Yoga & Breakfast

The perfect way to start your day - Yoga, a dip in the ocean and breaky on the beach.

After the morning classes, I will be offering breakfast for you to enjoy on the beach. It will mainly be Feed the Yogi Muesli, as well as a couple of other delicious, healthy recipes, based on quinoa or brown rice and a tahini bircher style muesli. They will be served with unhomogonised milk or yoghurt.

If you would like breakfast & yoga it will be $17, and if you could let me know the night before if you'll be having it that would be great!

Merry Christmas!

Balance out the indulgent side of Christmas with some cleansing yoga. All my classes are on as usual over the Christmas break.

I have also added another class. Wednesday morning at 7.30am at the Surf Club. Perfect time for a morning yoga session if you're on holidays!

Feed the yogi.

I have packaged up my muesli!

You'll soon find it at Causley's Fresh Deli, or pick up some from me after yoga. Just let me know, and I'll bring some for you.

The muesli is handmade in my little kitchen at the cottage so the recipe tends to change very slightly each time...

So far I have two toasted muesli varieties - Honey, spice and almond, and Lemon, coconut and macadamia. The oats, seeds, nuts and spices are lightly toasted in organic macadamia oil and Australian honey.

A raw muesli and a gluten free muesli are on the way!

KIDS SCHOOL HOLIDAYS YOGA & FITNESS

Phil from Main Beach Training and I are going to run a kids school holiday program.

We will start at 8.30am, with some yoga on the beach. Then Phil will take the kids for a fun fitness session. We will then do a little yoga 'warm down', to wind everyone down!

To finish off, Jason from Main Beach Kiosk will serve up a yummy, healthy morning tea.

The cost is $20 per child each day, and if you'd like to book in for all three days that week, it will cost $55.

Please contact me for any more information, or if you'd like to book your child in.

Neti

This lovely little ceramic pot looks nice enough to use for a tea party - but probably not a nice idea! It is called a neti pot, used to cleans nasal passages and sinuses.

Neti is one of the six shatkarmas of Hatha Yoga. They are purification practices to balance the flow of prana (life force/energy) around the body.

They are fantastic -  I use mine at least once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. This one is from Noseworks. They are 100% Australian made, and look lovely sitting by your bathroom sink.

Spring is a good time to start Neti, when lots of us suffer from hayfever and allergies.

Physically, neti removes mucas and pollution from the nasal passages and sinuses, allowing air to flow without obstruction. It also helps to maintain good health for the ears, eyes and throat. It can be compared to the clearing feeling of swimming in the ocean.
Neti is also calming on the face,  removing muscular tension. It is said to help keep a fresh and youthful appearance!

In yoga there is always the subtle body to consider as well as the physical body. The space between the eyebrows is the third eye centre, or the chakra known as Ajna. The most important benefit of neti is that it helps to awaken this chakra. This is the clear, open feeling around this space after practicing neti.

Neti is also important to balance out the energy channels, or nadis around the body. Two of the major channels, Ida and Pingala nadi start at either nostril. Through neti we balance the right and left nostrils, which then balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

This ancient practice is actually quite pleasant, and very invigorating.

It is best to learn neti through a yoga teacher or Ayurveda consultant. However have a look here for a clip on how to use a neti pot.

SPRING YOGA WEEKEND

Friday 23rd September
5.30 - 7pm Yoga
Followed by dinner

Saturday 24th September
6.30 - 8am Yoga
Followed by breakfast

Saturday 24th September
5.30 - 7pm Yoga
Followed by dinner

Sunday 25th September
7.30 - 9am Yoga
Followed by breakfast

The yoga classes are open to all levels of experience, and include asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), and some meditation.

Meals will be homemade, vegetarian and delicious!

There will also be an opportunity to try neti (nasal cleansing), and I will have ceramic neti pots for sale. I also have a lovely lavender and linseed eye bag for you.

The cost of the weekend is $135 per person.

Please contact me  book your place.

Hope you can come! 

Flat bread

I made flat bread to serve with hummus at my two yoga weekends in July. I had a few requests for my recipes so here's the first.

These are very easy to make and hard to get wrong. It's so nice to cook from scratch; make them with a friend so you can have a good chat while you knead, and you'll have a nice big batch for storage!

Flat bread
1 cup organic wholemeal flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil (I sometimes use sesame oil)
Sea salt or celtic salt
Warm water
Sea salt and seeds, herbs and spices for sprinkling

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add oil and mix well with your hands for about 5 minutes until it resembles bread crumbs. Slowly add the warm water, mixing well in between until it's nice and squishy. Then knead the dough for around 15 minutes or as long as possible.

This is good strengthening for your wrists, and quite therapeutic!

Break off a small amount of dough and roll out until it's flat. Use extra flour or water as required.

Next sprinkle with sea salt and your choice of seeds, herbs or spices. Some options are caraway seeds, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, za'tar, dukkah, nigella seeds to name a few. I use the rolling pin to press them down so they stick.

Bake in the oven at 200C for around 15 minutes or until golden and parts of the bread puff slightly.
You can store these in an air tight container for some time. 

So true!!

Source: You're so damn beautiful

Unlimited yoga for $25 a week!

To entice you to practice yoga regularly, and to reward committed yogis, you can now attend any of my four open classes for $25 a week.

Current open classes:
Monday 6.30pm at the Yamba Wellbeing Centre
Tuesday 6.15am at the Yamba Surf Club
Tuesday 5pm at the Yamba Surf Club
Thursday 6.15am at the Yamba Surf Club

This will work a little like a membership; you pay $25 each week if you attend one, two, three or four of the classes. One top of this, you will receive 10% off my yoga weekends/retreats throughout the year! (dates for these coming soon).

To see how it suits you, I just ask for a commitment of one month.

Please contact me if you have any questions at all!

Roma Blair

One of my students used to attend yoga classes with Roma Blair in Sydney in the 70's. She lent me this delightful little book which features Roma looking fantastic doing yoga in her leotard and heels!

This book was used in conjunction with June Dally Watkins courses on deportment and etiquette... 

 

Roma Blair was one of the earlier yoga teachers in Australia.
She has an interesting story; while spending three years in a Japanese prison camp in WWII, she gave birth without a doctor, no anaesthetic and therefore contracted dysentery and was very ill. Later, while living in South Africa, she was referred to a yoga swami to help with her health issues. Through yoga her health returned and she came back to Australia in 1957 to open her yoga school.

She also hosted a yoga television show in the 1960's. I love this picture!

In 1966 she went to India and was made the first female Australian Swami by Swami Satyananada.  She has published books, videos and records on yoga.

This one is fantastic! She kicked off her heels and leotard for Yoga - the Natural Way...

 image : http://www.librarything.com/work/2217798/covers/

5.15pm Class at the Surf Club

I am going to start a class at 5.15pm at the Surf Club. This will start next Tuesday...
Please contact me if you have any questions.

So...
Tuesday 5.15-6.15pm'ish
Open, gentle class suitable for all levels
Yamba Surf Life Saving Club
Main Beach Yamba
$12 per person

Hopefully this class will suit everyone who is finding it hard to get up early. (Although you should - sunrise has been amazing lately!)

My New Roots...

Image courtesy My New Roots

I have been in my element with my winter yoga retreats - cooking healthy homemade veggo food and lots of yoga!

I will post the recipes for the food I've been serving shortly, but for now, have a look at one of the blogs I'm loving. It's called My New Roots, and has some great recipes and some beautiful images. These Hemp Granola Bars look delish!

There are still places available for my next Winter Yoga Weekend...

Please contact me if you'd like to come along!

The first class will be Saturday morning, followed by breakfast on the Surf Club deck. The day will be free for you to spend as you please; enjoy a massage, sit on the beach in the sun, lunch at Beachwood,
walks, surfing, browse at Belinda's Store (just a couple of suggestions!).

The next class will be Saturday evening, and will be a more rejuvenating, 'winding-down' class, and then a yummy, vegetarian dinner. On your way home collect your bag of home made muesli to take for your breakfast the following morning.

On Sunday we will meet at around 9am for a flow sequence to warm up. The second part of the class will be more of a work shop style, breaking down postures and using props to work towards headstands and back bends. I will also show neti (nasal cleansing) to those who are interested!
We should be finished a bit after 11am, so time for a dip in the ocean before an early lunch.

All the food is home made and vegetarian, and suited to the winter season. I also have a lavender and linseed eye bag for you.

I hope you can come!

ANOTHER WINTER YOGA WEEKEND!

PLEASE NOTE I HAVE CHANGED THE CLASS TIMES OF THIS ONE AGAIN!

I have had lots of interest in the Winter Yoga Weekend, so have decided to put on a second one...
This will be on the 23rd and the 24th of July.

The classes will be:

SATURDAY:
6.30 - 8am - Followed by breakfast
and then 4.30 - 6pm Followed by dinner

SUNDAY:
Then instead of two on Sunday, I will do a longer session Sunday morning. It will be more like a workshop. It will start at 9am, and will go for around 2 hours or possibly a bit over!
We will do a flow class for an hour to warm up, then the second part will be braking down postures, with focus on alignment. We will also work on headstand preparation for those who are ready.

Sunday will finish with an early lunch.

Apart from the slight change in times of the classes, it will be the same as the earlier weekend.

I will post more information again soon, but if you would like to book please let me know!

WINTER YOGA WEEKEND

In July I am going to hold my winter yoga weekend...

There will be four yoga classes, which will all be at least 1.5 hours long. They'll include asana (yoga postures), some pranayama (breathing exercises), and some meditation.

The classes will be open to all levels, and I will offer variations for more advanced yogis.

As it will be in the middle of winter, there will be a focus on creating heat in the body- lots of twists to help your immune system, and some inversions to help awaken an often sluggish winter body!

After the morning practice, we will have breakfast (hopefully in the sun!) on the surf club deck. Saturday morning breakfast will be homemade muesli, with chai or herbal tea, and on Sunday we will have baked eggs with herbs, also with chai or herbal tea.

The days will be free for you to enjoy Yamba, if you would like a massage please let me know and I will book you in.

After the evening practice we will also have dinner in the surf club. The meals will be vegetarian, such as homous and flat bread, then vegetable tagine with couscous, or minestrone and vegetarian lasange. Please let me know about any specific dietary requirements you may have.

If the sun is out, Sunday morning may be a walk along Pippi Beach, with yoga/meditation on the beach or on the look out at Flat Rock. It's the perfect place for yoga if the weather permits.

I also have some lovely lavender and linseed eye bags to give you. These are so nice to use at home to help you relax!

Dates: 
Friday 8th July 4.30 - 6pm. Followed by dinner
Saturday 9th July 6.30 - 8am. Followed by breakfast
Saturday 9th July 4.30 - 6pm. Followed by dinner
Sunday 10th July 7.30 - 9am. Followed by breakfast

The cost of the weekend is $125.  If you would like any more information or would like to book, please call me on 0412 851 994, or email me yambayoga@gmail.com.

I hope you can come!

Advanced class on Tuesday morning...

Tuesday morning at 6.15am is now going to be an advanced class... We will go until 7.30am so we can fit just a little more in.

Everyone is welcome to come to the class if the time suits you best, but just be aware that there will be more advanced postures in the sequence, and it will be more dynamic and challenging! Of course you don't have to attempt them, I just won't be breaking the postures down so much so you will get more out of it if you have an understanding of the basic postures.

It will be great to have a chance to get out of your comfort zone and experiment a little.

Please call me if you have any questions, or to see if this class would be suitable for you.

 

Image sourced from: 

http://publicinternational.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

EASTER AND SCHOOL HOLIDAY TIMETABLE

As it is school holidays, I am going to have a second morning class on Tuesdays. So if you don't want to get up for the 6.15am class you can come at a more civilised 7.30am!
The only class I won't have is on ANZAC day, Monday night at the Wellbeing Centre.
Happy Easter!!

Tuesday 19th April
 6.15am and 7.30am
Yamba Surf Club

Thursday 21st April
6.15am
Yamba Surf Club

Easter Monday/ ANZAC day 25th April
NO CLASS AT THE WELLBEING CENTRE

Tuesday 26th April
6.15am and 7.30am at the Surf Club

Thursday 28th April
6.15am at the Surf Club

Yoga + Chocolate

Yoga + Chocolate.
These would have to be two of my favourite things!

I read about this on Yeah Dave's Guide to Living in the Moment .

Dave gives a chocolate tasting before and after his two hour vinyasa flow class.
The chocolate is a metaphor emphasizing that anything in life is better, richer, sweeter when experienced in the present moment. 

I think this is definitely how we are meant to eat chocolate, slowly and consciously.

Dave has a number of novel ideas of using life's treats to live in the present moment.
It’s not just chocolate…I’ll show you how great music, yoga, wine, or any everyday passion can become an accessible gateway to the present moment.

I also like this similar concept; Yoga + Wine...

Simplify your life...

I wrote this quote on the board at the Surf Motel here in Yamba this morning. I found it on a blog called Tiny Buddha. It's a great blog sub-titled simple wisdom for complex lives.

Read this blog every morning and I'm sure it will help you to have a better day!

This article on Tiny Buddha gives 10 steps to simplify your work life...

Meditation Capsules - A Mindfulness Program for Children.

I bought this book little while ago when a friend heard Janet Etty-Leal speak at a yoga conference. Meditation is such a wonderful skill to learn, so why not teach it to children? Something which may seem little, or no big deal to us can be worrying and stressful for their little minds!

The program has been implemented in Victorian schools and the results and feedback has been amazing.

Watch this clip on children meditating.

I am so keen on this! I love it...

Visit the website here.
Purchase the book here.

The Africa Yoga Project.

This is such a great cause... 

The Africa Yoga Project aims to use yoga to empower communities in Africa. The programs include the Baptiste Power Yoga on the Streets; where free yoga classes based on Baptiste Vinyasa are available to young Kenyan's. The project also offers financial support to train aspiring yoga teachers from the slums, who then go on to teach yoga in their own communities. Another program is the Beads for Change- Yoga Inspired & Women-Driven. The program supports women to use the traditional Masai art of beading, to create and sell beaded t-shirts.
 

Be Present Every Day...

I love this print!
I just bought it from the Etsy store Groundwork. 

Such a simple statement which has so much relevance to yoga. It will be perfect to hang in my yoga studio one day!

101 Cookbooks

  Black Sesame Otsu

*Image credit: www.101cookbooks.com

Have a look at Heidi Swanson's blog, 101 Cookbooks. This recipe for Black Sesame Otsu looks great.
Her recipes' focus is natural, whole food ingredients, which are styled and photographed beautifully.
This article, Can this woman make quinoa sexy? from Salon.com, defines it well.

I often find great contemporary, exciting vegetarian recipes here. There is also some yummy chocolate recipes to try...

Teach Us to Sit Still

I have just finished reading Teach Us to Sit Still by Tim Parks. As in the title, this book is about 'A sceptic's search for health and healing'.

The author, an academic who teaches translation at university, definitely wasn't into anything 'new age'. Yoga and meditation were for hippies, and the last place he thought we would find the answer to his pain.

"Just when the medical profession had given up in me and I on it, just when I seemed to be walled up in a life sentence of chronic pain, someone proposed a bizarre way out: Sit still, they said, and breathe..."

It seemed to highlight how we have lost touch with our bodies, and how this can eventually lead to illness. For Parks, meditation was a last resort, almost in desperation to find some sort of relief from his pain.

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to sit still in silence for 5 or 10 minutes a day - try it!

Teach Us to Sit Still: A Sceptic's Search for Health And Healing
Tim Parks

Find the book here

New Timetable.

I have a changed my class timetable slightly...

Morning classes are now on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Yamba Surf Club at 6.15am.

I am also going to hold 4 week beginners courses on Monday evenings; 6pm at the Yamba Wellbeing Centre. These are suitable for complete beginners, but also beneficial for everyone - it's always helpful to go back to basics and work on the correct alignment of the basic yoga postures.

I am going to take bookings for this one and limit it to 6 people. That way everyone can get the attention they deserve!

January Yoga Jam

We are holding another Yoga Jam workshop...

Therefore, the following regular classes won't be on.

Tuesday 6pm (Light house)
Thursday 6.15am (Wellbeing Centre)
Thursday 6pm (Light house).