c Yoga Archives - Yoga With Elizabeth

Posts In: Yoga

What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
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In yoga and Ayurveda (sister science of yoga ~ Ayur (life) Veda (knowledge), there are cleansing techniques called shatkarmas (shat- six, karma- action).
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One of these is tongue (jihva) scraping. It is advised to clean the mouth and tongue upon waking before drinking any liquids. .
This helps to clear toxins and bacteria accumulated overnight.
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The simplest of the yoga and Ayurveda cleansing techniques and one I’ve been doing for many years.
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To do this, start by rinsing your mouth with water, then holding the two ends, placing the bend of the tongue scraper towards the back of your tongue, gently press down scraping towards the tip of your tongue.
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Do this a couple of times, rinsing the scraper in between.
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I’d advise a metal tongue cleaner as they will last you forever! .
Make it a ritual, part of your morning routine, and you’ll feel the benefits! .
How do you start your day? Do you use a tongue cleaner? Would you like to include more yoga or Ayurvedic practises in your day? .
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#ayurveda #wellnessblogger #yoga#selfcare #selflove #morningpractice#morningroutine #ayurbedic #routine#healthandwellness #wellbeing#healthyhappy #yogacleanse #cleanse#shatkarma #kriya #homeremedies#traditionalyoga #hathayogapradipika#tonguescraper #tonguecleaner#hathayoga #progressnotperfection#dailytips #alchemy #apothecary#livehealthy #vegan #health

Join me for a unique yoga experience at the museum of brands in London. Surrounded by temporary exhibitions and iconic displays, I will lead an all levels practice. If you haven’t experienced my teaching before, my main form of teaching is Hatha yoga, focusing on correctly aligning the body to improve general posture, breathing and circulation.

The perfect way to start the new year!

Following the class, socialize in the museum café, relax in the exotic award-winning garden or visit the Time Tunnel, where you’ll find over 20,000 iconic items from the past 150 years exploring how brands shape our world.

Please bring along your own yoga mat and a blanket or shawl.

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Classes take place every Tuesday at 7:45am (from January 22nd). Tickets are released one month in advance.

If you would like any further information or I can be of any assistance, please do reach out to me.

With life so externally focused on fast-paced survival do you really take the time to truly rest, nourish and recharge yourself?

Often our idea of “down time” is slouching on the sofa, scrolling through Instagram or Facebook and watching TV.

What if you took time to really rest and recharge yourself without external influences?

If we take the time to really nourish ourselves then we are in a better place to deal with what life chucks our way!

By using guided relaxation techniques and dedicated breath-work we directly stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (also known as “rest and digest”. Therefore decreasing our blood pressure and heart-rate and letting the digestive system do its job. All from laying on the floor in a yoga class!

What a simple concept!

Here are some of my recent workshop attendees @thelondonwellnessstudio taking the opportunity to really rest and restore their bodies and minds with some simple breath-work.

Chair Yoga at your desk

11th July 2018

Stuck in the office all day? Or work from home?

Feeling stiff and achy?

Chair yoga has your back! Seated cat + cow. A simple exercise to combat the strains and tension of sitting at a desk or staring at your phone for too long (guilty!!)
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Seated towards the edge of your chair, feet flat on the ground. Bring your arms out in front of you palms flexed towards you. As you inhale draw the hands towards your shoulders take the gaze up and feel the middle of your back gentle arching, letting the abdomen be soft.
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As you exhale push your hands in front and away from you, tuck the chin towards the chest, squeeze in your tummy and push your back towards the back of the chair.
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Repeat
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Practice slowly and safely, listen to your body and take responsibility for your own movement. Have fun 🙂 ????

Elizabeth teaches chair based office yoga at locations in the UK. For further information or to book Elizabeth for a session please get in touch via the contact page.

What is “Hatha yoga”?

20th February 2018

| H a t h a Y o g a |

Hatha refers to the balance of sun and moon, activity & rest, masculine & feminine, yin yang.

This balancing act neutralises the extremes of rajas guna (movement) and tamas guna (lack of movement) allowing us to enter into the state of sattva guna (balance/mode of goodness) “this state of balance serves as a doorway to our true being, which is beyond the gunas.” ~ integrative yoga therapy.

It is said in the hatha yoga pradipika in the commentary by swami Muktibodhananda (2012) “hatha yoga is to be practised for the sole purpose of preparing oneself for the highest state of raja yoga, i.e. samadhi”.

The word samadhi can be roughly translated to enlightenment, or one who has transcended the gunas/ modes of nature.

So next time you are in your silky yoga pants, remember that yoga is SO much more than just a physical exercise.

If you have any questions please do ask me at a class or comment below 🙂 (this is just a snippet of info into hatha yoga and the gunas.)

Come and increase your sattva guna at yoga classes in Warwickshire:

Weekly yoga classes in Warwick:

Wednesday hatha flow- 1:30-2:30pm

Friday Lunchtime yoga 12:30-13:30pm

The Studio, 21 Old square Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 4RU

Yogic Dal Recipe

5th January 2016

In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna speaks about the three modes of material nature or gunas; goodness (sattva), passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas). Everything we do in life can fall into one of these categories or modes. From what we eat, to how we spend our free time. By trying to include more qualities of sattva in our lives, it will enable us to practise yoga and meditation more comfortably.

The qualities of sattva (goodness) are goodness and it brings about happiness, illumination and well-being.

The qualities of rajas (passion) are desire, passion, action, binds with attachment to work.

The qualities of tamas (ignorance) are darkness, laziness and binds itself to forgetfulness and sleep.

For anyone wanting further information about the material modes of nature, I will be covering these topics in our upcoming retreat and also will do a more detailed blog post on this.

The following recipe uses no onion and garlic as they are considered to be in the mode of passion (rajas) and heating which impedes meditation and yoga practise. Please do feel free to use garlic if you want to.

 

Sattvic Yellow Split Mung Bean Dal

Serves 2-3 as a main

Ingredients:

1 cup split mung dal soaked in water for two hours (soaking can also be skipped and cooked for longer)

1 regular sized tomato chopped into chunks (vine/salad etc)

1 inch of ginger grated or finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

6 fresh curry leaves (can use dried also)

¼ teaspoon of aesofitida (hing) -you can get this at all Indian grocery stores. If you eat garlic, you can use ½ -1 clove.

¼ – ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 dried red chilli

½ tsp salt

Fresh coriander leaves – small handful

Half a lime

 

Method:

Rinse your split mung beans well under warm water (I generally go for 3 rinses total)

Heat a large saucepan and then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once warm add in the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Then add cumin, hing, curry leaves, chilli, ginger and turmeric (in that order). Fry for a minute to infuse the oil.

Place the washed split mung beans in the pot with the 3 cups water and bring to the boil

Once it starts to boil, turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes. Add water as needed for desired consistency. Your mung beans should look well-cooked, almost mushy. You can make it as thin or as thick as you like it.

Add in the chopped carrots and tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked well.

Season with salt, pepper, lime and sprinkle in the coriander.

Say a prayer of gratitude before serving with fluffy rice or chapatti.