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~ Celebrating yoga and the body in motion

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Monthly Archives: September 2013

Food for Yoga: Beetroot

27 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, food, health, hot yoga, London, wellness, yoga tips

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autumn vegetables, beetroot, Bikram yoga tips, food for yoga, healthy eating, nutrition, seasonal eating, seasonal foods, vegetarian recipes, Yoga With Paul

I hate to say it but autumn is definitely under way. Despite the meteorological downsides to this there is a wonderful pay off in fresh food at the moment as this is prime season for a huge array of delicious foods that have been growing and ripening over summer. Yum. So I’ll be adding a few posts on food in the coming weeks as we all transition towards warmer, heartier fuel for our Bikram yoga practice.

Beetroot is one of my favourites — packed with anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals including folate, vitamin C, manganese and potassium — they lend gorgeous colour to your food. I’ve mentioned my love of carrot, beetroot, apple and ginger juice before, which is a terrific boost in any season. If you’re looking for a solid meal, however, this Herbed Lentil and Beetroot Couscous with Halloumi recipe from Delicious Magazine is on the money.

Please share your favourite beetroot recipes or tips in the comments.

beetroot

Herbed lentil and beetroot ‘couscous’ with halloumi and spiced seeds recipe

By Maria Elia

Serves 4 |Takes 1 hour to make, 40 minutes to cook |This colourful and herby vegetarian dish is healthy, filling and tastes great too

Ingredients

for the lentil and beetroot ‘couscous’
150g raw beetroot, peeled
100g cooked puy lentils
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
10g finely grated fresh ginger
100g pickled dill cucumbers or gherkins, finely diced
20g each roughly chopped fresh dill, flatleaf parsley and mint
1½ tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Cumin-seed flatbreads to serve (see deliciousmagazine.co.uk/cumin-flatbread for a recipe)

for the roast beetroot
400g evenly sized beetroots
Olive oil for drizzling

for the spiced seeds
30g each sunflower and pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper

for the halloumi
300g halloumi, cut into slices
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. For the lentil and beetroot ‘couscous’, trim the beetroot, then chop into small pieces. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. Put in a bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients except for the lemon juice and flatbreads. Taste and season, adding lemon juice if required, then chill until needed.
2. For the roast beetroot, preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Wrap each beetroot in foil and roast for 30-40 minutes until tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and foil, leave until cool enough to handle, then slip off the skins (you may want to wear gloves) and cut into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, season and set aside.
3. For the spiced seeds, toss the ingredients together with a large pinch of salt, spread on a baking tray and cook for around 5-10 minutes until golden. Set aside.
4. For the halloumi, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add half the cheese slices, then fry for 2-3 minutes until golden, turning once. Repeat with the remaining slices, then serve immediately with the roasted beetroot, beetroot ‘couscous’ and flatbreads on the side.

Bikram Yoga Clothing for Men

24 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, hot yoga, yoga, yoga tips

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Bikram yoga, Bikram yoga poses, hot yoga, hot yoga for men, London yoga, men's yoga clothes, men's yoga wear, Yoga With Paul

Men don’t have quite the same range of choices as women when it comes to hot yoga clothing (yet) so I’m thrilled when students recommend their favourites. Thanks Vernon for these tips!

Onzie men's square cut short

Onzie men’s square cut short

My top favourites are Hotdrop – sadly not available yet in the UK.

After that, I think Onzie shorts give the best combination of comfort and support.

They also do a good range of brief shorts which are more flamboyant.

Apart from that I also like Phat Buddha too – very colourful and easy to wear.

Can anyone recommend a good store or online retailer? Or where to get Hotdrop?

Bikram – Never Too Old, Sick or Fat

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, healing, health, hot yoga, wellness, yoga, yoga tips

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confidence, fat yoga, hot yoga, yoga healing, yoga mental health, yoga weight loss, Yoga With Paul

Bikram Yoga is for everyone regardless of size, shape, weight or health. No matter where you start, by committing to a regular practice you improve your health, self-acceptance and confidence.

This excerpt is from a great post titled Doing Bikram Yoga While Fat

In 2008, I quit smoking. Now I am back to being a 200-pounder with raging self-esteem issues.

Point is that all this time, I kept doing yoga. My flexibility is awesome. My ability to manage my severely compromised mental health is incredible. I can cope with my own brain simply because I go into that oven and spend 90 minutes pushing myself, in spite of heat and humidity, to reach new goals. I forget my problems. I rise above panic attacks. I actually stop thinking and start doing.

After class, I chat with my yoga teacher, who is slender. I tell her that recently, I learned that I have been deceiving myself. I told myself that I couldn’t do certain postures because my fat is in the way. And then I tell her that I have been lying to myself — there is no fat in the way. It’s just my mind and my self-hate getting in the way. I am perfect in my practice. It is yoga practice and not yoga perfect, right?

She rejoices with me. I am never too fat to be a gorgeous yogini, falling in love with what I see before me, even if it takes heat and hell to do it. At least I know how.

Read the rest here.

If you’ve overcome a physical or mental obstacle to practice yoga share your story in the comments!

Bikram Yogis Dare to Bare

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, healing, health, hot yoga, yoga, yoga tips

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best yoga gear, Bikram yoga, confidence, hot yoga clothing, yoga clothing, yoga for weight loss, yoga postures, Yoga With Paul

In class I talk a lot about the physical benefits of Bikram yoga: strength, flexibility, healing, circulation, etc
But recently, looking around the studio at all the beautiful yogis working hard on their poses, it struck me that there is another health benefit we don’t talk about as much: confidence.
fat-girl-yoga-1
I mean, where else in London are you going to find a woman who is confident enough to walk into a roomful of strangers wearing just a pair of hotpants and a sports bra, or a guy comfortable wearing Speedos? Sure, yogis choose their outfits for practical reasons, but it’s great to see students of all shapes and sizes coming into the studio in their workout gear without any shyness or self-consciousness.

We should shout about this wonderful confidence. When you survive 90 minutes in the hot room you gain a profound respect for your body and what it can achieve — exactly the way it is. Unlike other forms of exercise, or pop culture, which says you have to be a certain weight or shape, yoga teaches us to accept the body as it is and work towards our own individual best, not some stereotype of ‘perfection’.


Has Bikram changed your attitude towards your body?
Please share in the comments!

Cleaning Sweaty Yoga Gear

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, hot yoga, yoga, yoga tips

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Tags

Bikram yoga tips, clean yoga gear, hot yoga clothes, how to clean yoga gear, yoga advice, yoga clothing, Yoga With Paul

One thing you probably noticed when you started practicing hot yoga is that all of a sudden you were doing a lot of washing. Those sweaty towels and sodden shorts add up fast! Sometimes, ordinary washing powder isn’t enough to cut through the product of your 90 minutes of hard work in the studio and I found some great tips on cleaning sweaty yoga clothes and gear in a blog post on ‘How to Clean Sweaty Bikram Yoga Clothes‘ at Compass & Quill.borax

The secret is adding Borax (you can buy it on Amazon) and white vinegar to your wash, along with your usual washing powder.

Do you have any other tips for keeping your Bikram outfits fresh?
If so please share in the comments!

Bikram Yoga What To Wear

10 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, health, hot yoga, yoga, yoga tips

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

hot yoga clothes, hot yoga fashion, London Fashion week, men's yoga wear, Urbanyoga London, yoga clothes, yoga wear, Yoga With Paul

Urbanyoga.co.uk

Urbanyoga.co.uk


With London Fasion Week on the horizon it’s a good time to think about what to wear in the hot yoga studio. A lot of people come in for the first time in tee-shirts and jogging bottoms. By the end of utkatasana they usually realise that when it comes to clothes less is more in Bikram yoga. So the quest begins to find comfortable workout wear that can endure the rigours of 90 minutes in a furnace.

The right workout gear has to be comfortable and practical, but it can also provide a pop of colour and lift your mood. When you look great, you perform better — even in yoga! Women are lucky to have a wide range of brands to choose from. Rachel Myer’s Urbanyoga site is a great place to find funky, sexy gear.

Men don’t have quite the same variety available. But my go-to brands are Quiksilver and Orlebar Brown (which is launching a womenswear line soon).

I’d love to get your thoughts and recommendations on what to wear, your favourite brands, and where you shop.
Please respond in the comments section and I’ll publish the responses in a future post!

Quote

Forget Safety

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, hot yoga, wellness, yoga tips

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Bikram poses, hot yoga tips, inspiration, Rumi, yoga quotes, Yoga With Paul

It is easy to get sucked into comfortable routine, even in the challenging environment of a hot Bikram yoga class. But true growth and development lies outside that comfort zone, so be conscious and if you find yourself taking it easy (in the studio or out) ask: is there more I can do?

grand teton

Forget safety.
Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation.
Be notorious.
― Rumi

Yoga With Paul Holiday Memoir

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by yogawithpaul in Bikram yoga, hot yoga, teaching, yoga holiday

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beach yoga, Bikram yoga, fitness holidays, vegetarian cooking, yoga dancing, yoga holiday Portugal, Yoga Holiday With Paul, yoga retreat, Yoga With Paul

YHwP Class of 2013

YHwP Class of 2013

This year I hosted the fourth Yoga Holiday with Paul retreat in the Algarve. A terrific group of students got together in the sunshine to enjoy twice-a-day Bikram yoga sessions, Vinyasa classes, spontaneous dancing, and homemade vegetarian food. To celebrate the holiday, writer Cila and I teamed up and, with the gracious contributions of the yogis, created a holiday memoir.

Have a peek to see what it was all about!

Yoga Holiday with Paul Memoir

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