more upbeat styles in the more high intensity parts of a session.
Electronic
Electronic music is a musical genre that is enjoyed all over the world and continues to gain popularity. Note that this is a broad genre with various subgenres. Some work better for yoga than others.
Forms of House and Deep House, seem to be most popular to pair with yoga, as their upbeat and happy sounds help keep students uplifted during class. Some prefer heavier and darker Techno beats with their yoga.
For faster practices, electronic music is an excellent choice and also for larger class sizes, to get everyone moving together in a flow. There are even forms of electronic music explicitly made for a yoga practice.
Conclusion
The debate between the connection between yoga and music has been going on for a long time. But now, a few scientific studies have emerged that confirm that yoga and music can go hand-in-hand and your exercises can be more in sync when you are listening to music. Have fun exploring which works best for you.
Let us know your favorite music styles to practice yoga with, in the comments!
By Scott Pine
Italian-American millennial who lives in Los Angeles. Runner. Scott wrote for various publications as a blogger and journalist for a Top Mom site, before finding refuge in yoga. He is currently building a program to help other people know more about yoga and implement the concept into their lives.
Enjoy a wide collection of yoga music to choose from, here in YogaDownload's extensive music collection HERE and this free gentler yoga class, suitable for all levels.
When you’ve been practicing yoga for a while, you might have built up a bit of an ego. You might be seeking out the most advanced poses and classes, with the toughest teachers, and you might be pushing yourself as far as you can. Sound familiar?
Pushing yourself too far in yoga can get you into sticky situations, especially if you try poses that are too advanced before you are ready for them. This is why going back to yoga basics every once in a while can be immensely beneficial to you, even if you’re not a beginner to the yoga mat. A basics yoga class can be so much better than pushing yourself into advanced practices, and perhaps injuring yourself.
Here’s a few simple reasons why going back to basics can actually help you on the way to becoming more advanced at yoga, and a few basic poses to go back and master.
You can appreciate your abilities
Sometimes, it's good to take stock of how far you’ve come in your abilities, and take some time to appreciate all the skills you know and how much you’ve learnt since your first ever yoga class. There’s nothing like a basics class to help you remember those first ever yoga poses, and how easy you might find it now compared to then.
If you only ever push yourself, you’ll never have many of these appreciative moments, so as you develop more advanced skills and techniques, go back every now and again to practice the easy stuff. You’ll come across poses you once found difficult, that are now easy to do and much more understandable.
Going back to basics is a great way to prove to yourself you can do anything if you put your mind to it, and give you the confidence in your abilities with some trickier poses.
You’ll perfect what you know
Going back to basic poses and practices gives you the space to perfect what you know and learn more about alignment. All the questions you may have about any pose that you’ve been too shy to ask, will probably be answered in a basics class, as the idea is to teach students trying them for the first time.
The nitty-gritty alignment details might be glossed over in more advanced classes, but you can really hone in on it in a basics class. Keeping things simple in the basic variations of a pose might help your understanding of the mechanics of the pose in its purest form, and help you in your more advanced classes in the future.
You’ll learn new skills
Yes, even the most advanced yogi can learn something from a basics class. Yoga offers lots of pathways to poses and techniques, and revisiting the basics with a fresh pair of eyes can help you learn something new. Going back to a beginners mindset can open your mind up to learning, and you can actually learn to advance your poses through going back to the start with them.
Basic poses to revisit
1. Mountain Pose
Mountain pose is your base for all yoga standing poses. It allows you to learn how to properly ground your feet and feel the earth under your toes. It’s a lot more than just standing! Stand with your feet together and press down through all your toes and spread them open. Engage your quadricep muscles, which will help to lift your knee caps, and lift through your inner thighs. Hold your abs in, lift your chest and press your shoulders down.
2. Downward Facing Dog
Downward facing dog is a staple in most, if not all yoga practices and classes, as it stretches and strengthens your whole body. If you come onto all fours, keeping your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips, them tuck your toes under, lifting your hips up off the floor. This will help to stretch out your body, and if you try and straighten your legs you will give an extra stretch to your hamstrings.
3. Plank
Plank is a great pose that not only comes up in yoga classes but also in other fitness classes. This pose is a great way to balance on hands and using your entire body to support itself. It also creates great abs, and uses breath work to endure this hard pose!
Plank teaches us how to balance on our hands while using the entire body to support us. It is a great way to strengthen the abdominals, and learn to use the breath to help us stay in a challenging pose. From all fours, tuck your toes under, and lift your legs up, sliding your heels back so you’re one long line. From here you can engage the abdominals and draw your shoulders down from the ears.
4. Tree
Tree pose is a great posture to practice your balance and work on your focus and clarity, and learn to breathe while standing and keeping balanced. Stand with your feet together and place one of your feet on your inner thigh. Press your hands in prayer and hold a steady gaze.
5. Child’s Pose
Child’s pose is a great resting pose, not just for beginners but for practitioners of all levels. It’s a good pose to have in your arsenal to use when you feel fatigued in other poses, before you go to sleep, or even when you need a little mental break or some stress relief. Start out on all fours and bring your knees and feet together, sit your bottom back to your heels and stretch your arms forward, lowering your head to the floor and simply release!
Practice one of these back to the basics yoga classes, right now!
Fine Tune Your Forward Fold with Ellen Kaye
Foundation Flow with Kristen Boyle
Are you seeking to find your best yoga practice?
Often, the most powerful way to manifest transformation in your life and your yoga practice is to stop wherever you are and assess the strength of your foundation. Just like you can’t build a home that will last for generations on unstable soil, you can’t build a sustainable yoga practice by focusing only on how it looks or feels on the surface. This week hit the pause button and dig deeper to ensure your foundation is solid.
If you’ve been rolling out your yoga mat for a while, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of just focusing on learning new skills or taking every asana into its most advanced variation. Practicing this way isn’t necessarily the path of becoming an advanced yogi.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, cultivating an enduring yoga practice was compared to being a gardener or a farmer. Planting seeds and tending the soil on a consistent basis is key for successful growth. A healthy lifelong yoga practice at times isn’t apparent from looking solely on the surface. The strength stems from the roots, beneath the soil.
Perhaps by trying a more basic level yoga practice or a class from an instructor, you don’t usually practice with will fortify your roots and give you new insight. It’s also an excellent reminder to step out of ego and recognize there may be more than one way to move or breathe or meditate. Different teachers instruct alignment in a different manner. Yoga Sutra 2:46, Sthira Sukham Asanam, states the posture should have both effort and ease. Keep an open attitude and return to the beginner’s mind when you were open to trying new techniques. Practicing familiar postures in an unfamiliar manner can keep your practice fresh and exciting.
By slowing down, you can refine your knowledge and polish your current practice physically, emotionally, and mentally. Slow down and check in with how your perspective has shifted over the lifetime of your yoga practice. It’s a great opportunity to confirm how far you’ve come since you were a true beginner. Look at it as planting new seeds in order to grow your practice.
Whether you're brand new to yoga or a yogi with many years of experience, we can all benefit from going back to the basics once in awhile. This week, check out these four classes that will aid you in honing healthy alignment and a strong foundation. Enjoy!
Try these back to the basics, yoga classes right now, from anywhere!
1. Kristen Boyle - Foundation Flow
2. Ellen Kaye - Fine Tune your Forward Fold
3. Jackie Casal Mahrou - Foundations of Yoga
4. Desiree Rumbaugh & Michele Marchildon - Find Strength through your Feet
Scalloped potatoes are a classic Thanksgiving dish, but are traditionally loaded with heavy cream, cheese, and flour. Our recipe is an up-leveled version that tastes just as good as you remember grandma making. This recipe falls under our 80:20 eating, as we keep potatoes, yeast, and goat cheese off our plates while cleansing. However, this recipe could be easily modified to be more cleanse-friendly by leaving out the yeast, substituting our Vegan Cashew Cheese for the goat cheese, and swapping out the potatoes for another tender root veggie, like rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, or even golden beets – or mix it up with a combo of your favorites!
Do you have a favorite holiday recipe you’d like us to give a Conscious Cleanse makeover? Let us know in the comments below. We love hearing from our community!
With love and gratitude,
Goat Cheese & Sage Scalloped Potatoes
Yield: 8-10 servings
3 medium shallots, minced 1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 3 large parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced 3 TB. ghee + 1 TB. to grease the pan 3 TB. arrowroot powder 3 cups unsweetened cashew milk 1 TB. nutritional yeast ½ tsp. garlic powder 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 tsp. sea salt ½ tsp. ground pepper 3 TB. fresh sage, finely minced 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled Sprinkle of paprika
Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a small saucepan melt the 1 TB. ghee. Pour the ghee into the bottom of a 9”x 13” baking pan coating the bottom and halfway up the sides.
In a medium-sized saucepan melt the 3 TB. ghee. When melted add the 3 TB. arrowroot and whisk until smooth. Cook for about 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Slowly add the cashew milk (approx. ¼-½ cup at a time) whisking to avoid lumps and to create a creamy sauce. Add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, dijon mustard, sea salt, and pepper. Continue to cook until it comes to a simmer whisking the entire time.
Layer the potatoes alternating with the parsnips until the bottom of the pan is covered. Sprinkle with half of the sage. Repeat the process one more time. Pour the cashew milk cream sauce evenly over the potatoes and parsnips. Sprinkle the goat cheese crumbles on top. Dust the top of the potatoes with paprika. Add whole sage leaves on top as a garnish if you desire. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is golden another 20-30 minutes. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.
Want to try yoga after your Thanksgiving feast? Try YogaDownload's Yoga for Detox from Overindulgence to get back in shape!
A yoga retreat is a nice opportunity to take a step back from the distractions of daily life. They also help you focus on and immerse yourself in your yoga practice, while also experiencing new places with new people.
As rejuvenating as this experience can be, many find the idea of a retreat slightly intimidating. Yes, for some, even a retreat may seem daunting at first, as many wonder if it's really a relaxing vacation or a challenge that puts you too far outside your comfort zone.
Here are a few handy tips and tricks to help you get the best out of a yoga vacation and feel ready to immerse yourself in yoga and travel.
Pick the right retreat for you
Your experience all depends on the retreat you choose, as different retreats have different areas of emphasis and intensity. Some are more yoga focused, some have more time for sightseeing and others are more about delicious food. Others incorporate other things like meditation, reiki, time in nature or even wine tasting and cooking classes.
Some are more of a vacation and others are more serious about yoga. If you're craving discipline and practicing multiple challenging yoga classes each day, there's a retreat for you. If you want a vacation on the beach with nice relaxing yoga class as an addition, there's a retreat out there for you also.
Make sure you look around and find the yoga retreat that suits you best. Some are more of a vacation and others are more serious about yoga. At most retreats, all classes and activities optional, which means you get to choose your own adventure and are not confined to a strict schedule either.
Practice
Before signing up for a yoga retreat, it can be helpful to make your yoga practice more consistent leading up to it, although it's not necessary. Go to classes or start practicing at home a little more. This will help prepare your body and mind for more yoga than usual that you will have available at most retreats, especially if you're not used to practicing multiple times per day.
Your retreat can also be your time to practice, so if you don't have the time to make it to your mat more beforehand, don't worry, you'll still get the benefits of the yoga on the retreat.
Pack lightly & appropriately
An important part of prepping for any vacation, yoga or not, is the packing! Make sure that you pack light so you can stay relaxed and stress-free getting to and from the retreat. Think about what you will really need at the retreat to make things easier. You'll probably need more yoga clothing than other vacations you've gone on, but it is also okay to repeat a few outfits if you need to - nobody is going to judge you.
Yoga vacations can be a time to focus more on simplicity. Too much primping and preening is something to worry about less on a yoga retreat. It's not to say you can't look and feel your best, but it's a good time to worry less about that stuff. Also, make sure to pack according to the weather at your destination and the demands of your itinerary, so you're comfortable.
Research the destination
Sometimes the location of your yoga vacation is just as exciting as the retreat itself. Few things can match the thrill of heading to a new city, or a new country, and discovering its heritage, culture, and sights. So before you head off into the unknown, take some time out and do your research on where you are going.
It's good anytime you go to a foreign country to know even a few things about the culture there, or a few words in the language. You can also get an idea of which excursions and activities you might be excited about. If nothing else, do the research to get yourself excited about the vacation and give yourself something to look forward to.
Eat healthier
Some, but not all yoga vacations involve a change of diet for many. At some retreats, the food offered is simple, healthy, and usually vegetarian. Some have no caffeine, alcohol, meat, or processed foods. So if your eating habits include a fair amount of wine, coffee, or chicken and you're heading to a vegan yoga retreat, you might want to try cutting back on processed food a couple of weeks in advance to avoid shocking your system from a drastic change in diet at the retreat. Other retreats have gourmet food and many are not focused on a strict diet and have coffee, alcohol and meat available.
Leave peacefully
Now that the rest of the preparations are complete, all that's left is to set out for a rejuvenating experience. But wait! Before you go in search of peace, you need to make sure that you are able to leave peacefully as well without anything you need to worry about back home.
The last step to preparing for a yoga vacation involves making sure that you can focus entirely on your mind and body, without too many distractions from back home or at the office. Make arrangements to delegate tasks, set "out-of-office" responders, and transfer your calls. Inform your loved ones in advance so that your time away can be spent as "unplugged" as possible.
These are a few simple steps that will help you prepare well for that long-awaited yoga break. Keep your mind and heart open to these revitalizing experiences, and you will be amazed at how uplifting making your next vacation a yoga retreat can be for you.
By Nisha Baghadia
Nish writes articles on yoga, fitness, wellness, remedies, and beauty. She is a regular contributor to StyleCraze.com & other lifestyle websites.
Ready for your own yoga vacation? Join YogaDownload instructor Pradeep Teotia in Morocco whether you already know you love yoga retreats or have always wanted to go on one!
We’ve all experienced stress once or twice (or more) in our lives. It’s a natural physical and mental reaction to life's experiences. Anything can trigger stress, from work responsibilities to serious life events or external factors. For in the moment, short term experiences, stress can actually be beneficial to your health, by helping you cope with some potentially serious situations. Your body responds to feeling stressed by releasing stress hormones, which increase your heart rate, your breathing rate and gets your muscles ready to respond.
However, as healthy as a good dose of stress can be - good things come in small packages. Feeling stressed for long periods of time - more than is necessary for survival - can take its toll on your health. Chronic stress and stress conditions can cause a number of physical symptoms, and affect your overall health.
Here are just some of the ways stress can impact you and your health negatively.
Central Nervous System
Your central nervous system is in charge of your fight or flight responses. When this gets activated, your hypothalamus in your brain sends a message to your adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol - stress hormones. These are the hormones which speed up your heart beat, send your blood rushing. Now, when the fear is gone, your hypothalamus should tell the Central Nervous system to go back to normal. If this fails, all these stress responses will continue.
Cardiovascular Systems
Being stressed can also affect your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. When you feel stressed, you breathe faster in an effort to distribute oxygen around your body. If you have any breathing problems such as asthma, this can make it even harder to breathe properly.
Chronic stress can also make your heart overworked. This is because under stress, your heart pumps faster, as the stress hormones make your blood vessels constrict and divert oxygen to your muscles - so you have more strength to take action. However, this raises your blood pressure. If this happens often, you raise your risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
Digestive System
When you feel stressed, your liver produces extra blood sugar, or glucose, to give your body a much needed boost of energy. If you’re under more stress than usual, your body might not be able to handle all this extra sugar flowing through your body, and you can run the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Another disruption to your digestive system can come from the symptoms of stress - hormones rushing around your body, heavy breathing and faster heart rates can cause acid reflux and heartburn, due to an increase in stomach acid. Stress can also increase your risk of stomach ulcers.
Muscle Pain
In order to protect yourself from injury, your muscles tense up when you are feeling stressed. Once you relax, they release once more - but if you’re constantly feeling stressed then your muscles might not get the change to relax at all. Constantly tight muscles can cause headaches, back pain, shoulder pain, and overall body aching. Over time this can severely affect your health and mobility and can stop you from being active.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, there are a few tips to help manage stress and avoid these physical symptoms.
Get Enough Sleep
When your fighting stress, your body really needs rest and a full night's sleep - at least eight hours! Having enough sleep can help to improve your mood, help you think with clarity, and allows you to handle stressful situations better when you’re sleep-deprived.
Work Out
Being active can help you to alleviate symptoms of stress, as well as anxiety. Exercise can help to release endorphins and other ‘happy’ hormones, which makes you feel good. The results of working out can also boost your confidence and self-esteem. Try 30 minutes of moving a day.
Eat Well
When you’re feeling stressed out, fast food or sugary treats can be an easy coping mechanism. However, overindulging can leave you feeling sluggish, tired and more stressed than you were to begin with. To combat stress, stock up on brain foods such as fish, eggs, and vegetables to boost your brain health and improve your mood.
Learn Your Stress Triggers
If you’re noticing that your stress is brought on by specific situations, whether it’s something at work, something personal or something completely different, try to identify the patterns in how you’re feeling and write them down. This can be useful to find out what exactly is triggering your stress and can make it easier to handle and reduce the stress response in your body.
Deep Breathing Techniques
Learning deep breathing techniques can help to reduce stress symptoms such as rapid heartbeats. When you take a deep breath, the extra oxygen can help to ease your mind and gives you time to collect your feelings and thoughts. Try yoga, or meditation which promote deep breathing and can help to reduce stress.
Need some extra help in reducing stress? Sometimes stress can get the best of us. Give yourself an antidote to stress this week, with four classes designed to help you unwind, relax, and reset.
Yoga helps you fight stress and stay healthy. Try these stress-relieving yoga classes, now!
1. Josey Prior - Settling into Pigeon
2. Keith Allen - Evening Stress Relief Yoga
3. Tana Pittman - Kundalini: Be Radiant & Stress-Free
4. Kylie Larson - Yoga to Unwind
We’ve all been burned out and exhausted and not sure how to cope at some point in our lives. Whether it is looming deadlines, emotional demands, climate change, political battles, family drama––the result is the same. Sometimes juggling all the challenges and all the wonderful gifts in our lives can feel overwhelming and we’re not sure how to feel better.
Here’s how: Yoga can help lower your stress levels and your blood pressure because it’s an excellent practice to calm your nervous system.
By combining physical asanas or postures with Pranayama or controlled breathing techniques, yoga can have a profound impact on your nervous system. When we are stressed out, our adrenal glands are working overtime and we’re often in a state of “fight or flight,” which doesn’t allow for adequate rest and recovery. Over time, if we fall into this type of pattern of constantly being in heightened over-active mode, our bodies and minds begin to suffer.
As you’ve heard over and over, yoga offers a three-pronged approach to improving your life: physical, mental, and spiritual. While taking your usual sweaty Vinyasa or Power class will definitely impact your mind and heart, sometimes slowing down a bit and taking a more mellow class can give you more of the mental stress relief you’re craving.
Our parasympathetic nervous system is designed to soothe and lower our stress levels. Certain styles of yoga, like Yin and Restorative, emphasize postures that can reset your nervous system in minutes. Gentle Hatha classes also focus more on unwinding and relaxing you. Of course, you’re releasing tightness and tension from your muscles, but you’re also soothing your brain.
Asanas like Vipariti Karani (Legs up the Wall) and Paschimottanasa (Seated Forward Fold) are effective in creating a relaxing effect. Any poses where your legs are extended up overhead or where you’re in a forward fold, encourage not just self-reflection, but also quiet your mind quickly. Signals travel to your brain and impact your body, mind, and heart.
This week, we’re bringing you four classes designed to help you unwind, relax, and reset. These slower classes will give you your yoga buzz and also help you sleep better, manage anxiety and stress throughout busy days, and allow you to shift your system back into balance. Remember, rest is just as important as work!
I love mushrooms. LOVE!
All kinds of mushrooms, but especially those I can pick myself from woods. In Estonia, we have a lot of forests, and unless the area is marked as private property, we are allowed to forage for whatever you like, as long as you act responsibly and do not leave any rubbish behind. I know that this is not the case all over the world, so I consider myself extremely lucky.
For this year, the season of fresh mushrooms is, unfortunately, over, but simple button mushrooms work just perfectly for this recipe.
This delicious soup takes very little time to prepare and does not contain any fancy ingredients, so it is a perfect dinner for busy evenings. I kept in very simple and entirely plant-based, but if you like, then you can also add some cream cheese or heavy cream to the soup.
For serving, I always slice up some extra mushrooms and fry them until crispy, and I also love crispy barley instead of croutons but feel free to choose whatever toppings you like.
Plant-Based Mushroom Soup
Cooking time: 20 minutes
1 small onion
1 stalk of celery
1 tbsp oil
15 oz button mushrooms
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
To serve: crispy barley, croutons, fried mushrooms or toasted sunflower seeds
Chop up the onion and celery and sweat them off for 5 minutes on low heat.
Until the veggies soften, cut the mushrooms to quarters, then increase the heat and add the mushrooms to the pot. Sautee, occasionally stirring for 5 more minutes.
Season strongly with pepper, add soy sauce and stock, let it come to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Take the soup off the heat and blend it until smooth with a stick blender. Careful, it is hot!
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Serve with whatever crispy toppings you like.
Practice this rejuvenating FREE 25-minute yoga class, suitable for all levels, before or after eating this delicious soup!
Those that have office or desk jobs may have to spend much of the day in the same position sitting at a desk. It can be too easy to ignore our bodies’ need to move regularly and experience stress and tension because of how we have sit to work. Repeating the same cycle for weeks, months, and years can lead to more serious responses from the body, causing the immune system to continually be on defense and increasing poor posture. This pattern worsens as time passes unless you are proactive and take preventative measures, like yoga.
The best way to break this cycle is to start making small changes. While there are several ways to start having a healthier and more positive routine at the office, this can be done from the comfort of your desk or chair. Below, you will find 4 of the best poses that you can do while at work and create a more stress-free workday and future.
These poses can be done alone, targeting more specific areas as needed or done together for a quick in-office practice. Choose your desk or an area of the office that is quiet or further away from others.
Standing Seal Pose
This is a great stretch for both the spine and the legs. Doing this pose is ideal for those that sit a lot throughout the day, giving the back, shoulders, spine, and legs a chance to stretch. This pose is also known to increase the connection between the heart and the mind, making it the perfect stretch to do when you can feel the stress coming on at work.
How to do it at work:
Stand straight with your legs a little wider than hip-distance apart. Clasp your arms behind your back and interlace your fingers together. Take the gaze up and then dive the heart forward bending over the thighs and bringing the arms up as high as comfortable. When coming up, do it slowly to prevent any dizziness that may occur.
Chair Pigeon
We carry emotions in our hips. Stresses at work can lead to more tension in the hips. Pigeon is a deep hip opener and chest opener, giving you a chance to let those emotions go and continue on with your day feeling lighter.
Sit straight up in your chair, place one leg at a 90-degree angle above the other. Be sure to keep the foot flexed to avoid knee injuries. You can stay here or opt for a deeper stretch by reaching through and gripping your thigh, shin or ankle. Stay here as long as you like and breathe.
Desk Upward Dog
Upward Dog is an amazing chest opener, helping you thrust forward your heart and is a good antidote to the posture of prolonged sitting at a desk. Use this pose to get a quick burst of energy as it lengthens your spine and brings blood and oxygen to the brain.
Clear off a spot on your desk keeping your arms, hips, and chest forward. Step your feet, balancing your weight between hands and feet. Breathe in deeply and extend the head, neck, and chest upward, while keeping your gaze on the ceiling.
Eagle Arms
This pose has a lot of good benefits, especially for those that do a lot of typing. This is a deep wrist and arm stretch helps tendons and ligaments stay strong and flexible.
In your chair, make sure that enough space is cleared in order to fully stretch your hands around and above the head. Starting from the center of your heart, breathe hands up and around swinging one elbow under the other. Breathe deeply and lift the elbows as far up your face as you can; deepening the stretch the further up you go.
For all of these poses, breath is the most important thing. Make sure that while you are doing any of these poses you are taking really deep inhales, then emptying the lungs for the next big breath to enter and nourish the organs.
It can be best to try and make these moves a routine, attempting to create a more positive mindset at work. By doing these moves even once a day at work you may see a big decrease in stress levels. Most of these poses are targeted to deliver oxygen and blood to the brain; clearing mind fog and helping you be the best and most productive version of yourself at work. Put your best foot forward, smile, and make your way through your workday positive and happy, with the help of yoga.
By Akash Bhowad
Akash is a Content Writer at Diet Chart which is a leading Nutrition, Diet, Health and Fitness Blog. He is passionate about connecting human hearts through words and sharing resourceful knowledge, health and wellness tips. Through his work, he aspires to serve people, educate them and help them understand the significance of Diet, Yoga, Nutrition and Exercise to lead a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.
Want to experience the benefits of yoga at your desk for yourself? Try YogaDownload's Yoga for Desk Jockey's program.
If you have more time and space to move, the 2-Week Lunch Break Yoga Challenge can also improve your workday.
Those who practice yoga often know the importance of balance on the mat, be it balance in the body, balance in tree pose, or balance between the breath and the movements. But not many of us transfer this balance into our day to day lives, especially our work-life balance.
Yoga can help us practice so much more than the physical movements and poses. It helps us practice things like our breath, calming our minds, pushes us outside our comfort zone and allows us to grow and self reflect. This self-reflection will ultimately help in maintaining a strong work-life balance, as understanding patterns, strengths and weaknesses are essential in setting the boundaries we need to balance our lives. In layman's terms, a work-life balance is how you maintain the time you dedicate to working vs having fun and living your life.
Finding a balance that works for you requires work and self-reflection. There are many ways yoga can help you improve your work-life balance.
Yoga helps you study yourself
Yoga practice turns your mind and back in yourself, and helps you in the practice of self-study. This is vital in finding that balance in your life, especially to help you find your work-life balance. While you practice yoga, you often think a lot about who you are, and calm your mind, letting you discover what your priorities are and what work-life balance means for you. Over time, once you self reflect more and more, you can start to shape your life based on your needs, wants, and the type of person you are.
Yoga helps you discover your habits
Your daily habits and the patterns you repeat every day can have a big effect on how you achieve a work-life balance. Things like unconscious behavioral patterns shape our days, such as getting into the habit of a morning coffee, or a mid-afternoon snack. Sometimes these habits and patterns are healthy, sometimes they are not. Yoga helps to increase self-awareness and gives us the time to think about these patterns, and helps us to establish good habits - giving us time back to maintain that work-life balance.
Yoga helps you establish your limits
Everyone has their limits, especially when it comes to being overworked. Yoga can help you to explore your limits by practicing physical poses and movements and tracking your progress. Through your yoga practice you can learn the ability to recognize and acknowledge your limits, as well as finding ways to grow. It’s important to recognize and stick to your limits and keep them in balance.
Yoga helps to beat stress
If you’re stressed out and can’t relax - maybe you’re even so stressed out you can’t sleep - your work-life balance is sure to suffer. Mental and emotional stress are some of the highest reasons that can affect your health as well as your productivity, and it can also make you sick by aggravating illness and health conditions. Yoga can help to alleviate stress, by practicing poses daily, regulating your breathing and releasing tension in both the mind and body. Less stress = more productivity, which is sure to improve your work-life balance.
Yoga helps to improve your concentration
Staying focused at work is a great way to improve your work-life balance - if you get your work done, it’s easier to leave on time on focus on fun things. Yoga can help to improve your concentration, by allowing you to practice meditation and deep breathing exercises, which are helpful if you ever feel overwhelmed. Yoga helps to regulate your oxygen in your blood, making you more alert and able to handle your workload.
Yoga helps your physical health
If you’re in good physical health, it’s easier to fully enjoy your time off work, and enjoy the ‘life’ part of a work-life balance. These days, work can have an impact on your health, especially if you work a desk job which doesn't keep you physically active. Starting at a screen hunched over a desk can affect your posture, your eyesight, and your physical health - which can not only affect your fun time but also your productivity. Yoga can help to keep these physical ailments at bay, by allowing you to move your body.
Yoga helps to increase energy and helps you feel positive
If you have more energy, you have more time to commit to the activities you like to do. Working every day can lead to fatigue, which can build up over the days and weeks. Taking some time out to practice yoga and some mindful meditation can help to decrease fatigue and give you higher energy levels. Yoga also helps you feel your best, in more ways than one. It can help you feel better physically, mentally and emotionally. This can improve your confidence and help you in setting your boundaries for a healthy work-life balance.
Want to reap the benefits and improve your work-life balance? This week's Lunch Break Yoga Challenge, will help you improve your work-life balance, so take some time out from your busy work schedule during your lunch break, to enjoy practicing yoga.