When Yoga Meets the Water

When Yoga Meets the Water

Meet the new fitness craze that is sweeping the nation, SUP yoga.  If you are bored with your normalyoga routine, or even if you aren’t, I highly recommend giving this a try.  Combining SUP andyoga brings you a whole new and challenging experience.  SUP yoga originated in Florida but it has spread quickly to locations where any body of water is present, be it the ocean, river, lake, bay, etc.

Top Five Reasons to Try SUP Yoga:

Using the paddleboard as a yoga mat enhances your yoga routine as it requires extra balance and core strenth to stabalize the board.

1. Not only is SUP Yoga a great workout, it also extremely meditative. Being so connected with nature it is easier to relax and practice deeper meditation.
2. Great for all levels and all ages and easy to learn. As challanging as it looks after a few sessions you will be surpised with how comfortable and stable you feel essentially walking on water.

1. Get your Vitamin D, aka the Sunshine Vitamin. Sunlight is the best and only natural source of vitamin D. Unlike dietary or supplementary vitamin D, when you get your ‘D’ from sunshine your body takes what it needs, and de-metabolizes any extra. Just make sure you are also wearing sunscreen!
2. It’s an enjoyable experience! The best types of workouts are the ones you actually enjoy and look forward to.

Yogi Tea for Tummy

Yogi Tea for Tummy

Yogi tea’s special blend of heavy spices improves your digestion after meals while also nourishing body and spirit.

Four primary spices are used in yogi tea: cardamom, ginger, long pepper, and cinnamon. Cardamom and ginger are considered sattvic, believed to stimulate spiritual purity. These spices also help to reduce mucus, relieve gas, calm the stomach, stimulate agni, and eliminate ama (toxins). Long pepper (pippali) does all this, as well as reduces pain and rejuvenates tissue. Cinnamon is similar to cardamom and ginger in properties and is also good for the circulation and the heart.

Everyone seems to have a favorite yogi tea recipe,but here is a basic one for beginners. Bring two quarts of water to a boil and then add the following spices: one-half tablespoon long pepper (whole black peppercorns can be substituted), one heaping tablespoon cardamom seeds, six sticks of cinnamon, and four slices of fresh ginger root, peeled.

Reduce the heat and let the spice mixture simmer for 30 minutes. Add one and one-half teaspoons black tea and then let steep for no longer than 10 minutes. (It becomes too bitter after that.) Strain and add milk, honey, or maple syrup to taste.

Indeed, some yogis may prefer drinking just a simple infusion made from only the base spices, depending on their particular dosha, without the black tea, milk, or sugar. For example, kaphas, who may be burdened by sluggish digestion, gas, or constipation or suffer from dairy sensitivities, obviously should skip milk and sugar. Sensitive vatas and easily agitated pitas should avoid the caffeinated black tea.

Quick Yoga Tips

Quick Yoga Tips

What You Need to Know

•    The time most suitable for Yoga is in the morning before breakfast when the mind is calm and fresh and the movements can be done with ease and vitality.

•    The most important things you’ll need to get started – as they say – are a big heart and a small ego.

•    A person must seek a place of quietude, which is well ventilated, free from dust, insects, unpleasant smell, draught, and moisture. There should be no distraction whatsoever.

•    You must empty your bowels and bladder, clean your nostrils and throat of all mucus, consume a glass of lukewarm water and then begin the exercises after 15 minutes.

•    Always remember that you should begin with the easy postures and then proceed to the difficult ones. One must follow the graded steps of Yoga.

•    In the beginning, all movements should be practiced lightly and you must cease to go further if fatigue shows.
•    Yoga must pep up and not impart weariness and despondency.

•    Periods of relaxation are advisable if a particular exercise proves to be tiring.
•    Yoga trainers recommend a balanced diet (sattwik). There should be an interval of 4 hours between meals.

•    The ratio for the composition of meals should be:
grains and cereals 30% of the calorific value
dairy products 20%
•
nuts remaining 5%
•    Regarding the quantity of food, it should be moderate (mitahara), only that which satisfies one’s appetite.

•    One should avoid overeating, fasting or eating once a day. Stale or non-nutritious food, you know, is harmful.
•    The clothing should be loose and as scanty as possible, because maximum amount of the skin should be exposed to air.

•    Form-fitting cotton/Lycra pants and shirts are the best.

•    The breathing should be long and deep. The mouth should be closed and inhale and exhale only through the nose.

•    Always take a mat of kusa or any other grass or hay for sitting postures.

•    For lying postures use a woollen carpet, and spread a clean sheet over it.

•    You can check out some other , like Yoga belt, foam blocks, Yoga pillows and rubber mats.