Yoga practice isn't just confined to the mat. The ancient discipline suggests bringing intention to how you conduct yourself - including what you consume. So choosing to eat foods that benefit you both inside and out, are part of practicing yoga throughout your day. But how to do this and still enjoy what you eat? I love quinoa (pronounced 'kin wa') which is a grain originally from South America. My friends are bored of me saying how great it is and coming up with new and interesting ways of eating it, so I thought I'd share my favourite recipe with you in case you hadn't discovered it yet. It also happens to be the International Year of Quinoa as designated by the United Nations as it is so easy to grow and so nutritious. It isn't just a grain, it is a seed packed full of protein, calcium and all things good. Its delicious (when spiced up a little), nutritious, good for you and our rather lovely planet. Anyway, jump on the band wagon and try it! ~~~ Spicy Quinoa Salad 1 cup of uncooked quinoa 2 cups of boiling water 1-2 onions 2 cloves of garlic 1 red pepper 1 cup of cooked sweetcorn 1 tin of black or adzuki (or any other) beans drained 1 tsp hot sauce or chopped chilli 1/2 tsp cumin powder 2 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper to taste handful of fresh chopped coriander Step 1: Cook the quinoa. Add the quinoa and boiling water in a pan, put the lid on and simmer for 10 mins, then turn off the heat and leave for 10 more mins with the lid on. Then fluff with a fork and allow to cool. Step 2: While the quinoa is cooking, lightly saute the onion, garlic and red pepper, and cook the sweetcorn. Step 3: Mix together the sweetcorn, beans, hot sauce, cumin, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and coriander. Step 4: Once the quinoa has cooled enough, mix all together in a big bowl and enjoy! Check out this great quinoa recipe site www.LoveQuinoaRecipes.com Back to Bristol YogaSpace homepage
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The Bristol yoga community are joining together on September 14th 2013 for our first annual Bristol Yoga Trail! An open day of free yoga classes and events across 6 locations in Bristol. It's a wonderful chance to join in and explore the different yoga centres in Bristol, try different yoga styles and yoga classes. Or attend a talk or see a yoga film later at YogaWest in the evening. All are welcome and the classes will be free and open to all levels and abilities of fitness. No need to book, simply join in and enjoy! There is Hot Yoga with Ed at YogaFurie, Iyengar Yoga with YogaWest, and a mix of different yoga styles at Bristol City Yoga, Wilder Studios and Yogasara. And we at Bristol YogaSpace are offering 3 viniyoga classes and a hatha yoga class for you to enjoy. Plus if you visit all 6 locations in the day, and get your leaflet stamped at each centre, you can get a free yoga class at the centre of your choice. Save the date and tell your friends: Bristol Yoga Trail, September 14th 2013 For more info and the schedule of free yoga classes and events visit here: www.bristolyogatrail.wordpress.com #bristolyogatrail Back to the Bristol YogaSpace homepage The Smithsonian Institution in Washington is fundraising for a new exhibition - Yoga: The art of transformation. It is their first crowd funded exhibition, with the primary exhibition going ahead but crowd funding providing additional activities. It promises to provide an exhibition about the visual history of yoga with artefacts illustrating its different forms, some dating back to the 3rd century. Visit the Yoga: The art of transformation link here > Or read the news article about crowd funding by following the link here > A common complaint - stiff shoulders, limited mobility in the neck and discomfort in the upper back, shoulder, neck area. Accumulated tension, often caused by working at a desk, poor posture, cycling etc. all contribute to tension and stiffness related pain. There are some great yoga postures that gently get to the root of the problem and release blockages and free up the area. And without them, or regular massage, it doesn't resolve by itself. We don't really do any natural movements that will release that part of the body, unless we make the extra effort. So it just gets worse over time. So many of us hunch our shoulders and have a rounded upper back as a result. It is good to see yoga being clinically researched to demonstrate how it can help. I see benefits in my students and anecdotally hear how it helps them regularly. I currently have two yoga therapy students who are greatly benefitting from the gentle releasing of the shoulders and neck. You need to work carefully and gradually, but gentle stretching and movements will help. See more on the research here: Journal of Pain Research paper http://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(12)00779-1/abstract Yoga Journal Article http://blogs.yogajournal.com/yogabuzz/2012/12/yoga-for-neck-pain.html Get in touch to find out more about how yoga can help you if you suffer from neck pain. bristolyogaspace@gmail.com Back to homepage > Affecting up to a third of breast cancer survivors, fatigue can't be underestimated for its impact on a sufferers daily life. Fatigue can be debilitating and is often not taken seriously enough. A study published recently has demonstrated the benefits of practicing yoga to help overcome persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors. 12 weeks of yoga practice in a randomised, controlled study not only found significant reduction in fatigue, but also increased vigor. Details on the study can be found here (1). Also see the British Wheel of Yoga article here. This doesn't mean heading to your nearest group yoga class however. When suffering from fatigue it is important not to be exhausted by the yoga. A group yoga class would likely be too much to begin with. Short, gentle, regular yoga practices would be more beneficial, gradually progressing as improvements are felt. Personalised home yoga practice, or therapeutically applied yoga, is most effective when embarking on yoga for those suffering from fatigue. Get in touch for more info on getting started with your own home practice designed to meet your health and energy needs. (1) Bower, J. E., Garet, D., Sternlieb, B., Ganz, P. A., Irwin, M. R., Olmstead, R. and Greendale, G. (2012), Yoga for persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors. Cancer, 118: 3766–3775. doi: 10.1002/cncr.26702 Return to YogaSpace homepage
Interesting article on the Today show this week interviewing William Broad who has published a book on the benefits and risks of yoga (The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards).
He highlights the caution that some yoga postures should be treated with, and the importance of a well trained teacher to introduce some of the more advanced and riskier yoga poses. Shoulderstand and Plough postures, along with Headstand. These postures aren't for beginners or those with any neck issues and who aren't pretty fit and strong. The stakes are high if stroke risk is considered from tearing the vertebral arteries when putting the neck in these extreme conditions. Respect for the bodies limitations, and the posture, and plenty of preparation to ensure the student is ready and the pose is appropriate. Group classes are possibly not the place to explore them unless the group is experienced, and appropriate teaching and supervision is essential. Listen to the interview here... http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9693000/9693928.stm Back to Homepage
A joyful open-air yoga gathering captured on video to brighten up a dull day :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l7lHR8E-Lg An article published in the British Medical Journal in October has confirmed what I anecdotally hear from students - that mild to moderate back ache is helped by yoga. Great that there is now some medical research to provide evidence.
Interestingly the scientific yoga study, taken over 12 weeks, acknowledged that it takes a few weeks for the improvements to really settle, but that staying with it helps. The style of yoga used in the research was viniyoga, which is what I teach. Another article last month also noted how yoga performed better than physiotherapy on back ache (I suspect because yoga is engaging and enjoyable so you are more likely to do it and stay with it to gain the benefits!). All good evidence to encourage those with back ache to take up yoga practice anyway. http://besthealth.bmj.com/x/news/658800/news-item.html http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/Suppl_1/i70.2.abstract Back to YogaSpace homepage There was some positive media coverage last weekend about how Yoga was used to help David and Samantha Cameron's late son Ivan. Using Yoga Therapy tailored to his needs, Ivan, who suffered from Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy took part in regular yoga sessions at the Special Yoga Centre in London.
Yoga for children can be helpful for a wide range of needs, ranging from the therapeutic for serious health needs, to simply being fun and active to help get kids engaged and get them moving. Children can gain confidence, strength, coordination, balance, focus and concentration through practicing yoga. I recently took my Yoga for Children teaching module which trains you for running yoga classes and activities with children. The classes are very different to adult classes! Much more playful, fun, noisy, energetic, and hopefully leading them to a calmer and more focused space by the end of the session. I'm running my first Children's Yoga Party soon which promises to be loads of fun! Many fitness classes are available just to drop-in whenever you feel like it. So why do we encourage students to take Yoga as a course of classes?
Yoga is of course different from a fitness class, and our aim is to encourage everyone to get the most they can from learning about and practicing Yoga. It's true, you can get some of the benefits from your very first Yoga class, or by turning up every now and again to a class. We are very open to students coming along to classes in that way. Simply by stretching and moving the body, and breathing more deeply, you are starting to energise and open up a bit more. But this is just the very tip of a rather large iceburg, and our aim is to deepen your experience. One of the aims of Yoga is not only to improve your overall health, but also your wellbeing, and much more besides. This includes physical and mental wellbeing. Yoga is working not only at the physical level, but also on the mind, and many of the practices of Yoga aim to help cultivate clear thinking and a sense of connection to your body, and also aim to open up and release the tension and energy in the body. By committing to a course of Yoga, you are actually taking the first step towards disciplining your body and mind, agreeing that every week, whether or not you mind or body is saying to you you'll give it a miss this week, you turn up anyway and work on cultivating positive practices. And you'll always be glad you did. Over the weeks of the course, you'll start to become familiar with the basic, foundation aspects of the postures, and get to know your bodies stiffnesses and weaknesses feeling them gradually improving. You'll also start to learn the more subtle aspects of practice: your ability to gradually control your breathing (in turn starting to control your over-active mind and intensifying what you are able to achieve in each posture), developing your focus and attention during practice, releasing deeply held tension and blocks, and the ability to gradually deepen your weekly experience. It's true, some of the techniques take years to learn, but each week you gradually take it further, and each term, you'll build on the various layers of practice that will enhance your experience and get the most benefit. I've been practicing Yoga for many years, and I still take regularl classes and always learn something new. Regular practice also makes practicing Yoga safer. Allowing your body to become familiar and confident with the unusual positions you may find yourself in. By regularly stretching and maintaining health in the muscles, joints you can worry less about if you can get into the postures and start to develop the more subtle aspects of practice. We're just getting going with the Autumn term where there are many Yoga Courses you can enrol in. Our experienced teachers are passionate about Yoga and all of us have studied the philosophy and methodologies of Yoga in depth over many years giving us the opportunity to carefully structure the classes so that they are appropriate to develop each student. Feel free to get in touch to find out more. Don't just do Yoga, learn Yoga Back to homepage The good news is that Yoga is becoming increasingly popular and many of us are starting to realise and take advantage of all that it has to offer.
Two new yoga studios have opened their doors this month which is a wonderful addition to the range of yoga classes available in Bristol. YogaWest in Bishopston has reopened with new owners Diana and Mike Penny - a warm welcome to Bristol BCY Bishopston is a brand new branch of BCY (Bristol City Yoga) on Kennington Avenue near Ashley Down Road The ancient philosophy and methodology that is Yoga is becoming more and more accessible to us here in the west and has so much relevance to our lives today. If you haven't already, come along to a Yoga class soon (the YogaSpace term is about to get started and we always recommend taking a course of yoga wherever possible rather than a few one-off classes) and start to experience and learn the tools and practices that can support daily life and deeply enhance your wellbeing (and the wellbeing of those around you too!). Back to homepage I went to a lovely yoga workshop this weekend where we were invited to rediscover the spring in our feet, ankles and knees.
As someone who has struggled with dodgy knees in the past, and who works hard to keep my knees and legs strong to avoid the pain that creeps in if I don't, I was particularly interested in what the teacher said... that if your feet aren't animated and vibrant, your ankles and knees and the whole rest of your posture can suffer. I looked down at my feet, trained from years of yoga to be more alive than many I see, to notice that they are rather less than the vibrant source of life that they could be. We were invited to try this... stand up tall, but without locking out any part of the body, you should still be able to move through the shoulders, knees and ankles. Then bend the knees just a little, and try lifting the heels of the ground. Perhaps one, then the other, and then both if your balance permits. Try springing a bit, staying on the balls of the feet, sort of bouncing, feeling the feet come alive. The strength and activity required will soon become obvious, you might find you tire quickly, or if you are strong, you might start to feel more alive and springy after doing this for a few minutes. Allow the spring to move up through the body, the legs, hips, spine, and shoulders and neck responding and working with the springy balance. Our foot foundation The feet are the foundation for most of us. They are the basis for standing and for supporting the whole rest of our posture. They are the source of our balance and connection to the rest of our bodies. They are packed full of nerves, alert to many sensations once we pay attention. Our focus and awareness can be heightened by developing our attention back into our feet. To neglect them is tantamount to letting the garden get rather weedy so you can't see the ground anymore. For those with disengaged or even flat feet, there are a few postures that will be great for bringing them to life. You could try... - Tadasana (Mountain Pose, arms and heels lifted) - Utkatasana (Squatting) - or Vrksasana (Tree Posture, one legged balance) to reenergise yourself from the feet up and reinvigorate them back into focus. See this link for a few more ideas: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/therapeutic_focus/t_flat_feet (although some of the more advanced postures I would avoid without supervision) Guess what my classes will be exploring this week... Back to YogaSpace homepage I'm biased I know, but I think most people could benefit from yoga practice! I work with a lot of mums, especially in my private yoga therapy work, where women come to me without much time or space for themselves, and have a range of physical, mental and emotional issues such as stiffness, aches on one side from carrying children on one hip, stress through the shoulders, poor sleep, over-eating, worrying, and an over-active mind that refuses to slow down at the end of the day.
These are common complaints but particularly so for mums whose days aren't their own anymore and who struggle to find time to take care of themselves. Yoga doesn't have to be a weekly class, although this is often the best way to ensure you actually make it on to your mat at least once a week and spend a good hour doing a full yoga practice. Yoga can also be fitted in to your busy schedule, requiring perhaps as little as 15-20 minutes a day to help keep you physically, mentally and emotionally supported. Think of how you might tend to a garden - keeping it tended to little and often is as good, if not better, than a big session every now and again to keep it all under control. A practice that is customised for you is ideal, incorporating some physical postures to help energise the body, stretch and release tension, strengthen the posture to help alleviate aches and pains. Plus perhaps some breathing work to settle the mind and restore balance, and perhaps even meditation if interested (which has well known stress-relieving and healthful attributes). All of these practices will help you create and maintain some well-earned space for yourself, and can be fitted in to those small pockets of time once the kids have gone to bed, when they are napping, when they are watching tv, or before you go to bed. In my group classes I always encourage students to try some yoga practice at home if they are interested. Part-way through the term, I'll often offer them a small handout with a short practice to try for themselves at home. Sometimes students keep it up and come back weeks or months later reporting how much more benefit they get from yoga once they have started regular practice at home. Of course a daily healthful practice doesn't just have to be yoga, there are other things that you might find you enjoy that keep you motivated to continue with it. But what better way to nurture your health and wellbeing than by giving yourself the gift of a short yoga practice a few times a week to help maintain balance and health in your life. Firstly, I didn't know there was an annual Easter Egg roll at the White House, hosted by President and Michelle Obama.
Secondly, I didn't know they also offered yoga there as one of the activities of the day. No wonder the President and First Lady effuse such grace, poise and eloquence. Must be the clarity and health that is supported by a good yoga practice ;-). With the start of the new women's class at YogaSpace it seemed worth exploring why yoga might benefit from being different for men and women. Especially as most classes are mixed and this usually works really well.
Of course there are some fundamental differences in mens and womens bodies but does it mean that a different class is appropriate? The answer is of course yes AND no. In an ideal world, we would each have a customised yoga practice taylored to our own bodies, energy and how we feel on any particular day, so a class of 1 would be the most beneficial. But in the practical world, a group class has a lot to offer. Plus its actually rather nice being in a room with others trying to explore the same postures. In general terms, men are physically stronger than women but typically are stiffer. This of course isn't always the case and there are plenty of strong women and stiff women in the world! Practice of yoga postures helps both body types as each yoga posture will help increase mobility and strength, they would simply be approached differently depending on your body type. Women do have some physical differences that are unique to them however. They might be pregnant or recovering after pregnancy, they might be menstruating or have hormonal cycles, and they are a different body shape. There is a nurturing approach to yoga which is more appropriate in these situations that while relevant to men aswell, their issues may be different or be related to different cycles. So this new women's yoga class is a more gentle class, respecting the differences women's bodies might be experiencing, and allowing a space to explore yoga that is more taylored to a woman's body. Of course a men's class would be great to start aswell. Enjoy! Back to homepage Yoga practitioners often ascribe ancient traditions to the practice of yoga. And it is true, there is an ancient tradition of yoga well documented over thousands of years.
BUT - the physical practice of yoga perhaps isn't as ancient as we think. In any typical western yoga class, we do yoga postures, putting outselves in all sorts of twists, bends and sometimes inversions. We stay there, trying to focus on our breathing and settle our minds. But this is a curious thing... The history of modern physical yoga postures isn't perhaps what we think. Possibly only originating from 100 years ago when gymnastics and yoga met in India. It is true, some of the postures can be found in a text dating from around the 14th Century, but many of the postures we practice in a class today are perhaps relatively modern. Some claim that the Yogis noticed how popular gymnastics was and how appealing the physical form was and cleverly incorporated some of the ideas blending them with yoga practices to encourage people to give it a go. Interesting, and there is some credible evidence to suggest it is true. But does it really make any difference if it is 100 or 10,000 years old? Surely what matters is that if you give it a go, it should leave you feeling better and over time help support your health and life. It should stand on its own two-feet. Does it need the justification of some ancient authenticity? Mark Singleton authored the book "Yoga Body. The origins of modern posture practice" by Oxford University Press. It depicts the rising of the physical form of yoga that we see in most yoga classes in the west. And it tries to provide some context about where it came from. He provides compelling explainations challenging some of the apparent myths of where this ancient and timeless practice originates. A good blog post providing more context about Mark's book and modern yoga practice is here. But hopefully it doesn't matter if it is authentically ancient or not. Yoga can still be experienced through your posture practice without the addition of romantic origins. Your practice should help you develop strength and stability, physically and mentally, and connect with yourself and the world around you. Over time you should start to notice that you are more compassionate, more self-aware and less selfish that will ultimately benefit those around you. Your practice helps you develop space for self-enquiry. Yes and along the way you may find yourself fitter, stronger, leaner and more toned. So maybe a yoga class isn't an ancient tradition, but it sure does help you feel better about things and is a great support in life. On the BBC website there is a news report about the rising levels of stress and the amount of time employees take off work because of it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11617292
Life has never seemed busier and the holiday season is no exception! Working, commuting, relationships, family, health - they can all be richly rewarding but also take energy and effort and stress can accumlate along the way. Generally we keep going until we reach a point where we collapse in a heap and need to rethink what we are doing. My students often come to me with chronically stiff shoulders, holding their stress in their posture or they talk about having difficulty relaxing or sleeping. And of course they come to yoga to take the time and make the effort to release and relax. Yoga helps us to take time out to allow the body and mind to relax, helping to release some of the tension that builds up. It gives us time to reset, to reevaluate the stress we take on and to have some perspective on what the causes are. Stress is notoriously tricky to spot early, it can sneak up on you and then spill out over into your life before you really realise you are stressed at all. Yoga is an obvious choice for relieving stress and tension and the benefits are becoming widely known. It gives us a regular space to help release it and restore our natural balance. Here is a suggestion to help you release some stress over the holiday period... Candlelight Meditation - First find a quiet, comfortable place to sit where you won't be disturbed and place a lit candle before you - Settle into a soft gaze into the heart of the flame - Try not to hold your gaze too firmly, feel free to blink as you need to and not force it - Continue gazing into the candle for a few minutes if possible, noticing the variations and gentle movements of the flame - After a few minutes, gently close your eyes, seeing if you can maintain the image of the candle in your minds eye. Hold the image of the candle for as long as possible. If you lose it, open the eyes and gaze at the candle again and repeat - Mostly, enjoy the candle meditation and enjoy the calm, still feeling it can leave you with. Tip - if you find this difficult, some yoga postures beforehand can help settle you before you start. |
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