You may have heard somewhere that sugar “feeds” cancer cells. According to reputable cancer centers like MD Anderson, that doesn’t appear to be altogether true. But, there are other reasons to reassess your refined sugar intake. For starters, excess sugar increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Refined sugar is also nutritionally vapid – it’s a big zilcheroo. According to USDA, people who consume the most sugar have lowest intake of essential nutrients, like vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, calcium, and magnesium.
Beyond that, sugar affects your physiology and has an addictive quality to it. When you eat sugar, it quickly converts into glucose in your bloodstream, leading to a blood sugar spike. You feel a rush of energy – woohoo! But quickly thereafter, your energy crashes leaving you tired and unconsciously jonesing for another sugar high. There you are in your cubicle at 3pm and, man oh man, does just one more candy from the candy bowl sound tempting right now.
In yoga, we talk a lot about training the mind to observe and stay neutral so that we’re not pulled by the vicissitudes of our thoughts and emotions. From a neutral place, we can make better decisions, be more productive, and have better relationships. When I applied the things I’ve honed in yoga – like self-observation and open-minded curiosity—to my diet, I learned that I was being pulled this way and that, several times per day, by the vicissitudes of my blood sugar. As nice as it was to have an occasional treat, it’s much more satisfying to feel grounded and stable. That’s what I think about when I’m tempted by something these days – I think, “Is this going to be worth it?” Usually the answer is no.
Even if you don’t have the desire to cut out added sugar altogether, it’s worth staying within the American Heart Association’s recommended daily range: For women that’s 25 grams daily—about 6 teaspoons. For men it’s 37 grams daily—about 9 teaspoons.
If you want to start curbing your sugar habit, read on:
1. Basic Formula is TBD – Time. Balanced Meal. Dehydration.
According to Karyn Duggan, a nutritionist at One Medical Group in San Francisco, the acronym “TBD” can help you remember the three most essential ways to set yourself up for nutritional success. To break it down, you need to:
Time Your Meals — Eat at regular intervals. When you wait too long to eat, your blood sugar drops and you start to crave simple, sugar-loaded carbohydrates to give you an energy boost. As One Medical Group nutritionist Karyn Duggan says, “At that point, there’s no chance of making a healthy choice.” Duggan suggests eating within one hour of waking and not going longer than 4-5 hours between meals.
But, test it for yourself. When I first gave up sugar, I needed to eat small, protein-packed meals every 2-3 hours.
Balance — Eat balanced meals and snacks. A balanced meal, says Duggan, has a combination of protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates. This combo will keep your blood sugar steady, helping you to feel satiated.
Don’t Get Dehydrated — “People often confuse thirst with hunger,” says Duggan. Her recommended intake? About 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight. So, for a 150 person, that’s 75 ounces per day.
2. Taper Off Slowly
Once you’ve got your basic strategy in place, you can get tactical about your sugar intake. I’m of the belief that it’s better to wean yourself slowly. For example, you can cut down on one sugary habit per week, like putting sugar in your coffee or starting your day with a sugary yogurt. Like yoga, going slowly helps you get to know yourself better: You can really feel what a small change does to your energy and mood. You can start recognize your habits, your challenges, and from there you can keep strategizing.
3. Learn to Read Labels
When you pay attention to labels, you may be shocked by which foods have hidden sources of sugar – ketchup, breads, soups, tomato sauce, granola, and salad dressings are just a few offenders.
Any item that lists any form of sugar in the first few ingredients or has more than 4 grams of sugar is a no-go. (These are all ingredients to look for: high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, glucose, malt syrup, molasses, lactose, sucrose, dextrose.)
4. Eat Whole Foods
It’s easier to avoid added sugars if you stick with the basics: fruits, veggies, and complex carbs that are loaded with fiber and will keep you full; proteins that will help keep your blood sugar steady.
5. Trade Bitter for Sweet
Bitter foods have compounds in them that make them healthy (flavonoids, carotenoids, or polyphenols). Americans tends to be stuck on the salty to sweet pendulum. But bitter foods can expand your palate and help you appreciate different foods. Anytime I have a sugar craving I take heed: I have olives, some almond milk with turmeric and cinnamon, or I make a dinner with some delicious bitter greens. I try to keep my food interesting and adventurous.
6. Have Healthy “Treats” On Hand
The last thing you want is for food to be a bummer and to feel deprived. Having some healthy treats on hand can be helpful as you’re weaning or if you know you’re going party hopping and you want to avoid mindless sweets.
This past year I have become very creative in the kitchen with some major fails but successes, too. I’ve learned to make killer almond flour muffins, beet brownies, sugar cookies without sugar, and I’m working on a chai pound cake. I use grade B maple syrup in moderation in these instances because it’s rich in minerals. But there is some evidence that even sugar substitutes create more sugar cravings, so I try to be modest.
7. Don’t Try to Be Perfect. Find Your Perfect Balance
Is pumpkin pie your favorite dessert that you look forward to all year long? Then have some pumpkin pie! Did your kid’s ice cream cone nearly fall to the ground and you just had to give it a few licks? Look, you were just doing your job. What I’m trying to say is that it’s important to maintain a sense of humor about all of this. Do the best you can and don’t beat yourself up over the small – or even the large — missteps. Food is fuel, but it’s also social. It’s a way for people to commune and share time together. If you want to indulge from time to time, my philosophy is that’s OK.
What’s important to me is that I make conscious choices about what I’m eating – that I’m not sucked into a daily abyss by my cravings. If you feel like you’ve gone over the edge for a day or a week, reel it back in and ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” (Answer: To feel great!) “What do I have to do to find my perfect balance?” (Answer: Keep watching, keep breathing, keep tweaking along the way.)
8. Eat More Fat
I’m adding a tip that I’ve experimented with since I first published this post over ondrishtiyoga.com. It’s simple: Make sure you’re getting adequate healthy fats in your diet. Healthy fats are satiating and they keep you full. I notice that I feel better physically and mentally when I have them — instead of feeling deprived from eating sugar, I feel like I get to indulge a bit in a way that’s healthy for me.
By Andrea Ferretti
Andrea Ferretti and Jason Crandell are a husband and wife team who have been teaching, writing about, and living their yoga for nearly two decades. Andrea is the former executive editor of Yoga Journal and is now creative director for Jason Crandell Yoga Method. Jason is an internationally recognized teacher known for his precise, empowering, down-to-earth approach to vinyasa yoga. They live together in San Francisco with their full-time boss, Sofia-Rose Crandell, age 3. To read their blog or to learn more about Jason's upcoming teacher trainings, please visit their web site www.jasonyoga.com
This moon also calls us to reaffirm that we are living our life in accordance with our soul’s purpose. If you feel uneasy or apathetic about life, it is time to redirect your energy to whatever it is lights you up from the inside out. Use Sagittarius’ penchant for expansion to help you explore new ideas or ways of life.
The Sagittarius new moon makes a close relationship to Neptune, which encourages us to expand our spiritual horizons and stay close to our favorite transcendent practices (meditation, yoga, and the alchemical ritual outlined below are good options). This truly is a time to get connected, explore new worlds and remain connected to our highest calling. Make sure you take advantage of this energy and use Sagittarius’ youthful exuberance to get a new lease on life.
Alchemical Ritual for the Sagittarius New Moon
As a fire sign, Sagittarius is known for its vivacity, tenacity and exuberance. On the low side, this easily becomes egotistical, dogmatic and aloof. This new moon ritual for Sagittarius highlights the high side of Sag which allows us to explore our inherent belief systems and expand fully into an authentic expression of joy.
Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, who is known for his joviality, and zest for life. Jupiter encourages expansion in all areas of life, so it is important to ensure what we expand is the highest expression of this new moon energy. Otherwise, we can get caught in a vicious cycle of negativity or callousness toward others.
Gather blue stones such as topaz, amethyst or turquoise, and place them in the center of your ritual space. If you have essential oil of myrrh, or myrrh resin, use it to scent the air as you prepare for your ritual. Use essential oils of myrrh, clove or anise to anoint your hips and thighs (ruled by Sagittarius) before and after your ceremony. Use sage, sweet grass or palo santo to cleanse yourself and the space by casting the smoke over yourself and encircling your own body three times. Light a few candles and dim the lights. Bring into your ritual space a symbol or talisman of your inherent or childhood belief system. Place it just in front of you as you sit down and close the eyes, coming into a quiet, meditative state of mind. Say the following invocation out loud:
Sagittarius and Jupiter, help me expand the wisdom of my spirit, and let my soul’s deepest truths be focused outward in an authentic expression of my life.
Feel the presence of the symbol or talisman and allow it to appear in your mind’s eye. Focus on the breath and tune in to its image. Allow for any messages or feelings from the image to arise. Rather than engage in dialogue with it, simply let the image speak to you. Spend a few moments quietly listening to the image. Sit with the message given to you by the symbol or talisman. Absorb it, and reap the fruits of the message in your body. When complete, take a few breaths, then chant Om three times, and snuff the candles. Place your talisman in prominent view and whenever you see it, let it remind you to stay connected with your soul’s fullest expression of authenticity. This image (and others) serve to be outward expressions of our deepest truths. It is a reminder of how we use symbols to make sense of our world and bring to life that which is within us. Let it help you bring forth the light that is within you.
By Alanna Kaivalya
Alanna believes Yoga is for everyone and each student can develop the self-empowerment needed to embark on a personal journey to meaningful transformation. On this principle she founded The Kaivalya Yoga Method, a fresh take on yoga emphasizing the individual path while honoring tradition. Teaching students since 2001, teachers since 2003, Alanna has written and developed teacher trainings worldwide for top studios and independently. In January she debuted a comprehensive 200hr-online teacher training with YogaDownload. She holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, has authored numerous articles and two books: Myths of the Asanas, an accessible practitioner’s guide to stories behind beloved poses; Sacred Sound, a yoga “hymnal,” illustrating the role of chant and mantra in modern practice. Look for her third book, Yoga Beyond the Mat, in Autumn 2016.She lives in New York City with Roxy the Wonderdog.
Click Here to learn more about Alanna's 200hr Online Teacher Training with YogaDownload.com
Now that yoga teacher training is such an essential part of a yoga center’s ability to survive, and completion of the programs sometimes requires little more than attendance, a sea of certificates has flooded the market. For as long as I can remember, I have inquired into the prior practice experience of every new student who comes to my daily drop-in classes. And the percentage of people who sheepishly reply: “Actually, I did a 200 hour training” has become undeniably striking. Even more telling is how often the misgivings about the trainings are written in the embarrassed or shameful expressions on their faces.
Anyone who claims to have the keys to a successful yoga career is full of it.
Having made my living in the yoga profession for more than twenty years now, and discussed it with a wide range of those who have come before and after me on Yoga Talks Podcast, I am convinced that no one is immune to the changing times and economics. Just the other day, I came across a Facebook post from a long-established teacher who was making a public confession that he is no longer identifying as a yoga teacher. That it had become unviable as a livelihood, and resorting to licensed massage therapy for income to survive was necessary.
Even seminal teachers, who charted the course for yoga in the mainstream, are having to face the fact that yoga business has become scaled to the extent that long-standing institutions of yoga can no longer always compete. As independent centers are acquired by new mega models, and the yoga-going public is looking for more of a spa experience then a spiritual education, those who have managed to garner any amount of notoriety are leveraging their reputations in the new world of online video and training intensives.
Nothing could be more disingenuous than convincing people that creating a mentality of abundance, or a cadre of social media profiles, leads to prosperity in the yoga profession.
With all the uncertainty and shifting in the economic landscape, earnest practitioners who have sought yoga as a life direction, and completed a training, are being heavily marketed to courses in professional development. It’s quite ironic the way some people are looking to build a yoga career on teaching others how to have a yoga career. Especially when their success as a yoga professional did not come about through many years of grinding the pavement as a teacher, but was arrived at or bestowed by other fortuitous means.
Shifting your mentality around money might be a good thing to do but doesn’t change the odds, or teach you how to play the game effectively. Despite honest efforts to distill and make it more practical, the dark art of making money has always been elusive. Creating false expectations, and then playing into them, is certainly an effective way to sell things. Sometimes these means hope to be justified by well-intentioned positive ends. But while the benefits of yoga are certainly helpful, and sometimes crucial, in creating a life that is healthy and prosperous, you can’t just envision your monthly rent into existence.
Yoga careers starts with practice, and are determined by life’s situations.
Everyone I know who is managing to make their way in the yoga profession is doing so not because they have mastered an abundance mentality that is allowing them to manifest their dreams. Almost always, being a yoga professional was not the original intent. They started out just wanting to practice and find themselves. Often, that process created changes in both behavior and life situation. Sometimes those changes led to relationships that, in turn, meant taking on the role of being a yoga teacher. Being effective in business does require smart strategy, and teachers are wise to seek the counsel of others. But successful careers in yoga are a byproduct of practice more than an attainable goal.
As we continue to navigate through uncharted territories, likely facing a continuation of pressures and ongoing struggle, let us not kid ourselves that anyone has answers for anyone outside of themselves. And may each us of find a source of strength and fortitude from within, such that we might become less susceptible to manipulations and the tyranny by others of less than admirable persuasion. Our power lies most in our humanness. For if, or when, the systems fail and tragedy befalls, treating each other with honesty and transparency, in our hearts and minds and bodies, will surely be our only saving grace.
By J. Brown
J. Brown is a yoga teacher, writer and founder of Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn, NY. His writing has been featured in Yoga Therapy Today, the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, and across the yoga blogosphere. Visit his website at jbrownyoga.com
When you live in gratitude, you have less to complain about. Less to say about other people. Less things irk you. My favorite: there's a buzz in your heart space.
So where do we start?
It might be platitude to say “be grateful for what you have”. Yet it’s wisdom. It can be such a casual thing or even a habitual saying. Most of us are grateful for so many things, but in a shallow way. Shallow thoughts only have shallow power. It’s kind of like talking the talk, but can we walk the walk?
Did you know that one billion people on this planet live on less than $1.25 a DAY??!
When was the last time we stopped to give gratitude for our home? Our beds? Our safety? Our food? When was the last time we made a mental list of our blessing rather than our grievances?
Lack attracts lack. Abundance attracts abundance. It’s painfully simple. Yet we complicate things in our heads.
Some ideas: — Write down what you are grateful for. WAIT!!!!! You must also write down why. It’s easy to write down: food, health, home. But WHY?? But if we get more specific, like: “I’m grateful my neighbor and I fall into non-stop laughter every time we get together,” or “I’m grateful my house is the perfect temperature today,” it creates a deeper sensation of gratitude in us than just our general listing does. The reason I’m asking you to elaborate on WHY you’re appreciative is because, again, it helps to expand your awareness of gratitude and LIGHT UP those positive feelings. Make this a habit and a daily ritual. Buy a special pen and notebook. Get a jar and put it near your bed so you don’t forget to do it each day (see below). You WILL see changes in your life. — Create a jar and put those things you wrote down into the jar. Then when feel a bit down or dark, reach into your jar and shed some light on potential opportunity of your situation. — Write a letter of appreciation/gratitude to a person or organization that has greatly affected your life. This practice will bring you happiness, guaranteed. By sharing your gratitude with others, you inspire them to carry on their path. Shining light on the accomplishments of others brings more light into the world.
True abundance stems from internal abundance. We cannot expect the outside world to make us happy. Gratitude guides this practice.
It’s a practice. Not a perfect.
There will be days when we are mad, sad, frustrated, emotional and straight up shit shows. Ebb and flow. It’s important to feel these feelings and let them be what they are. Holding them in is where the real suffering occurs. The opportunity is that if we can feel and experience such feelings, then we can FULLY appreciate their opposites (happiness, joy, calm, organized…).
Gratitude is a sure way to short circuit many, many situations and attitudes.
Allow. Flow. Marinate in gratitude.
By Meredith Cameron
Learning that she and we are more capable than we give ourselves credit for, Meredith Cameron creates space for students to reach out, dig deeper, and not take themselves too seriously. An advocate for creating the life we live, Meredith is influenced by her teachers, Shannon Paige and Nancy Kate Rau, what the world throws on her lap, her travels, and her daily interactions with others. All of this, infuses freedom into her teachings, allowing students to feel their own sense of empowerment. Visit www.mcameronyoga.com/blog.
Separate yourself from your fears with the following YogaDownload Classes:
Gentle Hatha 5 - Jackie Casal Mahrou Hearts Wide Open - Dana Damara
Gratitude is proven to alleviate stress, increase optimism and impart joy. While it’s human nature to stew over what we think we’re missing from our lives, simply putting our focus on everything we DO have helps us feel abundant, strong and purposeful. From our hearts to our heads to our hands. This is your big pot of gratitude. Go ahead and give it a stir.
We are so grateful for you. Here are four new classes to tap into your abundance and gratitude. Now go out and enjoy your time with the people who matter.
Christen Bakken - Lessons From the Ladies: Ma Lakshmi
Named after the goddess of abundance, this class reinforces her lessons: that we are so provided for, we have value, we have worth, and within each of us is an abundant source of joy, peace, beauty and love. Tap in.
Alanna Kaivalya - Gratitude Meditation Practice
Because, let’s face it, gratitude does take practice– get in the mood with this 10 minute daily meditation to inspire thanks.
Claire Petretti Marti - Yoga for a Great Full Heart
Set to the tunes of Brett Randell's soulful live vocals and guitar, rock out in this sweaty, playful flow designed to create more physical and emotional space in your body for gratitude.
Elise Fabricant - Reset Refuge: Bliss Out and Be Blessed
Relax and recover from the holiday in this 30-minute restorative class that combines a gentle flow with hip openers, twists, self massage, pranayama and mudra. Allow yourself to receive all of the juiciness this practice will bring to your mind, body and soul.
Affirmations and the Chakras
Although affirmations are not necessarily original yoga tools, they arise from mantra, a very powerful and ancient yogic practice. In a course I’m taking from Alanna Kaivalya, PhD, I learned that the original yogic tools that have survived to this day are mantra, meditation, and ritual. Five thousand years ago when yoga was first discovered, yogis chanted mantras for hours as a way to experience enlightenment.
Mantra literally means tool for protecting the mind. Chanting mantras are meant to help protect the mind from negative thoughts and spiraling feedback loops that keep us from realizing our essential nature.
Chanting mantras aren’t for everyone though and Sanskrit pronunciation can be a challenge, which is why I like offering affirmations — English phrases that we can clearly understand and apply to our own daily lives.
The most powerful affirmations are short and succinct — easily rememberable. In the chakra system, each energy center represents a different basic right and offers a great pronoun-verb combination for creating impactful statements of truth.
Even if you don’t believe in or understand how the chakras work, these affirmations cover universal human rights. Here are the 7 affirmations to help us connect to our basic needs, using the chakras as a framework.
I have ___
everything I need, enough, amazing family and friends, an incredible life, so much to be thankful for, a roof over my head, food to eat, money to support my family.
It’s important to remember what we have. Having is not inherently a bad thing. We have to have a life before we can live that life! We have to have our basic needs met before we can start evolving in our thinking and our creativity. What do you have that inspires and motivates you?
For me, remembering that I have everything I need is a powerful reminder that I will succeed if I trust my true Self.
I feel ___
amazing, incredible, in love, compassion, better, okay, excited, energized, on top of the world, accomplished, strong.
Get in touch with how you feel and remind yourself that when you’re truly connected to your spirit, it makes you feel blissful. You can feel sad, angry, irritated, anxious, and a whole host of other emotions too and that’s okay. We need to acknowledge all our emotions and learn to understand how we can hold both sadness and compassion in our hearts at the same time.
I can ___
do this, succeed, win, persevere, thrive, keep going, survive, love, trust, change, be, shift, transform, make it happen.
In those times when you don’t think you can keep going, remind yourself that you can. An even stronger sentiment is to say I will. Taking action is the only way we keep growing and moving forward. Without action, our lives become stagnant. This is an important tenet in yoga philosophy — it’s not enough to perform rituals and meditate. There has to be some action!
I love ___
my life, my job, my partner, my family, my friends, my pet, life, nature, everyone, the world, you, yoga, writing, peace.
Tap into who or what you love in this life and remind yourself of it often. Remembering who or what you love helps trigger memories that can quickly shift your mind and feelings. When you take action (I can) and then act with love in mind, the action becomes more powerful for yourself and for others.
I speak ___
my truth, with integrity, clearly, with love, compassionately.
This affirmation is so important for us to remember. We can only show up as authentically ourselves when we speak our own truth. Being uniquely you invites vulnerability and sometimes criticism. Communication is the number one cause of misunderstanding. Commit to communicating well AND stay true to yourself. The experience is liberating.
I see ___
the way, clearly, the truth, what’s in front of me.
To really see — without the veils, fog, mud, and dirt covering our metaphorical glasses — is hard work. Seeing what is really going on helps us make wiser decisions in the moment. Refusing to be tricked or to trick ourselves will save us from lots of drama and inner turmoil down the road.
I was listening to a podcast the other day and a yoga teacher was talking about how she was finally able to see what was going on in her community. She made the hard decision to walk away from that community. Sometimes we don’t like what we see and try to put on the rose (or mud)-colored glasses.
I know ___
myself, my truth, the right way, where to go, how to do this, when it’s time.
This affirmation is more then just knowing information. This knowing is about knowing a deep truth that comes from within. Following that knowledge, even if it doesn’t seem rational or logical, is what I call being guided by the universe.
When I left Colorado I knew it was time to go. I didn’t want to leave, but there was an inner knowing within me that was guiding me to go. I still cried when I left, but I was able to follow that inner knowing toward growth.
Bonus: I am ___
divine, okay, strong, beautiful, amazing, enchanted, love, connected, ecstatic, energy, safe.
This is another favorite of mine for when times get tough or our minds start to go down that negative track. Remembering your connection with your spirit is enough to flip the switch. When you’re feeling down or in doubt, telling yourself I am divine is a sure way to get you back on track.
Create your own affirmations
Do a quick free-write filling in the blanks with your own words. Don’t think too much about it and allow yourself to write what comes to mind first. Stay positive!
When we spend time reminding ourselves of our basic rights with affirmations, we re-inforce protect our mind from negative patterns. Affirmations can help us build confidence and self-esteem and serve as our guiding voice through difficult situations.
Affirmations keep us connected with our spirit. As situations change in your life, choose new affirmations to help you protect your mind!
Pick one affirmation for this week, write it down in your journal or on a piece of paper and post it somewhere visible where you can read through it every day.
Share your affirmations with me on the Facebook page!
Namaste!
By Ashley Josephine
I started practicing yoga to stay in shape and release stress. What I learned was how to love my life. How to have faith. How to find your community of people who support you and love you unconditionally. How to get back control. Today, it is my mission to help busy Type-A overachiever women like me gain back control of their lives, live pain-free, and love the life they want to live through yoga lifestyle practices. Visit www.ashleyjosephine.com to get free yoga lifestyle tips to help live healthier, happier, and pain-free.
Click here to download or stream one of our Office YogaDownload classes!
Check out our recipes for Raw Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad, Autumn Wild Rice Salad, and Raw Pecan Mushroom Stuffing. And don’t forget about dessert! Make sure to try our Nearly Raw Coco Nutty Pumpkin Pie, a delicious 80:20 treat that will satisfy your sweet craving.
Speaking of 80:20, stay tuned for a special surprise we’ll be sharing with our Conscious Cleanse community right after Thanksgiving. We think you’re going to be thrilled!
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please share your food and family pics with us on Instagram and Facebook using #consciousthanksgiving.
With good food and gratitude,
Jo Schaalman and Julie 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 lead 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.
To learn more about “Jo and Jules” and to download a free e-cookbook for a sampling of the delicious food served up on the Conscious Cleanse, please visit their website.
Conscious Cleanse Detox Flow - Jo Schaalman
Heart Opening Forrest Yoga Flow - Jo Schaalman
Traditional Hot Yoga - Julie Peláez
Gratitude is a practice that grows over time. This practice of gratitude is one of giving and receiving. However, it is an appreciative act of kindness and abundance. That is, in order to practice gratitude, we learn to give without expectation of receiving. We also learn to be receptive and open to what others have to offer. The fruit of this practice is abundance in all aspects of your life, whether it is within yourself, at work, or in your closest relationships.
One of the simplest ways to practice gratitude is to recite something you are thankful for upon waking up or throughout your day. Simply acknoweldge what arises by saying: "I am GRATEFUL for…"
Try saying thank you as much as you can. Say thank you to your bus driver, your server, your mother and your children. We can find appreciation for them in every moment. In turn, the very act of giving thanks makes us feel fulfillment. This practice is like charging up your Gratitude Bank.
Whether you are on the giving or receiving end, we see that what goes around never fails to come around. When we nurture gratitude, we show gratitude to people and things we care for and then it also teaches us the same. We learn to appreciate and love-- and to be appreciated and loved.
Through these cycles, we can feel a sense of gratification in our life’s path and relationships. We can work through issues of forgiveness, trust, and insecurity. A lesson many of us learn in practicing gratitude is appreciation for difficult situations and even the people that have challenged us, ultimately changing our lives for the better. Starting a gratitude practice allows us to bring this newfound awareness to light for help, guidance, and mindfulness.
Is there something in your life that needs a little extra attention? Try this Gratitude Meditation and allow the benefits to unfold as it becomes a daily ritual.
Gratitude Meditation
- Choose something in your life that you think needs a little extra TLC. Focus on this as your intention.
- Sit or lie somewhere comfortable without any distractions. Let yourself settle into your body and notice how you feel mentally as well as physically. Begin to breathe as deeply as you can. Repeat “I am grateful for my breath” either aloud or inside your mind. Imagine that feeling of gratitude washing over the entire body. Repeat this practice as many times as you need to in order to clear your mind and strive for a deeper focus of gratitude.
- Now bring your attention to what you have chosen to be grateful for during this practice. Repeat “I am grateful for…” whatever it may be. Say it as many times as you need to. Notice if any negative feelings arise. Place your hand on your heart and continue to work into your gratitude. Our heart is our center of love and compassion and allows us to work through any negativity. Imagine your gratitude as a beam shining directly from your heart to whatever or whoever you are grateful for.
- Stay here and continue breathing.
- Finally, repeat “I am grateful to be ALIVE” and feel tuned into yourself, the Divine, a higher source, the planet, or your community- whatever gives you a sense of connection. Bring your attention to the crown of your head, your 7th chakra, and envision that same white light now beaming out of the crown of your head. Breathe deeply here until you feel a sense of deep calm.
Lindsay Nova often calls herself “a one woman spiritual circus”. She is a firm believer in the wisdom of the body, the strength of the heart, and the power of the breath. After studying dance, yoga, and movement throughout the United States, she has dedicated her life to being an international creative fitness educator and multidimensional performance artist, inspiring and empowering others to take charge of their lives and live their own dreams. Currently she has been traveling through Central and South America with hula hoops and a yoga mat, teaching yoga, hiking volcanoes and ancient ruins, and trying shamanic medicines among other various adventures!
The Vitamix was often heard rumbling and you could find one of us in the kitchen making coconut kefir, blending up a superfood smoothie, tossing a kale salad, or fashioning a yummy superfood pie. It was during that summer that I discovered the benefits of more obscure superfoods like the immunity-boosting berries Camu Camu, which is said to contain more vitamin C than any other single food source on the planet, Maca, a Peruvian root rich in vitamin B vitamins that boosts libido and increases endurance, and Ho Sho Wu, a Chinese herb traditionally used to restore hair color, strengthen nails, reduce cholesterol, and support better liver and kidney function.
Superfoods Sensation
Today superfoods have gone mainstream and are still very much a part of my daily life. For instance, I add spirulina to my organic superfood smoothie. And during my summer mornings in Greece, where I spend a part of my time living, I made a Greek version of a superfood breakfast: I blend chlorella (to help detox) and powdered turmeric (for inflammation) and mix that in with two tablespoons of organic tahini. I then add ½ an avocado, a chopped up fresh fig, half a banana, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, and fresh bee pollen. Yum!
I also drink Chlorella, which I mix into my water along with Bulletproof’s activated charcoal 15 minutes before I do a coffee enema, as I am currently detoxing from heavy metals, including mercury. (I had one of those nasty mercury-laden CFL bulbs break in my hands, as well as a thermometer in a span of two months. Both are a big pain to properly clean up, by the way!)
I joke that I would rather buy superfoods over shoes any day of the week. They are rich in trace elements and micro-nutrients, as well as vitamins and antioxidants, and can help the body reach optimal health and wellness when regularly consumed. We need these super foods to protect us against the realities of a toxic modern world. They are also easily digestible and totally utilized by the body, especially when they’re organic or clean-sourced.
After starting HoneyColony, a magazine and marketplace aimed at empowering people to be their own best health advocate, it made sense to join forces with Gosia Reed, the formulator of Bee Panacea create a super superfood honey fusion. Rather than take tons of superfoods, which used up time, energy and beaucoup bucks, why not infuse raw honey and use it as the perfect delivery mechanism?
The result is Equilibrium, the evolutionary peak of superfoods! The formula was created to reduce inflammation and bolster energy, with organic ingredients ranging from raw honey and phytoplankton, to natural prebiotics and medicinal mushrooms. In total, Equilibrium offers a whopping 87 health benefits.
Who knew that a documentary to help save the bees would inadvertently end up also helping create one of the most powerful honey-infused superfood blends in the world? But that’s exactly what happened. As a result, myself and many others who take Equilibrium on a daily basis, now get to reap the benefits of better health and more energy.
For more information on Equilibrium and other community-curated health products, visit HoneyColony today.
Maryam Henein’s immersion in nutrition science and alternative healing started about 10 years ago, on the heels of a near death experience. Maryam’s brush with death also raised her awareness of the environment, which inspired her to work on a piece on the Exxon Valdez Oil spill for Robert Greenwald and The Sierra Club. Shortly thereafter, the bees flew into Maryam’s life.
As co-founder of HoneyColony, Maryam has fused her reporting skills with her love of nutrition and social media in a cooperative model that closely resembles the workings of a real hive. Maryam is dedicated to empowering folks to be their own best health advocate.
Check out more of her writing on tumblr. Or follow her on Twitter.
Check out Alanna Kaivalya’s latest class - Following the Path of the Peaceful Warrior
If you’ve studied the Bhagavad Gita, one of yoga’s most significant texts, you know that the protagonist, Arjuna, faced his biggest dilemma not simply because he led the army onto the battlefield, but because he had to fight against his own family. Arjuna struggled to reconcile how to be a warrior with the spiritual teachings of peace and compassion. Krishna advised Arjuna that sometimes doing the right thing is to stand up and fight for your values, despite pain and seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Pradeep Teotia’s - Stand Tall is a good way to practice staying rooted in your truths and rising up to your strengths.
Learning to dig deep and operate from our courageous hearts often feels uncomfortable and fills us with fear. We need to build this power from the inside out and tap into our Shakti through Sadhana or practice. Tap into your inner Shakti with Christen Bakken’s - Lessons From the Ladies: Ma Durga
Step onto your yoga mat or sit on your meditation pillow with the intent to build your own strength, compassion and personal power. Cultivate your inner light to learn to discern how we can make a difference. The more attuned we are to our own inner truths, the more we can share them and stand for them, no matter what obstacles stand in the way.
Try starting with Rob Loud’s - Journey Toward Compass Pose.
However, contrary to the core intent behind a getaway, vacations have a reputation of being rather exhausting due to endless logistical concerns. To relieve you of this burden, holiday service providers have created holiday yoga retreats which are pre-arranged and usually follow a particular theme such as wellness, mindfulness, adventure, etc.
These retreats offer you a comfortable alternative to regular vacations where you can focus solely on revitalizing yourself. However, if your aim is to take the mental baggage off and reenergize completely, we recommend that you opt for a yoga retreat of your choice, which is the most holistic health and wellness getaway imaginable.
Imagine a picturesque landscape, soulful meditation amidst a soothing ambience, complete physical and mental detoxification and harmony, customized yoga therapy and training sessions, exotic cuisines and like-minded company. Here, we are listing the seven crucial reasons why you should trade your regular vacations in for yoga retreats.
1. Give yourself a fresh start
When we live in a hectic and monotonous routine, we often become myopic in our thinking, grow accustomed to less-than-perfect situations, do not get enough time to work on issues or mend relationships and unknowingly accumulate stress. Therefore, it becomes essential to give your mind and body a vacation.
Yoga retreats are usually constructed on quiet and serene destinations where you can let go of your worries and let yourself relax. The underlying aim of yoga is to revitalize the body, mind and soul, so yoga retreats offer everything from accommodation to cuisine, focused yoga classes, therapy and meditation sessions that aim to have an overall calming effect.
Yoga classes allow you to overcome physical as well as psychological stress. Moreover, meditation will give you the perfect ambience to relate to your body and mind. This increases respect for self-care and provides emotional and mental strength by teaching you to effectively remove negative thoughts and sentiments and further replace them with positive ones. In addition to this, trained experts will provide you with one-on-one counselling to help you resolve life's issues so that you can return home with a fresh perspective, reinvigorated spirit and stronger emotional stability.
2. Hassel free vacation management
Vacations are fun, but exhausting. A deeper look at a regular vacation reveals that it comes with the same number of responsibilities and errands as any other day at work.
For instance, we have to arrange for travel, accommodation, hoteling, shopping, sight-seeing, etc. and this goes the same for new and unfamiliar settings. This undermines the core purpose of a getaway, which is to just let go and relax. However, a yoga retreat offers you the perfect opportunity to rest and recoup because all vacation logistics, food and in most cases, even sightseeing are taken care of.
3. Unwind amidst scenic landscapes
Yoga retreats offer a proximity to nature unmatched by any other getaway. Yoga shalas are specifically set in quiet and exotic locations so that as you perform yogic asanas (postures) and can also benefit from the healing touch of nature. Natural environments and plant life are known to reduce stress, help us unwind and energize.
4. A yoga retreat is a life-time experience
What sets yoga retreats apart from regular vacations is that the lessons learned and habits adopted during a yoga retreat remain with you for life. According to recent study, regular vacations have been found to instigate temporary improvement in our well-being, whereas, a week-long yoga retreat can bring about long term improvements in our metabolism, the way we think, and how we deal with day-to-day challenges and the resulting stress. Here is how yoga changes the way we live, for better:
a. Mindfulness:
Guided yoga practice teaches us to live in the moment by being aware of our surroundings and how our actions have an impact on them.
b. Compassion:
Heart opening techniques make us more compassionate and accommodating as human beings and enable us to handle situations with enhanced emotional stability.
c. Spirituality:
We often become too immersed in our demanding lifestyles and forget to explore our spiritual side. Yoga considers the body, mind and soul to be essential constituents of our existence and all of these must be nurtured to live a peaceful and healthy life. A yoga retreat gives you an opportunity to seek a stronger connection with God or the Higher Power via utmost devotion to yogic techniques.
5. Create lasting friendships
Retreats have a tendency to attract like-minded people from around the world and therefore enable you to forge long lasting friendships. As you practice asanas in groups, each person becomes part of a support system to help others.
Moreover, affiliating with similar people provides you invaluable insights into issues that you never saw in yourself. There seems to be something so profound about bonding in a yoga shala that people often claim to have made long lasting friendships during yoga retreats.
6. Step out of your comfort zone to explore new things
Yoga retreats encourage people to step out of their comfort zones to improve themselves physically and mentally. This becomes even more enjoyable since you are surrounded by enthusiastic people determined to better themselves. As a consequence, you undertake challenges and adventures you would not have thought possible in other situations.
7. Expert Guidance
One of the things that make yoga retreats worthwhile are the focused consultation of domain experts. Trainers not only deepen your knowledge regarding yoga but also provide one-to-one counselling to assist you in overcoming life's many challenges. An added advantage comes from the fact that these trainings and techniques stay with you forever, thus, enabling you to maintain a healthy lifestyle even after you return home.
So, this year invest in a well-rounded yoga retreat to revitalize your body, mind and soul. Go on, try it!
Audrey Throne is a professional blogger and mother. After completing her masters in English literature from the University of Birmingham, Audrey enjoyed traveling and discovering the world around her. Moreover, she likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her writing.
Find her on Twitter: @audrey_throne
Named after the Hindu warrior, Virabhadra, an incarnation of the Lord Shiva, Reverse Warrior pose stands for resilience and dispelling of negative energies.
In a broader sense, Reverse Warrior is a graceful gesture of strength. The pose asks us to create a stable foundation through our feet while reaching up and overhead and leaning the torso back. Without grounding down, our balance can get thrown off or we might not be able to achieve full form.
Reverse Warrior pose is widely encountered in hatha or vinyasa classes. While it is typically incorporated as part of a warrior series flow, it helps to take a closer look at this standing pose on its own. Doing so allows us to make subtle physical adjustments and truly be present in the posture.
While practicing Reverse Warrior has many benefits, it should be avoided or practiced moderately when experiencing neck, spinal or shoulder pain. As always, be mindful of entering and exiting the pose with attention to breath and body.
- From a standing position step your feet 3.5 to 4 feet apart. Turn your right foot to the right 90 degrees and keep your left foot pointing forward. - Bend your right knee until your right thigh bone is parallel to the floor. Keep your right knee stacked directly above your right ankle. Keep your right knee from collapsing inward by pressing it slightly to the right so you can stretch your right inner thigh and groin muscles. - Raise your arms out to the side to shoulder height. Turn your palms to face the floor. Lengthen your spine and lift your chest. - Flip your right palm over to face the ceiling, and raise your right arm up overhead and begin to reach up and back. Place your left hand gently on the outside of your left leg. Keep both hips and shoulders square to left so that you can achieve a side bend. Continue to maintain the lunge in your front leg as you reach up and back into a side bend position. - Look straight up at the ceiling, or you may look down towards the floor for a neck stretch. - Hold for 30 to 45 seconds while breathing deeply. To release, bring your hands to your hips and straighten your front leg. Repeat on the other side.
This sense of grounding down and opening the heart can be related back in our daily lives. We are reminded to stay rooted in our beliefs but find strength to push through when stuck in a rut or are face with difficult choices and challenges. Plus, side body opening and breathing always feels good. Tune into your breath, try practicing this pose today and your body will thank you!
I don't really know many people who don't enjoy pumpkin soup-- whether 6 years old or 60, it is just one of those things which is universally loved. However, I decided that rather than giving you all a traditional pumpkin soup recipe, I'd vamp it up a little a give you the big kid recipe (calling it an adult recipe would mean admitting I am an adult...and that is far too scary a thought).
Enter the Spicy Roast Pumpkin Soup.
Pumpkin Soup Recipe
Sweet and Smokey Pumpkin Seeds
Begin by peeling, seeding and chopping up your pumpkin (hold onto the seeds as you're going to use them later on to make a seriously delicious crunchy topping for this soup!) Peel the onion and quickly chop into wedges, throw into a large bowl with peeled garlic cloves and your chopped up pumpkin. Remember, all of this is going to be zhoozhed up into a delicious soup, so there is no need to be pedantic with your cutting. Add in the oil, smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric, dried chilli flakes and salt (if you're not such a fan of spicy, reduce the chilli flakes to 1/4 of a teaspoon). Toss the spices around using your hands - way more fun than using a wooden spoon - until the pumpkin is evenly coated.
Line a baking tray with baking paper before pouring the pumpkin mix into it. Shake the baking tray a few times to ensure the pumpkin are spread out evenly - this will ensure the veggies roast really, really nicely. Place in the oven for 35 minutes while you move on to the super yummy pumpkin seeds.
Warning: these sweet and spicy roasted pumpkin seeds are crazily addictive, and there is a possibility you will have eaten them all before the soup is even ready.
These pumpkin seeds are great to just have in your cupboard, so you may want to consider making a few batches of them. Begin by rinsing the seeds under cold water, before drying them by rubbing them in a teatowel. Throw the pumpkin seeds into a bowl along with the smoked paprika, cumin and maple syrup. Toss around a few times to coat the seeds evenly. Pour the pumpkin seeds onto a small baking tray lined with baking paper and set aside. When the pumpkin is ready, turn your oven down to 150C and leave seeds to roast for 20 minutes.
When the pumpkin has finished roasting, remove from the oven. Pick out the garlic cloves and mash on a board with the back of a fork. Pull out the red onion and roughly chop with the mashed garlic - this will leave you with a seriously aromatic garlic and onion puree (it was at this point I seriously just considered adding it to some smashed avo and eating it on toast!)
Heat a tiny glug of oil in a large pot and add fry the onion and garlic mix for 5 or so minutes. Scoop the pumpkin into the pot and follow by adding in the stock. Blend until smooth using a barmix and bring to the boil. Season to taste and voila!!
I served mine with the sweet and smokey pumpkin seeds, some parsley (coriander is also delicious), as well as a few dollops of garlic cashew cream.
Corinne Marabel, creator of A Vegan Kitchen, never intended to follow a vegan diet, much less did she intend on creating what she has today. In July of 2013, feeling constantly run down and tired and after spending far too many months treating my body like a garbage bin, Corinne decided to turn from vegetarianism to veganism for a short detox. However, days turned in to weeks, and she began to find herself feeling not only better internally, but completely inspired to create beautiful and clean vegan dishes.
Check out @avegankitchen instagram page, and ebooks!
At this time, the moon is making a close relationship with the wounded healer in the sky, Chiron. He is encouraging us to explore our own healing power. Is it time to finally heal a core wound? Or, do you want to become a healer yourself? Now is a good time to step fully into the light and embrace the healing energy this moon is shining upon you right now.
On the low side, this moon’s energy may have us digging in our heels and resisting change. Any time we feel resistance, this is a signal that we are not yet free. As a spiritual practitioner, look inward and find the resistance, free it with meditation and ritual practice (try the ritual below), and move past it toward your higher purpose. Alchemical Ritual for the Taurus Full Moon
As an earth sign, Taurus loves to feel the sensual beauty all around and manifest earthly abundance and pleasures whenever possible. On the low side, however, this grounded energy makes us stuck and stagnant, disallowing growth and flow states. This full moon ritual for Taurus helps to accentuate the high side of this energy which uses the power of the earth to create beauty and abundance inside and out.
Taurus’ ruler is Venus, the great goddess of love and beauty. In her we see the energy of attraction, sensuality and connectedness. To enhance this energy in your ritual, gather green stones such as jade, tourmaline or peridot and place them in the center of your ritual space. Bring in the earth element in some way, either with a small bowl of dirt, a plant, or do the ritual outside. Rose and Sandalwood essential oil can be used to anoint your heart chakra before and after your ceremony. Use sage, sweet grass or palo santo to cleanse yourself and the space by casting the smoke over yourself and encircling your own body three times. Light a few candles and dim the lights. Sit in the center of your space and place the hands on the ground. Connect deeply to earth energy and call forth the sensual wisdom it offers. Feel the energy moving into your seat, your legs, your hands and up through your body into your heart. Coordinate the breath with the flow of energy. When you establish a consistent current, meditate on the question: What does my heart want? Your answer is not trivial, and it will likely come quietly and simply. Any running dialogue is not from the heart, but from the ego, so listen closely to the answer from the heart. Once you receive your answer, choose one stone, hold it firmly in your right hand and say the following invocation out loud:
Venus, please show me the path to manifesting my heart’s greatest desire.
Spend a few moments in quiet contemplation. Clear the mind of thoughts completely. Feel the sensation within the heart, and allow for the invocation to sink in and begin to show you your path. Allow any symbols, sensations, emotions or energy to arise and continue to quietly witness all that happens without judgement or thought.
When complete, place your hand on your heart and chant Om three times. Place your hands in prayer at the heart with the stone inside and recognize this talisman that you have now charged with the energy of your heart’s desire. Snuff the candles and place the talisman somewhere prominently enough that you are reminded daily of the path to your heart’s fullest expression. This ritual creates a connection between you and your heart, and allows you to walk forward on a clear path of manifesting abundance for yourself and all around you.
It’s always a joke to people outside the yoga world that so many yogis and meditators could be so devoted to their daily practice and still be so neurotic. But look around – it’s true, isn’t it? Embarrassingly so. And yet we show up daily to work out our neurosis through yoga and meditation. What could be the problem?
I feel this neurosis springs from our fear of life passing us by before we’ve really locked in to the experience of it.
And yet, why should life be just out of reach when we’re so present to the desire?
Why is that epic destiny we know we’re meant for always out there and never right here? Did we make a wrong turn somewhere? Maybe we need to check our navigation app.
And therein lays the pit: GPS CONCIOUSNESS.
GPS Consciousness – a term coined by my teacher Guru Jagat – refers to the lazy method of navigating the world, the one in which you can’t find your way to your own mailbox without a smartphone app barking orders at you. Yes – it has gotten that bad. And GPS Consciousness also refers to a psychology where you can’t navigate the pathways of your existence without checking in with an external directional command.
It’s a kind of psychology in which we define our priorities by the value system of Kim Kardashian or the latest “It girl.” And it’s a method of being in which we seek our destinies in the examples laid out to us by others –celebrities, religious authorities, parents, community elders or even just peers with higher status then our own.
This is GPS Consciousness. And this method of living will never yield the magical, rare, exhilarating life you’ve got the hunger for. That’s why it’s time to eff your GPS!
And now is the perfect time to do so.
As we turn from fall to winter, the nights are longer and there is literally less visible distraction. It’s a cyclically easier time to go within and develop what Guru Jagat calls, your Intuitive Guidance System. Where you begin to navigate the streams of life based on a sensory, internal estimation of things.
This is one of the reasons I love and teach Kundalini Yoga. In literally three minutes, you can reactivate your intuitive being – through glandular balance, sensory synchronicity and a clear mind. The results of living life this way are magical.
Try it. You’ll like it. And then you’ll start living.
Harmanjot Kaur is a lover of the cosmos, bad comedies, high-end health-food, beauty and the compassionate space of metaphysics. She is a lead Kundalini teacher at the RA MA Institute in Venice, CA. When teaching or writing, she is crafting her own beauty products or reading the works of high masters and dwelling in the rarified consciousness.
A cancer diagnosis, a car accident, a death of a loved one, a broken heart: any one of these can occur and knock us off of our feet. Yet, we cannot have the light without the dark. How do we see reflection without shadow?
Life is a series of twists, turns, peaks, and valleys. No matter how we manifest our dreams, they don’t usually march along obediently in a linear fashion. In the tough times, we can’t hold ourselves back or shrink from life.
One way to work through pain and suffering is by stepping onto your yoga mat. Your yoga practice is a safe haven from the perils of the everyday world. Where you can process the emotions that can feel overwhelming.
We aren’t pretending darkness doesn’t exist. No, it’s more of a recognition that we need to travel through the shadows, experience the blinding pain, even when we aren’t sure we can bear it. Only by moving through, however, by trusting in the process of the universe, by trusting in our own power to heal can we evolve and find empowering liberation.
What would it take to release the fear, to process the pain, to lift your hands up in the air in reckless abandon and accept you’re on this ride called life? Sickness, death, lost love—we all experience these realities of life. Gather your courage and enter the darkness. Trust yourself.
Remember Haruki Murakami’s quote: Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. We can all handle pain. Suffering is the identification with the pain. Learning to release it after you’ve grieved can set you free.
Accept the challenges. Work through them with bold powerful strokes regardless of the tremors of insecurity and doubt. You’ll emerge on the other side stronger, more powerful, and ready to fly.
Choose one of our weekly offerings to release some of the trauma trapped in your physical body. Or, just enjoy four more awesome classes designed for you:
1. Christen Bakken - Lessons From the Ladies: Ma Kali
Kali: Be Unafraid of the Dark. Kali has been somewhat falsely named, The Dark One. She is known for her black tongue, a necklace of skulls, and her overall fierceness. What I find most interesting and inspiring about Kali is she comes in to clean up the dark. So many of us run away from what is dark or uncomfortable- whether that is a deep hip opener or a painful relationship in our lives. Kali does not run. She walks in, does what is necessary, and cleans it up. She literally laps up the darkness and clears the path. Can we embody this in our practice and in our lives? Would being bold, sailing in darkness, and clearing the path be a new strategy for facing our lives?
2. Guru Jagat - Cardio Kundalini 1: Digestion
In this short but powerful Kundalini Yoga Work out you will receive a total glandular system reset through aerobic and anaerobic activity and work up a deep, cellular sweat. Ready to feel amazing and radiant? Then this class is for you!
3. Blair Bradley - Slow Burn Yoga
Do you feel like you are rushing all day? Would you like to take some time to slow down? Challenge your practice by moving through this slow paced class with your eyes closed. Enjoy slowly flowing through grounding poses and then challenge your balance with this inward practice.
4. Kristen Boyle - IndieFlow Quick Hamstring Release
In this short sequence, Kristen Boyle will guide you through a Supta Padangustasana series that will open up tight hamstrings, and relieve low back pain. This series is a perfect follow-up to a vigorous workout, or as a mid-day break at work.
What I really got from camp this year, both from my own experiences and witnessing each of the campers there, was that there are really three things we all need to live epic lives and be true to ourselves- in essence, to have total freedom and sovereignty in our lives.
The best part? You don’t have to go looking for these things. They aren’t something you have to “figure out” or wait for. They are already within you.
The 3 Things You Need To Be Free
1. DESIRE:
First and foremost, you have to want it. You have to desire becoming who you are more than you fear what it will take.
Desire can feel uncomfortable. It can feel a little unsafe. To desire something is to acknowledge that you don’t currently have it, or you are seeking it. Declaring a desire is saying you know what you want and it matters to you. You have to let it matter.
This can feel a little edgy. This is also a place that a lot of people stay. Desiring something, wanting it, yearning for it, but not doing anything about it. That’s why desire is only the first step. It’s needed because without desire, we wouldn’t feel the drive to make changes.
Ask yourself: What do you desire? What do you long for? What is your secret wish for your life and yourself?
2. WILLINGNESS:
Secondly, you have to be willing to choose differently than you have in the past.
You have to be willing to face whatever is standing in the way of being all of you and loving yourself. The stories, memories, patterns, emotions, physical and mental barriers.. all of it.
You have to choose to be in it, to face it, to question it, to FEEL it- even if you have no idea what’s going to happen next.
You have to be willing to not know, and choose it anyway.
Because when we decide step into freedom, into alignment, into authenticity, into the truth of who we are- it means that everything in our life that is not congruent and in integrity with that truth is going to become very clear. Patterns, relationships, habits, environments, thoughts- anything that is out of line with your essence and soul is going to be ready for an upheaval.
It can feel intense sometimes. It is certainly to always gentle. To be willing requires a fierce surrender into the unknown.
Ask yourself: What have I been avoiding in my life? Where have I become complacent about something I don’t enjoy? What am I willing to face right now? What does it feel like to choose ME?
3. COURAGE:
Finally, you have to choose courage.
Courage comes from the Latin ‘cor’ which means ‘heart’.
Courage literally means to live from your heart. It means choosing what’s inside you and written in your soul, even if that goes against everything you’ve been taught to keep you safe.
When you choose this path, again, even if you don’t know what it’s going to look like, even if there is no roadmap, that choice, day in and day out, that courageous decision to be you, no apologies, to face whatever you need to face- from there, everything is possible.
And you have to practice it, day in and day out. Courage (and desire, and willingness) is a living, breathing thing. It lives within you, and like anything else, needs to be tended, cared for, and nurtured. When you practice courage, both big and small, ordinary and extraordinary, you open up space for your dreams to come true.
Ask yourself: What action could I take today that is edgy for me? What does my heart say about where to go next? If I didn’t fear judgement or rejection, what choice would I make right now?
Every single human is filled with these three things. Sometimes they end up living under a layer or two (or five) of fear, self-doubt, social anxiety, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t inside of you.
Everyone, including you (especially you if you’re reading this), has the capacity to stand for their desires, to be willing to face what’s not working, and to have the courage to choose truth and love.
This is the magic you guys. It isn’t finally losing a certain amount of weight or checking boxes off a list. It isn’t always eating a certain way or being in control of everything.
The magic is in the choices you make. It is choosing that how you feel is valid simply because you feel it, and whatever it is your heart desires, you are willing to go after it simply because you want to.
You are so darn magical. And every day, every breath, is an opportunity to remember that and make choices that reflect it.
Shine bright and shine on!
Equal parts earth mama, mermaid, and magic glitter, Kate Marolt is an embodiment coach, speaker, yoga teacher, and founder of Unbound Living. Kate is a fierce advocate for women’s empowerment and wisdom, and with over 1000 hours of training in yoga, fitness, energy, philosophy, spiritual practices, and emotional processing tools, she is uniquely placed to guide you back into alignment, integration, and wholeness. Kate is dedicated to helping you understand your body’s messages and inner wisdom so you can feel ALIVE, joyful, and free to be exactly who you are, inside and out.
When you're done, pamper yourself with this nourishing hand cream.
Make one for yourself or as a thoughtful gift for friends or family!
Ingredients: 1 small clean jar ($1.50 at Michaels) 1 cup coconut oil (I like Trader Joe's Organic, Virgin oil best) 1/2 cup sesame or sweet almond oil 2 oz beeswax (ea. bar is an ounce) 1 small stove top pan and 1 large
Fill the large pan 1/2 way with water. Bring to a boil.
Combine oils and beeswax in small pan, place over boiling water.
Heat just until the beeswax melts. Beeswax burns easily so you may want to pull it off the stove just before it's fully melted. When the wax is fully melted add 20 drops of lavender and 5-10 drops of lemon essential oil. Keep in mind the lemon will overpower the lavender.
Move quickly and pour the oils, beeswax, and essential oil into your small jar as the oil will begin to set. The oil has a really beautiful golden hue when it completely sets. I had enough left over to keep one and give three other little jars away as gifts!
I finished it off with a jute tie, gift tag, and calligraphy pen. Enjoy!
Originally from Denver, Cicily moved to Boulder in 2011 where she first stepped into a Boulder yoga studio. The culture around the studio and the sense of community drew her back to the studio time and time again. She was drawn the wisdom of her instructors and the balance her practice provided in her life. She had come to the mat for an exercise but she found she was leaving with a lot more. After realizing how much yoga was changing every avenue of her life, she took a leap of faith and enrolled in a 200 hour Hot Yoga Teacher Training in October 2012 and has been teaching yoga daily ever since. Cicily is thankful she discovered yoga early in her life and she aims to inspire confidence, happiness, and joy in her students.
Before I made a conscious decision to venture into the unknown and debunk my uneducated misconceptions of yoga by making the journey down to one of the remotest little corners of the Costa Rican jungle, I knew as much about yoga as Donald Trump knows about self-censoring.
Throwing myself headlong into the deep end, I found myself at the gates of the majestic Blue Osa Yoga Retreat and Spa that sits like a treasure amongst the leaves, to live and work under their roof for an entire 5 weeks. At this point my knowledge of yoga amounted to this; I knew it was good for flexibility and on a vaguer level, I was pretty sure I’d read it could really help people suffering with sciatica, of which I was one of the unfortunates.
Gradually though, as I spent time amongst the people who had paid good money to find their way to this peaceful little haven, I heard their stories and quickly came to realise that it wasn’t all just the hippy BS that I had ignorantly dismissed it as before. Some of these people had used yoga to change their lives for the better, as part of their rehabilitation after an injury or as a restorative crutch to aid in recovery from substance or alcohol abuse.
After immersing myself in yoga for an entire month I could clearly see the positive changes in myself. It made me curious about what other benefits yoga might hold. So I decided to do some research.
Here are just 7 of an ever-expanding long list of proven benefits yoga has for our bodies:
1. CIRCULATION: LET IT FLOW!
One of yoga’s biggest benefits is an increased metabolism. Yes, you heard right…yoga keeps you thin! When we eat, our bodies break down the food into nutrients which provide the body with energy. The speed in which our body does this is called our metabolic rate (of which everybody’s is different). Our metabolic rates can differ depending on many different variables such as age, size, or gender but having good circulation is key. Good circulation provides our organs and muscles with oxygen and a constant supply of nutrients which we use as energy. Yoga helps improve the circulatory system through the deep breathing techniques we use. This opens up the arteries, releasing pressure and allowing blood to flow quicker. The advanced technique called Bellows Breath is especially effective for achieving this
2. DIGESTIVE: BURN BABY BURN!
A poor digestive system affects the whole body, including the metabolism. Since the majority of the digestive tract is in the abdomen, strengthening your core muscles can help to improve functionality. Stomach exercises are perfect for this although twists can also help massage and wring out toxins blocked in the intestines. For the abdomen think Plank, or Boat pose. For twists try Eagle, Twisted Chair, Supine Twist or the aptly named Half Gas Release pose!
3. MUSCLES: LEAN, MEAN, YOGA MACHINE!
Anyone that has ever attended a power flow yoga class can attest that it is a proper work out. A lot of the asanas we practice on our mats require us to hold our own body weight. Here, the body automatically targets large muscle groups and uses the smaller muscles to help achieve each position. Yoga tests strength, balance, and flexibility – challenging the body in a multitude of ways so it’s working as one unit. When multiple muscle groups work in conjunction, muscle starts to increase in size and density. The more muscle we build; the more calories we burn, the faster our metabolic rate.
4. REDUCED STRESS AND ANXIETY: JUST BREATH!
Take it from someone who has been there. Stress and Anxiety disorders are no fun. Yoga has been accredited as a great way to relieve the symptoms related not only with these disorders but also the day to day stress we pick up at work and in our social lives. Meditation and seated poses are often recommended for the best results. Deep breathing techniques are regularly used to counter feelings of anxiety or panic. Sitting on a chair, Sun Pose, has been proven to calm the amygdala, the brain structure that can be hyper alert to threats, while it’s cousin Sun Breath pose or Sun Breath twist, helps by lifting the ribcage to promote a deeper calming breath while at the same time twisting to relieve abdominal stress.
5. FLEXIBILITY: FLEXIBLE FRIENDS!
The obvious one! Everybody knows that yogi’s increase their flexibility by gradually practicing yoga. Though form and breathing are incredibly important for proper results, even I myself have experienced noticeable improvements in this department. Especially those troublesome short hamstrings! Using aids such as straps and blocks can help beginners in the early days.
6. BRAIN FUNCTION: ALL IN YOUR HEAD!
The old adage tells us ‘Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise’. Although unfortunately, I can’t tell you that yoga has increased my wallet size, I can report that falling into a routine of an early morning yoga class with a restorative class at the end of the day has not only left me energized and creatively charged (remember I’m a writer) but also left me nicely relaxed and ready to roll in for an early night. A 20 minute Hatha yoga routine has been proven to improve cognitive functions such as focus and information retention. The stress relief it brings can improve our moods which makes us more receptive to learning.
7. POSTURE: HEARD IT ON THE STRAIGHT SPINE!
Many of the yoga poses we find ourselves practicing on our mats are designed to improve suppleness and flexibility in our bodies. We also pay a lot of attention to the alignment of our pelvis, spine, head and shoulders, making sure our bones are stacked correctly. Making sure we do this relieves tension, strengthens our muscles, and promotes the natural curvature of the spine.
Chris Barkess is a blogger and aspiring author in his thirties. He also drives trains in his hometown of Newcastle, England. His love of travelling brought him together with his fiancé, Holly, another like-minded travel nut, and the love of his life. Together they embarked on an adventure in 2015 to explore Latin America where they fell in love with the culture. Aside from writing – his undisputable first love, Chris enjoys reading, running, football, and being fully immersed in nature. He is a self-proclaimed Stephen King fanatic.
Chris admits to having been initially sceptical and openly dismissive of Yoga until he realised the benefits it had to offer him; physically, mentally and spiritually. He now recognises the depths to his ignorance.
“The ultimate ignorance is rejecting something you know nothing about, yet refuse to investigate” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
Follow Chris and Holly as they continue on their adventures!
The potential for Yoga happens every second of every day, whether you realize it or not.
As I examine my path, I realize I’ve always been practicing.
You see, my practice is to examine and to analyze and to experience and to contemplate and to synthesize. That’s what I’m uniquely predisposed to do naturally in this lifetime. However, this creates a near-constant inner tension between my highest self yearning for freedom and my ego yearning for certainty. I can choose the path that will give me the most satisfaction but will pit me against every fear and doubt I can imagine or I can choose the path that will give me the most money and I’ll still be good at it and get lots of praise and appear to be “doing really well.”
I’ve come to believe we all have these two competing Selves battling for survival. Our practice is about figuring out which one is truly right for us and then being content with that choice.
The first reason I came to yoga
I don’t really remember my first yoga class ever. I rented DVD’s from the library in high school and maybe dilly dallied here and there with some yoga. In college I took a yoga class because I was feeling really stressed out and I needed to figure out how to self-regulate and calm myself down.
In the beginning, I came to yoga because I was seeking self-control. I was trying to find a way to help me calm myself down so I could stop having panic attacks.
Somewhere along the way, I started to become interested in DVD exercise programs. I started practicing a more physical form of yoga from the P90X DVD and knew that I wanted to continue taking yoga classes to help me maintain the level of fitness I had achieved during the DVD program. This is when I started going to a yoga studio.
Now, I was taking yoga to stay in shape, with the added benefit of it helping me calm down.
Secretly, and only apparent to me in hindsight, yoga was also introducing me to a sense of community I didn’t have at the time. I got involved in the studio and took programs that allowed me to develop closer relationships with teachers and fellow students.
Going all in and then retreating
Then, I got an internship at a yoga company. My panic attacks were getting better, I was in the best shape of my life and I got excited, so the yoga industry became my career. I was still using my English, marketing, PR, journalism, and writing skills that I worked so hard to hone but now I was applying those skills for a cause I really believed in. Plus, I was continuing to feel safe and supported in an incredible community.
I was getting closer to yoga as a way of life but at some point, I got disenchanted with the whole yoga industry career thing and I quit. I started my own business continuing to use my marketing skills to help others in all sorts of small businesses. I had also just finished my yoga teacher training. At the same time my professional corporate yoga career was dying my teaching career was being born.
Yoga became a hobby. I continued to work away at my business while teaching a couple classes on the side. It was during this time that teaching yoga became my passion. It was also during this time that I was overwhelmed and exhausted and I started to explore more gentle and therapeutic practices. Yoga became nourishing and not just about the physical fitness.
Yoga off the mat
Then I moved. Yoga became my lifesaver. The practice reminded me how to thrive in a place I didn’t think I could live in and be happy. Yoga, again, created community in a place I didn’t feel I belonged. I got excited (again) and chose teaching yoga as my career. But it was unsustainable at the time where I lived so I picked up more marketing work and split my time.
I moved again. Yoga allowed me to find a community, but it quickly became a job. I lacked inspiration as I continued to be distracted by other opportunities.
I moved a third time. This time I had a lot more opportunity to teach yoga based on where I am living. The possibility of teaching yoga as a career re-appeared and I pounced. Yoga was/is again my career.
But some of that disenchantment started to creep back in. I could see myself easily being tempted by paths that I knew in my heart didn’t fit what I really want to do. This time I stood strong, turned down opportunities, and quit gigs that no longer fit. I kept refining and learning and teaching as I figured out who I wanted to be as a yoga teacher. Yoga became my lab.
Somewhere along the way, yoga became my life.
Yoga as a way of life
That doesn’t mean that I practice postures all the time. That doesn’t mean that I spend my days in studios, although I do spend a lot of time in studios because I enjoy being there.
Yoga, as a system, has become the structure that I’ve needed in my life — the container — from which I’ve gained the confidence, inspiration, and conviction to show up fully as me.
And let me tell you, it’s been a journey getting here.
Also, I’m only here for this moment. Tomorrow is another day and yoga will continue to evolve for me as my life continues to unfold. It’s supposed to be that way.
I don’t know why you need yoga, which is why I don’t particularly like telling people exactly what to do. But I do know that if you feel like you’re floundering around in your life and you’re looking for some type of structure that will still give you freedom, yoga can be that framework that gives you permission to thrive, to live, to heal, to nourish, to explore, to be.
Yoga won’t fix you
Yoga is complex because our lives are complex. At the same time it’s a simple system that we make complex because we try to make yoga be more then it is. We try to make yoga be the thing that will fix us. It won’t.
We try to make yoga be the thing that will save us. Ultimately, only you can save yourself. Yoga can help you get there, but yoga itself won’t save you. You showing up to do the work will save you. You being open to new possibilities will save you. You having faith and hope will save you. Yoga gives you the structure and permission to show up, to become open and stay open, to find faith and hope, and to believe in yourself as a divine being. You save you.
The original intent
Yoga, traditionally, was a practice derived to help us transcend consciousness.
Truthfully, that’s not why I practice yoga. I believe that if you practice yoga devoutly you can transcend consciousness. But I’m not sure in this moment that this is what I’m after.
Yoga has certainly evolved my consciousness and will continue to do so. If my path towards transcended consciousness is a gradual slope of evolution, I’m okay with that. I’m not trying to transcend. I’m only hoping to evolve.
Just like in the beginning, I wasn’t trying to transcend, I just wanted to relax. I just wanted to be fit. I just wanted to fit in and connect with people who get me and accept me for who I am. I just wanted a job. I just wanted to help others. I just wanted to teach. I just wanted to learn.
I just want to live.
Yoga let’s me live.
It’s my hope that yoga lets you live too.
So why did you come to yoga? And how, if at all, has this practice changed for you over time?
Namaste.
Ask a teacher. Starting your home practice can seem overwhelming at first. There are so many different poses to choose from and even more videos and online programs. Unless you're familiar with the poses or teacher already, it will nearly be impossible to navigate through all these resources. My suggestion is to ask your favorite local yoga teacher, who already knows you well, to help you develop a short home practice. Make sure you are clear that it has to be accessible and no longer than 10 to 15 minutes, or about 15 poses. Even if your instructor simply writes the poses for you via email, that's a great way to get started.
Make space. Have a spot designated in your house or apartment for yoga. It doesn’t have to be anything glamorous or “zen,” but it should be able to fit your mat and allow you the freedom to move around comfortably. Have a free wall nearby to help with balance, inversions and other modifications. Reserving a spot for yoga makes it easier to practice at home regularly. Mentally, a yoga space helps you commit to sticking with it.
[Read: 7 Benefits of Yoga for Men.]
Have a routine. Pick a time during the day to set aside for yoga. Make it a priority for yourself. Just like brushing your teeth, it’s not negotiable. It is your health, after all. The best time for a home practice is in the morning, before anything else comes up and derails you. Have a core sequence of poses that you practice every time. A sequence that you repeat is a great way to keep you focused, strong and flexible. If you’ve been practicing and making progress, you don’t want to lose it. Stick with a regimen, and it will make you feel more at home and yourself when you practice it.
Keep it short and simple. Have a home practice that you can complete in 10 to 15 minutes. While practicing for an hour is preferable, the idea is that you get what you need in your session, even when you’re short on time. A few poses I suggest: down dog, hip-opener, thigh stretch, hamstring stretch, back-bend, twist, seated forward-fold and standing poses, such as side-angle and triangle. They are infinitely deep and powerful when opening and strengthening your body.
[Read: Yoga for People Who Are Overweight or Obese.]
Mix it up. Always have a core set of poses you practice. However, if you find yourself getting bored with your sequence, include different poses and variations. Keep it fun and light-hearted. Just be sure to know your limitations and when to practice humility and patience.
Challenge yourself. When you work hard on something that you love to do, it's rewarding, and that's the key to keep your mind clear and happy. There is no limit to the ways to challenge your yoga practice. Work toward a new pose. Start a timer, and hold poses for a minute or two. If you work at your physical edge without crossing it, then you’re making progress. The payoff is worth the sweat and effort you put in. (Note, however, that if you’re short of breath, clenching your jaw or in pain, you’ve gone too far.)
Gather the proper supplies. Safety is key. For healthy alignment, have these props: a yoga mat, two yoga blocks, a blanket and a strap to allow for modifications in the poses. Every pose can be adjusted with or without props. The props make the postures accessible and offer more options to continue to advance while staying safe. As you become knowledgeable on how to carefully place more injury-prone parts of your body in the postures, like lowering your knees to the ground, you only need the mat beneath you and the space to move freely.
[Read: Save Money on Yoga by Making Your Own Props.]
Get inspired. A great resource for all levels of yoga practitioners is the "Yoga Resource Practice Manual" e-book by Darren Rhodes. Darren is an excellent teacher and yogi. His e-book is thorough yet concise, and it provides pictures of each posture. The pictures alone are inspirational. If you’re in it for the long haul, this is a great home-practice tool.
Have no shame. Own it. Get your practice in anytime and anywhere. Bust out a down-dog or forward-fold in the airport, the office or in the hotel room.Take care of yourself first, and everyone around you will benefit from you being more grounded and happy.
Make it work for you. No matter what technique you use to continue your practice, stay with it. Do more of what works and less of what doesn't. Believe in yourself and believe you are worth it!
[Read: 5 Yoga Poses You Can Do on an Airplane.]
By Jake Panasevich
ERYT-200
Drawing from over seven intensive trainings, Jake Panasevich threads the most beneficial practices from different modalities into a unique yoga experience for inflexible, stressed, over-worked regular Americans. Jake is a yoga and wellness mentor and teacher to a large, committed group of beginners and advanced students alike. With a strong wrestling, coaching and writing background, Jake inspires students to get committed, get stronger and learn to love life and flourish in it.
Jake works with:
Guys who want to live healthy and pain-free Former athletes who are tight and injured Those who want to avoid surgery and expensive alternatives to yoga Those who love to be challenged in a way that supports them
Visit www.yogawithjake.com to get motivated, feel great and get committed!
Ingredients:
(and this is what I had on tap this morning. It changes, so feel free to use what's available in your kitchen)
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup coconut flakes (I added a bit more because I love the texture of coconut flakes)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup (this time I added about 2 more tablespoons as I'm feeling sweet this morning)
1 tsp. vanilla (sometimes I pour a little over)
Directions:
Mix first 7 ingredients together in a bowl (oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, vanilla and salt). Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat up 1/4 cup coconut oil. Once it has melted, add the maple syrup and vanilla. Stir into bowl that was set aside with granola mixture. I use a rubber spatula to really get in there and make sure everything is mixed nicely.
Next step is not necessary, but makes for a great texture: Get out your high speed blender or food processor. Transfer about 2/3 of the granola mixture to the blender/processor and pulse. Just make sure you don't turn this into dust. You still want some chunks. The purpose of this is to break down the mixture a little bit.
Once you are satisfied with what your blended/pulsed mixture looks like, transfer that back to the bowl with the other 1/3. Mix well.
Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet that has been oiled with coconut oil (today I used a deeper set pan). Use a rubber spatula to push down the mixture firmly.
Place in oven for 20-25 minutes on 325 F. Do continually check on your granola -- as it can easily burn.
Enjoy in your favorite way. I love to add it to a bowl of yogurt, with blackberries and line the outside of my bowl with honey.
Learning that she and we are more capable than we give ourselves credit for, Meredith Cameron creates space for students to reach out, dig deeper, and not take themselves too seriously. Yoga and traveling are two life loves that seem to go hand and hand. Follow Meredith around the world with her workshops and retreats - 500+ hour CYT. To find out more about Meredith visit www.mcameronyoga.com
Shakti is the creative energy of the universe and exists both inside and outside of us. In Hindu philosophy, Shakti means divine female energy. We all have a combination of the feminine Shakti and Shiva, or masculine energy.
The goddess Shakti is constantly moving, changing, transforming and is often referred to as Prakriti. Her counterpart, Shiva, often referred to as Purusha, represents stability or the unmoving.
By tapping into your own Shakti, you empower yourself to be your most creative self, and to make changes that help you become the best version of yourself. Magnifying the power of change within unifies us with the universe around us. When we’re in tune with nature and the natural flow of the world, we feel more vital, energetic and spiritually in tune. Deb Rubin’s Shakti Flow: Yoga & Dance will get you moving!
A Shakti-focused yoga practice emphasizes flowing, almost dance-like movements. Digging into the core and creating heat in our navel chakra or center builds heat to encourage change. Try Nothing But Core by Claire Petretti Marti to see what we mean.
Focus on fluidity, grace, and power not just in the asana, but also with pranayama or controlling one’s breath. Choosing a mantra or mantras dedicated to manifesting the change we wish to see in our lives is another important element of a Shakti yoga practice. Mark Morford’s Firestarter will shake up your routine and maybe even your life!
Courage comes when we act despite any fear. Move your personal blocks with Kristen Gibowicz’s Courageous Flow.
Try one of this week’s classes to see how luminous and alive you can feel. If you don’t have time for a full class, try dancing around your living room and let your inner glow shine!
Yogic binds involve trying to bring hands together by opening the shoulders and rotating the torso. There are many different types of binds, and as with all things yoga—different levels appropriate for anyone, no matter how bendy they are or how fit they are.
Binding is great for increasing mental focus and deepening postures. There are also lots of variations of binds. There are sitting binds and standing binds, binds that may remind you of such twists as a pretzel. If you want to learn more about yogic binds and perhaps add some to your practice, this graphic can help.
Be sure to warm up the body with easier postures BEFORE moving into the deeper openings. It is extremely important to stay tuned into your body and know if binding is not for you. Pushing yourself and your body isn't worth injury-- so if you're going to try it, stay present with the breath and mindful of your body.
Health Perch is a digital health magazine focusing on physical and mental wellness, as well as ways to fight signs of aging. They aim to make health and wellness easy to understand and fun to read. With Health Perch, keep up to date with the latest health articles, tips & advice. Catch them on Twitter (@HealthPerch) for even more health news, and continue learning how to become the healthiest version of YOU.
While I’ve never shopped at Nastygal and don’t have a career in fashion, I completely relate to this book’s practical advice. Sophia’s writing style is blunt, contagious and she definitely keeps it real. As a #GIRLBOSS in training, I feel totally motivated.Here are my 5 takeaways from the book:
1. A #GIRLBOSS Works Hard
No matter what you do, you have to put your heart and soul into it. No half-assing. Whether you’re vacuuming your living room floor, or teaching a yoga private, making soup for your neighbor, giving legal advice or managing a pharmaceutical company, you have to mean it and do it well with 100% of your effort. And effort doesn’t go unnoticed. You may feel as if it does sometimes when you don’t get immediate gratification, but people who matter will eventually notice. And you will be rewarded. The golden rule is: if you put effort into something, it will show results. Maybe not in the way you expected, and maybe you still don’t feel that you succeeded, but if you do the best you can, you won’t have any regrets.
2. A #GIRLBOSS Values Every Experience
For as much as we all love to hear about our cousin Laura who knew in kindergarten she wanted to be an eye doctor, and goes and does exactly that, we have to realize that not everyone has the same path. And although it seems easier for Laura the eye doctor to have it all figured out while we are to struggling talking to college advisors and taking the Myers-Briggs 5 times, it doesn’t mean that she’s not busting ass in med school and having to sacrifice years of her life to study rounded over her desk in the library so that she can one day fix our eyes. So maybe we didn’t have an epiphany in kindergarten and we still don’t know what we want to be in life, but the good news is there’s other people like us out there. In fact the majority of people are confused on what to do. The key lays in appreciating every single job and every single experience that comes across. IF anything, it will teach you what you DON”T like, and that’s start.
For example, that job you had in high school standing outside Whole Foods getting people to donate for Greenpeace? And you hated it because everyone took the long route to get in the store even at the cost of stumbling in the grocery carts just so they wouldn’t have to talk to you? You can probably thank that job because it motivated you to find a different job that you enjoyed more.
Did you know I had a lot random jobs? I picked lavender, worked in a cheese factory, worked in a costume shop, fed elderly in a nursing home and taught Italian to drooling pre-schoolers all before I even finished college undergrad in Legal Studies, which has nothing to do with yoga.
Earning my college degree was a struggle but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I didn’t like having to sit through classes, the all-nighters before finals, and being permanently broke. But at the same time I really thrived from being in an educated environment which forced me to think critically and learn to write properly. At the end of the day, I can look at that piece of paper that constitutes my BA and say: ”I did it. And if I did that (and it was hard), I can do anything else I put my mind to.” Right now I’ve been teaching yoga and barre for two years and have successfully been leading yoga retreats in Costa Rica.
3. A #GIRLBOSS Has a Vision
Having a vision is so important. Don’t be afraid to vocalize what it is that you want in the future. It is by saying it out loud that you begin the build momentum and create energy around it. And if you don’t talk about it, or write it, or dream it, or think about it, how will you ever start? Although Sophia Amoroso speaks of this concept in depth and vividly, I have to give credit to Yogi Aaron of Blue Osa for first introducing me to this idea. :) So have a vision, hold onto it, but don’t make it too narrow that you can’t take a detour and jump on the bandwagon of opportunity when the chances arise.
4. A #GIRLBOSS Owns Her Style
I live by this rule. Wear what you want and own it. Create your own style. Please don’t ever let the latest edition of Cosmopolitan dictate which color you should wear this summer. You can get anyway with anything so long as you do it with confidence. You could wear a Moschino dress, but if you feel uncomfortable in your own skin you’ll look awkward and everyone else will know it too. Or you can wear a Target tank top along with your mom’s vintage shorts and own it and look amazing. And everyone will stop you on the street to ask where you got your outfit.
5. A #GIRLBOSS Charges Ahead
If there’s one thing that social media can bring, along with tons of inspiration and worldwide connections, is discouragement and isolation. When you’re having a bad day and you look at Instagram, you will become even more depressed because so-and-so can do handstands better than you, and so-and-so has more followers than you, and so-and-so is is frolicking on a tropical beach and you’re not, and so-and-so has a good looking boyfriend and instead you’re sitting on your couch eating muffins like a lonely fatty and even the mailman won’t say hi to you. That’s when you shake it off, say “enough”, and wipe all that crap off your mind entirely.
A #GIRLBOSS charges ahead and doesn’t let anybody stop her. You are on your own mission, which will be different than any on else’s. And you should not wish to be someone else, because, well, then you wouldn’t be you. And you don’t really know what is going on in people’s lives behind one amazing photo on Instagram. They could be struggling with depression but you would never know it from their cheery blog posts.
Also, you have got to ignore your competition and the debby-downers. Don’t let them take energy that you should instead devote to carrying on your projects. Remember that people who criticize are either afraid of you, ignorant or down right envious.
By: Valentina Rose
Born and raised in Italy, Valentina is a full time yoga instructor who divides her time between Marin County, California and Matapalo, Costa Rica. When she isn’t hosting yoga retreats or blogging Valentina can be found trail running and baking quiche.
Valentinarose.me
Instagram: @valentinarose1111