Fierce Yoga

I love a good yogi, and right now, I'm super-inspired by Sadie Nardini.

She's also known as the 'fearless yogi'; her attitude to life is very different to the one I naturally take, and I find that inspiring. Check out her facebook feed for her inspiring updates, like these:

I've been doing Sadie's Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga on my days off from work... wow. For someone who loves exercise and enjoys a workout, I can honestly say this is a beautifully sculpting yoga programme, without losing the feel, integrity and serenity of a true practice. I can see muscles developing, whereas other workouts have had me at a plateau.

Sadie is a self-professed 'alignment geek': you won't injure yourself with her 'workouts', and you'll get even more than you bargained for from them. I can't stand a routine where the instructor doesn't guide you on alignment. I need the guidance, and frankly, I think everyone does, even if they haven't injured themselves in the past. After a strong practice with a focus on posture and strength building, you will float through the day, feeling tall and strong and flowing energy... and that's a beautiful thing. That's what I want, to feel, everyday.

Also, the woman isn't afraid to call bullshit on what she sees as unethical practices within the health and wellness sphere, as you can read here on Elephant Journal, re: wellness figures and the hidden commercial forces behind them (also including the ridiculous cost and mark up of programmes like teacher trainings).

Check out her amazing  'Detox and Core Strength' (isn't that something we can all benefit from?) two week plan on Udemy (it's transformative), and her wealth of YouTube workouts, including:

So if you're after a killer yoga routine with a fierce, kind-hearted role model, then go Sadie! 

Magic Brew

Next time you're stressed, put the kettle on.

No, really! I'm not just saying this because I'm British.

If you're anything like me, then stress and anxiety are your go to emotions. They can be overcome, but it does take a fair bit of work and conscious thought/action, at times, to keep yourself together.

So, what if I told you that there are two drinks, in particular, you can sip on all day to get your zen on? Best of all, these drinks are proven to work by altering your biochemistry to fight stress and anxiety, demonstrated in scientific studies. There's (almost) nothing I like more than good, solid scientific proof that natural is not only healthier, but powerfully so.

So, what are these magic drinks? Rooibos and Camellia Sinensis, otherwise known as, tea.

Want the proof? Thanks to Dr Greger on NutritionFacts.org, you can find the information beautifully and succinctly presented, here:

Rooibos
Camellia Sinesis

In short, Rooibos, a deep, reddish and comforting tea, lowers the production of cortisol (produced by your adrenal glands; yes, you know, it's that stress hormone, that turns you into a wreck and makes you gain abdominal fat). Seriously, not a drug, but an herbal tea, significantly lowers cortisol production. Drinking this lessens the physical effect of stress on your body. Needless to say, I have been drinking this stuff constantly.

Camellia Sinesis, on the other hand - the most popular drink in the world - (good old black tea, or green tea, to you and me) is number one for a reason: you are, essentially, drinking a big, relaxing cup of deep meditation. Deep meditation increases alpha wave production in your brain; that alert but intensely calm feeling. However, it increases alpha wave production only slightly. Tea, on the other hand, contains L-theanine, a chemical compound that enters your brain and floods it with the production of alpha waves. Hence the world's love affair with this wonderful drink. Need more proof? Try matcha green tea.

In the past, whenever I've drunk matcha (1/4 tea spoon of matcha being equivalent to 15 cups of green tea), I've been overcome with the most beautiful sense of tranquillity, my body and my mind instantaneously transforming into a clean, blissful calm... I put it down to some kind of intense superfood chlorophyll magic, but now I know better....

My current anti-anxiety, anti-stress motto?

Practice yoga. Eat well. Drink tea.

Trust me, it makes life sweet.

Beach Babe

Can I just say that I love exercise.

I love, love, LOVE exercise. (Though, yes, I say this post-workout. I still have to make myself do it, but I'm grateful when I do).

I walk everywhere, I go running (there is nothing more beautiful - or warming- than running along an expanse of sandy beach in the middle of winter), and I practice yoga. But I also know the importance of including more toning exercises into my regime. To get my fix of these, I usually do exercise DVDs. When I was living in London, I went to some fantastic classes, but here, in this remote and sandy little town, exercise classes are usually expensive and hard to get to. So, if you're in my position, then exercise DVDs can be your new best friend...

(N.B: these are also a fantastic investment: the price of one class, and exercise from the heart of the fitness movement in California. All this, in your own home, whenever you feel like moving).

Mandy Ingber, Jennifer Aniston's trainer, is a goddess. Her beautiful, sculpting, mellow yoga workout DVD, Yogalosophy, is a necessity of mine. I've been using it for over a year, and I'm still not tired of it (but have forced myself to shake my routine up). She gets you in top shape against the stunning back drop of the ocean in sunny L.A., all the while reassuring you that you are already perfect. How can you not love this DVD? It's about getting you into the best shape your amazing self can be, not conforming to a rigid standard that we all to often believe we must make our bodies fit, in order to be beautiful. No, no, no; this is a DVD of self-love. It's a peaceful workout, but oh boy, will it make you ache the next day.

I've recently fallen in love with Karena and Katrina's Beach Babe DVD. If you're looking for an exercise DVD that gives you a fantastic toning workout (with many different workout options) with a chilled yet upbeat soundtrack, then this is the DVD for you. It incorporates light weights, yoga moves, and other toning body weight exercises. The arms workout is a killer.

The wonderful Tone It Up! Website: http://www.toneitup.com/index.php.

Oh, and I want Katrina's hair!

Next post: when highlights go wrong....

(Oh, wait, this already happened. I took this picture to a hairdresser last summer, and asked for 'natural, sun-kissed hair'. I came out with bleach blonde streaks in my dark brown hair. It was not a good look. Rest assured I dyed over them in a dark brown. They then turned green...if only I had taken pictures!)

Healthy on a budget!

This post by Kimberly Snyder is fantastic for anyone trying to be healthy but who can't afford to shop exclusively (oh god, I wish!) at Whole Foods or Planet Organic:

How to eat healthy on a budget.

Check out the clean list vs. the dirty dozen to selectively decide on what to buy organic and cut your pesticide consumption by up to 80 %.

Thanks, Kimberly!

Cold Climate Food: The Nordic Diet

As much as I adore tropical treats, in the middle of winter they just don't always feel right. It's so easy to forget the wealth of local specialties that come from you're own cold climate. These are usually hearty, healthy and perfect to get you through a biting winter's (or summer's, if you live in England...) day.

When I first discovered the Slow Food movement, I was thrilled: it make so much sense, particularly as an anthropology student with a passion for food, and most importantly, it all sounded just so... delicious. But, there was one problem: I had been reading about the Italian Slow Food movement, and reading all about the mouth watering regional Italian food specialties. For a while after writing that essay, I certainly ate a lot of Italian food...

Lately, however, I've become very interested in cold climate foods that are beautiful, delicious and healthy. To my surprise (aren't healthy foods usually expensive and tantalisingly exotic, most likely from the heart of a tropical rain forest? What's so special about waxy new potatoes, blue-green kale, fresh grilled fish...) I loved the foods I read about, and eating them in winter felt so right. Even better: according to research, these foods are just as healthy, but minus the marketing.

Cold climate food doesn't have to mean gorging yourself on pies and cheese and chips. Trina Hahnemann (Denmark's Nigella, but healthy!) has brought out The Nordic Diet book; a guide on how to eat wholesome, delicious foods in our less than forgiving northern climate.

Hahnemann claims that the Scandinavian diet should be the diet model for Northern Climates as opposed to the standard model we're told to follow: the Mediterranean diet (which, by the way, studies were based on war-time Med, when people were frugal; the contemporary Med diet, with its abundance of olive oil, meat etc. is very different, and without the same claim to health). Hahnemann concisely sums this up:  "I think that people have lost their food culture and forgotten about how foods suited to northern climates can be healthy"

                           

The diet principles are pretty basic, pretty sound, and make perfect sense for hearty yet light food. Mountains of our northern, hardy vegetables, wholegrain cereals such as spelt and rye, some cold water fish and not too much meat. Oh - and especially - keep moving! (Trust me on this, because it will keep you warm, too).

The health benefits of the Scandinavian diet are extensive. Not only do Scandinavian countries have some of the longest living populations. Here are a few links with some great information on the health benefits of eating a wholesome, cold climate diet: 

Science Nordic on the Scandinavian Diet Vs. Mediterranean

NordForsk on composing a 'Nordic diet' (Note that they recommend meat should be eaten in moderation. During the war, many Northern countries went through periods where they did not have access to meat, and so had to eat a largely vegetarian diet; as a result, rates of disease dropped dramatically in this period)

NordForsk again, on a healthy diet

Adamson et al. on What is a Healthy Nordic Diet?

Danish online pamphlet with manifesto and guidelines. More of the same, but nicely laid out. 

So let's start living Scandi style.