How to Beat the Post-Holiday Blues

I've just returned from a weekend away and, even after a short break, coming back home to the chores was hard. Yoga always helps. Getting out of my head and back into the body is a good thing. Breathing, moving, meditation, gratitude practice and mindful attention bring me back to the present moment and remind me that, rather than futilely wishing that I was back on my relaxing weekend, there are wonderful moments to be found right here and now. 

 Herefordshire Heaven

This article came to my attention today, and it was just what I needed to read. I thought it would be a good one to share as so many of us have been (or are going) away over the summer and might experience the post-holiday blues: 

How To Stay Sane After Returning From Your Vacation by Katie Devine via mindbodygreen.com

I recently spent two glorious weeks on vacation in Italy, my longest trip since I started working full time more than ten years ago. I began the trip at a yoga retreat in Tuscany with some of my closest friends; headed south to the picturesque Amalfi Coast for some relaxation at the beach; rounded out the vacation with few days amidst the ruins and history in Rome. I laughed, I sang, I indulged, I swam, I read, I relaxed, I explored, and I cherished and enjoyed every moment in my grandfather’s homeland.

And then I came home.

Before I was ready (would I ever have been ready?), the shock of being back home, back to reality, hit me like a bottle of Chianti to the face. Re-entry was brutal. Jet lag, separation from my friends, feeling both overwhelmed and underwhelmed by my life in California…it all added up to a difficult week. I did what I could to make the process easier, and found that these seven things were saviors in improving my mood and saving my sanity:

1. Give yourself time to decompress.
If you can, take an extra day off before returning to work. Or consider coming home a day earlier so you have a day to slowly re-enter. Unpack, do laundry, grocery shop. Nothing too stressful, but taking care of some of these chores right away will make you feel better prepared to return to routine. Don't overbook your first day or two back if you don’t have to. You will be fighting jet lag and post-vacation blues; try not to make your day even more challenging.

2. Get back on your regular sleep schedule as soon as possible — plus a few extra hours.
Oh jet lag… your new companion. It may be tempting to pass out as soon as you land, but if you can stay awake until close to your normal bedtime, you'll be more likely to sleep completely through the night and not be wide awake at 4 a.m. To combat jet lag, try to add a little additional time to your sleeping for the first week or so. If you normally feel rested after seven hours, aim for eight. Melatonin helped me normalize my sleeping patterns more quickly.

3. Save the cleanse for the next week.
OK, so maybe you ate your weight in cheese and washed it down with wine at every meal (No? Just me?). So maybe your clothes are a little more snug than usual. Nothing brings you crashing down from your vacation high faster than complete deprivation of everything you enjoyed so liberally while you were away. Before you jump into your seven-day juice detox program, start slowly by re-introducing more greens and lean proteins while limiting sugar and starches. Don’t completely cut everything you enjoy out of your diet immediately. Likewise, it may not be the best time to amp up your fitness routine. Save the boot camp for next week and focus on just getting your body moving with walks or gentle yoga.

4. Treat yourself to something you didn't while you were away.
A manicure at your favorite local spot. A new movie you've been dying to see. A free outdoor summer concert in your neighborhood. Happy hour with your best friend. Something that makes you remember why you love your real life, and why you choose to live it every day.

5. Spend time with people you love.
Nothing can snap you out of a bad mood like being with the people who make you feel good, who make you laugh, you remind you of who you are. Surround yourself with positive energy and it will rub off on you. Bonus — you get to tell them all about your incredible holiday!

6. But then ... take a break from re-living your trip over and over.
You’ve uploaded your pictures to Facebook. You’ve scrolled through all of your travel companions’ albums. You’ve watched all of the videos. All you want is to go back in time and do it all over again. Stop torturing yourself. Take a break from remembering the amazing things you did while you were away. You can always return to your memories when you're feeling less fragile. Instead, look for at least five beautiful things in your life every day. Take pictures of them, acknowledge them, and watch as you become more present in your everyday life again.

7. Start planning your next trip!
Having something exciting to look forward to can help reduce the feelings of regret that this trip has ended. It doesn’t have to be the international trip of a lifetime; it could just be a Saturday road trip to the next town. Just putting something on your calendar that makes you smile in anticipation will help get you through the worst of the re-entry process.

After 10 days at home, I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. Going easy on myself, and allowing myself the time to readjust has made all of the difference to me. 

There's so much more to yoga than the physical practice. We practice the postures (asanas), do our breathing practices and touch on meditation in class but the philosophy and history of yoga is, for the most part, a matter for self-study.

I thought I'd do a new series of short articles which will aim to give you some insight into how yoga has evolved over the centuries, and introduce you to some of the great teachers who have influenced it.

We'll start at the beginning with Patanjali. Well nearly the beginning - about 2200 years ago - which is when the sage Patanjali is thought to have lived. Not much is known about Patanjali except that he probably lived somewhere in north western India and wrote the Yoga Sutra - a collection of 196 statements (sutras) about yoga which are still used as guidelines for both practice and life to this day.

The Sutra outlines the eight limbs of yoga: the yamas (restraints), niyamas (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyani (meditation), and samadhi (absorption/enlightenment). These eight limbs show us how we can adjust our behaviour to live a peaceful and contented life. If you're interested in finding out a bit more about the yamas you can take a look here at a post I wrote some time ago.

Although the life of Patanjali is shrouded in mystery one thing is certain, the Yoga Sutra is an authentic text and is the fundamental definition of yoga philosophy. It is on the reading list of every trainee yoga teacher but it makes for a challenging read as it is written in a very condensed way - some of the sutras are not even sentences, but phrases. Many translations have been written over the years (there are 15 different ones available at www.yogamatters.com!) and it has been expanded and commented upon so that it makes more sense to us as we begin our journey exploring the path of yoga.

So that's Patanjali. The father of yoga if you like, without who's wise text our yoga practice and life might be a little flat and not the multi-dimensional, mind, body and soul-filling experience we know and love. 

The wisdom of Patanjali's Sutras

Recipe for Avocado Smash

I made this recipe for a supper with friends last week. It was completely delicious and very healthy so I'm sharing it with you too. I hope you enjoy it.

You will need:
20g cashew nuts
20g hazelnuts
1 tsp sunflower seeds
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds (I didn't have these so I left them out)
2 ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lemon
4 fresh chives, finely chopped
50g lentil sprouts (you can buy sprouting seeds in most supermarkets and greengrocers now)
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh coriander
Lime wedges

How it’s made:

• Preheat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. 
• Spread all the nuts and seeds out on a baking tin and toast in the heated oven for 5 minutes until golden. Tip them into a mortar and lightly crush with the pestle. Set aside. 
• Cut the avocados in half and remove the stones, then scoop out the flesh and put it in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, chives and some salt and pepper and crush with a fork. You want to create a creamy but chunky texture. Add the lentil sprouts and mix through. 
• Add the crushed nuts and seeds to the avocado mix. Serve sprinkled with coriander and with wedges of lime to squeeze over. 

The following article is from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's website:

Yoga works for rehab, says NHS orthopaedic physio

Yoga can motivate people with musculoskeletal (MSK) problems to self-manage and understand their condition, according to physiotherapist Sarah Shone. The advanced practitioner in orthopaedics and MSK at Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust in Wigan has been using yoga to help her patients for three years.

Sarah Shone won an innovation award in March

‘The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations for the management of low back pain are movement instruction, muscle strengthening, postural control and stretching. Yoga meets all of these,’ she said.

In 2012 the trust funded Ms Shone’s training as a yoga instructor, after she presented the benefits of yoga-based therapy to an ‘innovation panel’ of senior managers. She went on to develop yoga classes for groups and individuals whose lack of flexibility affected their physical health. ‘Typically they have six sessions of yoga, and then they’re discharged into self-management, or referred to a local exercise scheme,’ she said.

In addition, yoga, Pilates and cardiovascular training have been incorporated into the trust’s rehabilitation programme for people with back pain. The aim, Ms Shone said, was to introduce people to different types of exercise so they could see which ones suited them best. A lot of people with chronic conditions give up on exercise, she said. ‘So the programme aims to address the lack responsibility that people assume for their own MSK health.’

In 2014 Ms Shone conducted a survey of 15 patients who attended a six session course of yoga. The results showed that nearly 87 per cent either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that their pain had improved on completion of the course. Two patients said their pain was unchanged. The survey also showed that 87 per cent of patients found it easier to complete daily activities after the course, while 13 per cent reported no change in their functional abilities.

In March Ms Shone won the trust’s annual award for an outstanding contribution to innovation, in recognition of her yoga scheme. She is keen to raise awareness about the benefits of yoga among physios and said there are plans to set up a specialist interest group for the profession.

Sarah Shone leading a Workout at Work Day session at Bridgewater Trust

And finally, an inspiring video of one young chef's project to reduce waste and feed the hungry:

https://youtu.be/fn3SNZzcWno

Yoga on Your Holidays

The start of the summer holidays..... bliss! 6 weeks with the feeling of a little more space and spontaneity to my days. 6 weeks without having to encourage my teenage son to get up and ready for school. No school run traffic. No strict timetable to adhere to. Lots of adventures doing things we don't normally have time to do. Lovely. 

If you have school-age children and you're fortunate enough to be off work too you'll know exactly what I mean. If you don't have school-age children, or you are still working even though they're not, you might notice some of the benefits too... less traffic on the roads, and a sense that everyone around you where you live relaxes just a bit.

The downside to the summer holidays is that I can easily lose my routine and everything becomes just a bit too random. So, as usual, I'm looking to bring some balance into my life and using the teachings of yoga to guide me.

This article reminds me of the importance of pausing in my tendency towards busyness, and taking some time out to just be, and the summer holidays are a good time for me to do more resting. If you'll be working and continuing to juggle all those balls in the air, maybe you could take some smaller breaks to rest and be quiet, such as stepping outside on your tea-break to sit in the sunshine rather than stay at your desk, having a relaxing bath before bed rather than watching one more TV programme or taking advantage of the light summer evenings and going for a walk after dinner rather than collapsing on the sofa.

As always, you can use your yoga practice to create some "me time". Focus on your breath and the way your body moves through the poses and enjoy a lovely long Savasana to replenish yourself if you are tired.

4 Practical ways for Women to Recover from Everyday Life Exhaustion - the radical notion of rest and why it is vitally important that we do it.

by Emma Derman Teitel via Elephant Journal 

Too exhausted to think, too overwhelmed to respond, too fast, too full, too much, not enough, it’s a lot. These are the words I hear almost everyday, from the voices of the women I sit with. So, what is it that has us exhausted, depleted, un-inspired and desperate for the next best thing to make us feel better, more alive, more inspired?

It is a deep rejection of rest.

Choosing rest is choosing to take a radical stand for the feminine. We will get very little validation or high-fives for lying in bed all day, sitting in the grass and watching it grow or closing our eyes in the middle of the afternoon. Few will celebrate our silence or our, “I don’t know what’s next-ness.” And it is rare to receive recognition as we float in the ocean of vast mystery. When we choose rest, it is easy to feel unworthy.

In stillness, it is easy to question our value. It may look as if absolutely nothing is happening. And yet in the absence of doing, we will be faced with the greatest task of all—befriending and trusting our own exquisite nature. That which cannot be spoken, that which cannot be done, that which can only be felt from the inside out.

When we choose rest, we are choosing to restore what is broken. We are mending the tapestry of life that has become painfully undone with the demand of modern life.

To rest is a radical act of dissent from the collective devotion to speed—it is to claim a space of inner freedom. When we resist rest we once again degrade the feminine. It is to abuse her, to ignore her, to call her names and to strip her of her value. It is to delude ourselves into thinking that if we do enough, eventually we will be worthy. And yet, when we honor rest, we are taking a powerful stance for the return of the feminine in one of her most glorious forms.

Sure, there are the necessary planetary shakes going on as women rise up from all corners of the earth, changing politics, starting businesses, raising families, traveling, falling in love and everything in between. And yet, for these contributions and creations to experience sustainability, we must also rest.

Four practical ways to make space for rest.

1. Give yourself a 24-hour break from talking.

With so much collective wounding in women—around holding back, not taking up enough space or playing small there is an insurgence of self-expression occurring for many of us, myself included! We live in a day and age where there are infinite platforms and channels through which to write, speak, make videos and share our thoughts, feelings and experiences. This is beautiful and I am in full support, yet no woman is designed to produce indefinitely. Many spiritual traditions, including yoga, honor and recognize the important role of silence for preserving creativity, increasing consciousness and restoring balance. Commit to a 24-hour period without talking. Depending on your work situation and/or if you are a parent, it may definitely require a bit of extra planning or you many only get a few hours, but either way, take the time, you will be amazed at what you find in the silence.

2. Take a full day off and spend it being.

So often, when we have a vacation or a break from work, the mind immediately starts crafting up brilliant plans for places we want to travel, things we want to get done, people we want to see and personal projects to knock of the to-do list. While this is all wonderful and important, it keeps our bodies and our minds in a state of perpetual doing. Operating at this pace keeps the softer, subtler and more intuitive parts of our awareness at bay and ultimately this limits our overall capacity as human beings. Being is the key word here. How can you set yourself up for being? Perhaps it is sitting outside on the grass as you savor a delicious meal and watching the birds, or maybe it is lying down in bed and watching the trees outside the window. Whatever it is, I invite you to do less and to pay close attention to what emerges in your mind, body and soul.

3. Give yourself a tech detox.

I will be one of the first to raise my hand with gratitude, appreciation and love for my technology.

And yet, too much tech can quickly tip any woman over the edge. There are an infinite number of apps, ideas, articles, websites and inspirations to plug into, yet constantly turning our attention outwards means that we are missing an entire universe of experience within ourselves. The inner world is our most fertile soil. It is from here where all original insight arises. So, give yourself the gift of turning off the cell phone, closing the computer and attuning to your inner world. You will be amazed at the colorful and complex world that is waiting for you.

4. Notice the spaces between.

Commit to noticing the pauses before the actions for an entire day. Feel the gap before the key unlocks the door or starts the car. Feel the space before food enters your mouth or the stillness before your finger hits the computer key. We go through thousands of tiny transitions each day, see if you can be more conscious of what is happening before each new action. The symphony of life can easily create the illusion that something is only happening when the tempo is fast and the beats are audible. And yet, there would be no symphony without the silence, there would be no beauty to the sound without the gaps in between. From the ripe and pregnant pause is the very origin point of life itself. From emptiness emerges form, from stillness arises inspiration and from the void brilliance ascends.

Unplug the phone, close the laptop, walk outside or find your way to the bed.

Rest dear woman, your soul will thank you.

Are you going to be travelling over the coming weeks? Maybe you're off to foreign climes for your summer holidays or travelling for work. This article from Om Yoga magazine offers some tips for taking your yoga practice with you.

Yoga for Travellers - how yoga and travel can teach us to live better, more mindful lives, both at home and while we're away by Jennifer L Ellinghaus

I love yoga. I love travelling. And the amount of yoga retreats taking place around the world suggest I'm not the only one. But how do you combine yoga with your travel experiences, whether backpacking or flying to business meetings? And why would you want to mix them anyway? Well, its entirely possible to take your practice everywhere, and learn to take yoga off your mat and into your daily life. Here's how:

1. Now is your chance

If you've regularly attended yoga classes over the years but have not developed a self-practice, travelling is a great time to do this. I first started my 'home' practice years ago on holiday in Morocco. I had read somewhere that it's better to practice for a short time each day than for an extended period once a week. So I decided that if I couldn't do yoga for 15 minutes each day when on holiday, when could I? We can all do a few sun salutations, a twist and spend some time in Savasana or 10 minutes a day quietly watching our breath. I admit it was some time before sheer determination to get up early and practice became a routine as customary as brushing my teeth. So rather than putting unrealistic pressure and expectations on yourself, start with just 5 minutes; your practice will soon grow.

2. When the going gets tough

Travel can be tough on the body, and the mind. Long haul flights, overnight trains and buses with limited legroom, carrying a heavy pack, sleeping in beds of varying firmness and quality, all cause pressure in different ways. Overall, my body generally feels better when I'm away from computers and long periods spent sitting, but you might find that different parts of your body hurt from the usual ones. Fortunately, yoga can make a big difference. Your practice doesn't need to be complicated, just get on your mat and see what happens. Once you start you will find you intuitively move your body in the way that it needs to. Even a brief daily practice will sort out those aches and pains, and make you ready for your next day of adventures.

3. Things do go wrong

When travelling, as in life, things don't always go to plan. Your train breaks down, you miss your bus, the monsoon rains make it impossible to do anything. Yoga philosophy kicks in at this point, teaching us to use these times as an opportunity to stop, pause, breathe and be truly present in the moment. Try taking a few breaths: couldn't you do this more in your everyday life? We rush around all the time at home in our 'real' lives, why do it on the road as well? Is it really the end of the world if you catch the next bus, watch the monsoon or read your book? Wouldn't you love to have more time to pause at home? The more often you spend a small part of your day on your mat to familiarise yourself with stopping, breathing and stillness, the more you'll be able to access and implement these practices in your day-to-day life.

4. Be your best you

The beauty of socialising when you travel is you can play with the person you are, and try being more like the person you'd like to be. There's no reason why you can't nurture the qualities you would like to develop in yourself in this safe environment. You will never see most of your fellow travellers again, so who cares what they think? I've had many conversations with other travellers about how they actually 'like' themselves more when they travel. We become, perhaps, the person we want to be - more patient, more grateful, more sociable. Wouldn't you like to be a person who frequently says hello to strangers, who takes the time to speak to and help people, who is constantly grateful for their wealth, health and life? Like yoga, travel can teach us to be better people, if we make the effort to notice the lessons around us. And the more we practice yoga, the better we become at observing ourselves, so we can promote the qualities we like and accept the qualities we don't.

5. Embrace your freedom

Yoga isn't about complicated postures. For me, it's more about being prepared to have a go: to face whatever scares or challenges me, without trying too hard or wanting it too much. It's about developing our intuition and learning to trust that our instinct will guide us in the right direction, whatever that direction may be. It is about being grounded in order to be free and understanding how this grounding facilitates freedom, both during our asana practice and in the world. It is this groundedness, developed through my yoga practice, that enables me to enjoy the freedom of travel and whatever the world offers me, without feeling unsettled or unstable (most of the time anyway). And, rather than detract from your holiday, yoga will add to your experience, much as in day-to-day life, complementing your travels by providing valuable opportunities for reflection and learning about yourself, other people and the world. Let yoga enrich your travels and your life as much as it has mine.

Eagle Pose on a mountain top 

Barbequed Butternut Squash

As a vegetarian, barbeques can sometimes be challenging! Shop-bought veggie burgers are often tasteless and home-made ones, although yummy and full of healthy ingredients, have a tendency to disintegrate into the flames! Halloumi (Cypriot cheese made with sheep's milk) is always reliable and delicious and I love, love, love it. Another option is to barbeque butternut squash. As I write this it is pouring with rain (my garden is happy!) and a barbeque is definitely not an option, so I have cooked the squash on a baking sheet in the oven first for 20 minutes and finished it off in the griddle pan, which gave me that same results as barbequing it.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (choose one with a longer "neck" rather than a rounder base, as you can cut more discs before you reach the seedy part).

1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper
Herbs of your choice (I used fresh Rosemary and dried Thyme)

Mix the olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and dried Thyme in a cup. Wash the squash and slice the neck into discs. You can leave the skin on in you want to - it's very nutritious - but if you don't like it's slightly chewy texture you can peel it first. Brush the discs with the marinade and place on the barbeque. Grill until the flesh is soft and the surface is brown and caramel-y. Serve on a salad or in a bun.

Here's a nice restful meditation for you to practice. Perfect when you want a little time to yourself to rejuvinate.

A Little Bit of Maya (and Oprah) to Help You on Your Way

Last week in my yoga classes I offered the following quote:

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."  

It is good advice for your time on the yoga mat doing your physical practice, and off it, as you continue to grow, learn and evolve your spiritual practice. 

The quote is by Maya Angelou, poet, author, actor, dancer, producer, director and all-round wise woman, who died last year aged 86. 

I've loved her way, and her work, from the first time I saw her on the Oprah Winfrey show. She was all about being the very best person you can be. She was about freedom, love, being bold and doing the right thing. She has a lot to teach us. In this video Oprah shares what a powerful influence Maya Angelou has been on her life and how she passes on Maya's wisdom to others.

https://youtu.be/fx447Shhttps://youtu.be/fx447ShQLeEQLeE

I've shared my favourite poem of hers "Still I Rise" before but it is so very wonderful that it warrants another showing. Here she is, with her fabulous energy and accent, encouraging us to get back up again after we have been criticised, let down or challenged.  

If you'd like to know more about Maya Angelou and her extraordinary life you can take a look at her biography here. 

Creamy Pea Dressing

I'm eating lots of salads at the moment, which feels good and healthy but I always have a little concern about the dressing I use as they often contain hidden additives and are high in calories. This Creamy Pea Dressing is an easy way to get good flavour and lots of nutrients without any dairy products or added chemicals. 

Peas have high nutritional value with lots of Vitamins A, B-complex and C and contain minerals like calcium, potassium and zinc. Impressive levels of Alpha-Linoleic Acid make peas an anti-inflammatory whole food.

You don't have to use fresh peas, frozen peas work well and they are frozen immediately they are picked so retain their freshness, vitamins and minerals. You could blend in some herbs too for added flavour. This is a US recipe so amounts are in cups - I used a tea cup as my measure.

 Ingredients:
1/2 cup green peas (fresh, or frozen and thawed)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

In a blender, combine all the ingredients and puree on high speed; thin out with 1 tablespoon of water, if needed, until desired consistency is reached. Dressing may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Easy pea-sy!! Sorry, couldn't resist!

Leo Babauta has written another great post on his blog zenhabits.net. It's about what to do when you're feeling stuck ....

6 Things to Know About How to Get Out of Funk Town

By Leo Babauta from ZenHabits.net

Sometimes you just aren’t motivated, maybe you’re feeling depressed (as opposed to full-blown clinical depression), maybe you just don’t have the energy to focus on work.

We’ve all been there from time to time, and the good news is, we’ve all climbed out of this funk to some degree.

I’ve found there are two main factors to finding yourself in Funk Town:

• You have low energy, from a lack of sleep, overwork, an illness, or overdoing the exercise (you know who you are).

• You get into a negative thinking spiral — one self-doubt leads to another, one bad thought about your life leads to another, until you no longer believe in yourself.

These two factors often work together — usually when I’m jet lagged, or just went through a family crisis, or am severely sleep-deprived, I start down the negative thinking spiral.

Here’s the first thing to know about how you’re thinking during this slump: don’t believe any of your thoughts.

That’s because your mind, when it gets tired and negative, enters a childlike state — not the “let your mind be childlike and playful” kinda childlike, but more like, “Gimme what I want or I’m gonna throw a tantrum” kinda cranky, selfish, petulant child. This is not your best self, but a self that is suffering and just wants to be comfortable. That’s completely understandable.

Here’s the next think to know about this slump: You shouldn’t listen to the urges and thoughts of the childlike tantrum-throwing mind when you’re in Funk Town … but do listen to the needs. Your childlike self wants to rest, doesn’t want to do too much work, is tired and maybe needs some comforting.

Comfort yourself when you’re suffering. Not with food but with love. Give yourself rest when you’re tired. Make fixing your sleep a top priority. Go to bed earlier, turn off all screens, let yourself unwind, meditate while in bed, make sure there’s no TV or other lights on, and get some great sleep.

Weirdly, it also helps to get active. Take care of sleep, and don’t overdo your activity, but if you’ve been working from home or stuck in an office a lot, it’s often better to get your body moving — go for a walk, play a sport, do something active with friends.

A third thing to know: When you’re in Funk Town, don’t believe what your mind thinks about yourself and your work. It will say, “I don’t want to do that!” or “I can’t do that” or “I’m not good enough” or “I don’t care about that anymore.” None of that is believable, simply because the mind that’s saying these things is in a state of panic and fear and extreme discomfort. That’s not a believable mind.

Instead, notice these thoughts, then tell yourself, “I’m just suffering right now. I’ll figure this out when I’m in a calmer state of mind.”

Once you’re in a calmer state of mind, feeling better, then take assessment of your work. You might find you still love it, or if you don’t, you might calmly find another path that’s even better.

A fourth thing to know: It helps a lot to talk to someone else, who has an outsider’s perspective. Talk to a friend, a spouse, a parent, a co-worker, anyone. I can’t stress this enough — don’t be too proud to reach out for help.

A fifth thing: Once you’ve taken care of your rest and your health, you should do some work. Not a ton, but some. Put in some diligent effort, get a little done. Just enough to feel good that you did something.

It also really helps to start clearing your plate a little, if you’re overloaded. Start saying No to work instead of Yes all the time, as a friend of mine did recently when he was in Funk Town, and you’ll feel some relief.

Finally a sixth thing to know: It’s OK to be in Funk Town now and then. We all do it, so you’re not alone at all. It’s human to go through ups and downs, to not always be on a high of amazing psychitude. We sometimes doubt ourselves, sometimes get really tired, sometimes suffer. Don’t worry about being in Funk Town. You’ll get out of it, and because of your experience in Funk Town, you’ll be stronger and wiser and ready to take on the next challenge with renewed gratitude.

On Beauty

Last weekend I was away taking a group of students on a yoga retreat. We were staying in an country house in the heart of the East Sussex countryside. The house is old and quirky with a unique history, and the garden is magical and slightly wild. Our yoga space was a beautiful yurt which provided us with a quiet circle in which to do our practice, enabling us to feel connected to each other in a peaceful way.

We ate healthy, vegetarian food, made new friends and took time to relax, restore and replenish. It was a beautiful weekend. On my return I found I was looking at familiar things in a different way, noticing beauty in the ordinary. Every thing and every one of us is beautiful in it's own way - we just need to look outside of the stereotypes that our culture presses upon us. 

Nowhere, in my humble opinion, is beauty more apparent than in the natural world. Perfect in it's imperfections, nature reminds us time and time again that there is beauty to be found everywhere we look if we choose to see it. Bindweed, by it's very name, is a weed that we want to eradicate from our gardens, but if you take a closer look you'll see that the flower is truly beautiful. Maybe we could do this more often and learn look outside of conventional opinions of beauty and see it within ourselves too. 

Beautiful Bindweed

This lovely article speaks for itself:

50 Reasons Why You Are Absolutely Beautiful

by Linnea Jensen-Stewart via Elephant Journal 

Beauty is this word that is often thrown around conditionally.

It’s another category that can sometimes feel esoteric. To me, beauty is a celebration of everything in our lives—even the stuff that we shove deep down in hopes of never seeing that “ugliness” again—it’s the organic substance that fuels our gorgeous smile, and breathtaking laugh. Beauty in its rawness can’t be faked.

1. You are beautiful when you are afraid to do something, and you do it anyway. 
2. If you have been to hell and back, your resilience is beautiful.
3. Beauty is a daring action. One that is built on your authentic intention instead of being attached to the outcome.
4. Asking questions—especially “why?”—is always beautiful. Why? Because curiosity is beautiful. 
5.  If you can string words together into a sentence, and you’re brave enough to let someone else read it, that’s beautiful.
6. Flat stomachs are beautiful, absolutely, but big, soft bellies are beautiful, too.
7. It is beautiful to speak another language. It is beautiful to try.
8. Beauty is putting paint on canvas, or strumming a guitar, or capturing a stunning moment in a picture, or dancing with your eyes closed.
9. Creating is always beautiful.
10. Your eyes are beautiful. Nobody else has eyes like yours. They are deep and authentic and instantly recognizable.
11. Beauty is being brave enough to embrace your feelings- the good, the bad, and the ugly. To open yourself to the possibility that there is something magnificent there. 
12. Remember the time your best friend called you crying? Because only your voice could calm her down? That was beautiful.
13. Beauty is laughing so hard your stomach hurts and you’re yelling, “Stop! Seriously, I’m peeing!” Yes. Peeing your pants can be beautiful.
14. Beauty is not letting ignorance be mistaken for truth. Even if you’re the one in the dark.
15. Beauty is calling someone out for saying something hurtful, even if you weren’t the one getting hurt.
16. Your legs are beautiful. No, really. They are. Admire the curve of your calves, the muscles in your thighs, the peaks and valleys of your knee.
17. Letting go of a toxic relationship? Ah, what a beautiful relief!
18. You are beautiful when you rock out so hard at a concert that your neck is sore the next day.
19. Intelligence is beautiful.
20. Humor. There is nothing more beautiful than laughter.
21. Compassion is very, very beautiful.
22. Beauty is wearing an outfit so fierce that when people compliment you on it you say, “I know, right?” and then, “Oh, I mean, thank you.”
23. Strong opinions are beautiful.
24. Respecting other people’s strong opinions is beautiful too.
25. Beauty is your hometown, whether you love it or hate it, because it helped shape you who you are.
26. Beauty is telling a joke only you think is funny and laughing so hard nobody can hear the punchline.
27. Walking away from a relationship –Platonic or romantic because you know its the only way to truly love them is to stop trying to change them, and let them be who they are. That is most beautiful.

28. Deep breaths are beautiful.
29. Listening is beautiful. Choosing to respond instead of react- even if you don’t want to hear it- trusting that there is always something valuable in someone else’s words.
30. Your bare face in the morning is beautiful. Ask the people that love you. It’s true.
31. The way our bodies tell the truth—we blush when we are attracted to someone, we blink twice when we lie, we get sick when we’re pushing our mental limits—is beautiful.
32. Having faith in someone else’s word, because we know we’ve been true to our own. That is beautiful.
33. Beauty is being comfortable enough with someone else to be silent. As the character Sherry Anne in the movie Best In Show put it, “We could talk or not talk forever and still find things to not talk about.”
34. Beauty is being able to walk gracefully in high heels.
35. Beauty is digging your bare feet into the sand.
36. Beauty is sitting very still with your thoughts.
37. It is beautiful to find the strength to ask for help when you need it. No matter how successful you are. We all feel like we’re drowning sometimes, and we would all be glad to pull you from the rapids.
38. Beauty is loving your pet as much as they love you.
39. Beauty is a fresh flower in your hair.
40. The physical remnants of our life experiences—stretch marks, scars, wrinkles, and sun spots—are beautiful.
41. Wisdom is beautiful.
42. Humility is beautiful.
43. Beauty is the sweaty satisfaction of a hard workout- moving your body in the way it was meant to.
44. It is beautiful to finally tell someone your secret.
45. It is beautiful to turn the worst night into the funniest story- the ability to see the humor in the darker, sometimes neglected parts of our life.
46. Beauty is being able to truly enjoy the food you eat.
47. It is beautiful to be grateful to all the strong people who came before you: the ones who raised you, the ones who fought for your rights, the ones who were burned at the stake because they were too powerful.
48. Giving birth is beautiful. (Messy, but beautiful.) Rebirth– as many times as necessary- is also beautiful.
49. Freedom is beautiful. You are free to fill your life with the things that make you happy. You have a choice.
50. Happiness is beautiful. Never be ashamed of being happy.

Beautifully Yummy and Summery Cocktail (alcohol-free)

I recently went for a meal at Giraffe restaurant and had a wonderful pineapple and coconut no-alcohol cocktail called a Wavebreaker. It was really good, like a Pina Colada, and reminded me of holidays. I thought I'd try to replicate it at home and it was a success. It's really easy, and way more healthy than most cocktails. Pineapple juice contains large amounts of Vitamin C, and contains an enzyme called Bromelian which is anti-inflammatory, aids digestion, and is also a natural anti-coagulant, helping to slow blood clotting. 

The coconut milk is very low in calories, and contains no added sugars. I've been using Alpro coconut milk for a while now as a milk substitute, not because I'm lactose intolerant but for ethical reasons. I've never felt comfortable with the dairy industry and mass produced milk and all the animal welfare horrors it entails. Coconut milk obviously avoids these and the production of it uses less water, land and generates less CO2 than dairy milk so it feels a better alternative for me. 

Here's what you'll need to make a Wavebreaker:

Pineapple juice (make sure it is pure juice, not a juice drink which has added sugars/sweeteners, or you could make your own juice for even tastier results)
Coconut milk (I use Alpro Coconut from the chill counter in most supermarkets)
Fresh mint
Ice

And here's how to make it:

Put some ice in your glass.
Fill the glass half-full with pineapple juice, then fill to the top with coconut milk.
Add some mint (crush it first to release the flavours).
Stir with a straw.
Take outside and sit and drink it in the sunshine for that holiday feeling :-)

Take Some Time to Relax and Have Beautifully Soft Feet 

It's so important to take time to look after yourself. We can be very good at looking after others, either at home with our families, or at work but there's a tendency to not be so good at doing it for ourselves. 

Yoga practice helps, giving us space to feel how the body feels and the opportunity to reconnect with the soul. It gives us time to pause, and we get to press the reset button before we go on with the rest of the day, hopefully with a little less stress and tension and a little more clarity and positivity. 

This simple, natural foot spa is a lovely treat, especially in this hot weather when your feet might be a tad sweaty!! You'll need a bowl of warm water, some Epsom Salts if you have them (you can buy them in Boots or a health food shop), a couple of drops of lavender oil, and some whole almonds. If you have a nut allergy you can use sea salt to scrub your feet instead but you will need to use a moisturiser afterwards. 

First, grind your almonds in a food processor until they are like coarse breadcrumbs. Don't grind them too finely or they'll lose their "scrub" quality.

Then fill a clean washing up bowl with warm water and add a tablespoon of Epsom Salts. These are high in magnesium and are a good muscle relaxant so will feel great for achy feet if you've been standing or walking all day. Add a couple of drops of lavender oil (and maybe some lavender flowers if they're growing in your garden) then sit and soak your feet for 10 minutes. Bliss!

Then take a scoop of the ground almonds and rub all over each foot, scrubbing hard to remove dead skin and rough patches. Almonds are high in Vitamin E which is healing, anti-inflammatory and moisturising so their natural oils will leave your feet feeling really smooth and soft.

Finally, dry your feet gently with a towel. If they still feel dry you can moisturise them with a little bit of coconut or almond oil. 

If you have any of the almonds left over you can keep them in a tupperware for a couple of weeks and use them as an all-over body scrub in the shower (try not to get them too wet in the pot or they'll go off more quickly). They also work miracles as a hand scrub too.

  

Here's a great fun video entitled "All About That Base" reminding us about the importance of a strong foundation in our practice. It shows all sorts of people doing all sorts of yoga poses with a smile on their faces - beautiful :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yZ75hcjRyHs

Have a beautiful weekend.

Go Gratitude!

I was recently given a gift from one of my students. She had just returned from a visit to Dharamshala in Northern India where she had the honor of visiting the Dalai Lama! She brought this scroll back for me:

The words on it read “Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” – Dalai Lama

It's now hanging on my wall as a constant reminder to be grateful for the abundance in my life and, indeed, for life itself.

If you've been practicing yoga for a while you will be aware of the Yamas and Niyamas - the first and second of the 8 limbs of yoga as written down by the ancient sage Patanjali as guidelines for living a fulfilling and meaningful life. The Yamas help us align our behaviour so that we can live harmoniously with others. There are 5 Yamas, the last of which is Aparigraha which translates as non-possessiveness or non-grasping.

Practicing Aparigraha teaches us how to let go of attachment to things we don't have in our life, and to have gratitude for the many things that we already do. It brings us an awareness of our consumer culture where we are constantly fed adverts and images of things we are told we "should" have in our lives. Once we are aware of this, we can consciously choose the things we would like to enhance our lives and not just buy because we are told our lives are lacking or because someone else has them and we feel we should too. Practicing gratitude turns lack into abundance.

This article by Leo Babauta from zenhabits.net provides a helpful list of ways you can be grateful.

8 Tremendously Important Ways That Gratitude Can Change Your Life

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

It’s amazing how one simple, easy, positive action can change so much in a person’s life.

One of the things that has had the biggest effect on my life is the realization of the power of gratitude. Simply giving thanks.

It has affected everything. It has made me a more positive person. A more productive person. A better achiever. A better husband and father and son and brother (at least, I like to think so). A happier person. I’m not perfect, but gratitude has made me better.

Can it change your life as well? I can guarantee it. You might not get the exact same benefits as I have, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the simple act of gratitude on a regular basis will change anyone’s life, positively and immediately. How many other changes can claim to be that quick, that easy, and that profound?

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can incorporate gratitude into your life, and how it will change your life. These are just some examples, based on my experience and the experiences of others I’ve talked with, and not all will apply to your life. But pick and choose the ones you think will work for you.

1. Have a morning gratitude session. Take one minute in the morning (make it a daily ritual) to think of the people who have done something nice for you, to think of all the things in your life you’re grateful for. You won’t get to everything in one minute, but it’s enough. And it will instantly make your day better, and help you start your day off right. Can you think of a better use of one minute?

2. When you’re having a hard day … make a gratitude list. We all have those bad days sometimes. We are stressed out from work. We get yelled at by someone. We lose a loved one. We hurt a loved one. We lose a contract or do poorly on a project. One of the things that can make a bad day much better is making a list of all the things you’re thankful for. There are always things to be thankful for — loved ones, health, having a job, having a roof over your head and clothes on your back, life itself.

3. Instead of getting mad at someone, show gratitude. That’s a major switching of attitudes — actually a complete flip. And so this isn’t always easy to do. But I can promise you that it’s a great thing to do. If you get mad at your co-worker, for example, because of something he or she did … bite your tongue and don’t react in anger. Instead, take some deep breaths, calm down, and try to think of reasons you’re grateful for that person. Has that person done anything nice for you? Has that person ever done a good job? Find something, anything, even if it’s difficult. Focus on those things that make you grateful. It will slowly change your mood. And if you get in a good enough mood, show your gratitude to that person. It will improve your mood, your relationship, and help make things better. After showing gratitude, you can ask for a favor — can he please refrain from shredding your important documents in the future? And in the context of your gratitude, such a favor isn’t such a hard thing for the co-worker to grant.

4. Instead of criticising your significant other, show gratitude. This is basically the same as the above tactic, but I wanted to point out how gratitude can transform a marriage or relationship. If you constantly criticize your spouse, your marriage will slowly deteriorate — I promise you. It’s important to be able to talk out problems, but no one likes to be criticized all the time. Instead, when you find yourself feeling the urge to criticize, stop and take a deep breath. Calm down, and think about all the reasons you’re grateful for your spouse. Then share that gratitude, as soon as possible. Your relationship will become stronger. Your spouse will learn from your example — especially if you do this all the time. Your love will grow, and all will be right in the world.

5. Instead of complaining about your kids, be grateful for them. Many parents (myself included) get frustrated with their children. They are too slow to do things, they have a bad attitude, they can’t clean up after themselves, and they pick their nose too much. Unfortunately, sometimes parents will communicate that frustration to their children too often, and the kids will begin to feel bad about themselves. Many parents have done this, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a part of parenthood. But there’s a better way: follow the method above of calming down when you’re frustrated, and thinking of reasons you’re grateful to your child. Share these reasons with your child. And then take the opportunity to teach them, instead of criticizing them.

6. When you face a major challenge, be grateful for it. Many people will see something difficult as a bad thing. If something goes wrong, it’s a reason to complain, it’s a time of self-pity. That won’t get you anywhere. Instead, learn to be grateful for the challenge — it’s an opportunity to grow, to learn, to get better at something. This will transform you from a complainer into a positive person who only continues to improve. People will like you better and you’ll improve your career. Not too shabby.

7. When you suffer a tragedy, be grateful for the life you still have. I’ve recently lost an aunt, and my children recently lost a grandmother. These tragedies can be crippling if you let them overcome you. And while I’m not saying you shouldn’t grieve — of course you should — you can also take away something even greater from these tragedies: gratitude for the life you still have. Appreciation for the fleeting beauty of life itself. Love for the people who are still in your life. Take this opportunity to show appreciation to these people, and to enjoy life while you can.

8. Instead of looking at what you don’t have, look at what you do have. Have you ever looked around you and bemoaned how little you have? How the place you live isn’t your dream house, or the car you drive isn’t as nice as you’d like, or your peers have cooler gadgets or better jobs? If so, that’s an opportunity to be grateful for what you already have. It’s easy to forget that there are billions of people worse off than you — who don’t have much in the way of shelter or clothes, who don’t own a car and never will, who don’t own a gadget or even know what one is, who don’t have a job at all or only have very menial, miserable jobs in sweatshop conditions. Compare your life to these people’s lives, and be grateful for the life you have. And realize that it’s already more than enough, that happiness is not a destination — it’s already here.

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

One of the best ways I have found to practice gratitude is by writing down 3 things that I am grateful for that day. I started with the most important things like family, friends, my home and health, then expanded outwards. 

I tried not to write the same thing over and over, although I will always be grateful for the big things that I wrote down first. Now I find that I am writing down the little things which make life feel abundant. At this moment, as I write this, it is warm enough to have the patio doors open, there is a blackbird sitting in the tree in my garden singing it's heart out and I am also listening to some lovely music. This is a good moment and I am grateful. 

I don't write in my journal every day - I don't want it to feel like a chore - but I do keep it by my bed so it is within easy reach and it's a lovely thing to do before I go to sleep. 

I recommend writing in a gratitude journal as a way to bring you to the present moment, and help you appreciate what's happening right here and now, but it is also nice to look back through it every now and then. You'll realise you have written down page after page of good things about your life and you can see how fabulous, plentiful and precious it really is.

My gratitude journal - another beautiful gift from a friend 

Banana Ice-Cream Recipe

Did you try last week's super-simple recipe for Broccoli Soup? I made it again today for lunch - so yummy! I really didn't think I could find a simpler recipe but I was reminded about this one because I am making dinner tonight for a diabetic guest and I just had to share it with you. Here is the ingredients list:

2 ripe bananas

Yup, that's it!  Just 2 bananas is what you need to make ice-cream!!!

Here's how to make it:

Peel and slice your two bananas into rounds and put in the freezer in a tupperware for at least 4 hours.  

Put the frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or blender and whizz them up. At first they will look like breadcrumbs. Scrape down the food processor with a spatula.

Blend again and the banana pieces will start to turn gooey. Scrape down and blend again. The mixture will change consistency to a creamy ice-cream texture. Blend once more briefly (here you can add extras like chopped nuts or chocolate chips if you want). Then scrape the mixture back into the tupperware and put back in the freezer for a while to firm it up again. Serve using an ice-cream scoop. Magic, magic, magic!!!

This is nice - you might need a tissue to wipe your eye! Then go do it yourself - I did and it felt good ;-)

https://youtu.be/oHv6vTKD6lg?list=PLzvRx_johoA_QznlVHjbByQdHZAhWRQzr