Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

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

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

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

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

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

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

When you think of yoga, you probably think of exercise, relaxation, and stress relief. These are all good reasons to practice yoga, but there’s another benefit. Yoga can also do wonders for your immune system. So, how does yoga help, and what techniques can you use to bring balance to your system? Let’s talk about the science behind your immune health, and seven powerful yoga poses for boosting your immunity. Yoga Reduces Stress When you’re under stress, the effects aren’t restricted to your mental health. Your physical health also suffers. To date, there are more than 300 peer-reviewed studies that show that prolonged stress reduces your immunity.

Meet my new obsession – the acai (pronounced “ah-sigh-ee”) bowl. As you probably know by now, I’m a HUGE advocate of the green smoothie! I especially praise them as the breakfast of champions for their unwavering ability to deliver a ton of nutritional punch into the first meal of the day. They also keep your digestive system from having to do a ton of work first thing in the morning, essentially allowing the digestive tract more time to rest. More rest means more efficiency, which translates to more of the gunk coming out of the backend. Back to my new obsession.

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” - Corrie Ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook Did you realize that fear exists only in the future, not in the present moment? Maybe you’re scared to attempt your first handstand or fear what might happen when your rollercoaster car teeters at the the peak above an enormous hill right before it drops. Perspiration pops up on the back of your neck, butterflies flit around in your belly, your pulse kicks in your veins in the seconds before you do something that scares you. But, when you’re balancing on your hands or screaming and laughing on the ride, you are not afraid. You’re simply experiencing.

Worrying happens to the best of us. We all will endure stresses in our lives, whether it's through work, our personal lives, our relationships, or even just irrational intrusive thoughts. This worry can get into our brains and can make our day-to-day lives and daily tasks that little bit harder. It would be great if there was some kind of off switch we can press to turn off these worries, but stopping or reducing worry is a little bit harder than that. However, there are habits that you can bring into your day-to-day life that can help your worries to slip away, freeing you to focus on the positive and productive things in life. Set Yourself Worry Time

Every summer I organize a few yoga brunches, where I host my friends with a fun yoga class at first and then feed them. These corn pancakes were a part of the brunch table last time and they were a hit. The yoga class part was a fun one too as after around 60 minutes of the class that was planned to be 75 minutes it started pouring, so we needed to cut the savasana (something I have never done before), and instead of enjoying a picnic ate in my living room. Luckily there is nothing that a nice brunch table doesn’t fix, so no harm done. But I still don’t recommend cutting savasana! The fritters are super moist thanks to the fresh corn, crispy (stay crispy too, for a relatively long time), and flavorful from the onion, chili, and coriander. They work wonderfully as part of a brunch table spread, but if you wish you can also serve them as a fancy appetizer plated up on a pretty plate with avocado puree and pico de gallo.

Aparigraha is about non-attachment. This is not a vow to live in poverty, but more of an invitation to be satisfied with what you have and avoid excess and perpetual dissatisfaction. There is abundance in the spirit of Aparigraha. A person with a lot of money who steals from others and is constantly worried about not having enough is not really rich in the truest sense of the word. Yoga teaches us that our greatest satisfaction comes from within. In many modern societies, there is tremendous emphasis on acquiring more and more trappings of excess materialism. Having nice things and living comfortably is wonderful, and Aparigraha isn’t about denying ourselves the nice things in life - but about not becoming greedy.

Do you love celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones? Marking important occasions with rituals and celebrations is a great way to express gratitude for what’s meaningful in your life. This week, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating 16 years of YogaDownload! We appreciate our global community of yogis, that would be you by the way, and wouldn’t be here today without your consistency and dedication to yoga. One of the ways we’ve distinguished ourselves over the years is by consistently bringing you fresh content every week. As part of our celebration, we are featuring throw-back classes from some long-time YogaDownload teachers who have been with us from the beginning and are still creating new practices for you. The teachers you love and appreciate return to the studio over and over because of you.

All cocktails don't need to be served cold and all tea does not need to be just tea. So you are free to decide if you wish to call this drink a warm cocktail or next-level tea, it is delicious either way. Truth be told, I usually don't like adding anything that contains calories to my drinks. Alcoholic beverages are an exception, but I never drink milk, juice, or lemonade if I am thirsty, and I never add any sweeteners to my hot beverages. But I needed to create a hot cocktail for an event and just serving tea did not cut it, so I experimented a little and am super happy with the result. Rooibos has a nice warmness to its taste, and mango with passionfruit complements it well. At the same time, Aperol, which is a super nice summer drink with sparkling wine, gives it slightly bitter notes and it all balances out to my liking. It is not going to be my go-to drink while reading a book late in the evening, but I am definitely serving it as an aperitif at my next autumn dinner party!

I’ve had Thai food on my mind lately since the weather is cooling off and Thai food adds some extra heat when it’s cold outside. I find the deep flavors in Thai dishes to be so comforting and grounding. I spent time several years ago playing around with Thai-inspired recipes in anticipation of my honeymoon adventures in Thailand. I wanted to create some healthy crave-worthy recipes full of those refreshing, sweet, and zesty flavors.

The art of doing yoga provides many benefits for the human body, from improving our flexibility and strength to how we relax and breathe. While yoga may not always be easy, it is a good idea to implement yoga into your exercise routine every week. Doing so is especially important if you are an athlete because you will learn the skills necessary to be stronger and perform better so you can master your craft. Let’s talk about the importance of yoga for various types of athletes and how it can improve your performance. Yoga For Equestrians

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” - Oscar Wilde It’s time to hit the pause button and contemplate how much time you take out of your day to refill your well. How often do you make yourself a priority––your wants, your needs, your desires? And consider whether you feel guilty if you choose yourself first?

Your routine in the morning can set the tone for the rest of your day. It’s important to set good habits that you can use to help create a morning routine that will eventually set you up for success. If you start your day off stressed, and do things like snooze your alarm, skip breakfast and rush yourself to start your day, the rest of your day can seem chaotic and stressful as well. Your morning sets off your day, so when you form healthy morning habits, you’re setting yourself up for success.

If you want to experience your best day possible each and every day, choose to begin your morning with yoga. Unrolling your yoga mat in the morning empowers you to create and maintain a positive mindset regardless of what your schedule entails. Root canal at the dentist? No problem. Annual review with your evil boss? Those “helpful” comments will roll right off your back. One of the greatest benefits from a regular yoga practice is that it helps us pause before reacting to external stimulus. We don’t have control over many external events, but we can learn control over how we handle challenging situations. You’ll have a powerful foundation for the day to be your strongest, most positive self and avoid being drawn into drama caused by snap reactions. Practicing yoga in the morning clears your mind, soothes your emotions, and warms and opens your body.

21-Day Yoga Challenge: Nurture & Nourish: Challenge starts October 17th We’ve heard the term “self-care” bandied about a lot lately. Have you ever wondered what that means, exactly? We’re often so busy taking care of others in our lives from partners, pets, co-workers, and everyone we encounter, we don’t leave enough fuel in the tank to take care of ourselves. Are you as kind to yourself as you are to the person you love most?

Let me introduce you to the easiest and most flavorful salad ever. This Asian-inspired salad comes together super quick and smacks you in the face with the flavor. I love the funkiness of fish sauce and probably you already know that I do love spicy food. Sadly for my vegan and vegetarian friends, I haven’t figured out a perfect substitute for fish sauce in this recipe, so my best bet is for you to just omit fish sauce and season with salt instead, but it will miss out on some flavor. Sorry! But for the rest of you – make this salad right now! Especially if you are in the middle of zucchini season. It is super light but bursting with flavor. For me, a big bowl of this on a hot summer day is a perfect light lunch. The peanuts give it a nice crunch and some plant protein. If you need more protein, it works well with fried tofu, prawns, or simply steamed white fish too.

Sometimes in life we can feel a little lost and misguided, and it can seem like nothing good is ever happening. It can be easy to feel very overwhelmed and powerless when times like these come around, and we can get stuck in bad moods and bad habits. This is why it's so important to take on healthy habits to nourish your mind and body, to help you get out of bad situations and overall make your life a lot easier in the day-to-day. Here are some of the best ways to nourish your mind and body:

As you already know I absolutely adore seasonal food, but the season in Estonia is extremely short. Luckily we still have super nice autumn and I can even still pick fresh tomatoes from my balcony garden, but I know that the niceness is going to be over soon. The recipe I share with you today utilizes the best Estonian beetroots, but the even better news is that you can make the pasta with the same beetroot powder that I used as it is available on Amazon. I rarely advertise anything even in Estonia, but this beetroot flour is the next level, so if you get a chance – check it out. Enough with the promo and back to the recipe.

There sometimes can be a stigma to doing things alone. Going out for dinner or catching a movie, you can sometimes feel like people are watching you or judging you for being anti-social or lonely. But that is totally wrong! Spending time by yourself is really important - after all, the relationship you have with yourself is the most important and long lasting one you’ll have in your life. Having more me time has benefits like increased productivity, happiness, empathy and gratitude. It doesn't matter how you do it, but here’s some of the benefits of me-time.

Who is in the mood to mix things up? If you feel like you’ve fallen into the same-old, same-old mindset, it’s time to shake off your usual routine before you fall into a yoga rut. Our bodies and minds and hearts thrive on stimulation. Challenging yourself to do something different is the best way to maintain a fresh perspective on life. Physically, we can injure ourselves if we are repeating the same activities day after day. By trying different classes, you can avoid injuries caused by repetitive stress. Your mind can shift into auto-pilot with the same practices too and that’s a recipe for becoming stagnant.