Month: April 2020

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Holiday blues?

ying yoga

I love travelling. All travel. Abroad or local. Far flung, or just a hidden path around the corner.

My style is to have no set plan of where to go or what to do – I’m a huge fan of just exploring new places, and seeing which activities that leads me to.

Where to next? Well, I’m not sure. There are so many places in the world to visit, and so many things to do. All usually so easy to get to, whether that’s hopping on a train or a plane, and yet now… I guess since this lockdown we’ve all cut down on our carbon footprints!

Before this all started, people would always ask me what I’ve got planned for my hols, and for once I had nothing. They all commented that it wasn’t like me! I guess it’s worked out well in a way, as I’ve not ended up with plans to change, cancel, or postpone. Definitely a blessing in disguise.

What will I do and where will I go afterwards? I can’t say I know. I feel that I will probably not go anywhere far. Maybe stay put in Cambridgeshire, or possibly just to somewhere else in the UK. There are some beautiful places here, but as we all know it really does depend on the weather!

Where will you go? What do you want to do? Any thoughts? Decisions, decisions, decisions!

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Transcendental meditation

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I’ve always practiced meditation, ever since I was a kid, but have never needed a label, so didn’t know what to call it!

Curiosity got the better of me, and after a few years of sending many enquiries out, I stumbled upon a name – transcendental meditation (TM). I felt a great connection with the teacher who was able to give me the name, so I decided to start studying TM with Jonathan.

We’re still in touch – he also has an essential oil shop, and does marma therapy. He has an incredibly humble aura, and I want to be like him when I’m older. He’s such an inspirational man.

This happened in December 2017, and in January 2018 my dad sadly had a severe stroke. He wasn’t awake for 4 weeks (of his own accord). Once he woke up, he had lost his speech, his ability to swallow, and movement of his right side.

He was in hospital for about 5 months, then was forced to move into a home. I know the hospital needs beds, but we wanted him home and were told no, so was in an awful place for the last two months of his life.

I visited him every day, sometimes twice, for seven months, on top of my work commitments. It wasn’t easy. We had lots of challenges to face ourselves, and my dad’s dignity was never met, both in hospital and the home.

It’s just so sad to see and witness how cruel life is, when we are led to believe it’s not. Not only with my dad; I witnessed this with so many other people in the same boat.

This is all an aside, some background for the post about meditation. I will be forever grateful that TM was in my life then. I did not have time to do any physical yoga practice for myself, but meditation is also a type of yoga! Some people associate yoga with the physical movements (asanas), but it’s much more than that.

TM got me through the hardest part of my life, even though it still hurts now. I cannot recommend it enough. Whatever form of meditation you choose, and however you do it: just do it. Start, or carry on. Learn more, and practise. Just 20 minutes twice a day.

It’s easy to learn and accessible to everyone. It lets you stay present in life, in the midst of whatever way your life is heading, and whatever you’re currently facing. It’s especially good in the middle of all of the chaos we find ourselves in at the minute.

Please do get in touch if you want to learn, or know more information – it really is a useful skill for life.

Keep grounded. Keep meditating.

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Raw cheesecake

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As I keep getting asked for this recipe, I thought I would share it – maybe you have these things in and can give it a go!
It’s so easy to do and there’s no baking either. Oh, and no cheese! It’s raw and vegan (but please don’t give it to anyone with a nut allergy!!)
I love these for snacks – I usually make small individual ones in a muffin tray. You can use a normal cake tin if you want to make a bigger one.
I sometimes eat them frozen to give more an ice cream feel, and something thaw them for a creamer texture.
The filling  flavours are endless too – there’s sure to be something you love!
I’ve experimented with the following so far:
– Matcha green tea
– Chocolate/cacao with caramel (and just plain chocolate/cacao, and plain caramel!)
– Blueberry
– Strawberry
– Peanut butter
– Mint
– Orange
Please share your ideas too!
I also don’t like waste, so after making a batch I make a smoothie before I’ve washed the blender! Add fruit, veggies and water then mix and drink!
Ingredients
Base
1 cup of Pitted medjool dates
1 cup of Walnuts or almonds
Filling
1 1/2 cup Cashew nuts
2/3 cup Coconut milk
1 large lemon, juiced
Pinch Himalayan Salt
1/2 cup Agave nectar or maple syrup, if needed
Method 
Place dates in a food processor, mix until they form a ball, then take out.
Put the nuts in the food processor, and blitz to small pieces. Add the dates back in, and blend until they form a dough-like texture. It should stick together well, so if it’s too dry add a little water, or if it’s too wet add more nuts.
Put the date/nut mixture in your choice of tray, and press it down to compact it. Place this in the freezer while you prepare the filling (or about 15 minutes, whichever is longer).
Add all filling ingredients to the food processor, and mix until you have a creamy texture.
Get the tray from the freezer, and scoop the filling on top of the base. You may need to tapthe tray on a surface a few times to release any air bubbles. Place it back in the freezer for 4-6 hours until it is set firmly.
Then, take out, share, and eat!
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Lockdown – the simple life

ying yoga
Since lockdown, I’ve discovered the joy in finding time to do things like going on a bike ride or a walk with my family who I’m locked in with. 
Going down memory lane to places I’ve not been to since I was a kid; finding pathways I never knew existed.
Loving exploring again. No, it might not a new country, or a new place, but we can still explore what’s in front of us if we really think and open our eyes and ears. This lockdown has shown me that again.
Life should not be all work, work, work. Striving to slow down and just be, so you can look and feel what’s around you is just as important.
Going down to the allotment with my mum, watching her grow some of our food. Things I don’t really know about, which I feel I should try and learn.
Having time to read more, and cook more of the things I love!
So much of this simplistic life which we usually take for granted.
It really can be soul soothing. Feeling rested, to feel energised. It’s good for everyone whether we admit or not…
I know not all of us have been given this opportunity as we need to work, or have others to care for, but believe me I would doing that if I could. Being brought up from a hard working background has made the enforced stopping really difficult.
So, I’m honouring this time, and feeling gratitude that this has made me stop, pause, and reflect.
Please keep well and healthy!
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All I wanna do is have some fun!

ying yoga
While waiting for my latest Zoom yoga session to start, I had a spontaneous thought, and decided to try and post every day on social media (links below) all sorts of different ways to do headstands.
Each post is a video, to show that they can be done, wobbles and all! A wobble is just the core connecting and waiting to stabilise, and they happen to everyone!
Firstly, the most important is to get your foundation right. Then, you need to let go of your fear, engage your muscles, and up you go.
Practice makes perfect so they say – I’m not achieving perfection but doing this light heartedly! If you’ve never done a headstand before, please seek guidance and use a wall to gain confidence first.
Some people think it’s just messing around, or having a play, but it’s all fun, and why shouldn’t I have fun?! Fun keeps us young, and you’re never too old to have fun – playtime is definitely not just for children, but we’re all young at heart.
Get creative, try new things. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and see what you can achieve and create!
So, headstands done differently. Any thoughts or suggestions? Ones I’ve tried so far are:
Day 1 Tripod headstand to crow to headstand
Day 2 Feetup trainer, headstand to tuck in to headstand
Day 3 My yoga wheel, plank to pike headstand to plank
…and lots more to come!
Check out my Instagram or Facebook and let me know your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to see your creations too! Have fun!
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Live yoga

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Oh my god! Really? I have to do this?

Given the current situation, my schedule has now changed. I’m offering yoga lessons via Zoom, for £5 each:

Monday 6pm
Wednesday 6.30pm
Saturday 9.30am

Live yoga online is something I was not really prepared to do, but like most things I tend to work better when I’m thrown in at the deep end.

It was slightly daunting for me (to say the least!), so why did I do it? To stay connected to my yogis.

Seeing them and practicing with them makes me smile, and making me smile makes my heart warm.

After getting set up at home, the real work began with plenty of trial and error, as I’m no techie. But, thanks to lots of patience from my yogis as well as myself we started to get there.

So I’m still learning, which I love! I’m definitely a “forever student”. As the weeks roll on, I will keep going.

When we get back to normal life again, how will it be? Will we still be doing online yoga? It’s something one has to contemplate.

Being in the same room, with a sense of togetherness is more for me, for sure. I enjoy being able to see in real time, have a connection with people, and hug! The last touch in savasana is something I just can’t do over the Internet. So I will definitely be returning to Studio White Tara and Hughes hall one day, but I might find more yogis and decide to stay online too!

Stay connected, stay safe, embrace this for what it is, and keep learning!

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Stay well…..

ying yoga

Under these circumstances I know we are all feeling anxious, including myself. What are we going to do? Where are we going to get money from? How will we pay the bills? And so the list goes on…

We are forced to stop, and after hearing the initial dialogue running around our heads, we start to breathe and find the space we are in (whatever form that takes)

I know that’s how it is for me. There are lots of jobs to be done, I have catch up on everything that I suddenly need to do, and still find some time for me. How did I do all this and work?

However, this situation has made me think about how precious time is! More than anything, there’s actually time for me to stop and be.

This simple life is what we all are really striving for – not the fast rat race we find ourselves in usually.

For me, I found focusing on my breath has been really helpful. I know what you’re thinking: “We do that anyway!”. Yes we do. We are born with this, but it’s so underrated.

Really feeling and finding my breath has been a journey alongside yoga and meditation.

We all have different breathing patterns, and what we hold in our bodies is really everything.

We need movement like yoga to help this, but our breath is also a movement. It helps to release emotions, trauma, and dramas within us. We all have these to a degree, whether they are big, small, or you haven’t realised them yet. Breath keeps us grounded with a clearer head and helps us to work through the issues.

It’s time to let go and breathe…