thrive lifestyle

"52 @ 50" - Things I Want To Do In My 50th Year!

It was my birthday last week which means that I have now entered my fiftieth year on this planet! In the coming 12 months before my big 'Five O' birthday I want to do some things that I haven't done before. It's not quite a 'Bucket List' which, to me, is more about achievements, goals and extreme challenges, rather I want to widen my net of new experiences and live all aspects of life more fully. I hope my 50th year will contain a mix of simple pleasures (such as the two below) and some more adventurous undertakings.

"52 @ 50" started with a picnic in Regent's Park in London last Friday. I think that, even though I've lived in and around London all my life, this was a new experience for me (although I might have done it before with my grandparents when I was a child and just cant' remember it). It was a truly beautiful day. The park was full of people relaxing with friends, enjoying the sunshine. The grass was a complete carpet of daisies (I've really never seen so many - the grass was almost white) and so many of the trees were full of blossom (I can't remember a year where there has been so much blossom either).

It was a spontaneous decision to take our lunch to Regent's Park and I'm so glad we did. It was a confirmation that sometimes it's the simplest things that bring us pleasure and it also proved that there are little oases (is that the plural of oasis??) of calm and joy amidst the busiest places.

No. 1 - picnic in Regent's Park

My next experience was to have a glass of orange wine. Never done that before! I didn't even know it existed. Here's an explanation from Scott Carney, master sommelier and dean of wine studies at the International Culinary Center in New York in case you haven't heard of orange wine either:

"Orange wines, also known as “contact” or “skin contact” wines, are essentially white wines that are produced like reds. Whereas a white wine never makes contact with the grapes’ skins, an orange wine is made out of white-fleshed grapes (Pinot Gris or Rkatsiteli, for example) and is then left in contact with the skins (which can range in color from white to purple) for days, weeks or months. This “brings about the [orange] colour, but also increases the tannins,” explained Orange wines, also known as “contact” or “skin contact” wines, are essentially white wines that are produced like reds. Whereas a white wine never makes contact with the grapes’ skins, an orange wine is made out of white-fleshed grapes (Pinot Gris or Rkatsiteli, for example) and is then left in contact with the skins (which can range in colour from white to purple) for days, weeks or months. This brings about the orange colour, but also increases the tannins.”

I enjoyed my orange wine and I'd definitely try one again. I thought it was similar to a rosé - fresh, light and fruty - and a perfect accompaniment to an early evening meal on a sunshiney day.

No. 2 - Orange wine (not Lucozade!)

So, what shall my new experience be this week? If you have any suggestions for me please do let me know - I'm up for most things!! I think I might go and watch the film The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman to give me some ideas!

Practicing Forearm Balance

In my classes this half-term we've been practicing Forearm Balance. This pose's Sanskrit name is Pincha Mayurasana which, if you say it quickly, sounds a bit cheeky! It's not an easy pose so we've been preparing for it week by week, building both strength and positive mindset.

The picture below shows the muscles involved in doing Forearm Balance, but it doesn't show the Latissimus Dorsi which would be responsible for drawing the upper arm bone back into it's socket and keeping the shoulder girdle stable. If these muscles are tight then that limits shoulder flexion, the upper arm can't stay vertical, and the shoulders come forward. This can create an excessive curve in the back and then the head might drop to the floor. If the Lats are weak then there isn't enough strength to draw the arm bones back into the socket and keep them there as you lift into the pose - once again the shoulders will come forward and the head will come to the ground.

The muscles involved in Pincha Mayurasana - analyzing the second picture, in my humble opinion I would prefer to see the upper armbone a just little more vertical, with the armpit area little more open

The Latissimus dorsi muscles are located on the back just below the skin. They originate on the upper posterior pelvis and the vertebrae of the lower and lower middle back. The muscles then span up and out diagonally across the back, through the armpit and attach to the inner upper arm bone.

Here's a picture showing the Lats and you can see how they could limit range of movement when lifting the arms if they were tight.

So what to do if you want to both stretch and strengthen in preparation for Pincha Mayurasana? Here are some poses you can do to help. They'll also be beneficial for other poses too such as Wheel pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) and Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana).

Stretch

Strengthen in Purvottanasana

First stage of Forearm Balance - remember to draw the arm bones into the
sockets and pull the shoulder blades down the back, engaging the Lats

Second stage - practice lifting one leg up at a time

The full pose

This week's recipe - Broccoli Bites

I shared this recipe on Facebook recently and said I would give it a try.... so here's my verdict. It was easy and successful and I had them for lunch with a salad. Next time I'll add some herbs and some pepper for a little more flavouring but overall they were good.

You will need:

12oz broccoli

1 egg

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

2/3 cup cheddar

1/4 cup spring onions

2 cloves of garlic

Barbeque sauce

Salt

And here's how to make it:

Here's my finished product

This week in the garden...

Everything's growing like mad! Before the Alkanet (blue flowers, hairy stem) in my garden completely takes over I thought I'd better do some tidying. A few hours later, with some help from the Furry Guru, I'd cleared the patch ready to sow the seeds for cut flowers later in the summer (... and made a bit of a mess in the process!).

I sowed my hardy annuals straight into the ground and, although the half-hardy annuals (plants that done like frost) probably would have been fine to go straight into the ground too, I sowed them into seed trays and modules to get them started. All the seeds are up already less than 7 days later!! I find this process so amazing - these little tiny things contain so much life-energy that, given the right conditions, grow into beautiful flowers to decorate my home and garden.

I planted Calendula (pot marigolds), Malope (mallow), cornflowers and more sweet peas straight into the ground. For just a couple of pounds and a few minutes work I'll have colour for the summer, right up until the first frosts. If you want something easy to grow in your garden I'd recommend these plants. (It's also ok to plant Cosmos outside now even though they're half-hardy - they'll be fine). Clear the ground of weeds, dig the ground over and rake it so there aren't any big lumps of earth (known in the gardening world as a 'fine tilth'!). Water the ground well first, then make a little channel about 1 cm deep and sprinkle your seeds finely along the channel. Then gently cover the channel over with earth. I find that watering the soil first works better than watering after sowing because it stops the little seeds getting sloshed out of their channel - although if you water with a watering can with a fine rose (ie a gentle sprinkle) they won't get disturbed. Keep the seedlings well watered.

I'm holding out just a couple more weeks before I buy bedding plants and put my frost tender babies outside... just in case we get another cold snap. They'd probably be fine but I'm not taking any chances. So instead I'm weeding - this is an easy job after all the rain we had this week - so get outside and do it now!

Your questions answered.... translations of some Sanskrit yoga terms

A male yoga practitioner is called a yogi

A female yoga practitioner is called a yogini

Adho means downwards (as in Downward Facing Dog - Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Urdhva means upwards (as in Upward Facing Dog - Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)

Eka means one

Dwi means two

Hasta means hand

Pada means foot

Angusta means big toe

Ubbhaya means both or together