YOU are amazing!

This is your mid-week reminder that YOU are amazing. We tend to forget this fact all too often..

Take a moment just to stop, and notice your heartbeat, your pulse, moving inside of you. This energy which keeps us alive. Where does this energy come from? Our heart pumping of course, you say. But this pulse, this energy was in our bodies even before our hearts had developed in foetus form. Where did it come from then? "I got it from my MaMa" of course, but where did "yo Mama" get this energy from to begin with? From her Mama, who got it from her Mama, who got it from her Mama and so the chain continues. Feel your heart, feel your pulse again. The heart, supporting this pulse, but it did not create this pulse or this movement.  

This energy (or prana, or chi or magic, or whatever other name you may give it) inside of us has always existed long before we were here, and it will continue to exist long after we are gone, but for the moment we have inherited it, it is not ours to keep, but ours to cherish, ours to live, to love & to dance.

Sometimes we forget that we really are divine beings, made of stars with this wonderful energy inside of all of us. So here is your mid-week reminder that you are AMAZING and MAGICAL and you can do anything you put your mind to. 

I do believe in magic, do you?! 

LahLah xx

P.S. I would like to thank Leslie Kaminoff and his Yoga Anatomy Principles Course (which I am currently taking online) for inspiring this blog post and for reminding me that I am a divine being full of this wonderful energy too :-) !

Nadi Shodhana Pranayama: The better-than-a-double-espresso-for-waking-you-up breath!

Our breath: Probably the most vital process of the body. It influences the activities of each & every cell and is intimately linked with the performance of the brain. It also clears energy blockages in our nadis or energy channels. The breath is also closely linked to our mental state - when we get angry or anxious we may become short of breath but rhythmic, deep and slow respiration can help bring back a calm & content state of mind. 

Nadi Shodhana is a simple form of alternate nostril breathing which is great for both beginners & advanced students. 

BENEFITS OF NADI SHODHANA 

• Balances energy channels (nadis) and clears energy blockages
• Reduces anxiety & calms the mind
• Lowers your heart rate. 
• Improves concentration & clear thinking by balancing & synchronising left & right brain hemispheres. 
• Helps release accumulated tension & fatigue so can therefore be used in the morning to wake you up as a more holistic alternative to your shot of espresso. 
• When I am feeling very monkey minded and can't focus, I find that this breath helps bring me into the moment especially if I am counting my breath. 

NADI SHODHANA HOW TO:

• Bring your right hand up in front of the face and extend your index finger and thumb allowing the other fingers the rest. 

• Take your index finger to your eyebrow centre and rest it here gently. Now you will use your thumb to close your right nostril & your second finger to alternately close your left nostril.

• Begin by closing your right nostril gently with your thumb, and inhale in through the left nostril. The breath should be slow, steady and full but not forced. 

• When you have reached the end of your inhale, close the left nostril with the second finger and open the right nostril to fully exhale with a slow & steady breath.

• Inhale in through the right nostril, & then switch to exhale through the left. That is one full round of the breath. 

• Inhale through the left, & switch to exhale out of the right. Inhale through the right & switch to exhale out of the left. Remember we always switch nostrils on an exhale if you get confused.

• Keep going for 5-10 rounds, and increase your rounds of breath as you begin to feel more comfortable with the breath. 

• Release the hand & go back to normal breathing.

Nadi Shodhana can be practised at any time of day, but it is best to practice on an empty stomach. Remember to keep the breath slow, easy (never forcing it), and full and try to keep your inhales & exhales the same length (ie breathe in for a count of 4, and out for a count of 4).

Keep Breathing, Keep Smiling 

LahLah x

3 DAY COLD PRESSED JUICE CLEANSE

What is it actually like to do a 3 day juice cleanse, having only 6 juices and 2 litres of water each day? Read on for my cold press cleansing experience and tips!

So when I decided to do a cleanse, my first reaction was EEK. It's not really a big thing in the grand scale of things, but it was my first cleanse and being a food lover I was a bit nervous to be honest!

I decided to do the cleanse to help bring me a bit more vitality, leaving behind the winter lethargy and low energy. Also to cleanse any toxic waste that has been building up in my system, but also to flood my system with nutrients and minerals to revitalise and energise. What better time to do a little spring cleaning of the body than around Spring equinox too :-)

I was selected as a lucky guinea pig to sample the new Cold Pressed Juicery Cleanse, to make sure they are good and suitable for YOU to be able to do soon!

PREP FOR THE CLEANSE: 

Rather than cold turkey my body into shock on Day 1, I tried to ease my way into the cleanse starting three days before by cutting out:

Meat (no problemo)

Coffee (no problemo)

Alcohol 

Processed foods (pasta, bread, gluten, dairy, processed sugar, saturated fats) (slight problemo, I LOVE bread & pasta)

And at the same time gradually reducing my amount of meals per day and gently increasing my intake of juice. I ate a lot of raw food - raw courgette pasta with different pestos and lots of fruit and nuts were mainly on the menu!

CLEANSE DAY 1:

I survived Day 1!

It has actually been OK! Made sure to drink lots of water along with a juice approximately every two hours. The almond milk was delicious, super thick and was especially filling, almost wish the cleanse was 6 x almond milks a day. hehe

I've felt hungry, but not so hungry I wanted to eat all the yogis on the mat in front of me (watch out yogis tomorrow!!). Been to the loo quite a few times so I think it's working ;-), muscles and body slightly achey but no huge side effects so far. Fingers crossed tomorrow will be ok!

I removed all tempting food from the fridge and any naughty biscuits I had lying around have been hidden away from view which has helped not having food right in front of me! 

CLEANSE DAY 2:

Today I feel the cleanse really kicked in. I had a slight headache and felt slightly nauseous during the morning and felt my energy was really lacking all day.. I'm assured this means the cleanse is working well :-) 

I have tried to have a juice every two hours but it was a bit harder to keep to it today, and of course lots of water and hot water with lemon and ginger. 

I am going to have a very very early night and tried to sleep it all off.

CLEANSE DAY 3:

I slept for 10 beautiful hours, and I have woken up feeling wonderful! My energy feels restored and I feel very light in all senses of the word. The headache and nausea has passed and I would almost consider doing an extra few days if I will feel like this!  Although I did not start the cleanse for weight-loss reasons, I have definitely lost weight (unfortunately I don't own a scale so cannot tell you exactly how much I lost, but I can really feel a difference. I feel more stream-lined ;-) not a bad side effect).

Co-incidently I did wake up with no voice today all of a sudden, I am not sure if this is directly related to the cleanse or not!

Again, I found it hard to stick to a juice precisely every two hours, but I have been ok regardless. Lots of water. I'm starting to think about what my first real food should be tomorrow, although I am also planning to exit the cleanse gently maybe starting with fresh fruit in the morning and a raw salad for lunch...easy does it! 

Enjoying my "lunch"!

DAY 4

I have woken up feeling great, very light again, in all senses of the word. Lots of energy, and feeling quite focused. My sore throat is clearing (very odd!), I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else gets a sore throat too! 

Although I can eat today, I am not dying to eat to be honest, I really thought I would be! I actually feel like I could keep going for a few more days quite easily, but alas I only have one juice left! I have had my morning hot water and lemon, and the last  juice and I have started slowly with half a banana. I will try to stick to raw foods today, tomorrow may be difficult as I am travelling long haul, but I'll do my best! Having done the cleanse and felt fine it has made me realise how much I generally eat un-necessarily. I will always have second helpings of something if it is delicious even when I am getting full, and this is so un necessary!! Hopefully I;ll manage to kick this habit!

All in all, I have surprisingly really enjoyed the cleanse, I was impressed by how easy it was once you get into the swing of it and would definitely like to continue doing regular, possibly seasonal cleanses now. 

CLEANSE TIPS

If you are planning to do a cleanse here are my recommendations (please note these are based on my personal experience and knowledge):

• Make sure to prepare your body for the cleanse, not just diving head first into it on day 1. Start to gradually cut coffee, meat, alcohol, processed foods & sugars out and begin to up your juice intake while gently decreasing your food intake. This will really help to reduce any huge side effects and help you to get the best out of your cleanse.
• Plan the cleanse over a few days where you will not be crazy busy and will have time to let your body rest too. My hardest day was day two and I definitely needed to rest and allow my body to replenish and regenerate. The body will have difficulty benefitting from the cleanse if you are stressed or hitting the gym hard daily.
• Cleansing is not so much about what you are putting into your body, but more about what you are leaving out (processed, toxic foods we have become accustomed to such as white bread, pasta, biscuits, alcohol, caffeine, meats). While we are leaving out those nasties, we giving our digestive system a break to regenerate and the extra energy normally used to digest can be used to help heal the body (very simplified explanation, please forgive me!). At the same time, the juices we consume still provide our body with the protein, nutrients and minerals needed to keep us going. It is important to drink fresh, and 100% raw juices during a cleanse to give you body the maximum nutrients possible. 
• Try to empty the fridge and hide anything that might tempt you to make the cleanse easier.
• Try to cleanse with a friend or family member, it makes it much easier!
• DRINK LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER...and expect to be peeing A LOT! And also expect to poo quite a lot!
• REST! Make sure you get to bed early while on the cleanse, those precious extra hours of rest work wonders for the body.
• If you feel you really need food, then LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and have some, but try to stick to raw veg and maybe a handful of raw nuts if possible.
• On exiting the cleanse, try to ease the body back in gently i.e. don't have a fry up for breakfast on day 4! Try to eat raw food for as long as possible post cleanse, and try not to rush back into your coffee habit, or that glass of wine straight away.  Maybe think about how good you are feeling now after the cleanse and think what you could maybe cut back on in your normal diet to help keep you feeling this way!

The body is a miraculous healing machine,and when we abstain from the foods that interfere with the natural healing Physiology of our bodies, cleansing & detoxing can begin!

Cold Pressed Juicery Cleanses will be available shortly, for more info please see their website.If you decide to do a cleanse, I hope you enjoy it and please leave me a comment to let me know how it goes for you!

xx

*Please note, this blog is based on my personal experience of a juice cleanse, and it does not mean that yours will be similar should you decide to do one. Each and every one of us are beautifully different and will respond to a cleanse in a different way. I am already a vegetarian and try to eat a balanced, nutritious diet on most days of the week so I may have had less to cleanse than someone who eats meat daily and drinks lots of coffee etc. Do not attempt a cleanse if you a pregnant. If you have any other medical condition, or are unsure about starting a cleanse,  please consult a Doctor or Nutritionist.*

Reflections of an Escapee

Ever since I left London to move to Malta and escaped the corporate world, people always ask me if I miss my London lifestyle. After having just spent a quick weekend there, I can happily say that I don't. And don't get me wrong, I spent 19 years of my life there and they were happy years, I had a very good education, I made some great friends, and I had some experiences which I'll never forget, but I guess I never felt truly at home there. 

Of course I miss all my wonderful friends there (but they get the added benefit of being able to come and visit me here and get some sunshine and yoga ;-) ). And I miss the abundance of yoga classes always available to go to at any time of the day and in any part of the city (even on Piccadilly Circus!), but this is a small price to pay for the great lifestyle I have in Malta.

Being in London last weekend was great, but I am glad it was only two days. The main thing that struck me this time is that almost every street you walk down in Central London is full of shops, and every shop is trying to grab your attention with their colourful, sometimes moving, attention grabbing displays. Each window shouting "BUY ME! BUY ME!". And not only the shops, but any bus or taxi that passes by is also advertising something in bright colours and sometimes flashing lights. And then if you descend into the underworld of the London tube, almost every surface of every wall is filled with adverts and information. I found it totally overwhelming, there was never a pause for my brain to be allowed to process any of the information properly, but just one after the other after the other. I was exhausted by just seeing adverts! It's hard to think clearly for yourself when the brain is constantly having to process all this different sensory information. It's stressful! And this was without having to deal with any of the added stress of a job I was rushing to, or a demanding social life. 

It's amazing how quickly you get used to a different life, when I lived in London I never even noticed the effect this had on my brain, and I think in a way when you are in that situation you become immune to all the adverts and constantly being sold something. You become numb to it. Just like you become numb to all the people walking down Oxford Street, you just march on through them. 

This may sound very negative towards London and city life, but I do feel very grateful for having spent that part of my life in London, it wasn't all bad, as I mentioned at the start of this post they were happy years - I actually had a LOT of fun, and it gave me life experience. Who knows if I would have found my way to this yoga path were I not in London in a demanding job, with an even more demanding social life which I needed to balance.

I like to think that using my experience of the hectic, demanding city life but creating the calm serene space that LahLah Yoga brings, that I can help people to find ways to deal with the stress of a pressured lifestyle. Whether that be a busy city life, a demanding job, screaming kids, too much partying or intense studies, I feel yoga can always help :-)

With Pause // Play, Cat and I are trying to create a space for city dwellers to escape this madness, at least for a few days, and to learn a few techniques to help deal with the pressure of city life once they return...all while having a bit of fun on the side too, and enjoying some sunshine, of course! The last few spaces are filling up, so do contact us if you're interested!

xx