becoming healthy with yoga

I have come  to realize over the years  how yoga has changed me as a person.
at first  I thought  I could  do a yoga workout and still  have takeaways for dinner and biscuits for desert and still get a ripper figure out of it.
slowly I  stopped all that unhealthy eating and started eating for the better , not skipping breakfast or lunch eating three meals a day that is when I noticed things were slowly beginning to happen
now I cant eat junk food  much as I have tried  and it has just been completely awful !
I have had to clean my teeth right after just to get the taste out of my mouth.
I really love the way I eat now nice home cooked meals that are healthy
I have lost the taste for junk food , any unhealthy habits are bad for you not only for your body and inner organs  but also your skin.
and you know what it shows.
my hair was greasy  and my skin was terrible and I mean terrible  with all the junk I was eating , just imagine what it was doing on the inside, festering  around your body making you sicker and sicker.

I never realized  yoga would change  the way I would eat but it has and for the better I am even now having   nutritious vegetable and fruit drinks I am not a big fruit fan so this does the trick and they are yum !
who  would have thought it ,I wouldn't have.









 Namaste.

james's recovery with yoga

it's been a long road for James but he is getting there, one day James decided  to start yoga again  and is doing really well  James is going slowly  and not pushing himself which I am surprised at because he usually does  in less than a week James is getting himself  off the floor better. he feels more flexible  and  he is looking and feeling better in himself . when you  have had such a major  illness  and multiple  surgeries  as James has had it takes time and this is what James has given himself. you cant rush these things when you feel you are ready to get back into  exercise of any form tell your DR   and he / she will give you the right advice on what you can do this is what James has done and has found hatha yoga is best for him. James knows he has to start  from scratch. 

and does the beginner  asanas {poses}  accordingly  these beginner asanas {poses} are non stressful on the body and gentle physically  as well as on the mind and spirit .
James is slowly  building up his asanas  to make a hatha  yoga workout  he has  6 asanas he works through  and does them a few minutes at a time

and will gradually do the same yoga asanas  for longer then will  add  additional asanas {poses} every fortnight  until James can do a full yoga workout.
  Harriet and I will be following James's progress  and will keep you up to date in future posts







Namaste.

 

gracefulness with yoga

looking out my window the sky is blue, but there is a chill in the air.
I went to my Dr the other day and everything is  A ok  after that James and I  brought two new shirts for winter, the shop assistant  complimented me no end on how petite I was  I felt proud  and embarrassed  actually . I said thank you  and said it is yoga ! people are also asking have I lost weight ! or you cant get any thinner even though I eat the same and I am a healthy weight all I say its yoga , yoga has put the unwanted fat where it should  naturally go . my yoga  DVD  is always going on about gracefulness and I have been thinking how does that work, how does that go with yoga ? it has been in my face all along , in my eyes yoga is the definition of gracefulness .
yoga  keeps you supple, makes you feel beautiful , even if us girls don't feel it half the time. yoga does all this and helps us carry ourselves well. my mum says I have to  accept getting older and expect  to get the symptoms of old age mum say stop fighting it we all have to grow old sometime, but you can grow old gracefully ! we have a book  by a woman  who is in her eighties  and still does the lotus, the headstand and all the advanced asanas  {yoga poses } with the flexibility of a young girl.
people  automatically assume  once you  are over a certain age that's it , they call this the downhill slide, but here's the thing , if you do yoga  you will never ever lose your flexibility . and  us for us girls we will always keep our figure and for the men they will always keep their physique .  and the gracefulness yoga gives. so I am not fighting ageing I will be maturing and growing old gracefully .
yoga is a gift if you keep up yoga, you will be set for life.

Namaste.

my yoga/ sleep diary an outstanding success

 it has been 31 days since I started my yoga/ sleep experiment  it is the final day of my sleep diary  and I have to say  its an outstanding success . I sleep through the night now and every night  it is a miracle !
I have not slept like this in years  and I mean years iam thrilled, this yoga/ sleep diary  has gone past my  wildest  expectations  and more  I now have a routine  its great  . you know I cant stay up to late anymore  that's amazing in itself  and my yoga  workouts are also heaps better actually everything is better  here are some handy tips  I have used  and they work .

go to bed at the same time every night and get up  and get up the same time every morning

when bedtime rolls around sleep in a dark room

have your bedroom at a cool temperature

don't eat or drink  anything a couple of hours before bedtime

 don't go to bed overtired

if you do this with yoga you will have a fantastic  nights sleep
there are no magic pills, just all natural drug free yoga.

happy sleeping everyone.





        the yoga asana {pose} the fish.











Namaste.
 

the breath of life {pranyama } and rythmic breathing

all our lives we have  been lead to believe  the way we breathe is the correct way
for example when we breathe  in we pull our belly in ,
when we breathe out we pull our belly out . but in yoga it is the complete opposite .

when  I first came to yoga  I was breathing this way  and was only using  half my diaphragm with yoga  you breathe with all your diaphragm  this is hard to do at first  but with practice it comes automatically . once you have  learnt  the yoga breathing {pranayama}  you then apply it to your yoga workouts  and everyday life , I still trip up every now and then it is hard to break something you have been doing naturally since you were born .  here is how  to do yoga breathing {pranayama }

always breathe  through the  nose {never in and out through the mouth }

your nose is a filter system  for  your lungs  where your mouth is not .

yoga breathing {pranayama } goes this way

when breathing in your belly will rise  as it fills gradually filling up your diaphragm  to the top of your lungs  hold your breath then expel your breath  your breath starting from the top of your lungs slowly  continue  to expel your breath till your belly is emptied and looks like a deflated balloon.

to begin {pranayama  do this breathing exercise 10 times after or before each time you do a yoga workout  gradually increase the  number of times you use this technique  until it becomes a habit .

the next step is rhythmic breathing  which is  in the same way as yoga breathing {pranayama } except you breathe in slowly for the  count of 6 hold your breath for the count of 9 and breathe out  for the count of 6 at first  you might find you can do only 3 or 4  rounds of this exercise  before you become dizzy  but with practice it will go away  and become easier when you get used to  this number of breaths  you increase the amount of times  you hold and breathe in and out for  example breathe in for 9 hold for 18 breathe out for 9 and so on but always go at your own pace  yoga  along with yoga  breath {pranayama }  is not about  winning a race always go slowly  go with what is comfortable with you and you will get there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namaste.