Monthly Archives: September 2013

What Is There To Let Go Of This Autumn?

2011-11-13 14.33.25A new season is upon us and just as our environment is changing around us we naturally feel the shifts in our bodies, energy and emotions too.

Summer builds up heat, we can feel more out going, active and extroverted. When the Autumn hits we start to experience change, new ideas, inspiration and can want to start planning ahead for the future. The drop in temperature alongside this rush of new mind activity can lead us to feeling depleted, on edge, and off balance.

It’s important for us to take time to look after ourselves during this transition into Winter. Keep warm, eat seasonal fruits and vegetables and allow time for contemplation.

As with the leaves falling from the trees, there might be situations, emotions or people in your life where it feels like it’s time to let go. Holding on to old rusty coloured leaves is not going to help us blossom again in Spring time is it?

Take sometime to consider what is working in your life right now and what is not? Then make the decision to learn from it and let go.

Great Yoga for this time of year is fluid, grounding and solid rather then anything to hectic and stimulating. Forward bends and twists are great for allowing yourself to go within, to calm the mind. Balancing poses will be also be useful for grounding and balancing.

Make time to wrap up and enjoy walking through the Autumnal leaves, the myriad of gold, yellows, oranges, reds and browns can be truly breathtaking. I love to go right into the middle of wood and experience my senses becoming completely overtaken by the colours around.

Seasons are a perfect reminder that nothing stays the same, our life and the world is constantly evolving. When we try to grab on to something not wanting it to ever change this is when we can create pain in our lives. Allowing yourself to flow with the seasons, to embrace change and the uncertainty of it gives us sweet freedom.

Namaste

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A Great Detox Soup Recipe

Some of you may have heard me recently mention my new love of mung beans! According to Gillian McKeith they are “The detox bean” good for:

  • lowering high blood pressure
  • treating stomach ulcers & urinary problems
  • cleansing the blood by introducing more oxygen
  • liver cleansing
  • filling you with energy

I experience them as balancing my blood sugar, in fact my whole system and weight loss.

I started off under the instruction of my yoga mentor, Hilary MacRae, doing a 10 day detox where I was just to eat mung bean detox soup for 10 days. I have to admit after about 4 days I introduced muesli for breakfast and I did struggle a bit with sugar cravings but I felt good at the end of it! Since then I now eat mung bean soup for lunch and dinner at least 2 days a week, I feel really good when I do this; lighter, more energy, less sugar cravings and I have lost a bit of weight by doing it.

If you fancy giving it a go, here is how I make my mung bean detox soup!

Sauté a chopped onion in some ghee (this is what Indian’s use to make curry, it’s yummy and good for you). Then add a bit of fresh ginger, tumeric, asafoetida, and some masala spices.

Next I add in mung beans (these need to be soaked over night before hand), water and a bit of Boullion vegetable stock powder. I use a whole bag of mung beans so I can eat it throughout the week.

Bring to boiler then simmer for about 30 mins, until beans are looking soft.

When it’s near ready, in a frying pan I sauté (in ghee) some garlic, fresh ginger, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and some rock salt. Once ready I add this to the soup.

Each day when I heat it up I also add some steamed broccoli or spinach so give it some green nutrition. I eat the soup with some rice cakes for a bit of crunch.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, I actually miss it now when I don’t have it in a week and my body can really feel the difference.

Namaste

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Connect With Your Inner Silence

India2012 011On Saturday I ran a yoga workshop focusing on our Third Eye Chakra, our energy centre of insight and intuition.

While our two eyes look externally outwards, our sixth chakra sees beyond the physical and goes within. This vision includes clairvoyance, telepathy, intuition, dreaming, imagination, and visualization.

When we have too much energy flowing through the third eye we may experience headaches, hallucinations, nightmares, and difficulty concentrating. When this chakra is blocked, we might have a poor memory, experience eye problems and can’t visualize well.
When this chakra is open you have a deep connection with your purpose in life, your inner voice and you feel guided by your choices. When it is blocked there can be a sense of self doubt and distrust.

Our main focus of the workshop was to simply go within, to get into each asana (pose), close our eyes and connect with our inner silence. When you drop into your inner silence you have an opportunity to hear your intuition more clearly. Thoughts and visions may appear, which are the ones to pay attention to. It’s also a very safe and secure place to be, often we feel like our security or happiness has to come from some place external to us, when actually we have it within us all along.

To help calm your mind and connect with your inner silence I recommend the following steps.

1) Viparita Karani (legs up against the wall pose) for at least ten minutes.

2) Childs pose for at least 5 mins breathing deeply.

3) Ujjiay breath for 10-15 minutes – inhaling for 6 exhaling for 9 or 10 counts.

4) Finally allow your breath to become your normal rhythm and start to visualise a bright light surrounding you, maybe in an egg shape, so it’s completely covering you, protecting you and filling you with positive energy,

5) Next bring to mind a representation of a place that is safe and secure to you. Maybe it’s your bedroom, a beach, in a wood, where ever feels safe for you. Look around at what you see there, notice what you can hear and feel what ever feelings come up. Once you have it clearly in your mind just sit there soaking up the feeling of quiet, secure stillness.

6) When you are ready return, knowing that place is always there for you to access when ever you feel you need to.

My next yoga workshop will be on 5th October and will be a journey through all of the chakra’s. For more details see my workshop page.

Namaste

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