Week 3 Yoga November

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: are grouped in one because I don't have much to report on except my limitations are exposing themselves! My left side is very tense and is restricting my postures. I have discovered though, the body is mulitfacited. What I mean by that is there is always a way you just have to figure it out. It might not be the route you think it is. That a lot of the limitations are in your mind, either you're pushing a cart uphill, not really paying attention to your body or holding onto "stuff" this is where the detox is taking effect. Letting go of "stuff", frees up the meridians/ nadi's (energetic pathways in the body), which has an effect on the physicality. Self- discovery asana style. Besides this, happier than ever! Even if my sister is showing signs of "Bridezilla". . .

Thursday: Totally ungrounded today because it was brought to my attention, the 'Food Safety Modernization Act' an attempt at banning organic farming AND access to natural therapies and education in Europe. The link has the petition attached. If you value your rights to choose your own healthcare and your own NON GM food then please sign up and pass it on. Consequently, I felt pain in my back, plus the same niggly right hip flexor, which I had to work around. I made the time to "zen" and am using my HOMEOPATHIC anti-inflammatory for the pain- proudly! (in case you don't follow the link, they specifically want to ban homeopathy, herbs and nutritional supplements).
Besides that, looking at my salad and being grateful it is organic. Am starting to read an inspiring book "Authenticity Accelerator" by Robert Rabbin...

Friday: Ahh Friday again! I have a long day of clients, love my clients! Have I even mentioned that yet? I've been so caught up in my yogic transformation, I have never said just how much I appreciate these people. They are the reason I do, love, live and breathe my work. I thank each and every one of them : )
Another thing dawned on me, the silence consistent yoga practice is cultivating, brings much more clarity and confidence.

Saturday & Sunday: Totally sluggish from the yoga, feels like detox. Aches and pains, headaches, blah. Obviously the physical aspect of it is testing my body, muscles, ligaments but this feels deeper. Kefir making, organic shopping, yoga, sun, sister, reading, blogging, tree hugging and friend phone catch up. Just how I like it xx

Apple & Strawberry Water Kefir... Bubbly fruit drink

Upon request by some Russian friends here is a fruit kefir recipe, very similar to kvas, except it is made from real fruit. It taste's like an effervesant fruity soda pop but without the high sugar hit. Kvas is a fermented drink made from dark or rye bread popular in Russia and Eastern Europe. Kvas has a very unique flavour, as does water kefir, both very similar and have a nice "feel good" effect after drinking it.

Basic Water Kefir Recipe- as long as you stick to this ratio, you will have nice kefir.
1 cup filtered, spring or rain water
1 tablespoon sugar (organic table or coconut sugar if you want a honey colour)
1 heaped tablespoon of water kefir grains
Dried and unsulphured fruit or fresh fruit (optional)
eg. Sliced apples, sultanas, figs, apricots, fresh lemon, orange, lime are nice to add

What are Water Kefir Grains?
Water kefir grains are a bacteria and yeast culture, thought to have originated in Turkey. They feed of sugar to produce a fermented stable culture, a mixture of lactic acid, alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The result is a tasty fermented low-sugar fizzy drink, ideally served over ice.

Note* this is a very low alcoholic beverage.



Water kefir grains

Apple Kefir (single fermentation)
2 cups fresh apple juice (I used green apples for this recipe)
2.5 cups water
3 tablespoons raw sugar
5 tablespoons water kefir grains

1. Juice the apples, add the water, dissolve in sugar and add the kefir grains.
2. Cover with muslin cloth and leave for 24- 48 hours. The longer you leave it the stronger the fermentation.
3. Strain the grains, Chill and serve...




Apple kefir

 Strawberry Kefir (double fermentation method)
1 punnet of strawberries blended
4 cups water kefir, already fermented (basic recipe)

1. Let ferment for another 12 to 24 hours, strain the grains, chill and serve.

Strawberries

Strawberries blended



Strawberry Kefir

 *Note*
-Do not use metal, only plastic utensils/ sivs and ferment in glass or it will harm the grain.
-Use filtered water and organic produce for best results.
-You can google a local kefir enthusiast to buy or adopt some grains in your area.
-Make it with love ; )

Love
Ulyana...

Vegan Festival 2010

Sunday 14th November 2010, was the Adelaide Vegan Festival on Whitmore Square. Hosted by the awesome people at Bliss Cafe, Shane and his wife Kas. There was loads of stuff to look at and enjoy, food, clothes, music and a crowed of all-sorts. I had the best time just laying in the sun on the lawn getting a tan with my good friend Van.

He lined up for abut 25 minutes to get a funky pie! While I stuck to my salad and cold rolls ; ) Not as much of a line up there...


Salad that is a bit out of focus


I finally bought that cute ruby red t-shirt by Mudbric, organic cotton, which are Australian made and designed. Beach Organic spices had a beautiful stall, filled with organic aromatics such as curries, peppers, vanilla beans, hand harvested salts, cinnamon and the like. I walked away with the dried tumeric slices (for curries, stir fry and dressings), black pepper (smells AMAZING) and the tumeric infused coconut sugar (divine). The rest of the time I walked around the stalls and listened to the bands play, it was a perfect afternoon.



Cinnamon infused Coconut Sugar



Beach Organics- spices from Heaven!





Tumeric infused Coconut Sugar

 Love
Ulyana...

Week 2 Yoga November



Couldn't resist  a picture of the sky.... beauiful day


Monday: Cutest thing happened! I was in the middle of my sun salutations and while in downward dog I noticed out the corner of my eye, the tiniest, bright green caterpillar! So small, I'm surprised he even caught my eye in the dim lighting. He's a lucky thing because I finished my yoga and took him outside where he belonged. Besides that I'm happy to be drama free this morning. Yoga keeps my feet firmly planted, while everything else seems to whizz by. Namaste.

Tuesday: A very therapeutic day for me. I started the day with Art Therapy. I hadn't had a session with my therapist for over a year and while reflecting my progress I realised I am a completely different person to who I was back then. 1.5 years ago, I was in a different place, my my how far we come and how much better do we get! Well, that's the plan  ;) One day I hope to do a course, just for myself...

I've been doing a lot of back bends, which naturally strengthen your lower back and I can feel some mild discomfort. I was thinking this morning "oh hmmm maybe I should hold back or something, I don't want to get arthritis". My lovely art therapist brought to my attention that since when does yoga do that?!? Crazy fear based thought. I guess I treat many people with lower back issues, likely from not ENOUGH yoga, or exercise for that matter.


Wednesday: It's getting easier to wake up in the mornings. After yoga I made an AMAZING new juice concoction. It's very simple but it works! I took a risk and juiced a big stalk of fresh aloe (the dark green variety), 1/2 a lemon, added a tablespoon of MSM (organic sulphur) powder and a shot of birch juice by Weleda (the Elixir range). It didn't look great but not the worst, I diluted it with water, contemplated adding stevia.... and sipped it slowly. Surprisingly very refreshing! A touch slimy because of the aloe but I'll keep this little ritual up for a while, see if I start turning green. Outdoor personal training session after lunch today.

Thursday: Recovery from the trainer! Mild yoga session, clearly my flexibility has been restricted! Taking it in my stride. I made another aloe juice and this time with mint and ginger added- eeek, it has to be good for me! The reward was a super yum blackberry- vanilla smoothie



Blackberry & Vanilla Smoothie

Smoothie...
Black berries (frozen organic)
Chia seed
Sun Warrior protein powder (I'm convinced is the BEST protein powder on the planet)
Handful of parsley (for extra green goodness)
Maca
Vanilla bean
Pinch of stevia
Water

My thought for the day... the restrictions and closed doors in life are as important as the progressions. Going with the flow is about allowing the stops as well as the starts; this to me Universal Divine Timing.

We think we know better but we really don't. My babushka always tells me of a story when the war ended and she was at a camp in Germany. As soon as the news was heard, thousands of people wanted to return and they did, only to be shot dead by their own for being "traitors" (even though it was the Germans that took them- go figure?!? Say no to crazy politicians). She had wanted to go so badly and had many reasons to, family, a child she left to her sister and she became so sick she was hospitalised and she missed her opportunity. My babushka, a Taurean, who survived war, starvation etc is no shrinking violet but she was ill and was so distraught over being held back. She is also religious and at that moment questioned why God would do that to her. Sometimes we really want something, sometimes we think it's for the best. My thought for the day is go with the flow more and allow life to guide you a little. Make choices, for sure but see which doors open and which ones shut. The easier you flow the less the shut doors will rock your ego.

Friday: Ouchy today, my hip flexors are tight. It seems to me strength training is counter productive to yoga. I feel I'm starting from the beginning again!

Saturday: Again rigid from training and traditionally I'm not supposed to do any yoga for a couple days (wink wink). So no inversions and focussing on restoration and flexibility because I seem to have taken a step backward. Happy it's Saturday : )

Sunday: Tired waking up today. Walked the dogs and started on my yoga except noticed my right hip flexor is quite painful. I wasn't able to do what I'd like to have and will finish the day off with lots of stretches and some meditation. Right now, I'm off to the Vegan Festival ...

My jeans have no power over me!

Random thought for the day....

A pair of jeans is the best and worst thing in our wardrobe. They have the ability to make us feel amazing and have total body confidence yet if they're too tight... panic! I hear about my sister go on about her "skinny" jeans, fitting into them or not. I've seen her mood change in seconds because of those threads...

A pair of jeans can make or break your day. Instead of burning bras, we should be burning our jeans! If women knew then that liberating themselves and activating feminism that generations of women since then would have a love- hate relationship with the pants they fought so hard to wear. Maybe they would have rethought that; if they knew low- rise, skinny and super skinny jeans were going to become fashionable and literally challenge the self esteem of their daughters, and their daughters daughters.

Ok, I'm being dramatic but my point is, jeans are an deceptive fashion item and not to give them any more attention than any iten of clothing. I don't get miffed if my jeans are too tight, I get to work. I lose the sneaky food habits (we all know what they are) and take on more movement and more "me" time.

Sneaky food habits to avoid
* Eating at night or too much for dinner
* Dairy, red meat and pasta
* Overly cooked food
* Anything processed, flavours, colours, additives or preservatives added
* Alcohol

Daily movement
* Must be consistent, a small amount every day is more affective than longer bouts less often
* Strength training with a trainer
* Yoga, pilates or core work
* Daily walking, hiking, swimming
* Zumba if you fancy it
* Gym
* Take the stairs

Me time
* Sleep more
* Less social activity
* Meditate
* Make time to think or journal, get creative
* Massage, spa treatments, acupuncture or other body work

Food habits to embrace
* Organic food
* Daily serving of leafy greens
* Fresh juices and green smoothies
* Simpler meals and food combinations
* Water
* Whole grains
* Green tea and other herbals
* Fermented foods

Affirmation: My jeans have no power over me!

Love
Ulyana...

Week 1 Yoga November

Monday: I havent started as fresh as I'd like to have... In my enthusiasm I decided to start early and with gusto. Too many inverted postures (Shoulderstand, Wheel, Downward Dog) left me with blood shot eyes and a dizzy feeling for the rest of the day. Still feeling flakey so yoga today is about restoration. I even copped a bruised, cut elbow and donk to the head. I'll be fine tomorow.

It only just occured to me (through a client, the best way to learn!) that I'm already detoxing. The foggy, cold feeling and bad sleep, vivid dreams etc are all signs of detox. The dreams could be part of the Halloween energy that just happened. Interesting start.

Tuesday: Feeling MUCH better though my yoga form wasn't so perfect. I started judging myself but accepted it as it was. My body has a long way to go! I looked at it and thought, so much potential! Why didn't I do this sooner?
Finished off with the 5 Tibetan Rites. These are 5 ancient Tibetan yoga exercises for anti aging and rejuvenation. You can download a free ebook via the link. I got onto these a couple years ago and I really like them. They are simple and effective and I use them daily. The story behind it is interesting.

Wednesday: Feeling even better today! I'm sore in all the right areas and yoga practice showed some progress. I noticed there is inbalance between the right and left sides of the body, this is normal but it's something I'd like to pay more attention to correcting. My left side needs more work and my core does too.
On a different level I'm noticing various thoughts, trying to deter me from my commitment.

Thursday: Starting to feel a lull again, the natural mid to late week lull. Yoga was very good again this morning, I notice I am better after a walk, first thing. It seems to flow better. A walk then yoga and then I start my day. All Ok though, feeling good about my yoga goal.

Friday: Always love Fridays! Today is no exception. My Tibetan Rites, a walk and my yoga practice, which again was succesful except I'm really noticing my left side. Also, I'm developing awareness of "stuff" that comes up (thoughts, images, feelings) during a posture, which normally I wouldn't notice. I think it's encourgaing more consistent awareness, so I'm now conscious of allowing myself to acknowledge this "stuff". Sometimes I listen and breathe through it and sometimes it's more stubborn. It fascinates me.

Saturday: The morning is better for standing postures and balancing and the evening is best for flexibility and meditation. This morning I was tired and I went to bed early, had good sleep but I felt I needed more. My body is "good" sore and no doubt healing.  Something else I'm noticing that daily yoga helps is regulate my sleep cycle. I have always been a light sleeper and I'm consistently restless before bed. My mind is quite active and prevents me from settling down. I've only had one restless night this week! Let's hope this continues. Besides that I was doing some reading on my comp and came across this girl's story . It's very sad, be grateful for everything you have, fate can be cruel sometimes.

Sunday: Meditation and yoga was again very good, I'm seeing natural progression. Wondering how I'll react to a plateau? I have a house visit for acupuncture treatment today. Had a couple pictures taken for curiosity's sake and I am critisizing myself! Not as much over fom etc but how I look! The dreaded comparison. I should be this way and look that way etc etc. Now I MUST post them if only to change my own perception and quiet the critical inner voice...




Ustrasana- Camel Pose 




Urdhva Dhanurasana- Upward Bow


 


Natarajasana- Dancer's Pose

 




Virabhadrasana I- Warrior Pose I (with back bend)

   
 Well that's week 1 done! Looking forward to week 2....