by admin | Oct 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
You’ve likely heard of the word karma and know it is used when referencing something that appears to be either good or bad coming across your path. Perhaps you’ve heard that those with ‘good karma’ have an easier life and those with ‘bad karma’ suffer more. The saying “I must have done something awful in a past life” when referencing a tough situation is common. I’d like to suggest that our understanding of karma shift to a more day to day focus. Understanding karma can influence the way our lives play out. There are plenty of opportunities right now to attend to your karmas. What are Karmas? Karmas are those things that cross our path that cause a reaction. Instead of acting, we react. Our reactions are drawn from a whole history of experiences. An experience you had as a child, teenager or adult in the past can influence your REaction to an experience you have today. This REaction is the karma. Karmas are learning opportunities that come along, via experience. Karmas are the keys to liberating ourselves from pain. Go karmas! By observing our karmas (our reactions) to particular experiences, we can consciously shift from living in the past into the present moment, avoiding re-experiencing yesterday’s pain/lessons AGAIN. So instead of wanting them to go away, be grateful for the lessons, and be committed to learning and moving on. How to observe your karmas and move on: In each moment, check in on how you feel. When that person who pushes your buttons approaches you at work and you get that ‘oh no, here we go, I know what’s coming…’ feeling,...
by admin | Oct 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
There’s a Green smoothie phenomena being adopted all over the world. A green smoothie is a combination of dark green leafy vegetables and whatever else you like (fruit, nuts, seeds, honey, etc) all blended into a filling, hydrating smoothie. Now that the weather is warming up and porridge is not so appealing, I suggest you get into the green smoothie for breakfast. I first started with them when I did a detox that involved giving up my muesli and tea for a smoothie and was surprised at how energising and super cell-replenishing, blood-purifying, immune system supporting and generally overall-nourishing it feels! Now I love them and like to have them daily. Blending fruits and vegetables together breaks down the cells of plants and improves digestibility, maximizing their delivery to your body. Dark green leafy vegetables are, calorie for calorie, probably the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. An excellent source of many vitamins A, B, C, K and folate, as well as minerals such as iron and calcium. Dark leafy’s are also a great source of fibre. As a yoga teacher, I’m out and about during odd hours of the day and some evenings and my meal times can be a bit sporadic. By starting with the greens, I find comfort in knowing I’ve had a good serve of vitamins and minerals first thing. So if my day gets away from me and my diet isn’t quite as fresh or vitamin packed as I could have it, at least I’ve nourished myself well first thing in the morning. Particularly suited to a green smoothie include: Kale, silverbeet,...
by admin | Sep 28, 2012 | Uncategorized
This week in our yoga we worked on a set to relax and release fears. We did this by using postures and movement that work specifically on the liver, spleen and kidneys. These organs are affected by and connected to the emotions of anger, fear and worry. With that in mind, I want to highlight how important it is to care for the organs in the body to support us to feel more balanced in our experience of emotions, such as anger, fear and worry. The body reflects the emotions and the emotions are reflected in our bodies. As an integrated mind/body system, the emotions we experience can have either a helpful or a stressful effect on our organs. There’s plenty of good energy that comes from feeling the emotion of love. We feel energised and like life flows more smoothly. We feel less affected when things don’t seem to go our way. The emotion of love can create a sense of wellbeing and acceptance that things are ok. But what about the emotions of fear, anger and worry? Feeling angry or fearful or worried at times is part of being human and is a worthy expression of our good self. Any emotion, expressed consciously and with awareness, has a positive effect on our wellbeing. It’s part of life for us to feel emotion, the trick is to let the emotion flow through, be felt and acknowledged and then move out of the system. It’s not the emotion that causes the body system to become imbalanced, rather, if we get stuck in that emotion, this can erode the physical...
by admin | Sep 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
In yoga, there is a strong focus on the breath. We practise breath control techniques (breath of fire, segmented breath, breath suspension) to shift our internal experience. The breath reflects our state of mind. If the breath is shallow and fast you will notice life reflecting that same experience, you may feel stressed or anxious. Adjusting the breath from shallow and fast to full and deep can transform our mental, physical and emotional state from one of feeling anxious and stressed to one of feeling more centred and relaxed. Even if you don’t consider the circumstances you are in at the time to be controlled and relaxed, the breath can trick the body and mind into feeling this way. Life can then begin to reflect that back to you, through the flow of breath. At the same time in our yoga practice, we learn to allow the breath to dictate movement. When we practice yoga we move with the breath, the inhale and the exhale. The breath comes before the movement and the movement reflects the breath. The breath reflects how we are feeling, whether we feel energised or more inward and nurturing. This can impact the speed of our practice and how deeply we extend into the postures. There is no right or wrong, only that moment and how your breath reflects your individual state in that moment. Noticing and respecting that is your yoga practice. To flow with the breath is to flow with life. The breath is a great detoxifier. We breathe oxygen and fresh air in and then out. We also breathe pollutants in and...
by admin | Sep 14, 2012 | Uncategorized
One big gift you can give yourself for an overall and ongoing tune up is to drink more water. The only nutrient more important to the body than water is oxygen. Drinking enough water boosts energy by helping to flush our toxins and waste products from the body. Otherwise the organs need to work harder as water helps transport nutrients and oxygen into cells, protecting the vital organs and helping us absorb nutrients better. It also protects and moisturises the joints. Hydrating the body moisturises the air in the lungs helping us to breathe more easily. When we breathe, we naturally detoxify/replenish the body, breathing out toxins and breathing in fresh life-force energy. By drinking enough water your skin will look clearer and fresher – more hydrated, more ‘shine’. You’ll also help your metabolism (supporting excess weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight) as water assists digestion and constipation. A healthy functioning system decreases the risk of many diseases and generally makes you feel well. Simply said, without enough water, the body has to work a lot harder to keep you going, so you feel more fatigued, more uphill-drag than smooth-sailing. When our body feels good, our mental/emotional state is more likely to also feel good. How much is enough water? The amount you drink each day depends on how hot the weather is or how dehydrating your surroundings are. In a moderate climate, you should drink at least 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day. On hot days you’ll need more fluids. Around 2.5 litres per day on average. On cooler days, herbal teas can hydrate you as well...
