Yoga Holidays With Paul 2020

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yoga abroad, yoga holiday Cyprus, yoga holiday Portugal, Yoga Holiday With Paul, yoga summer holiday 2020, Yoga With Paul

Yoga Holiday With Paul 2020 is live!

The dates for our annual retreats will be:
Algarve on 19-26 June 2020 and Cyprus on 11-18 September 2020.

Get ready to head to the sunshine next summer for a wonderful week of yoga, music, cleansing foods, laughter, dance and blissful beaches.

Choose one, or join us for both!

YHWP 2019 

Students say…

“I absolutely loved it. Everything exceeded my expectations. I will definitely come back next year.” – Liz

“The holiday is stunning. The food and the setting are just beautiful.” – Serena

“Paul is a very calm instructor who makes you feel relaxed. He would remind us to breathe deeply before stretching and
turning. He is funny and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.”  –Rung

“The retreat helped me let go/leave behind the hustle, bustle routine of my busy life. I decided to turn off my mobile phone, clear my mind and just relax.” –Elke

To reserve your place email: YogaHolidayWithPaul@gmail.com

5 Ways to Love Your Ordinary Life

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every day yoga, life-changing, love life, mindfulness, positive routine, self-care, yoga daily, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

Turns of season are a time when we are vulnerable to mood shifts. I’ve recently come back from an incredible Yoga Holiday With Paul in Cyprus, and have been seeking ways to get my balance back.

Cyprus was such a lovely group in such an amazing place. The weather hot, perfect every day. After class we went straight in the warm, still sea. What more could you ask for?

London, though I love it, can’t help but feel like a bit of a letdown after a week in paradise. It is easy to over-react to the feeling of boredom or letdown by trying to cheer ourselves up, or by wallowing in the feeling. Neither of these is the healthy option.

Yoga teaches us to strive for balance. With that in mind, here are 5 ways to love your ordinary life.

Cultivate positive routines

Positive routines help us organise and make the most of our days. Little rituals like doing 10 Sun Salutations as soon as you get out of bed, or making time to read for 15 minutes before going to sleep, or taking an afternoon break for a cup of tea, are ways to calm and refresh your body and mind.

Photo by Nqobile Vundla on Unsplash

Make time for human connections

We need people. Spending time in face-to-face conversation and proximity is essential to our mental and physical well-being. Instead of constantly messaging your friends, make time to meet up for a coffee, or do a yoga class together.

Don’t let your schedule run your life

It is easy to get sucked into never-ending-to-do lists, always putting off relaxing, or reconnecting, until we get the next arbitrary task done. It is also tempting to say “yes” too often, making ourselves busy when we need to rest. Remember, your schedule is meant to serve you, not run your life. Be the boss!

Get to the studio

Doing yoga every day is the best thing you can do for your mind and body. Doing it every other day, or three times a week, or whenever you can, yields untold benefits. You will be more alert, calmer, more flexible, and able to deal with life’s daily challenges. Plus, it is a chance to socialise (see above) and remind yourself that you are surrounded and supported by caring human beings.

Acknowledge the extraordinary, every day

Our life is only as ordinary as we let it be. When you start to feel bored, dissatisfied, or discontent, remember how amazing it is that you are here on this planet, in this city, with these friends and loved ones, this body, this vocation, this experience. Your life is unique and magical, even when it seems mundane.

How do you appreciate your ordinary days? Share in the comments!

Focus on What’s Right

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mental health, mindfulness, positive yoga, self-care, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

Having just wrapped up Yoga Holiday With Paul, it’s time to return to routine and prepare for autumn and winter.

The time in Cyprus was, as always, filled with joy and learning. One thing that impressed itself on my mind was the importance of focusing on what is right in our practice, and lives, instead of looking at what is wrong.

Photo by Michele Guan on Unsplash

It is all too easy to focus on our weaknesses or what we lack. When we do so, we lose the ability to be present and grateful for our strengths and blessings.

There is a great book called Stories of School Yoga that focuses on the benefits of yoga for children and educators. One chapter, by a yogi and counselor named Helene McGlauflin, highlights the problem of focusing on negative behaviour, rather than seeking and praising positive behaviour. She was writing specifically about kids, but this applies to adults as well.

We are often our own biggest critics, and quick to blame ourselves for perceived flaws or failures. It is time to start telling ourselves a different story — one that focuses on the positive and empowers us to address life’s inevitable difficulties with courage and calm.

Read more: Body image boost, Making positive mistakes

Mediterranean Potato Salad

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clean eating, food for yoga, healthy food, Mediterranean food, potato recipes, seasonal eating, vegan recipes, vegetarian potato salad, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

We’re away in Cyprus this week for Yoga Holiday With Paul where, among other things, we are enjoying a range of delicious plant-based meals made with local produce.

Potatoes are one of the secret stars of the veg world. They are packed with vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium, making them perfect pre- or post-yoga fuel. They also have a much higher water content than grains, ideal for hydrating in a hot climate!

Photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash

This simple potato salad recipe uses many of the wonderful flavours of the Med. Make a meal of it by serving it along with a green salad and a protein dish, or enjoy it as a snack.

Ingredients

• Waxy or new potatoes
• Fresh green beans
• Kalamata olives
• Capers
• Lemon
• Extra-virgin Olive oil
• Rosemary (preferably fresh)
• Thyme (preferably fresh)
• Sea salt flakes
• Coarse-ground black pepper
• Chilli flakes (optional)

Preparation

1. Boil and cool the potatoes (peel if desired, or leave skins on for flavour and fibre)
2. Chop and blanch the green beans
3. Combine potatoes and green beans with olives and capers, to taste
4. Squeeze fresh lemon over the salad, adding olive oil to taste
5. Chop the rosemary and thyme
6. Add herbs, salt, pepper and chilli flakes to taste, tossing to mix
7. Cover and leave for at least 30 minutes to let the flavours blend
8. Serve as a main, side or snack

For more recipe inspiration: Jersey Royal potatoes, Herb Cucumber & Potato salad

6 Salt Water Skin Benefits

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natural skin care, salt scrub, salt skin care, salt water benefits, summer skin care, wellness, yoga holiday abroad, Yoga Holiday With Paul, yoga retreat, Yoga With Paul

We have been blissfully soaking up the sun and sea in the Algarve for the past week — and it shows. Salt water is a great skin treatment and it is definitely noticeable!

Seaside bliss

Swimming in the sea is wonderfully refreshing in any case. Even better, it helps heal and protect our largest organ — the skin — in numerous ways. These are six key benefits.

Reduce excess oil

Bathing in salt water — whether the sea or adding natural sea salt to a bath — can help reduce excessive oil in your skin, without a harsh drying effect.

Kill bacteria

Salt water water has strong anti-bacterial properties, which makes it a great treatment for problems like acne and other bacteria-related skin conditions.

Diminish scars

If you have scarring, salt water is said to help diminish the appearance of scars by promoting your skin’s regeneration.

Heal minor wounds

Everyday scrapes, scuffs and cuts greatly benefit from salt water treatment. The anti-bacterial properties help prevent any infection and salt water has a soothing effect.

 

Exfoliates the skin

Salt water is an excellent natural way to exfoliate the skin. If you don’t have the sea at hand, try a salt scrub.

Reduces inflammation

Stress, sun exposure, pollution and other irritants can inflame our skin. Salt water can reduce inflammation and help our skin maintain its natural defences.

Read more: Happy skin secrets, 4 skin-protecting foods

Peace, Friends

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peace quotes, summer yoga holiday, yoga holiday Algarve, Yoga Holiday With Paul, yoga meditation, yoga peace, yoga retreat

Warm greetings from Yoga Holiday with Paul in the Algarve. We are embracing a wonderful week of yoga, friendship, sunshine and nourishment — physical and spiritual.

One of the best parts of this experience is its peacefulness. The tranquility of nature, the peace we create in our minds through practice, the relaxation we share…

I share the following beautiful quotes with the wish that they bring you peace, wherever you are this moment.

Namaste.

 

First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
-Thomas a Kempis

If we ourselves remain angry and then sing world peace, it has little meaning. First, our individual self must learn peace. This we can practice. Then we can teach the rest of the world.
-Dalai Lama

The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace is not achieved by controlling nations, but mastering our thoughts.
-John Harricharan

Share your favourite quote or thought about peace in the comments!

5 Benefits of Hitting the Beach

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beach fitness, beach health benefits, yoga abroad, yoga Algarve, yoga beach holiday, yoga detox, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

The first Yoga Holiday With Paul Yoga Holiday With Paul 2019 is coming up, 21-28 June in the Algarve. In addition to dedicating ourselves to yoga practice we will enjoy the chance to relax and rejuvenate our minds and bodies at the beach.

Spending time at the beach offers physical and mental perks to help you feel stronger, healthier and happier. Here are five health benefits of hitting the beach.

Photo by Lopez Robin on Unsplash

Stress relief

Our hectic lives and busy days create a lot of stress. Going to the beach removes us from the stress cues of our normal environment and replaces it with a scene designed to promote peace and calm. From the soothing lap of waves on the sand, to the chatter of birds, to the soft texture of the sand, the beach is a sensory experience that helps us relax both physically and mentally.

Detoxification

Sun and salt water are a potent detoxifying mix. The sun heats us so we sweat, releasing toxins while salt water flushes away surface dirt. When you spend an hour or two at the beach, enjoying the sun and cooling off by splashing in the sea, you are basically giving yourself a free spa-treatment!

Vitamin D

Our bodies need sunlight to produce Vitamin D and it isn’t always easy to get enough, especially living in the UK! Those of us with darker skin also need more sun exposure for optimum vitamin D production, so you can think of your time at the beach as an essential part of staying strong and healthy.

 

Cross-training

The beach offers lots of opportunities for expanding your fitness. Even a simple walk in the sand is offers your body a challenge, thanks to the shifting grains underfoot. If you choose to jog, it ramps up the benefits even more. Swimming, of course, is a wonderful total-body workout. Yoga and beaches are a perfect fit too: you can use soft sand to practice inversions like headstand, or to do sun salutations in the sun!

Photo by Ash Edmonds on Unsplash

Mindfulness

The beach is a perfect place to cultivate mindfulness. Walking, chanting, or sitting meditation amidst the serenity and natural beauty of the beach will help you clear your mind of every-day distractions. The is also rich in objects and views that inspire contemplation. Simply studying the infinite variation in a handful of sand is a chance to be inspired and uplifted

Read more: Yoga Holiday – 3 Ways to Get Ready, Do You Get Enough Vitamin D?

Retreat to Advance

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hot yoga holiday, summer yoga holiday, yoga Algarve, yoga holiday Cyprus, Yoga Holiday With Paul, Yoga With Paul

In a matter of weeks we’ll be setting off for the Yoga Holiday With Paul retreat in the Algarve, which takes place 21-29 June.

And in September, Yoga Holiday With Paul heads to Cyprus for 13-20 September.

Ground, connect, expand…

I got to thinking about the word retreat. It has a positive connotation of getting away from the stress, distraction and bustle of our daily routine. On the other hand, it has the usually negative meaning of giving up or backing away from a conflict.

It is easy to list the ways that yoga can be viewed as a positive retreat:

• Relaxation
• Mindfulness
• Meditation
• Flexibility
• Balance, etc

But is yoga a negative retreat too?

When you look at it from that angle, yoga can be seen as a retreat from things that harm us. For example, yoga helps us retreat from:

• Anxiety
• Stress
• Attachment
• Expectations

In fact, yoga can help us remove ourselves from all sorts of damaging behaviour and thought patterns. This retreat is really an advance, a giant step forward to achieving the balance, harmony and well-being we seek.

If you want to experience a yoga retreat, in all the wonderful meanings of the word, drop me a line at YogaHolidayWithPaul@gmail.com to join us in the Algarve or Cyprus.

Onward!

Questions about the retreat? Tweet me at @YogaWithPaul or email!

Karma Yoga – PHBGTU

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karma yoga, Phuket Has Been Good To Us, Phuket travel, yoga abroad, yoga benefits, yoga charity, yoga Thailand, Yoga With Paul

Recently, I had the incredible experience of going to Thailand and spending time with the wonderful kids (and adults) of Phuket Has Been Good To Us (phbgtu). This organisation works to improve the opportunities and life chances of underprivileged Thai youth through high quality English language education.

Shiny, happy beaches

During my time there, I had the chance to participate in a beach clean-up with the kids — what fantastic, joyous bunch they are! It was also a tremendous privilege to present donations to the organisation so it can continue its positive work.

It was a simple reminder that we can help others in so many ways. Taking time out from our busy lives we can make a difference and create a smile.

You don’t have to go to Thailand, either. Volunteering in your own community, or simply reaching out to a struggling friend or loved one has just as much impact and meaning as travelling halfway around the world.

So wherever you are, extend a hand to someone and practice karma yoga today!

Donations for phbgtu

Check out phbgtu on Instagram

 

 

Travel Gear for Yogis

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barefoot shoes, Moonchild yoga, Ohmme, PrAna, Sloppy Tunas, sustainable yoga clothes, travel yoga, travel yoga mat, Vivo Barefoot, yoga gear, yoga travel gear, Yoga With Paul, YOGO mats

Travel, whether for business or pleasure, can disrupt your yoga routine. Part of the challenge is making space for the gear. If you’re only away for a weekend do you really want to wrestle with a mat and an extra set of workout clothes?

Luckily, there is some fantastic streamlined gear available to keep your practice on track. Here are six products that will fit easily in your weekend bag.

YOGO travel yoga mat

Having your own yoga mat can make the difference between getting in a session or not, but conventional mats are much too big to carry on. The YOGO mat is a thin, lightweight mat that folds to fit neatly in your bag. It is made from sustainable natural rubber and YOGO plants a tree for every mat sold.

Multi-purpose top (women)

A sleek long-line crop top like this one from Moonchild is a versatile piece that can take you from the yoga studio to out on the town. Wear it as a base layer for daytime exploring then move straight into an evening yoga practice.

Multi-purpose top (men)

The sleek Cobra yoga tee from Ohmme is lightweight and quick-drying, meaning you can work up a sweat, give it a quick handwash in the hotel sink, and have a clean dry shirt in the morning. Its fitted design and quality fabric make it appropriate for all-day wear too.

Vivo Barefoot shoes

Keep your running, walking, hiking and cycling options open with ultra-portable, lightweight Vivo Barefoot shoes. Designed to keep you connected to the earth and on the move, they pack down to a fraction of the size of conventional trainers. Several models are made from recycled plastic as well.

 

Sloppy Tunas shorts

These superb swim shorts are made from 100% recycled plastic trash. They are super light and quick-to-dry so perfect for yoga on the road, or laps in the hotel pool.

Lightweight jackets

A good lightweight jacket can keep you covered while you dash to the nearest yoga studio, then take you on to meetings, sightseeing or social engagements. Sustainable yoga clothing brand PrAna makes the stylish Helmken Anorak for men and the sleek moto-style Snider jacket for women.

Share your tips for portable workout gear in the comments!