One of the foods our cleansers struggle with giving up most is SUGAR. Added sugar is everywhere, even hidden in your favorite salad dressings or condiments, which makes it particularly hard to avoid, and the more you eat it, the more you become reliant on it.
Sugar can lead to health issues such as chronic weight gain, an overgrowth of candida, blood sugar imbalance, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and more. It’s also been linked to an increased risk for more serious health concerns like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
During the Conscious Cleanse, you’ll give up added and refined sugars completely, but if you think you might have a sugar sensitivity, you may need to do even more to tame your sugar cravings (take our Sugar Sensitivity Quiz here). Many fruits, grains, and other healthy foods still have naturally occurring sugars that can sabotage your health if you’re sensitive to sugar.
We both know how difficult it can be to give up sugar; Jo went from snacking on chocolate candy to “healthier” sugary treats like dried dates and other fruit, while Jules loved high-sugar fruits like bananas in her smoothies every morning. After having kids, not sleeping, and our hormones having changed, we realized that we needed to cut out even the natural sugars if we wanted to feel our best.
That’s why we’ve included a Low-Sugar plan as part of our Conscious Cleanse On Demand program to give you even more support in giving up sugar for good. You’ll have access to a daily Meal Planner of low-sugar recipes to help with meal prep, a Resource Library full of helpful tips for cutting out all types of sugar, and a Food Journal where you can track your food choices. You can reach out to one of our expert health coaches at any time with any questions or concerns, or send us your Food Journal so we can look for patterns and help you identify a sugar sensitivity.
When we realized we needed to cut out high-sugar fruit and other sources of natural sugars from our diets, we weren’t sure how that would affect our morning smoothie ritual. But with a little tinkering, we were able to come up with a way to enjoy green smoothies without the extra sugar – low-sugar green smoothies! Some of our favorite low-sugar green smoothies include our Lemon Blueberry Smoothie and our Fruit Free Green Smoothie. If you’d like to make your own low-sugar smoothie, here’s our go-to guide for making the perfect low-sugar smoothie.
How to Make the Perfect Low-Sugar Green Smoothie
Choose a liquid: 2 cups of unsweetened nut milk or water.
Add 1 piece or about 1 cup of low-sugar fruit (optional): blueberries, raspberries, ½ of a lemon, 1 pear, cherries, cranberries are all great low-sugar options.
Add lots of greens! About 2 cups of spinach, kale, collard greens, Swiss Chard, Romaine lettuce, or other leafy greens.
Top it off with 1-2 superfood add ons: 2-3 TB. hemp seeds for protein; 1-2 TB. unsweetened raw nut/seed butter, 1 TB. chia seeds, or olive or coconut oil for energy from healthy fats, 1 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon to help stabilize your blood sugar and add sweetness – all these can help with sugar cravings.
Blend in a high-speed blender and enjoy!
With love and low-sugar smoothies,
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.
Turmeric, the powerful golden root that makes our favorite golden milk lattes, is most commonly known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Since I was a young child, my mom taught me how to replace taking ibuprofen and other pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory drugs by instead drinking turmeric tea, or even soaking the desired body part in hot turmeric water. What I didn’t know my whole life, was that turmeric does so much more for the body than simply reducing inflammation and making delicious lattes.
Here are 8 benefits of turmeric you might not have known before:
Cures and prevents some cancers
Could Turmeric be a new cure for cancer? Although there aren’t too many studies out there yet, Curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) has been shown to inhibit proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis of different cancers through interaction with multiple cell signaling proteins. Additionally, Turmeric has been shown to prevent the growth of cancerous cells and prohibit growth as seen in different testing. Increases breast milk supply
Turmeric has been used in India and other Eastern countries as a galactagogue, which is a substance that helps increase milk in breastfeeding moms. While it is not scientifically proven, many moms swear by supplementing their diets with Turmeric to increase milk flow as well as milk quality. Strengthens your immune system
Good news! Drinking golden milk lattes can be your new go-to cold medicine. Turmeric has antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties that help boost your immune system and prevent future sickness. Makes you happy
For sure sipping golden milk lattes does make me happy, but turmeric increases your mood because it also acts as a natural antidepressant. In fact, Chinese medicine practitioners have been treating depression with Turmeric for thousands of years! Turmeric is thought to contain compounds that increase dopamine and stimulate the nervous system. Studies also show Turmeric may even ease depression by relieving inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain.
Reduced risk of mastitis
Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties may help prevent swollen breast tissue and clogged ducts, which can lead to mastitis.
Improved digestion
Turmeric can help get your digestion back to normal by helping stimulate the stomach to produce more gastric acid, which is needed for proper digestion.
Natural painkiller
Turmeric can help reduce inflammation that causes pain, especially in joints. Like I mentioned earlier, you can replace your ibuprofen with Tumeric tea, or even soaking the inflamed area in warm turmeric water. I have used this technique multiple times, specifically for sprained and swollen ankles. Watch as your inflamed joints reduce as if by magic!
Helps with Arthritis. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties as I said above, it makes natural sense that turmeric helps with arthritis as well. According to a study, Curcumin was found to be more effective for people with rheumatoid arthritis than an anti-inflammatory drug,
Improves Brain Health
BDNF is a growth hormone in the brain that when decreased, can lead to brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and depression. Interestingly, curcumin has been shown to increase levels of BDNF, reversing brain diseases and improving overall brain function.
As we study more and more about turmeric, the more amazing things we find out about this herb. There is still so much we don’t know about turmeric, but what we do know is it helps us feel amazing, and it’s delicious too! Add turmeric to your daily diet, whether in tea, curry, or (obviously my favorite by now) a golden milk latte. Cheers!
By Brooke Nally
Brooke is a freelance writer who has been living internationally and traveling the world for about two years ago, teaching yoga everywhere she lands.
Ready to get into optimal health? Try one of these yoga programs whether you're experienced or a brand new beginner!
Many people shy away from fear and see it as a negative, a danger and something to be avoided. However, fear can sometimes be good for you! Fear can keep you on your toes and help you experience new things.
Here’s our top 10 reasons why a dose of fear every now and again can be good for you.
Fear keeps you safe
The fear instinct is the bodies’ internal danger alarm. The feelings of fear compel you to take action against danger. Without the fear instinct, you wouldn’t have an awareness of threats around you - so you wouldn’t be around very long! Fear gives you the flight or fight reaction to make decisions when you may be unsafe - such as if a car drives towards you when you’re crossing the road. Without fear - you wouldn’t be able to make a decision to help you stay safe.
Fear keeps you fit
Feeling scared and fear can help you burn more calories than when you are relaxed and not afraid. This is because when you feel scared, your pulse quickens, and your body receives a huge surge in adrenaline. This kick starts your metabolism into high gear, burning sugar and fat in your body, and your heart beats faster to get energy to your muscles. In fact, one study found that people watching horror movies burned 113 calories during the viewing!
Fear keeps you healthy
As well as keeping you fit, a dose of fear can also boost your immune system. Another study that utilized scary movies found that after watching a horror film, participants had a higher white blood cell count. This was proven by taking blood samples both before and after the film, and the physiological fear responses caused the film watchers to experience a lift in white blood cells. These cells enable your body to fight disease and infection, and boost your immune system.
Fear is exciting
A healthy dose of fear can be fun! Just like people love to watch scary movies, or ride roller coasters - or even do something a little more daring like skydiving - this is because that feeling of adrenaline can be exciting and makes you feel alive. When you feel fear, you generate excitement which can help to relieve depression - by increasing adrenaline. This also increases arousal and energy. A small dose of fear is a great way to inject some fun into your life!
Fear empowers you
Feeling fear can give you a natural sense of empowerment. As well as adrenaline, other chemicals are released when you feel scared, such as endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine. These chemicals actually help your brain work more efficiently. This is partly due to the fact that when you’re facing something scary, it's unknown and your brain has to work harder and focus. Coming through these challenges creates a natural biological high and feeling of empowerment.
Fear relaxes you
It may seem counterintuitive but feeling scared can actually relax you. Stress is fundamentally fear based. As you worry and stress, your body physically bombards you with adrenaline and dopamine, speeding up your heart rate and increasing your blood pressure - this activates the fight or flight response and floods your muscles with oxygen - helping your brain quieten down and helps you feel calm.
Fear helps you focus
Fear can stop you getting distracted and help you to focus. If you’re feeling scared or anxious about something in the future or something unknown, you can use that fear to help you focus on the present. When adrenaline is released through feeling afraid, another hormone called norepinephrine is released, which helps you to focus instead of panic. This hormone allows you to think clearly under stress, and it’s used in antidepressants.
Fear socializes you
When you’re afraid, the body releases oxytocin, which is a hormone that makes you seek out comfort in other people. This is due to the brain’s survival instinct, which is to pair with other humans to increase survival chances.
Fear opens up your life
When you’re fearful of something, sometimes the best approach is to face it head on and overcome your fear - rather than letting it stop you and limit you in life. Being afraid of something and overcoming it can expand your life to so many more opportunities. When you notice a fear, you’re altered to something in your life that could be limiting you - and it gives you the chance to expand your life.
Fear alerts you to the important things in life
If you’re fearful about something important to you, feeling afraid can alert you to the priorities in your life, and help you to understand how to nurture these aspects of your life.
By Amy Cavill
Want to face some fears? Practice some arm balance and inversion yoga classes and learn to be braver!
Michelle Marchildon - Balance your Way to Bakasana
Kylie Larson - Tittibasana Flow: Balance and Fly
Need to make a major shift in your perspective or boost your confidence?
We’ve got you covered this week with poses designed to help you feel strong, focused, and humble. Whether you love to balance on your hands and take flight or if you fear falling on your face, this week we’ve got four classes for you to get engaged and turn your world upside down. These practices are empowering and invigorating.
Regardless of how you feel about inversions, these postures are excellent for your circulation, mental focus, and overall mood. It’s helpful to use your full yoga practice to keep your spine flexible, your hips open, your core and upper body strong, and your attitude positive. You may have heard yoga called the 'fountain of youth', and often going upside down is what helps keep your skin glowing with the boost of fresh blood from the heart to the head.
If you’re one of the students who avoid inversions, we challenge you to wipe the slate clean and try again this week. Arm balances are accessible, as long as you’re physically healthy and listen to your body. Usually, our reservations revolve around our fear of falling or looking silly. As long as you can perform chaturanga, you’ve got the upper body strength. A strong core is important for playing with gravity. A willingness to be playful and view the postures as an opportunity to have fun helps immensely. Also, don’t be afraid to use props like blocks, straps, or a wall.
For those of you who wish every class was full of handstands and dragonflies and flying pigeons, good for you. Sometimes we fall into a rut of repeating our favorite postures in exactly the same way or not practicing others at all. We challenge you to try these classes for variety and to enhance your current knowledge and either confirm what you know or learn a new or different method of entering or exiting a pose. Try your beloved arm balances with a beginner’s mind.
Each of this week’s classes offers a different take on these powerful and graceful postures. We've picked four of our top arm balance classes, each highlighting a different arm balance, to keep you engaged in your practice this week. Get ready to boost your endorphins, gain a new perspective, and have fun!
1. Kylie Larson - Tittibasana Flow: Balance and Fly
2. Kristin Gibowicz - Fly Like an Eagle
3. Kristen Boyle - Staying Power: Flow into Eka Pada Koundinyasana II
4. Michelle Marchildon - Balance your Way to Bakasana
I have had a problem for a few months already, but it is one of those good problems – how to eat all the beautiful produce I get?!
In Estonia summers are rather short, which means that most of the crop is at its best at the same time – zucchini, tomatoes, cucumber, kale, you name it! And, even if I have my rooftop garden, my mother’s garden, and my grandmother's garden, I still also like to go to the farmers market too, because, well, I love going to the market to look at the abundance of produce. I do need to hold myself back with shopping, though.
I hate throwing away food and always try to eat everything from root to leaf, so I always try to make the most of everything I have. Oh, I wish I could somehow spread the harvest over the whole year! But I can’t, so this time of year my 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day is easily 15 or 20 portions of fruit and veggies, and everything else has to wait until I run out (although I do miss lentils and pasta already).
This soup here is a wonderful way to use up tomatoes. I used ripe sweet yellow tomatoes, but you can do this soup also from the underripe storebought tomatoes because cooking turns them more delicious anyway. I love the spices in my tomato soup, and adding these makes it a perfect autumn soup. Imagine the pouring rain and then you enjoying your hot bowl of soup inside. It's nice!
Oh and by the way – tomatoes are even healthier once they are cooked because the lycopene content in them increases once cooked!
Lightly Spiced Tomato Soup
Serves: 2
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 large onion
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin (I used whole, but ground is ok too)
6 large tomatoes
7 oz (vegan) cream cheese
Salt and pepper
Herbs to serve
Directions:
Peel and chop the onion, heat oil in a bottom of a saucepan and sweat the onions with a tiny bit of salt for 5-7 minutes on low heat.
Then add spices to the same pot and heat a few more minutes until the whole kitchen is fragrant.
Chop the onions. I used beautiful ripe yellow tomatoes from my grandmother's garden, but use whatever you happen to have – even slightly under-ripe vegetables work for this recipe. Add them to the pot with the rest of the ingredients, cover with the lid and forget about them for 10 minutes.
Turn down the heat, add cream cheese, and blend with a stick blender. If you happen to have a blender with a glass jug that takes the heat, you can use a normal blender too. Anyway – be extra careful since this is one of the hottest things on earth.
Once blended season with salt and pepper, have a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serve with your favorite herbs. I used cilantro, but parsley, basil, and even spring onions work well too.
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/.
Want some yoga to enjoy before or after your delicious tomato soup? Practice some of these top-rated FREE yoga and meditation classes, now!
Intro to Yoga Nidra with Erin Wimert
Sweat, Sweat, Sweat with Pradeep Teotia
Addiction is a threefold disease. It affects the mind, body, and spirit in various ways. While there are many traditional methods of treating addiction with behavioral therapies, more and more programs are beginning to incorporate holistic methods into their treatment programs.
By taking a holistic approach to treating addiction, the healing process occurs on the mind, body, and spirit. As a result, individuals in recovery are given tools to achieve and maintain lasting recovery.
One holistic method that is becoming increasingly popular in the treatment industry is yoga. It is a safe, healthy, and natural medicine that can greatly enhance the recovery process. Since addiction affects the whole person, the whole person must be treated. Yoga allows people to learn how to connect the body, mind, and breath to focus their attention inward and gain self-awareness.
Why Yoga?
With all of the different holistic methods of therapy available, you might be asking, “why does yoga in particular aid in addiction recovery?”
There are many reasons. One of the wonderful things about this practice is that it doesn’t require expensive equipment, it can be done nearly anytime, anywhere. The connection with the body and breath in yoga encompasses the mind, body, and spirit, to bring them into unison.
In addition, many 12-step recovery programs encourage spirituality. Although these are not religious groups, some members struggle with the idea of spirituality or a higher power. Yoga can help those who struggle with their spirituality, as it helps promote and enhance spiritual growth by increasing the connection of mind, body, and soul.
One aspect of recovery is taking care of one’s health. After all, many people who suffer from addiction will neglect their physical, mental, and emotional health before making the decision to get sober.
Some health benefits that yoga carries include:
Higher energy levels Better sleep Stress relief Anxiety relief Increased strength and physical stamina Healthier eating habits Improved self-confidence and self-image Pain relief Emotional healing
Yoga and the Brain
If drugs and alcohol are abused for an extended period of time, the communication pathways of the brain are altered. The ways in which people feel pleasure, make decisions, regulate emotions, and control impulses are all affected. When a person stops taking substances suddenly, they will often feel immense stress and anxiety. However, after a period of sobriety, these pathways begin to heal and it becomes easier to regulate emotions.
Yoga can aid in this healing process by helping to regulate the stress response. Yoga helps balance the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which cause heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and body temperature to increase when elevated under stressful situations. Similarly, yoga helps increase levels of GABA in the brain which is the chemical responsible for managing stress and anxiety. With lower levels of stress hormones and higher levels of GABA, stress and anxiety can be more effectively managed.
Mind-Body Connection
Yoga is a natural method of balancing parts of the brain that are often impacted by drug or alcohol abuse. When practicing various postures, individuals become more attuned to their own bodies. They also learn how to regulate their breathing while listening to the demands of their bodies. This can help heighten self-awareness in a nonjudgemental way by increasing understanding of how certain circumstances make a person feel.
When energy is focused inward, individuals are able to take responsibility for the way they feel, think, and act. By gaining this awareness, individuals have an opportunity to become more self-confident and self-reliant. Being able to recognize emotional triggers and cravings is important in recovery - and yoga can provide the skills needed to observe these thoughts without judgment and allow them to pass. As a result, yoga can become a crucial coping mechanism for emotional reactions and triggers.
Energy levels, eating habits, and quality sleep are often disrupted during early recovery while the mind and body are adjusting to a life without substances. However, yoga is known to improve these aspects by boosting energy levels, promoting better sleep, and encouraging healthy eating.
When people take care of their bodies by eating right and getting enough sleep, they feel better overall.
This means less irritability, a clearer head, and lower stress levels. Without these unpleasant feelings, individuals are able to focus more on their recovery than on stress or agitation.
Lastly, yoga helps improve the mind-body connecting by incorporating mindfulness into the lives of practicing individuals. Breathing techniques and mindfulness meditation can help quiet down racing thoughts, anxiety, and external influences so that individuals can spend time in self-reflection. Although these techniques take time, many people may gain insight into what needs to be changed in their lives in order to find inner peace.
The Healing Power of Yoga
When it comes to addiction recovery, yoga is so much more than stretching. It helps repair damaged neuropathways, raises self-awareness, and promotes spiritual and emotional growth. As a practice of self-reflection, mindfulness, and overall wellness, yoga helps heal the mind, body, and soul that is ravaged by drug and alcohol addiction. When used simultaneously with traditional treatment methods, yoga can be a beneficial asset to those seeking to achieve long-term sobriety.
By Cassidy Webb
Cassidy Webb is an avid writer who works with JourneyPure to spread awareness around the disease of addiction. Her passion in life is to help others by sharing her experience, strength, and hope.
Practice yoga now for healing and recovery. Even if you've never tried it before, with this program for beginners you can practice anywhere at any time.
Love, it makes the world go round. All you need is love. It’s so simple right?
Actually, maintaining and nurturing loving relationships in our lives can take effort and practice. However, showing your love to others, as well as yourself, can make a huge positive impact on our lives. Love comes in many forms, from our significant others to family, to friends and even pets.
Feeling loved can harbor a sense of caring, and inspires you to make others in your life feel good. It’s really quite contagious, so here’s our top ways to help you show love to others (and a few to show some love to yourself too).
Listen to others
People have a need to be heard. It makes them feel like what they have to say is worth listening to, and like their voice is important. When you listen to the people you love, you make the other person feel seen and understood, which helps them feel loved and appreciated.
Keep your promises
Promises you make to the people you love are important, and you tend to go above and beyond to keep promises you make to those you love. Show your love to people you care about by keeping your promises and working hard to show them that they’re a priority for you, and deserving of your time and resources.
Try new things together
Even the most love-filled relationships can benefit from a change in routine, and trying new experiences together is a great way to spice things up and do something exciting with people you love. Doing new things creates excitement, and can take you out of a monotonous routine, letting you discover new things about each other, which can create a feeling of being loved by one another.
Do something useful
One of the simplest ways to show your love for someone, is to do something useful for them. This can be doing something when they are asking for your help, taking this opportunity to be useful and help without complaining or seeing it as an inconvenience. You can also offer your assistance when you haven’t been asked, but your loved ones are struggling and may need your help regardless.
Keep eye contact when they are talking
When you don’t keep eye contact when someone is sharing something with you, you could be sending the message that what they’re saying isn’t important, and that your attention isn’t fully on them. If someone feels they are not important to you, you become less important to them. Keeping eye contact is an easy way to express that you care about that person and what they have to say.
Ways to show yourself some love
Accept and appreciate yourself
Showing love to yourself always starts with acceptance. If you accept yourself, you’ll be on the way to loving yourself. When you realize that you are enough, and give yourself value it’s a great way to accept yourself and show some love. You don’t need to do anything to give yourself this value - remind yourself that you are enough as is! A good way to do this is to stop comparing yourself to others. This can foster feelings of not being good enough.
You can also start to appreciate yourself, by thinking about the qualities you admire in yourself, and expressing gratitude for these things.
Set Boundaries
To have a good relationship with both yourself and others, you need to set boundaries and respect yourself to keep them. Healthy boundaries are a good thing that stop people taking advantage of you, and help you to love yourself by maintaining the level of what is and isn’t okay for you. Don’t be afraid to say no if you mean it, or call people out if they’re crossing a boundary.
It’s important to give yourself trust to look after your own best interests, and this means not sacrificing your own needs for the needs of others around you. Prioritize the commitments you make for yourself, and enforce your boundaries in a healthy way.
This can also mean to set some boundaries in order to have some quality time to yourself. Time and space to yourself is a simple way to show love to yourself - take some time to enjoy the things that really feel good to you.
Communicate with yourself
Take time to check in with yourself and listen to what you really want and need. You can’t give yourself the things you need if you don’t know what they actually are. Stop and think about what it is YOU really want, without thinking about other people ahead of yourself. Speak to yourself in a loving way, and listen to the answers that come up.
Meet your own needs
Once you know what your own needs are, it's important to meet them, and not disregard them. You must make sure your needs get met in order to show love to yourself, whether that's more time to yourself, a secure job, a holiday. Think about the ways you can give yourself what you need.
Be kind to yourself
Finally, make sure you’re kind to yourself. Treat yourself with compassion and appreciate the ways you show love to yourself. Kindness is one of the ways to show love - so be kind to yourself every day!
Show some love to yourself and others by practicing these partner yoga classes from your own home, right now!
BFF Yoga with Michelle Marchildon
Partner Restorative Yoga with Kristen Boyle
One of yoga’s most beautiful benefits is how it can shift your emotions in a pure, positive way. Even if you come to the practice for other reasons, your emotional makeup will transform, whether you’re trying to or not! Our subtle body, which is a blueprint of our physical body, contains our emotional energy. Through targeted practice, we can enhance how we feel.
The subtle body contains the chakras or emotional energy centers. To feel more loving, we want to make sure our energy is balanced from the base of our spine or Muladhara (Root) Chakra to our Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra. In order to tap into your own heart and open to more love in your life, you’ve got to be willing to release fear. Yoga practices that create more space in the Anahata (Heart) Chakra will create space in your physical body to experience joy and love.
The Anahata Chakra contains the essence of compassion and selflessness and symbolizes when we rise above our egos to care more for others than ourselves. Anahata is associated with the element of air, the color green, the sense of touch, and the thymus gland.
Often, when physical issues arise with the heart and chest region, lungs and breathing issues, and circulation, it is tied to an imbalance in the chakra. Poses to balance the energy include all types of backbends and also arm balances. Also, learning to shift emotional and thought patterns helps.
Another source advocating focusing on practices of the heart is from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Practicing Maitri or loving-kindness helps keep the mind open. Yoga Sutra 1:33 discusses cultivating virtuous feelings and what yoga philosophers refer to as the four mind locks.
I-33: Maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha dukha punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatash citta prasadanam.
To paraphrase: there are four locks in our minds and in the character of other people: happy, unhappy, virtuous and non-virtuous. To confront these attitudes – whether others’ – or ours, Patanjali suggests: “Befriend the happy; have compassion for the unhappy; delight in the virtuous; be indifferent toward the non-virtuous.”
To break it down further: be happy for others’ joy, be empathetic for others’ sadness, be happy for others’ good fortune, and don’t allow the suffering of the world to overwhelm you. These practices go right to the heart. Being compassionate towards ourselves is also key. Try this loving perspective throughout your yoga practice on and off the mat.
We’ve got beautiful offerings for you this week. Whether it's an acro yoga class to connect with another person or a Vinyasa class with a loving intention, add some love to your yoga practices.
Nourishing Slow Flow - Caitlin Rose Kenney
Therapeutic Acroyoga Basics - Shy Sayar
Pradeep Teotia - Practice with Love
Jeanie Manchester - Sita, Rama & Hanuman: Unconditional Love
We thought this was the perfect time to share a Conscious Cocktail recipe! Since we eliminate alcohol during the cleanse, this recipe is a great way to transition into your 80:20 eating plan. For more information about our 80:20 Lifestyle Program, click here.
This recipe features a spirit that got a lot of attention this summer – mezcal!
Mezcal, like tequila, is a distilled spirit made from the agave plant. While tequila is only made from blue agave plants, mezcal can be made from any agave plant. When making mezcal, instead of steaming the agave before distilling as is customary for tequila production, the agave is cooked in large earthen ovens with charcoal and lava rocks. This is what gives mezcal its signature smoky taste.
We’ve created a cocktail that combines the smokiness of mezcal with the tartness and sweetness of grapefruit. Add to that the kick from the jalapeño, and you’ve got a margarita that’s sure to impress your guests.
Do you have a favorite cocktail you’d like us to give a Conscious makeover? Let us know in the comments below!
With love and smoky cocktails,
Jalapeño Cilantro Mezcal Margarita
Yield: 1 cocktail
1/2 grapefruit, juiced 2 limes, juiced 2 oz Mezcal 1-2 jalapeño, sliced ⅛ cup cilantro 1 tsp agave (optional, omit for low sugar) Pineapple slices, for garnish (optional) Ice
Instructions: Pour ¼ cup lime juice into shaker. Add jalapeño and cilantro. Muddle jalapeño and cilantro in the lime juice. Add remainder of lime juice, grapefruit juice, mezcal and agave (optional) and ice into the shaker. Shake to mix the ingredients thoroughly. Fill your favorite glass with ice and pour contents into shaker. Garnish with a slice of pineapple, a sprig of cilantro or jalapeño for extra spice. Enjoy!
Practice Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, and Vitality, if you need to detox after these cocktails. This program features a class from Jo of the Conscious Cleanse.
Being “nomadic” - the idea of traveling the world, bouncing from place to place doing as you’d like, exploring culture, exploring untapped parts of the world, and most importantly, better exploring yourself is quite a popular trend these days.
Often I get asked “how do you do it? How do you travel the world so much? What are you doing for work?” When my answer to them is: "I teach yoga", most people question how I do it.
After all, teaching yoga isn't a job that is known to make you rich, nor fund you the needs to travel long-term. One part of the shorter answer in how I travel and teach yoga, is finding jobs on Yogatrade, which is one of several platforms that allow people to find teaching jobs all over the world.
But to be honest, it takes a lot more than just finding a job to take a risk, leave your friends and family, and move across the world. If you've been playing with the idea of teaching yoga abroad, here are a few small steps to mentally prepare yourself:
1. Start Practicing Being Fearless
Being brave is like a muscle that you can strengthen. Start a new hobby that scares you, ask that cute guy out, and start the practice of moving into fear. Fear is just the unknown.
What we don’t know, scares us. But the only way we can expand is by doing what scares us, (ironic, isn't it?). Start with the small stuff — then the big scarier stuff becomes easier.
2. Follow the Smallest Sign
If your mind doesn’t know where to go, your soul already does. There’s probably a place, or an opportunity that has been calling your name. If you want to take off to some part of the world, but you don’t know where — then follow the first and smallest sign. I’m talking about overhearing a conversation on the subway - or seeing an Instagram post of a location that makes you feel excited. Follow the whispers of your heart. It always knows what your mind doesn't.
3. Don’t Travel - “just to travel”
Don’t travel ‘just to travel’ - this will get boring. Wherever you go, go with a purpose. Trust me on this one —- sipping cocktails on beaches and partying at hostels can only amuse you for so long before you start to feel purposeless and unfulfilled. Go to India for that yoga teacher training you've been wanting to do, or go volunteer at a school in Vietnam. Go somewhere for a calling that is deeper than selfies and checklists -- here you will find your purpose.
4. Work / Trade your Skills Abroad
As a yoga teacher, the internet has become my best friend in helping me find opportunities to live and work all over the world. I've been able to teach yoga at a cool surf hostel in Sri Lanka, a boutique hotel on the east coast of Bali, and at a permaculture farm in the south of Costa Rica.
Not a yoga teacher? Check out sites like workaway for opportunities in any work field, from nannying, to gardening, to construction. If you think that money is the only thing holding you back from traveling, then this is your solution to traveling without spending a single dime.
5. Get your Shit Together
Finally, the adult stuff. Just because I'm nomadic doesn't mean I don't have responsibilities and cares in the world. If you're seriously thinking about moving towards a nomadic life, make sure you cross your T's and dot your I's. I still invest in important items like travel insurance, identity theft insurance, and of course, an international phone plan so I can phone home to ensure my parents I am still alive.
My last piece of advice for you is simply to go for it! Quit the job, dump the toxic boyfriend, change up your life if you’re not currently satisfied, and make the leap of faith into the unknown. If people think you’re crazy, then you know you’re on the right track.
Brooke is a freelance writer who has been traveling the world for about two years, teaching yoga everywhere she lands.
Want to get better at teaching? Take your practice with you, by joining YogaDownload.com with over 1600+ classes, including these, specially designed to help yoga teachers.
If you’ve never tried this invigorating and fast-paced practice of power yoga, you might be wondering what it’s all about. Here’s our rundown on what power yoga is, where it came from, and how it might improve your health!
What is Power Yoga
Power Yoga - it sounds daunting, but what actually is it? Power yoga is a sequence of postures that are specially designed to build on strength, stamina and flexibility, all while being fast moving. Power Yoga is derived from the Ashtanga yoga tradition, which can be equally as physically demanding, but works through building heath in your body, and moving through the vinyasa sequences in a fast paced way.
Unlike Ashtanga, power yoga practice doesn’t have a set sequence of postures, and any class can be different from the next. However, it will usually start with Sun Salutation poses, to build heat within your body, and will often feature a strong focus on yoga poses that will build up strength and get your heart pounding and body sweating - power yoga can be a full on cardio workout!
Power yoga is growing in popularity, and it is a class prefered by the more hardcore gym goers, due to it’s aerobic style. Power yoga is predominantly fitness based, and is often referred to as ‘gym yoga’.
History of Power Yoga
Power yoga is fairly new and recent style of yoga, that came onto the scene in the mid 1990’s. The style of power yoga was founded by Beryl Bender Birch, in New York, and Bryan Kest in LA. Birch started practicing yoga in 1979, in the style of Ashtanga yoga - this is where the roots of Ashtanga and Power Yoga connects.
Bender Birch loved the traditional and dynamic ways of the Ashtanga Yoga practice, and wanted to take it to make it a little more accessible to western students - she wanted to achieve this by moving away from Ashtanga’s set sequences and allowing more freedom in the classes she taught.
To help differentiate between the intensity of her classes, and it’s fast paced style, and the more relaxed, meditation based yoga styles of the time, she named the practice Power Yoga.
Kest, who studied under Ashtanga guru Sri K Pattabhi Jois, also wanted to make Ashtanga more accessible to western audiences, and almost simultaneously adopted the practice - just on the other side of the USA!
Benefits of Power Yoga
Being a very intense form of exercise, there are a lot of benefits of practicing power yoga, which include, but not limited to:
Improved strength and endurance
Strong muscles are not only aesthetically pleasing but also help to support your body during day to day life. Improved strength and endurance can help to reduce your risk of injury in both exercise, and help to improve your cardiovascular abilities.
Improvements to your pulmonary function
Your lung function can have the best benefits on your overall body health. More oxygen getting around your body helps you to enjoy greater energy levels, and also reduces the risk of illness and disease. One study on the benefits of practicing faster paced sun salutations showed that pulmonary functions were improved. Additionally, breath work is vital when practicing yoga - so by breathing deeply and fully during a harder class like power yoga, you can increase your oxygen intake and use the full range of your lung function.
Better flexibility
Power yoga, as well as yoga in general, can help to improve your flexibility. Holding postures that force you to stretch and twist, especially in a fast paced and dynamic way can help to build up your flexibility levels in your body. Being flexible helps to reduce the risk of injury, lubricate your joints, helping to keep your body healthy.
Boosts your mood
A happy mood and relaxed mind go hand in hand with yoga practice. The focus on your breath while moving through poses creates a moving meditation and allows your mind to quiet. Studies have proven that yoga affects your mind - decreasing anxiety and depression.
Better fitness
As power yoga is more aerobic, there’s no surprise that it will improve your fitness. The fast pace and hard poses have an undeniable impact on your overall fitness levels.
How is it different from other forms of yoga?
Although power yoga is heavily inspired from Ashtanga, there are a few key differences. Ashtanga will allow follow the same set sequence, which never changes - while Power Yoga can vary from class to class. It consists of a combination of varied postures practiced quickly. Power yoga is also a lot more relaxed, and offers more creativity, but Ashtanga has a heavy focus on breath and focus.
Power yoga is also similar to Hatha, in the way they both place emphasis on the physical side of yoga - but it’s much more passive. Hatha is a slower practice that holds poses for longer, while power yoga flows from one posture to the next quickly.
Want to give it a try?
Power yoga is invigorating and electrifying. This faster, more physically challenging style of yoga makes you sweat and push yourself. If you enjoy a challenge, this week's classes are perfect for you. If you've never tried power yoga, give it a try!
Fast & Furious with Celest Pereira
Ready to Sweat with Pradeep Teotia
Are you ready to feel empowered, strong, and challenged this week?
Power Yoga is a sweaty Vinyasa flow class with increased intensity, usually through a faster pace or an emphasis on strength. Or both!
While Power Yoga does focus more on the physical body than some more spiritual classes, you’ll still gain all the emotional and mental benefits too.
Here are 5 reasons you should try these invigorating Power Yoga classes this week.
5 REASONS TO PRACTICE POWER YOGA
1. Build Stronger Muscles, Bones, and Joints
Power yoga works the entire body and challenges all muscle groups for a fit, toned body. Because much of the practice is a series of standing postures, you receive the benefits of weight-bearing exercise, which strengthens bones and joints.
2. Increase Stamina
This energetic fast-paced practice can be an excellent cardiovascular and muscular endurance workout. You’ll strengthen your heart muscle and develop more stamina from the challenge of flowing quickly between poses and holding some poses for longer periods of time than in other styles of yoga.
3. Boost Mood
Like other vigorous forms of exercise, like running or cycling, Power Yoga releases endorphins, which give you a natural high. Stress and anxiety is also reduced, leading to more balanced moods and emotions. The focus on flowing breath to movement calms anxiety and calms the mind.
4. Improve Quality Of Sleep
Your sleep will improve because after a well-rounded power yoga session, you’ll have worked yourself thoroughly from head to toe. Your muscles will be loose and relaxed and your mind will be quiet.
5. Hone Concentration and Focus
One of greatest benefits of Power Yoga is the emphasis on tuning out distractions and being in the present moment. With the intensity of the strength-building postures and vigorous pace, you won’t have the energy to think about anything else on the mat. After practice, your mind will feel more clear and able to concentrate on whatever you need to do for the rest of your day.
Check out these four sweaty, fast-paced classes and see how wonderful you feel.
1. Pradeep Teotia - Ready to Sweat
2. Mark Morford - Yoga Alchemy: The Doomed
3. Christen Bakken - Head Up, Heart Strong (FREE CLASS)
4. Celest Pereira - Fast & Furious
Pumpkin pesto? Most of you probably think I am nuts since surely pesto is made out of basil, right?
Well – yes, and I LOVE traditional pesto, but since I have grandparents who grow pumpkins and there always seems to be too many of them I need to get creative, and I promise you, pumpkin pesto is the next big thing!
If possible, then I always recommend choosing smaller pumpkins, since they tend to have more flavor. My favorite is Hokkaido pumpkins, which in addition to being ultra-tasty is also extremely high in protein.
Just as the traditional pesto, my pumpkin pesto contains parmesan cheese. My diet is strongly plant-focused, but I am not vegan or even vegetarian, so I go for parmesan in this recipe, but if you prefer a vegan option, it can be substituted with nutritional yeast. I have replaced the ridiculously expensive pine nuts with pumpkin seeds, and in addition to being just a very logical choice (pumpkin seeds in pumpkin pesto, right!), they also work exceptionally well in pesto.
Occasionally I even use them in basil pesto. Sometimes I also love to add some chili flakes. To be perfectly honest I like to add them to most of my meals, but if you are making the pesto for the first time, I recommend you omit them at first and then add later – this way you will get a better idea how the pesto tastes like without the extra chili.
Talking about multifunctional, you can use the pesto everywhere. Some examples – on a toast, on a pizza, just straight from the jar or as a pasta sauce, like I did today. Delicious!
Healthy & Delicious Pumpkin Pesto
Cooking time: 50 minutes
10 oz pumpkin (choose a smaller one, if you can – these tend to have more flavor)
1 ¾ oz parmesan cheese
1 ¾ oz pumpkin seeds
The juice of 1 lemon
Chili flakes (optional)
Salt
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Slice the pumpkin (no need to peel), remove the seeds, lightly brush with olive oil and bake until the flesh is tender. It usually takes around 30 minutes, but have a look a little earlier, because the ovens and pumpkins can be very different.
About 2 minutes before the pumpkin is fully cooked add the pumpkin seeds to the pan to lightly toast them.
At the same time, grate the cheese.
Let the pumpkin cool, and then remove the flesh with a spoon – it should be quite simple to do.
Using stick blender mash together pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, mix in the cheese and lemon juice. Have a taste and add salt, if needed. If you wish, you can also mix in chili flakes.
Enjoy with whatever you fancy!
Want some yoga to enjoy before or after your delicious pumpkin pesto? Practice some of these top rated FREE yoga and meditation classes, now!
Surya Namaskar, also known as Sun Salutations, is a set of helpful yoga asanas that can open up a world of benefits for your physical and mental health.
As the name suggests, Surya Namaskar means bowing in reverence to the sun. The sun is the source of all life forms on our planet. Solar energy is the most nourishing life force, without which all living beings (plants, animals, and humans) would cease to exist. In yoga, the Surya Namaskar is a practice that seeks to pay homage to the sun and show gratitude for the importance it holds in our daily lives.
While Surya Namaskar is a healthy exercise for your body whenever it is practiced, early morning hours are popularly considered the best and most auspicious for these asanas. Early morning is usually when it is calm outside, helping your mind to also be at its most peaceful and still. This meditative state is beneficial when practicing Surya Namaskar. It allows you to awaken your body, focus your mind, and experience a feeling of gratitude as you begin a new day.
Surya Namaskar is, at its core, a formal bow of gratitude to the sun. So, it makes sense to do it in the morning, facing the rising sun. The rays of the sun emit positive energy that can recharge your mind and body, as well as improve your overall health.
In the absence of external demands and distractions, the early morning hours are ideal for practicing Surya Namaskar in a state of meditation, which helps to energize you mentally.
Read on for 5 incredible benefits of doing some form of a Surya Namaskar yoga sequence every morning.
It helps improve the flow of 'Prana' or energy in your body.
Surya Namaskar is a set of 12 consecutive asanas. Practicing the various movements, especially in the early morning, opens up the pathways in your body that allow for the flow of energy. After lying in bed all night, it is essential to open up your mind, body, and spirit each morning, to set a positive tone for the rest of your day.
It balances you spiritually.
Yoga is a complete workout that affects your body and your soul. The three primary constitutions of the body are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Surya Namaskar helps maintain a balance between these three. If you can attain this spiritual balance every morning, before you begin your day, it will give you strength and immunity against all kinds of stress. So take that yoga mat out and find your balance through Surya Namaskar before you head out for the day!
Sun Salutations have a positive effect on your digestive system.
Modern lifestyle has punished many people with chronic indigestion. Surya Namaskar is particularly helpful as the forward bends involved in each sequence can prevent constipation and promote better digestion with regular bowel movements. It helps release trapped gases from your stomach, while also secreting more digestive enzymes. Practicing this sequence regularly every morning can help take care of any digestive ailments you have, including piles and constipation.
Early morning Sun Salutations help fight stress and anxiety.
Mornings are the best time to focus on your mental health. Doing yoga in the morning, especially Surya Namaskar and the attached deep breathing techniques, help relax your nerve cells significantly. Relaxed chakras have a positive impact on your brain function, especially balancing the right and left sides of the brain. With regular practice, Surya Namaskar can make you more emotionally stable while also boosting your mental strength, memory, and creativity. It also calms you during stressful times by helping to ease your anxiety.
It stretches your muscles before intensive workouts.
Starting your day with Surya Namaskar can be an excellent way to warm up your body. If you are used to gymming or running in the morning for exercise, Surya Namaskar can help you avoid nasty muscle pulls. As the 12 asanas in the sequence put the focus on various parts of the body, each set can be used as a full-body stretch before moving on to more rigorous asanas or cardio exercises. Regular practice will also bless you with greater flexibility and toned muscles.
Apart from the above five benefits, Surya Namaskar is helpful to your body in many other ways. The full-body workout can help you lose weight if done regularly and correctly. It improves blood circulation in the body, which lowers cholesterol levels, keeps your heart healthy, and enables you to live longer. And guess what – the healthy body that you'll get from regular Surya Namaskars will also show up on your face in the form of a radiant glow!
So stop looking for more excuses and start saluting the sun every morning. It will do you a world of good!
By Nisha Baghadia
Nisha has a great passion towards writing and loves the idea of sharing. She has written many articles on yoga, fitness, wellness, remedies, and beauty. She keeps reading articles on different blogs that gives a kick to her passion and provides her with different ideas. She is growing day by day and mastering herself in writing appealing articles. She is a regular contributor to StyleCraze.com & Other few websites too.
Practice Sun Salutations to start your mornining with yoga and give gratitude to the sun, right now!
Surya Devotion Flow with Mark Morford
Anytime Sun Salutations with Jackie Casal Mahrou
Want to make morning yoga a regular habit? Commit to the Rise and Shine Morning Yoga program, now!
We’re excited to share a unique new program, which is the perfect fusion of Pilates and yoga, from Claire Petretti Marti. While Pilates and yoga have some similarities, in practice, they are quite different. The fusion of these two practices offers unparalleled benefits for your body, mind, and spirit. The two modalities complement each other and adding Pilates to your current routine can help you take your yoga practice to the next level.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is an exercise method created by Joseph Pilates and documented in his 1945 book, Pilates Return to Life Through Contrology. In Pilates, the core is called the Powerhouse and the emphasis is on strengthening the deep abdominals, the obliques, and the back in order to create a resilient support system to protect the spine. Joseph Pilates believed that age isn’t gauged by years, but by the suppleness of the spine.
The traditional Pilates method is a series of thirty-four exercises, with five to ten repetitions each, performed in a flowing routine on a mat. The focus on deep rhythmic movement, with increasingly challenging exercises, builds a stable center, helps lengthen the lateral body, and creates a strong and supple physique. While flexibility is a key component of the practice, the focus on strength is excellent for people who need to remedy hypermobility. The focus on deep consistent breathing is also a key element of the practice.
Several pieces of apparatus, like the Universal Reformer, Wunda-Chair, and The Cadillac utilize springs and pulleys for additional resistance. Regardless whether you perform Pilates on the mat or in a studio with different equipment, the purpose is the same: to strengthen your center. And strengthening your center in this precise disciplined way will enhance your yoga practice.
5 Ways Pilates Improves Your Yoga Practice:
1. Strengthen your core and use it consciously throughout your yoga practice to aid in balancing poses, both on one foot and upside down.
2. Improve alignment from working on creating greater symmetry and length to the side body. This translates into better alignment in all your yoga poses.
3. Increase body awareness from the focus on precise, mindful strengthening exercises and see how your awareness improves on your yoga mat.
4. Enhance your pranayama abilities with the disciplined focus on mindful breathing with every Pilates exercise.
5. Prevent injury: if your core isn’t strong enough and you aren’t using your center properly during yoga practice, you can be overcompensating with other areas of your body and get injured.
Are you convinced yet? Claire is excited to share her knowledge from teaching Pilates for the last decade with you in this fun format. Try the new Pilates Yoga Fusion Intensive this week and check out the differences in how you feel on and off the mat.
If you practice yoga, Pilates can help to complement your yoga practice. Yogis who practice pilates as well, can create greater stability, better alignment and have stronger cores. This deeper strength can give greater control over your movements, allowing you to move between poses and hold them for longer.
Pilates is an 85 year old system of body conditioning, which can complement asana practice. It’s focus is on building and engaging a strong core - essential for advanced yoga poses. It was developed by Joseph Pilates, who studied a number of forms of exercise including yoga to come up with the practice.
Similarly to yoga, the focus is on connecting the mind and body to create the movement, but the movements themselves are very different. How Pilates and yoga are different is that while yoga holds each pose for a while, or flows through in vinyasas, Pilates is a practice which one repeats precise movements up to ten times in a rhythmic flow. The method to pilates is an emphasis on the controlled flow of movement.
This focus on targeted movements that develop core strength in Pilates, can help yogis to build a strong and stable center, lengthen the body and increase your awareness of your alignment. Pilates can help you get stronger, avoid injury and advance into trickier poses that you may be struggling with.
The emphasis with Pilates is the proper use of the core, to support the spine and back, and create stability in the core. Your core muscles are the deepest layer of your lower abdominal muscles, including your pelvic floor or the lower back muscles closest to your spine. Strengthening these muscles will allow your spine to move safely without causing pain or injury and improve flexibility - which are essential in yoga.
Pilates also helps to improve posture and correct any imbalance in your body. It can help to strengthen the weaker and unused muscles in your body, and relieve tension in thigh muscles.
Pilates also helps you to become aware of any imbalances you have between the sides of the body. Bringing balance to the body is very important in yoga, as incorrect posture and imbalance can lead to injury, pains and aches in the body, as well as joint problems.
Pilates can help your yoga practices, as a strong and well engaged core helps you hold you balance better - which is useful for poses such as Tree pose and Headstand. This in turn helps your mind calm, allowing you to reap the mental benefits of a yoga practice.
Having that core strength that Pilates builds up can also prevent strain on your body and joints. Poses like Child's pose can put stress on the hip joint, if you don’t have any core strength to support your joints.
However, it’s not just your core. Pilates is whole body fitness, which trains your body as a whole. Pilates workouts promote balanced muscle development and increase range of motion in your joints. It’s hard to find a whole body workout quite like it.
You can also try the practice whatever your level and needs. The foundations of Pilates can be picked up by any age or fitness level. There are thousands of exercises and modifications, with pilates being able to be tailored to your individual needs.
Pilates helps to create long and lean muscles which are useful in yoga and more difficult asanas. Instead of creating bulk muscles for show, you are working to build toned muscles that work together in the body, cultivating functional fitness needed for all sorts of activities. Pilates uses a type of muscle contraction and eccentric contractions to create these lean and strong muscles. This works towards a safer stretch of the muscles and helps increase the range of motion in your joints, helpful to all yogis on the mat.
Posture is also improved by practicing pilates. Good posture is a sign of good alignment and a strong core, and it’s essential in all movements, especially during yoga. Pilates trains your body to have good posture through its movement and repetition through the exercises.
Finally, Pilates can increase awareness and improve the mind and body connection that’s essential in yoga. Joseph Pilates created the practice to be about the complete coordination of body, mind and spirit. Practicing each movement with total precision helps to connect the mind and body, and increase awareness - similarly to how yoga helps connect both aspects.
Why not try it? Our 5 Day Pilates Yoga Fusion Intensive with Claire Petretti Marti will help you reap the benefits of both practices to improve your time on your yoga mat!
The mornings are getting cooler here in Colorado, the leaves are changing up in the mountains, and the Fall Equinox arrived (where did the summer go?!). The change of season always brings a new crop of fruits and veggies into season which makes it that much more exciting.
Apples are one of our favorite autumn fruits, so we wanted to share a smoothie recipe we’ve been loving lately – Apple Pie Smoothie! This smoothie tastes like fall in a glass, and gives you all the apple pie flavor you love without all the added sugar.
Apples a great source of fiber, plus they’re rich in immune-boosting vitamin C and antioxidants. Even though they contain naturally occurring sugars, they have a low glycemic index because of their high fiber content, making them a great low sugar option. Besides adding great flavor, Ceylon cinnamon helps to regulate blood sugar levels, making this the perfect smoothie to enjoy when you’re craving something sweet but want to avoid the mid-morning crash. As the mornings get colder, you can make this a warm smoothie by heating up the almond milk in a saucepan over low to medium heat.
What’s your favorite fall treat? Let us know in the comments below, and we might give it a Conscious Cleanse makeover!
With love and fall excitement,
Apple Pie Smoothie
Yield: 1 quart
1 apple (green if you like it tart, red if you like it sweet) 2 cups spinach 1” piece of ginger, peeled 2 cups homemade almond milk (warm your milk if you want a warm smoothie) 1 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon ¼ tsp nutmeg
Instructions:
In a high-speed blender combine apple, spinach, ginger, almond milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg until creamy. Serve immediately.
Yoga is a great way to stay healthy and keep the body supple. However, yoga offers amazing benefits to oral health as well. Thanks to these benefits, you must consider incorporating yoga in your life for your dental care, amongst it's numerous other benefits.
5 benefits of yoga on dental health include:
Reduced Inflammation
High stress levels cause an increase in the production of cortisol, which is the stress hormone. This increases inflammation, which will worsens the swelling of gums if you suffer from them. Gum swelling will increase the risk of gum diseases.
Yoga helps in reducing stress levels, which further reduces inflammation and swelling.
Alleviates Jaw Pain
Yoga promotes better posture. When you slouch or have rounded shoulders, the head will fall forward and go out of alignment with your spine. This misalignment will result in 2 things: Discomfort in the jaw and an affected bite.
If you have chronic jaw pain, it may be because of temporomandibular disorder (TMD). This condition affects your ability to chew food, sleep and talk. Different yoga poses help the body back into proper alignment, thus reducing jaw pain.
Stimulates Saliva Production
One of the benefits of yoga for oral health is its ability to stimulate saliva production. Saliva naturally rinses the mouth and washes away harmful bacteria. It also removes food particles that can be stuck in the teeth. Saliva contains antibacterial enzymes that help in breaking down the food.
When there is low production of saliva, the mouth will get dry and the bacteria will flourish. Chronic dry mouth leads to bad breath, tooth decay, a build-up of plaque and gum diseases. One of the first signs of dry mouth is bad breath.
Certain types of yoga such as vinyasa yoga and poses that incorporate forward bends, twists and inverted stances stimulate the salivary glands. This will increase saliva production. Yoga can also prevent the mouth from drying, thus preventing bad breath and several oral diseases.
Improves Posture
Good posture offers numerous benefits. Some of these include stronger core muscles, improved breathing, better brain function, more energy, better productivity, and better mood.
Poor posture affects the spine, mouth, and neck. When you hunch over, the lower jaw will shift forward. This causes the upper and lower teeth to come out of alignment. The skull also moves back and compresses the spine. This movement will put stress on the surrounding joints, muscles, and bones. If this is left untreated, it will create pain and inflammation in the joints and muscles when the mouth opens and closes.
Bad posture can also lead to jaw problems like temporomandibular joint disorder, more commonly known as TMJ. Those suffering from TMJ also suffer from headaches, jaw tenderness and a change in jaw alignment.
When poor posture causes the head to jut forward, it creates stress on the neck, spine, and collarbone. It can also cause compression of the ear canal and poorly balanced shoulders which can cause stress on the ribs and the organs underneath.
Just by improving the posture, you can prevent a lot of pain and many oral issues. Yoga poses help in correcting the posture, which pulls the shoulders back and puts the head in alignment. This takes the strain off the jaw and helps in preventing dental issues.
Reduces Stress
Stress affects the health of the teeth and gums. Stressed individuals tend to grind their teeth or clamp their jaws. This causes the teeth to be worn out and can lead to broken fillings and micro-cracks in the teeth. This can also cause nerve damage.
When the teeth grind down to the dentin, it will result in sensitivity to cold and heat, loose teeth, gum recession, and gum pockets. Headaches and aching jaw are also common.
Moreover, stress also slows down the production of saliva and increases inflammation. This leads to dry mouth and gum issues.
Yoga is a great stress buster and it brings down the stress levels. This helps in protecting the gums and teeth apart from relaxing the entire body.
As you can see, there are myriad benefits of yoga for dental health. Yoga along with proper oral hygiene habits like regular brushing, flossing and dental care will ensure you a healthy set of teeth and gums.
By Anu Isaac
Author Bio: Dr. Anu Isaac, DMD, runs a successful dental practice in Salem, MA. As the founder of Coral Dental Care, she is dedicated to creating healthy, beautiful smiles for her patients and also to educating dental and non-dental community with her engaging articles on all things related to oral health, recent dental innovations, and latest treatment modalities.
Convinced? Practice yoga now for benefits not only to your mouth, but also the rest of your body and mind!
Stand Up & Stretch with Jackie Casal Mahrou
Yummy Yoga Flow 5 with Claire Petretti Marti
We’ve all probably experienced procrastination whether its at school, at work or in our home lives. Some tasks and chores just seem impossible to keep focused on, and procrastination can seriously hinder our productivity levels.
Here’s 10 ways to help avoid procrastination.
1. Get Organized
You won’t be able to get anything done if you don’t know what actually needs doing! Buy a planner, use apps, or set up your own personal organization system to keep track of all tasks and assignments that need doing, and by when. This will make it easier to stay on track and know what needs doing, and when.
2. Set achievable goals
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks you have to do, it’s easy to let yourself get distracted. An easy way to avoid this type of procrastination is to set yourself simple goals that you know you’ll be able to achieve. Make the goals specific, like ‘I will write 500 words in my essay tonight’ so it’s easy to check off, and less intimidating than ‘I will finish my essay’.
3. Give yourself a schedule
After you have your organization and your small goals, give yourself time to complete them. This could be a schedule or just a regular time each day that you devote to certain tasks. You can keep yourself on schedule with regular reminders and alarms. When you know you only have a certain amount of time to do something, you’ll be more inclined to stay on task.
A good tip for this is to dedicate the first 30 minutes of your day for work - rather than get distracted by social media and go down a black hole of browsing the internet. If you start your schedule with 30 minutes of work, it can be easier to stay focused throughout the rest of the day, and stay on task.
4. Remove distractions
Make sure you rid yourself of any distractions or potential distractions before you start working. This will help avoid you from getting sidetracked halfway through when your concentration starts to wane. This can involve turning off the TV, putting your phone away, going somewhere quiet - try changing your environment to somewhere like a library or a coffee shop if getting things done at home proves too distracting.
5. Take Regular Breaks
Time yourself and take a break every hour to prevent burnout. It’s important to take a mental break every now and then. Give yourself a 10-15 minute break every hour and take your mind off your work, and relax a little. These breaks will make it easier to stay on task when you’re working.
6. Use Incentives
Rewarding yourself for a job well done is a great way to stay on task. Use incentives to reward yourself and help you want to get the job done. It can be something simple, like rewarding yourself with a glass of wine or an episode of your favorite TV show after working on a task for a couple of hours - or it could be a bigger goal, like a weekend away after meeting an important work deadline.
7. Get the Hard Things Out the Way First
With every task there are those big, cumbersome things to check off that everyone always leaves till last because they just seem so hard. But when you check that big difficult task off your to-do list, it’s going to be so much easier to get everything else done on time. It’s best to complete the most challenging tasks first, to free up your time for those little things that need to get done. They’re not going to do themselves, so buckle down, work hard and move onto the easier stuff.
8. Make Yourself Accountable
If you make your goals public, you become accountable for them, giving you the motivation to work hard. Let people know what you are working on, and they’ll start to ask you about your progress - and you’ll want to report back that you have made some!
9. Don’t Take on Too Much
Make sure you’re realistic about what you can achieve and don’t take on more than you can handle. If you’re looking at your plan and there just seems more tasks on there than hours in the day, you’re allowed to say no and move something back, or even cut things altogether.
10. Accept Imperfection
When you have to make a tough choice or deal with a difficult task, you might be aiming for the result to be perfect - this can make it hard to get started because you’re so distracted by that ‘perfect result’ that you can find it hard to make decisions and start working. Accept imperfection, and start working with the ideas you have, rather than waiting for a great idea that may never come. Getting something done is better than nothing, and you can always go back over your work and improve it.
Bonus tip: Yoga and mindfulness can help to keep you focused and on-task. If you feel like you've got lots to do, this week's classes will help get your brain and body focused.
If you enjoy challenging yourself and giving yourself to-do lists and/or work endeavors that require you to show up, be consistent, focus, and utilize your brilliant potential, good for you!
However, sometimes our intentions are out of alignment with our energy levels and vitality, and ability to focus on what it is we desire and are passionate about achieving. Movement, exercise, working up a sweat, stretching, breathing, and the meditative focus of a yoga practice can help boost motivation, productivity, and output. This week's classes will have you moving and ready to focus!
Jackie Casal Mahrou - Yoga for Focus & Concentration
Josey Prior - Heron: Patience & Determination
Erin Wimert - Raising the Barre
Claire Petretti Marti - Yummy Yoga Flow 5
After a great yoga practice, you’ve probably experienced how your mind feels more clear, calm, and balanced. Many practitioners find the mental benefits of yoga to be the most important, even more than a strong, supple body.
Who doesn’t want to be focused, motivated, and able to experience life to the fullest? This week’s classes will release stress and boost your ability to focus and motivate yourself.
Interested in why and how yoga does this? Step back about 5,000 years and tap into the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras. Yoga Sutra 1.2 Citta Vritti Nirodhah is often translated as: Yoga is the ability to direct the mind without distraction or interruption. This skill is difficult, takes constant practice over time, but can be achieved!
Patanjali outlines a practical how-to manual to reach a state of yoga: the eight-limbed yoga path. The eight limbs are:
1. Yamas—the five moral restraints
2. Niyamas—the five moral observances
3. Asana—physical asanas or postures
4. Pranayama—mindful breathing
5. Pratyahara—withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana—concentration
7. Dhyana—meditation
8. Samadhi—absorption/enlightment/union
Concentration or Dharana is the sixth limb and is the action of focusing or directing your attention exclusively on something. In order to reach Dharana, which is considered the first level of meditation, it is vital to be able to withdraw the senses of touch, sight, sound, smell, and taste and turn the senses inward. By practicing asana and pranayama first, you prepare your mind to be able to sink into a deeper state of yoga.
When we practice with a focus on our breath and our movement, it quiets the busy-ness in our brains. Freeing ourselves from external distractions opens up the ability to truly focus on what we desire.
This week’s classes will start you off toward an active, focused mind. There is power in movement and mindful breathing which goes much deeper than strengthening muscles and developing flexibility. So press play and hone your ability to concentrate and stay clear on your path.
1. Erin Wimert: Raising the Barre
2. Claire Petretti Marti: Yummy Yoga Flow 5
3. Josey Prior: Heron: Patience and Determination
4. Jackie Casal Mahrou: Yoga for Focus & Concentration
The autumn is slowly sneaking in here in Estonia, and for me, it always means some changes on my menu. I still love salads, but instead of leafy greens that are main heroes in my summer salads, they are now a little heartier. Hence barley in today’s delicious bowlful.
Barley is somewhat a national food for us Estonians, or at least it used to be. It is traditionally cooked with potatoes and pork, and then lightly mashed to something called ‘Mulgipuder.’ Mulgipuder is often served with crispy fried pork fat (greaves in English, I think) and sour cream. I don’t even remember when was the last time I had it, but now thinking about it I just started graving it… Especially the leftovers heated up on a frying pan, so it turns nice and crispy… mmm!
Talking about Estonian kitchens, it is traditionally a cross between German (sausages and sauerkraut) and Russian (potatoes, a lot of meat, soups) but today leaning more towards the clean Scandinavian kitchens. So here was a sneak peek to Estonian cuisine.
Should I share some Estonian recipes with you sometime soon? Let me know in the comments!
Anyway, back to the salad, this is very far from anything traditional. No pork or potatoes used in any way – in fact it is fully vegan. However, it is delicious! I like how simple it is to throw together and how fresh it is from different herbs. You can play around with different herbs and veggies to customize it to your liking and the massive bonus for this salad is that it stores well. Perfect for office lunch or make-ahead dinner. To prove that it is a crowd-pleaser – I once served it to 4 of my friends for lunch, and within a week 2 of them already showed off their concoctions on Instagram!
Simple Pearl Barley Salad
Serves: 5
Cooking time: 40 minutes
10 oz pearl barley (if possible, then soak them for a few hours before cooking)
2 larger tomatoes (I always prefer heirlooms)
1 large cucumber
½ daikon
2 ripe avocados
A handful of fresh dill
A handful of fresh basil
A handful of fresh parsley
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and plenty of freshly cracked pepper
Instructions: Cook the barley and let cool. Presoaked parley takes around 20 minutes to cook; if you don’t have time for soaking, the cooking time will be longer.
Chop up tomatoes, cucumber, daikon, and avocado.
Chop the herbs and zest the lemon.
Mix the cooled barley with lemon juice and oil, and then carefully fold in everything else.
Season with salt and pepper, have a taste. If needed, add more herbs, seasoning or lemon.
You can either serve the salad immediately or store it for later. Tried and tested that it still tastes good in 2 days.
Eat healthy with recipes like these and practice yoga to keep your body and mind in optimal shape. Never tried yoga before? Explore with this entry level 5-class Beginner Yoga 101 series!
Coconut oil is truly a superfood. It stands out from all other oils due to its extremely high nutritional content.
If you’re already consuming coconut oil regularly, that’s great! We will provide you with information on how it benefits your body. If you don’t regularly consume coconut oil, you might want to try incorporating it into your diet by the end of this. Let’s get started! Coconut Oil is Anti-Microbial
Coconut oil has been known to kill harmful microorganisms in your body. It contains helpful fatty acids that do this, specifically Lauric acid. Lauric acid accounts for around 50% of all the fatty acids found in coconut oil.
Once you digest the coconut oil, the Lauric acid creates a different substance in your body called monolaurin. Together, these two things have been scientifically proven to kill any harmful pathogens in your body. Whether it’s bacteria, fungi, or even a virus, coconut oil has the power to kill them.
If you struggle with yeast infections, coconut oil might be the answer to get rid of this issue for once and for all. Lauric acid has also been proven to kill Staphylococcus aureus, which can be a very harmful pathogen if left in the body.
Not only does coconut oil kill these harmful pathogens, it also helps to prevent any bacteria from entering your immune system in general.
Coconut Oil Can Increase Good Cholesterol Levels (HDL)
We can have both good and bad cholesterol in our bodies. The good cholesterol is called HDL, which is found in the blood. Coconut oil has been proven to increase this. This happens from the natural saturated fats contained in this oil.
In addition to increasing your good cholesterol levels, coconut oil can even decrease the bad LDL cholesterol found in your body. Good levels of healthy cholesterol contribute to overall metabolic health along with a lessened risk of getting heart disease.
Coconut Oil as a Weight Loss Food
Coconut oil contains something called MCTs. This stands for medium chain triglycerides. Many other oils such as canola or soybean oil contain LCTs (long chain triglycerides) which aren’t as effective as fighting weight gain.
MCTs are beneficial for those who want to lose weight because they boost your metabolism and increase your energy expenditure. Consuming around 1 tablespoon or more of coconut oil a day can help you burn an extra 100-120 calories daily, depending on your starting weight.
You might not think that 100 calories are day is enough to make a difference in your weight loss, but it truly is. Over the course of a year, this equates to an average of 36,000 calories burned. That’s at least 10 pounds of fat!
Coconut Oil Helps Regulate Hormones
If you’ve ever struggled with hormone imbalances, you know just how much of a toll it can take on your body. Whether you are dealing with too much or too little hormones, estrogen or testosterone, coconut oil can help regulate both.
Lauric acid is the key to this. This fatty acid works to keep your hormones in check, especially during menopause. For those women who struggle with low estrogen levels, studies have proven that it can increase these levels in your body.
Coconut Oil Boosts Brain Function
Whether you are studying for exams or just trying to do the best you can at your job, coconut oil can help boost your brain function for both these tasks. That makes it especially beneficial for those who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or any form of dementia.
Those who commonly struggle with memory loss might not be getting enough glucose in certain parts of the brain. Ketones, which are found in coconut oil, can work as an alternate energy source instead of glucose.
Whether you are looking to reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s or simply prevent it, the MCTs in this oil are especially beneficial for improving overall brain function.
Coconut Oil for Oral Health
You might not think that oils would have anything to do with oral health, and usually they don’t. However, with coconut oil that all changes. Coconut oil has been proven to strengthen your teeth. Some even make homemade toothpaste out of it.
The most effective way coconut oil improves your oral health is through oil pulling. This is a process where you take around a teaspoon of oil and swish it in your mouth for around 15-20 minutes. It’s recommended to do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Be careful not to swallow any of the oil, and spit it out when you’re done.
After this, brush your teeth as normal. The point of oil pulling is to remove and extract bacteria from all over your mouth. It not only extracts this bacteria, oil pulling kills the bacteria as well. During the process, it also strengthens your teeth and gums and can fight against bad breath.
Coconut Oil Helps With Mineral Absorption
Mineral absorption is especially important for our bones. If we aren’t absorbing the minerals that we need properly, our bones won’t be as strong. Coconut oil helps to improve your body’s ability in absorbing certain minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
This makes coconut oil especially beneficial for the older generations as well as anyone who either has osteoporosis or is prone to getting it.
Coconut Oil as an Energy Source
If you’re looking for increased energy throughout the day, coconut oil can help with this. It’s often used by athletes and bodybuilders to give them more energy in their workout. It can also enhance their endurance and overall performance.
Coconut oil is also great for providing energy to those who are dieting. Eating fewer calories than you normally would can make your body feel weak and de-energized. However, adding coconut oil to this can help you feel better.
Conclusion
We hope that you’re now more aware of the countless health and nutritional benefits you can receive from this magical oil. No matter what reason you are choosing to consume it for, you’re likely to receive more benefits than you expected!
By Alice Webster
Alice is the founder of www.alices.kitchen. Alice loves to cook and spends much of her days in the kitchen experimenting with creating healthy nutritious food. For more reasons to love coconut oil, check out this blog form our friends at Alice’s Kitchen.
Ready to feel healthy? Enjoy more healthy recipes, on YogaDownload's blog here, or practice the Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, & Vitality program!
Life is pretty busy, and although we might love the idea of slowing down, taking some time for ourselves, and reaping the benefits yoga practice promises, sometimes in practice, it can be hard to simply just find the time. Yoga urges you to slow down, but sometimes, work, housework, responsibility and family duties don’t give you an opportunity for some time off to roll out your mat.
If you’re finding it hard to juggle a busy schedule, you might have brushed off yoga as something you just don’t have time for, and start denying yourself those minutes in the day that are just for you. Taking time for yourself is important, and yoga can massively benefit both your physical and mental health - so don’t be so quick to write it off as something not important. Even the busiest of people can benefit from all yoga has to offer - here’s some tips on how to fit yoga into your busy schedule.
Keep Your Yoga Mat in Eyesight
Rolling up your yoga mat and putting it away in a cupboard or up on a shelf is a sure fire way to make sure you never get it out again! The effort of getting it out can be just what your brain needs to say ‘oh I don’t have time’, and it turns your yoga practice into a bigger mission. Having your mat where you can see it, or already rolled out in a quiet spot in your house can help you to practice yoga more frequently - and means you can fit in a quick practice when you have the time - waiting for dinner to cook, in between ad breaks in television, if your mat is already out, it’s so much easier to fit in a few minutes.
Tell Yourself That All You Can Do is Enough
If you tell yourself that a short yoga practice is enough, you’ll be more motivated to go do it. If you’re used to hour-long yoga classes, or even longer yin practices, you may think that a shorter practice just isn’t worth it. But even a few minutes of stretching is enough for your body to feel it and reap the benefits! If you don’t have a full hour, or even half an hour, you can still fit a yoga practice in - and you won’t feel bad for running late for that meeting, or missing out on family time because of your dedication to the mat. Every little helps, so do what you can and don’t punish yourself if it’s not very long!
Don’t Beat Yourself Up if You Don’t Have Time
Sometimes life gets in the way and you literally just don’t have any free time for yoga. That’s okay! Things happen, whether it’s a household emergency, or work commitments, or you just want another glass of wine instead. Even if you don’t have time for the physical asana, you can use these days to take the lessons you learn on the yoga mat into the outside world with you.
These include focusing your breath, practicing mindfulness, and being kind to yourself - aka don’t beat yourself up that you missed your practice!
Practice When Your Body Needs To
Some people aren’t morning people - so a 6am yoga practice before heading off to work is just not going to work for them. We all know our body clocks and when we feel the most energised during the day, so it’s impossible to try and work around this - no matter how many times you read the benefits of a morning yoga practice. The key is to remember everyone if different, and to not feel bad if you prefer a few more moments in bed rather than on the mat - just practice in the evening instead!
Yoga practice is supposed to feel good- not torture that you force your body into! It’s much easier to find the time and to keep committed when you practice at a time that’s best for you.
Change Up Your Practice
Changing up your practice to what you have time for in the moment is a great way to stay committed and to fit it into a busy day. Maybe if you have more time, you do a more dynamic practice, or if you have 15 minutes before you head out the door, you do a slower less strenuous practice that means you’ll be less sweaty. Yoga is a great exercise, but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t always need to be intense, and if some days you only have time for a mild practice, that’s totally ok! Be present for the practice of yoga itself - rather than the burn or the weight loss. This is what will keep you returning to the mat, and finding time in busier days.
Do it for Yourself
The simplest way to fit yoga into a busy schedule is to allow yourself to come first. We all hold many commitments to other people, and spend much of our time and energy meeting others needs, colleagues, partners, or children. Allowing yourself to become the priority, and saying no to others, gives you the time to practice yoga (or even do something else for yourself).
To help you, This week's classes are all about giving yourself permission to relax and chill. These classes are here to help you unwind, recharge, and remember to relax. Yes, while determination and ambition are essential, it's also important to take a break from your task oriented mindset, and simply relax. Fortunately, yoga can help in this process. These classes will help not only your body, but also your mind relax, with a mix of different yoga styles and a meditation class.
Ready to make yoga a consistent part of your busy schedule? Try the 14-Day Yoga Challenge for Busy People and receive your shorter class choices delivered to your inbox everyday.
Leading a full life is a blessing. Leading a life where you feel you don’t have time to take care of your own well-being is a problem. In order to live your best life, you must carve out time to refill your own well. Balance is key to achieving a joyous fulfilling life. We’re here to help you with four quick powerful classes so you don’t sacrifice your yoga practice!
We know you’re busy, so we’ll keep this short.
Here are three tips to keep your yoga practice on track, no matter what other commitments you are managing in your life.
1. Schedule your yoga time in your planner: When you write down what yoga class you’re going to take in your calendar, it’s part of your daily schedule. You don’t need to waste time pondering if you have time. You do have time––written out clearly in black and white.
2. Remind yourself of how you’ll feel, even with a short time commitment: You’ll feel stronger, more flexible, more relaxed, and also more energetic. Your sleep will deepen, and your posture will improve. The mental benefits of a quick yoga practice are incredible: you can return to your work day with heightened concentration and a clear mind.
3. Practice first thing in the morning: Prioritize your personal yoga practice and do it first, maybe even before your morning coffee or tea. Set your alarm for twenty minutes earlier than usual if necessary. Unexpected events often arise once your day gets going and can steal your scheduled yoga time. If you take care of yourself first, you’ll be better equipped to handle your day, no matter how busy it is!
Have a wonderful week!
1. Jackie Casal Mahrou - Morning Power Boost
2. Becca Riopelle - Cardio Express
3. Claire Petretti Marti - Quick Energy Flow 4
4. Ellen Kaye - Brain Break
Today’s recipe is entirely free from refined sugar, but I promise than nobody will miss anything. The banana adds just enough sweetness, and the darker your bananas are, the sweeter they will be. Since I really hate food waste, I sometimes deliberately pick out the darkest bananas from the market, bring them home, slice and store them in the freezer to be used in smoothies, banana bread and in these little muffins.
Sometimes I come home with a full box of bananas because they look so sad on the counter and otherwise they would be just thrown out in the evening. So I sometimes think about myself as a banana savior. Since I love overripe bananas it is a very simple saving job for me, so win-win.
In addition to being sugar-free these little muffins here are also wheat-free and if you choose gluten-free oats, they can be gluten-free.
Preparing these muffins could not be any easier, and the most time-consuming part is swirling in the peanut butter on top of the muffins. For me, these extra swirls are 100% worth the effort, but you can skip this to save an extra 5 minutes of your time.
The muffins are perfect little bites for breakfast and very simple to bring with me to snack on during the day. And they are healthy enough, that I sometimes treat my yoga students with these after the class.
Sugar Free Chocolate Peanut-Butter Muffins
Yields: 24 mini muffins
1 ¾ oz full-grain oat flour
1 ½ oz cacao powder
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 ripe bananas
2 large eggs (always free-range, please!)
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla paste
3 ½ oz + extra for swirling peanut butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In case your muffin tins are not nonstick, use the spray or line with little muffin papers.
In the first bowl, mix flour, cacao powder, baking powder, and salt.
In the next bowl mash the banana with a fork, add the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, peanut butter, and lemon juice. Mix everything (a stick blender is a good choice here, but it can be done just with a spoon as well).
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and fold carefully without overmixing.
Divide the mixture between muffin tins. Top each muffin with a little extra peanut butter and swirl it in using a toothpick.
Bake around 15-20 minutes (depending on the oven and the size of your muffin tins) until baked.