30 days of Yoga Camp

As anyone who talks to me about yoga knows, I LOVE Yoga With Adriene. She's the most amazing teacher and guide you could ask for and she even accomplishes this through home practice videos on YouTube, not even in person (although she does run group classes in Austin, TX - what I wouldn't give to go!). I've spoken more about her attitude and approach in a previous post but this one I want to dedicate to the 30 day yoga camp she ran throughout January, now that I've come to the end.

This 30 day program is similar to the one Adriene launched last year but this time she took the idea of self love and improved body image through yoga to a new level. There were daily emails and mantras to focus on during each video to develop your practice and ultimately to reduce any negative thoughts about your yoga abilities and beyond. I've never been particularly good at switching my head of during yoga. Sometimes I find myself planning my day or thinking about other things while holding an asana and I have to make a conscious effort to bring my focus back to my breathing. Adding the mantras to my practice each day was such a great way to keep my mind in my yoga and in the moment. If I felt my thoughts drifting I would just repeat the mantra and it immediately brought me back to my practice.

Now this might sound a bit mushy, maybe even uncomfortable to think about, never mind work to improve, but with all the pressure we put on ourselves to maintain or achieve a certain image, the idea of accepting ourselves and nurturing out bodies instead of punishing them is a really important one! I'm going to come right out and say I've had body image issues and thought that the idea of loving and accepting my body wasn't something I ever thought I would be fully comfortable with. But luckily, I was wrong! I had been working on the idea of acceptance and nurture for a while so joining this camp felt like an excellent next step in my journey as I was totally open and on board with everything Adriene was saying and trying to cultivate in me through mantra and yoga. However, if you have not started your journey towards self love, or have long since embraced it!, don't let that put you off giving it a go because if nothing else, yoga is great for mind and body purely through its movements and if along the journey you start to feel better about your outlook on things and have less toxic thoughts then it's a bonus! Even if you're a total beginner there are always options for the harder or more advanced poses or if, like me, your flexibility is limited then no worries! Adriene has got your back, and so do I. The last day is open to 'free practice' and I must admit that at the end of the last 30 day challenge I skipped it because I didn't know what to do! But this time I felt more than comfortable listening to my body and what I felt I wanted to do or experience and created my own flow and it was amazing! My final mantra? I am enough. And so are you. 

Staying grounded

I knew it had been quite a while since I last wrote anything on here but I can't believe it's been as long as two and half months! Time really has been flying for me lately and a lot of changes have been coming along with that. Where I was two and a half months ago in my journey is very different to the part I'm at now. With all the craziness and things I've been doing its sometimes difficult to take time out from your to-do list and just take time for yourself. And by this I don't mean just sitting watching TV or something because then you're not really giving your mind a break, just your body! Making sure that I stay 'me' through this crazy period is really important and definitely is a benefit of those around me too!

Yoga is something that always helps me stay grounded and connect my mind, breath and body together as one. While my running also helps me clear my mind it's a different kind of sensation than I get from yoga. I enjoy the feeling of the ground through my mat and physically supporting myself through the moves with my feet and hands. The philosophy of yoga with its element of meditation is also hugely calming and teaches you to empty your mind and connect to your breath; be at peace in your body as you work through your practice. But yoga isn't all serious either! There are plenty of seemingly ridiculous poses I am so far from mastering but it's fun to play around and test my body with the idea that one day I might get there!

When life gets busy it's sometimes hard to find time in your schedule to fit in everything you want to do. My approach now is that my yoga and my running are priorities and everything else slots in around it. This might sound unealistic but it's just about having a different mindset! In my life, maintaining my balance and grounding is fundamental for my happiness and well being; and therefore MUST happen. My friend, Jaki, bought me some gorgeous yogic anklets when I left work to remind me to stay grounded and make time for myself and they even remind me to just stop and take a breath when things are getting a bit mental!

'Yoga with Adriene' is my favourite YouTube channel full of amazing free yoga videos to do at home and Adriene herself is amazing and so inspiring. Her philosophy is 'find what feels good' and I think that's the perfect attitude to approach yoga. Sometimes it can seem really intimidating when you have the idea in your head of these incredibly bendy, flexible people and you feel like you'll never be able to do it but it doesn't matter if that's not the way you are to start with, or ever really! Heaven knows I wasn't - and I'm still not! - but I've definitely come a long way and its just about doing as much as you can and finding what works for you. That part of yoga is also about finding peace with yourself and your body and accepting who you are.

Recently my mum and I have started '30 days of Yoga' with Adrienne. It's the perfect way to find motivation to do some yoga everyday and not have to think about which video to pick because you simply do the next one in the series! You cover all different kinds of yoga and poses and it's a wonderful showcase of what is possible within your yoga practice. I'm hoping it will encourage my mum to keep going with it once I've moved because so far she's loving it! We're on day 15 now and it's definitely a challenge I recommend to anyone looking to start a regular yoga practice. And if yoga really isn't your thing, spend time finding or thinking about what it is that keeps you grounded when all the craziness is going on and share your thoughts! Remember to always find time for YOU.

Green for GLOW

I don't know what it is about waking up to a bright sunny morning but I am absolutely bouncing out of bed these days, full of energy and ready to take on the day! After the months of winter and darkness, feeling like it's still the middle of the night when my alarm goes off and not even getting a shred of daylight by the time I finish work either, it's definitely a welcome change.

Maybe it's the vitamin D factor or maybe it just feels like an appropriate time to actually be getting out of bed (the sun is up and therefore I should be too!) but here I am at 9.30 on a Saturday morning after already having done some yoga in the sunshine and now enjoying a deliciously green smoothie while I type this. It's like heaven!

Smoothies are my favourite way to start the day when it's sunny - and most days even when it's not. I jam pack them full of plant goodness to power me through my morning with as many added benefits for my body as I can. This morning it's my favourite green smoothie right now, full of healthy fats, vitamins and tastes delicious! My skin is something that I've long struggled with so I try and include ingredients that will help it as much as possible.

Avocado makes this smoothie beautifully creamy and is packed full of healthy fats to help keep your skin hydrated and soft and helps regenerate skin cells and reduce redness (hallelujah!). It's also full of vitamins C and E which are both amazing skin antioxidants and help maintain skins firmness and youthfulness.  Spinach is what makes the gorgeous green colour and is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there. It's FULL of vitamins such as A which improve skin tone, B to give protection from the sun, C and E as above and K to improve your complexion by minimising blemishes and dark circles.

Mango is not only delicious and full of vitamins such a A and C as above, it contains many other antioxidants which also improve complexion, rejuvenate your skin, and delay the onset of skin ageing! In addition to being an excellent energy source, banana is loaded with vitamin including B6 which is vital for maintaining skin elasticity. And lastly, but by no means least, nectarine contain vitamins A, C, and K plus beta carotene which also helps keep skin firm and glowing. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the benefits of the above foods but it's a pretty impressive résumé for a smoothie don't you think? A wonderfully nourishing way to start the day and fuel you through your morning with glowing, gorgeous skin.

Have a beautiful day everyone!