4 Ways to Light Up Your Mood

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lifestyle change, light, mood, seasonal affective disorder, stress relief, wellness, winter mood booster, yoga, Yoga With Paul

Light is one of the biggest influences on our mood. Even if everything is going fine, the short, drab days of winter can leave us feeling sluggish or sad. We’re less than a month away from the shortest day of the year, and the lack of light can be oppressive.

If you can’t afford to move to the tropics, how do you cope?

Here are four ways to cheat the clouds and light up your life — and mood.

 

Yoga (every damn day)

You need yoga most on cold, dark days when you just don’t feel like moving. Getting out of bed for morning yoga can be tough, but the practice will energise your body, refresh your mind, and lift your outlook for the entire day. Evening classes are a great way to get a dose of light, warmth, and positive energy, helping you extract more from your day.

Get smart lights

Not all light is created equal. You’ve probably heard of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) lamps that give off special, high-power light that mimics sunlight. These are designed to be used for brief periods of time, specifically to treat seasonal mood disorders. For regular use, smart lights such as Ikea’s Tradfri range offer a spectrum of shades. This means you can adjust the light “temperature” for a mood-boosting natural effect.

Take a lunch break

It is tempting to hide indoors as much as possible this time of year, but it just increases the feeling of being confined and muffled. Bundle up on your lunch break, when daylight is brightest, and go for a walk. Even 15-20 minutes of fresh air and natural light will lift your spirits and help you feel refreshed and energised.

Decorate with mirrors

Adding mirrors to your home is a fast, inexpensive way to brighten it up without burning extra electricity. Look around your living room, bedroom and bath for places where a strategically placed mirror will reflect extra light. They will also make your home feel more spacious, which is a mood-enhancer in its own right.

Have a great tip for bringing more light into your life? Share in the comments!

 

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5 Steps to be a Better Listener

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communication, learning to listen, listening, mindfulness, yoga, yoga connect, yoga listening, yoga practice, Yoga With Paul

One of the first instructions students receive in yoga class is, “listen”. In our practice, listening to the instructor is how we learn, develop, and focus. Listening attentively allows us to let go of whatever is happening in our day-to-day and concentrate.

When we step out of the studio and back into the bustle of daily life it is easy to stop listening. A lot of times it is easier, or more comfortable, to speak. It gives us a feeling of being in control and directing the situation. Other times, we are simply too distracted to listen with real attention.

This is a shame, because genuine listening opens us and helps us connect. If we cannot listen, we can’t truly understand. You can learn to listen by following these five steps.

Set your intention

You can choose to focus, in yoga or anywhere. When you enter a conversation take a moment to silently set an intention to listen with genuine interest.

Listen with your body

This means, focus on the person you’re conversing with. Angle your body toward them, make eye contact, if you’re in a noisy environment stand close enough to hear. If its a friend or loved one, show your attention with an affirmative touch.

Don’t rush to speak

People often pause in speech. Don’t leap in with a comment at every pause. Give the other person space to continue or elaborate on what they were saying. This often leads to a deeper conversation.

Ask questions

Show your interest by asking thoughtful questions. Open-ended questions like, “how did that feel?” or “what did you learn from that?” are a great way to let the person know you care about what they’re saying, and encourage them to share.

Don’t impose your feelings

It is  natural to respond to people according to our perception, but that can block them from sharing what they feel. For example, someone says they had a fight with their partner. If you jump in and say, “How stressful. I hate arguing!” you’ve imposed your feelings.

However, they might have been about to say, “It opened up a good conversation and, actually, turned out positive.”

The essence of being a good listener is understanding that other people are different, and having a sincere interest in learning how they see the world.

What is your best listening technique? Share in the comments!

New Class Alert! Highbury

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Bikram Highbury & Islington, Bikram teacher, Bikram yoga classes, Bikram yoga London, hot yoga classes, hot yoga London, hot yoga studio, Yoga With Paul

Calling all yogis — especially my North London friends: I am very pleased to announce that I will be joining the Bikram Highbury & Islington yoga community as a teacher.⠀

Come learn to do this…

⠀

My regular classes @BikramHighbury will be on Tuesdays: 6.30am and 6.15pm. 

If you’re already a regular practitioner, come on down and refresh your practice with a change of scene. If you’re new to yoga, join us. Bikram classes are suitable for all levels from total novices to advanced.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

For a peek at the studio, check out its video

Stretch with Half-Moon Pose

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Ardha Chandrasana, Bikram poses, Bikram yoga, half-moon pose, hot yoga, hot yoga postures, low-back yoga, yoga, yoga spine, Yoga With Paul

Ardha Chandrasana (Half-Moon Pose) is the second posture in the hot yoga warm-up sequence. In other words, it’s one that happens while we’re still getting grounded, focused; while we’re still waking up our bodies and minds. 

It is an incredibly beneficial pose, however. It deserves time and attention, and will reward us when we practice it with full attention and commitment.

 

Among its many benefits, half-moon pose

• • Provides energy and vitality for your practice
  • Helps heal lower-back pain
  • Corrects the posture
  • Exercises the circulatory, glandular, pancreatic, muscular, respiratory, renal, and skeletal systems
  • Improves digestion by toning abdominal organs and spinal nerves
  • Firms and trims abdomen, buttocks, hips, and waistline
  • Reduces stress and anxiety
  • Increases spinal flexibility

In order to get the most out of half-moon pose, we have to wake up and give it the attention it deserves! Here’s how you do it.

• Bring your arms over your head, interlace your fingers and release the index fingers
• Press your arms to your ears and your palms together. Maintain this through the pose.
• Extend your body, stretching towards the ceiling and lengthening your spine.
• Begin by moving left and right 10-15 times, inhaling and exhaling through the nose.
• Stop in the middle, extend your spine, drop your shoulders, then gradually bend to the right, from the hips.
• Keep your thighs engaged and pelvis tucked under.
• Breathe calmly in and out, gradually extending to stretch the whole body from fingertips to toes.
• Return to centre, reset, then bend to the left and repeat the stretch.
• In class, we do this twice on each side. In home practice you can play with the stretch by extending the duration, or repeating it more than twice.

Questions? Comments? Please ask!

 

3 Ways to be Patient

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calming yoga, changing habits, mindfulness, patience, philosophy of yoga, yoga patience, Yoga With Paul

We all need to be patient, sometimes. But modern live seems to demand constant action and movement. We are bombarded with advice on how to be switched on, go for the goal and give 110%. There is so much to do, it is easy to forget the importance of patience.

Learning to be patient is part of the path to developing perspective, calm, and acceptance. It probably doesn’t come naturally though. Patience, like anything else worth doing, requires practice. Here are three ways to cultivate patience in your life.

Breathe

When we get stressed or impatient the first thing that happens is our cardiovascular system revs up. Our heart pumps, our breath comes faster. If we want to stop reacting with irritation, the first thing to do is calm the physical response by controlling the breath. Use your knowledge from yoga and consciously focus on breathing in and out at an equal tempo. You can count to four on the in-breath and four on the out-breath, or choose some other cadence. Breathe calmly and evenly to tell your body there is no cause for alarm.

Imagine

It is human impulse to find targets for our impatience. Sometimes it is something inanimate, like a ticket machine, other times we take our frustration out on the people around us. This not only fuels our bad feeling, it creates a cycle of negativity. To break it, imagine what lies behind the situation. Maybe the person who cut the queue is a parent with a sick child, struggling to get through the day. Maybe the person who squeezes into the Underground and steps on your toes is a future friend (or lover). Sure, it’s a long shot, but we all imagine how things could be. Why not imagine something positive?

Appreciate 

When life seems to conspire against you, take a minute to think of all the way life conspires for you. We are surrounded by so many blessings: materially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Yet somehow, it is easier to focus on what we don’t have. That is part of consumer culture, of the culture of “aspiration”. If that works for you, good. If it doesn’t (and I suspect, for many of us, it doesn’t) let it go. Let go of what doesn’t serve you. Instead, genuinely and sincerely embrace and appreciate the gifts in your life.

What is your best tip for being patient? Share in the comments!

 

 

 

Lentil & Mushroom Risotto

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clean eating, clean food, food for yoga, healthy recipes, lentil mushroom risotto, lentil risotto, seasonal recipes, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, whole foods, yoga, Yoga With Paul

Putting lentils in risotto had never occurred to me, but then I stumbled across a recipe and thought, that makes sense. Combining rice and legumes creates a hearty, warming dish that provides complete protein, complex carbohydrates, fibre and lots of vitamins and minerals. If only I’d thought of this sooner!

The following is from AllRecipes.co.uk, with my suggestions in italics. You can visit the site for more recipes and inspiration.

Ingredients
Serves: 4 

• 175g green lentils – use red or beluga lentils for gorgeous colour
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 3 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced – add an extra pepper for more heat
• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 225g mushrooms, sliced
• 175g arborio rice
• 200ml dry white wine
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish – or use fresh sage or basil
• pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese – use nutritional yeast for a vegan dish

Preparation

1. Cook the lentils in a saucepan of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Place the stock in the saucepan and bring to simmering point over medium heat. Lower the heat so the stock is simmering gently.
2. Heat the oil in another large saucepan and add the onion, garlic and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the red pepper and the ground coriander and cumin. Cook for a further 1 minute, stirring.
3. Add the mushrooms, rice and lentils, and stir to mix. Pour in the wine and add a ladleful of the hot stock. Bring to a gentle boil and bubble until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring frequently.
4. Add another ladleful of stock and cook until it is absorbed, stirring frequently. Repeat this gradual addition of the hot stock until it has all been added. The rice should be creamy and tender but still with some ‘bite’, and the lentils cooked.
5. Stir in the chopped coriander and season with pepper to taste. Serve hot, sprinkled with the Parmesan (or nutritional yeast) and extra chopped coriander.

Share your favourite risotto or lentil recipe in the comments!

photo credit: Luca Nebuloni Risotto courgette and mint via photopin (license)

5 Yoga Poses for your Neck

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Bikram yoga, flexibility, healing yoga, hot yoga poses, neck yoga, spine stretching, yoga, yoga benefits, yoga postures, Yoga With Paul

The phrase “stiff necked” means “stubborn” . And who wouldn’t be, when one of the most important parts of your body is tense and uncomfortable?

Our necks are constantly in use and unfortunately often ignored. We stretch our shoulders, lower, middle and upper back, but sometimes forget to show love to the critical portion of our spine that keeps our head connected!

Yoga offers tools to create strength and flexibility in our neck. Literally, softening our stiff necks so we can be more adaptive, receptive and mobile. You’ll see the difference when you add these five yoga poses to your practice.

Prasarita padottanasana (Wide-legged forward bend)

Doing a wide-legged forward bend is the yoga equivalent of hanging upside down from the monkey bars. It lets gravity grab hold of you and stretch your spine and neck, creating space and flexibility. The key is to take a good, wide stance then fold forward from the hips, keeping your spine straight and letting the weight of your head pull you towards the floor. Keep your belly tight, thighs engaged and weight forward on your toes to permit maximum extension through the neck.

Ardha Kurmasana (Half-tortoise pose)

This is a fantastic pose for stretching your whole spine from sacrum to neck. Make sure you go into the posture with a long, flat back. Once your fingertips reach the floor you can relax your forehead onto the floor. This is where the stretch really begins to work. Press your palms together to activate your arms, work your hips down towards your heels and continuously reach forward, elongating and releasing your neck.

Gomukhasana (Cow Face pose)

Cow face pose deeply stretches and opens the muscles in our shoulders, sending a positive ripple effect up and down our spine. To begin, stretch your right arm up next to your right ear, and your left arm down by your left side. Bend your left arm behind the back and up, reaching your fingers towards the middle of the shoulder blades, palm out. Bend the right elbow back, palm in, reaching down to grasp your left fingers. Use a strap to work into the stretch if you can’t reach your fingers. Eventually, you should be able to hook your fingers together, creating a profound stretch.

Ardha Matsyendrasana (Spine Twisting Pose)

It is important to work your neck through a full range of motion every day, that means up, down and side-to-side. Spine twisting pose is a fantastic posture for increasing the flexibility of your whole spine, right through the top of the neck. The important thing to remember is to keep your head level. Don’t cheat by throwing your chin over your shoulder; it can do more harm than good.

Savasana (Corpse pose)

Our neck gets tense when we are tense. Taking time to relax and meditate in savasana is essential to calm the whole body and break the cycle of physical tension. You can do savasana at the end of your practice, or any time of the day when you have a few minutes and need to ground yourself and focus. The more you are able to consciously release tension from your whole body the looser and happier your neck will be!

Questions or thoughts? Share in the comments or Tweet @YogaWithPaul

5 Reasons to Rise Early

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daily yoga, early rising, habit change, life-changing, meditation, nutrition, self-care, yoga, yoga for insomnia, yoga lifestyle, Yoga With Paul

Getting out of a warm bed can be difficult on cold, dark mornings. If you can overcome that initial reluctance, however, you’ll find there are many advantages to getting up early. Why try a new rising routine for a week or two and see how you feel? You might find you have no interest in returning to your sleepy ways.

Rise and shine!

Here are five reasons to rise early.

Yoga

Nothing starts the day off right like practicing yoga. I’ve taught early morning classes for years and it never fails to amaze me how students (and me) can come in bleary eyed and half-dozing and leave 90 minutes later full of energy and enthusiasm. Even if you don’t make it to the studio, 30-45 minutes of self-practice at home will transform your day.

Breakfast

Some people don’t like to eat right after they wake up; some just don’t have time. When you rise early, you give your body time to acclimate to the day, and you have the time to prepare, eat and enjoy a morning meal. This can help keep your blood sugar level during the day and prevent mid-morning cravings or lunch-time binges.

Quiet time

Most of the day is go-go-go. Getting up before everyone else is a chance to have peace and quiet, before beginning your family/work/life routine. You can use this time to meditate, journal, drink a cup of tea, or take the time for self-care. This sets you up for a calm, focused day, instead of feeling rushed and harried.

Sunrise

Sunrise? In London? In November? Are you kidding? I know, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to see most days, but being awake when the dawn breaks gives your mind and body a boost — even if it’s not a rosy pink sky. Simply experiencing the transition from night to day can boost your energy. And on the rare days when the sun lights up the clouds in glorious colour, you’ll be there to see it!

Routine

Getting up early leads to going to bed early, without fail. If you’re someone who has trouble switching off or struggle with insomnia, rising early will help ensure you are tired and ready for sleep. As you adjust to the new routine, the energising benefits of early rising mean you get more done during the day, meaning more time for relaxation in the evening.