How are you? My friend asks as we meet on the train station. I smile, quickly answer I’m fine before I return the question, all is good. This scene most likely sounds very familiar to most of us. I recall situations where the other part does not even wait for my mumbling reply before the conversation is taken East and West. The question is sometimes more of a greeting and can truthfully be quite challenging to give a proper answer to. Now what does all of this have to do with yoga? Everything. As we practice yoga, you have probably heard me say; Where do you feel this pose?
Becoming aware of where in the body a pose is primarily felt is a good start. We might not know exactly what that muscle or joint is called, but it is great to be able to pin point where the sensation is located.

Becoming familiar with sensations in body parts that we can not necessarily see when we are practicing poses, require the sense of proprioception, the awareness of the position and movement of the body. It is also referred to as our sixth sense. It takes practice to notice exactly where poses are felt. The same thing goes for how we feel. Unless we are sick, tired, going through a divorce or just won the lotto where we experience intense feelings, on all the other more ordinary days, it can often be challenging to connect inwardly to answer how we feel. The more we take time to sit in meditation, or find the quiet moments in yoga, e.g. after a bridge pose, or transitioning out from Savasana, we can practice checking the internal weather pattern, and listen to the language of the body.

Understanding this language makes us see situations more clearly without presumptions and can help us make the right decisions. According to Patanjali’s second sutra yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Yoga chitta vritti nirodahah. By calming the chatter most of us have going on inside our minds we can cultivate inner peace.
A good place to start is to notice how we feel. We might not feel we have the right words to describe it. Expressing ourselves can at times be challenging. Try to jolt down the words for sensations that come the closest, give it a colour, or a piece of music, a poem, or painting. Acknowledging emotions by listening to the language of our body can free up and release so much stuck energy, and inform us on whether we are on the right track to free up energy, feel from within what is truly right for us.

Listen to the podcast from your heart

The healing benefit of the physical practice of yoga is very similar to the benefit of brushing your teeth every day. When you use your body on a daily basis, sediment accumulates along the interior spaces. If we don’t clean out these toxins and impurities the body will slowly decay.
Yoga poses cleanse and brushes the body from within and goes to all the darkest corners with twists, bends, folds and breath to cleanse out stuck material.
Through the constant cleansing of the body in the yoga poses (asanas), we prevent the body’s organs and neuromuscular systems to grow sluggish. With regular yoga practice we maintain a healthy level of pliability throughout life.

On an emotional and psychological level, the yoga poses increase conscious awareness of every part of your body. Just like plaque accumulates on the teeth and inside the arteries, old emotions remain stuck inside the subtle body. The body is like a reservoir of old memories, emotions and habits. When yoga poses bring you to areas of old fears and patterns of negative feelings, they might arise again temporarily, but yoga then also frees you from this past and allows you to experience a positive, balanced and harmonious life now and in the future.
Let’s keep brushing our teeth, and breathing through our yoga.

Namaste, Natalia

Hello dear friends,

Can you spare a few minutes? Just sit, or lie down and listen:

“Many of us know that meditation can be beneficial, but did you know that it is actually one of the most convenient ways to make a drastic improvement to your mental health and physical wellness? Practicing mindful meditation is good for more than just peace of mind. It can actually change your life.

Mindful meditation has the potential to radically transform our everyday experiences.

A lot of people would like to make changes to their lives, both big and small. Sometimes, this seems like an impossible feat. With meditation, though, it is very possible.

Imagine making wiser decisions and feeling a deeper sense of peace and happiness. If this were possible, what would it mean for you, your health, your lifestyle, and your relationships?” Barbara Grace is the Director of the School of Modern Psychology. She believes in living a purposeful life. For the full article click below.

https://www.lifehack.org/698403/how-meditation-can-change-your-life

I hope you enjoyed this meditation, and that it will help you create change.

Namaste, Natalia

Sometimes a little kick can be just the thing we need. To avoid all the high fructose corn syrup and additives, make it at home, so you know just what goes into it and what doesn’t.

20 ice cubes
2 tbsp organic instant coffee
3 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
2-4 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla seeds
3 cups rice/oat/almond milk

Mix together for 1 minute on maximum speed and serve in tall glasses.
Add a handful of almonds, a clove, or a cinnamon for a tweak

Not only is this a delicious juice but also a wonderful way to start the day. It nourishes every cell in our bodies. Since it is still sweet, children will often like it too. We can just call it “Green Apple Juice”.

2 apples, peeled and cut into 8
2 stalks of celery with the top on (or start with one if you are new to juicing)
1 cup mint leaves
½ English cucumber, cut into long quarter size pieces
½ lemon, skin cut off

Run everything through the juicer and enjoy immediately. If you have
a cold, add a piece of ginger in with all the rest

Refreshing sparkling drinks

1cup of juiced
1 cup of sparkling water

Option: Juice 2 cm ginger and add it in for a booster kick Firstly pour the apple juice and then the sparkling water into a jug, add cucumber slices, lemon slices or a handful of mint. Stir before serving

Simplicity in all its beauty. Mint mango and water. This is a crazy good treat. If you can’t get fresh mango, use frozen ones. Mix it all in a blender, till the mint dissolves. Pour it, enjoy it.

1.5 cups of mint leaves
3 cups mango, peeled and diced
2 cups water

Tip: If you use frozen mango, you can turn it into a slurpy,
potentially with a splash of honey or a twist of ginger. This must
be one of the most refreshing drinks.

(without flour)

120 g butter
120 g chocolate, 70%
120 g coconut sugar
120 g almonds, chopped
4 eggs, separated
Heat the oven to 175°C.

Melt the butter, sugar and chocolate and leave to cool Add the egg
yolks and the chopped almonds.

Whip the egg whites and fold them in Pour into a greased tin 22
cm in diameter Bake for 40 minutes at 175°C.
It has the texture of brownies! The top can sometimes look a bit
funny when it comes out of the oven. Just cut it in pieces when it
has cooled down and no one will notice.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking.

Any foreigner arriving in Denmark will be asked to pronounce the name of this dish: Rødgrød
med Fløde! The trick is really to stick the tongue out when you say it. Here I have a really simplified version for you. Upgraded in nutrition and packed with fibres as well as vitamin C.

1 kg mix of rhubarbs and strawberries, if you only have one
component that can be used alone.
5 dl water
250 g coconut sugar if you can get it - otherwise normal sugar
1.5 cm of grated ginger
15 grams corn flour
Clean the fruit and cut the rhubarbs into bite size pieces
Add the fruit, coconut sugar and ginger into a pot with the water
and boil. Once boiling turn it down to a simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the foam that can occur on top. Mix the cornflour in a
100 ml of cold water and add it to the pot, stir and continue to
simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Blend the
porridge and leave to cool. Serve in bowls, traditionally topped
with cream and sugar, however I love it with oat milk and mint.

Notes: you can add zest and juice of an orange to the dish. Any
left over can be enjoyed for breakfast with oats in it.

2 cups of cashew nuts
Honey
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup oats
A pinch of salt

Blend the cashew nuts in a kitchen machine, till they are nearly
smooth

Mix in salt, cinnamon oats and enough honey to the preferred
sweetness and it can bind it together, so you can roll them into
small round treats.

It helps to have slightly wet palms when rolling them. Keep them
in the fridge; you will have finished them before they go off!

Variations:
Add 1.5 cm of grated ginger, a dash of beetroot juice for a pretty
colour, or nutmeg and cloves for a wintery day. If you are up for it,
you can roll them in shredded coconut or chocolate powder