Retreat Yourself!

We are delighted to introduce our guest blogger Tammy Jones:

Stretch the Imagination…
More than just a holiday, a yoga retreat can be an inspirational and transformative experience that you’ll never forget...

Early morning starts, detox diets and plenty of exercise, may not sound like a relaxing holiday choice to some but as Yoga becomes ever-more mainstream, each year a greater variety of yoga retreats are on offer.

A retreat is a sanctuary away from everyday life, where it is possible to properly unwind and recharge batteries. Often set in stunning, usually secluded locations that make the most of what nature has to offer, a yoga retreat is so much more than just going somewhere beautiful to relax.

A Yoga retreat is ‘Active Relaxation’.  Like anything in life, guests get out what they put in and it actually requires the right kind of effort to relax properly.  The temporary relief of a conventional holiday, sitting by the pool just sipping cocktails may be a quick fix for stress, but a yoga retreat provides long-term well-being benefits, that don’t fade away as quickly as a tan does.  

Whatever your ‘yogabilities’, there are plenty of benefits

For beginners, a retreat is the ideal introduction to yoga that provides a fun personal challenge and learning experience, where one can gain new perspectives, meet new people who come from all walks of life, in a shared interest. 

For those who are all too familiar with upward and downward facing dog, retreats offer the chance to go deeper into their yoga practice, so intermediates learn more about the principles and techniques of yoga to initiate or deepen their yoga practice.

For the adept yogi, a retreat is an annual pilgrimage, a necessity to re-sharpen focus on cultivating inner stillness, strength and balance. 

Ultimately, the ideal yoga retreat is totally based on personal preference and often one can wind up making a choice based on a ‘gut feeling’. However, the choice made can really allow a sense of development of oneself, and create space for the perspective to assess what's important in life.  Peace, strength, serenity, renewed lust for life and better health are just some of the souvenirs to bring home.

Here is a snippet of the Mountain Air Yoga Retreat which will take place Aug 11^th-18^th 2012
http://vimeo.com/30589378

Tammy Jones is a London based yoga teacher who runs a variety of classes and workshops for all levels. She organises and attends many yoga retreats, including the  ‘Mountain Air Yoga Retreat’ in the French Alps. She has practiced yoga for 15 years and has been teaching for 5 years. See www.tammysyoga.co.uk for more info and booking.

Home Remedies

Try these natural medicinal teas, perfect to help you get yourself to your next yoga class if you're feeling a little bit under the weather!

Dandelion Root Tea

This tea is helpful in lowering high blood pressure. 

Place one heaped teaspoon of dried dandelion root in a pot with two cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and drink.

If you are trying to stop smoking use the dandelion tea and chew on a little bitter dandelion root when you crave a cigarette - it helps.

Daikon and Carrot Drink
This spicy pungent tea is designed to help dissolve hardened fat deposits that have accumulated deep within various organs. It also enhances the liver system.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of grated carrot

2 tablespoons of grated daikon (mooli)
1 cup of water 
A dash of Shoyu (natural soy sauce)

Place the carrot and the daikon in a pan with water and Shoyu, and bring to a boil and simmer for 4 or 5 minutes. Drink the water and eat the vegetables.


Recipes from Yoga Magazine

Delicious Healthy Recipes!

Mexican Vegetable Soup

A quick and easy soup recipe that is full of protein and flavour and simple to make!

• Serves 4 

• Prep time 10 mins 

• Cooking time 15 mins

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 medium carrots , peeled and cut in to bite-sized chunks
- 1.25 litres vegetable stock
- 1 x 415g tin refried beans
- 1 x 415g tin cannellini beans
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp chopped jalapeno chillies
- 350g French green beans, cut in to bite-sized chunks
- Juice of half a lime

For the tomato salsa:
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 Spring onion, thinly sliced
- 30g (small bunch) fresh coriander, finely chopped
- Juice of half a lime
- 1/2 tsp salt

Mix the salsa ingredients together and set aside. Use a heavy-bottomed pan to fry onions in oil over a medium heat. When they are translucent, add the garlic and ground coriander and fry for a minute more. Add carrots, stock, refried and cannellini beans, and oregano - bring gently to the boil, stirring regularly. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the jalapeno chillies, French beans and lime juice. Simmer for 3 minutes, add salt and serve - putting a dollop of tomato salsa in the middle of each bowl.

If you want to freeze the leftovers, add the remaining salsa to the soup beforehand, and on reheating you can refresh the taste with a little more lime juice and chopped fresh coriander.


Recipe taken from The Telegraph

Somatic Movement

We are delighted to introduce our guest blogger Denise Roach:

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

Somatic Movement

For a marathon runner and dynamic Vinyasa yoga student and teacher, taking it slowly is always going to present a certain challenge.

But what if we really give ourselves the chance to slow down and notice what is happening in the body as we move? Not ‘doing’ or focussing on the end result, but fully being in the movement, is a challenge. Yet that is the beauty of somatic movement education and its application to yoga, as I found out recently with Dr Brian Ingle of Living Somatics.

Over time and in response to daily stresses and traumas, we create habitual patterns and contractions that prevent us from moving freely. We forget how to move, and for many of us the end result is tightness, soreness and pain.  Over a restful and inspiring weekend, we worked together as yoga and pilates teachers and movement therapists to explore how focussing on the internal sensations of a series of gentle movements could bring stiff bodies out of a state of what Thomas Hanna, founder of the field of Somatics, calls ‘sensory-motor amnesia’ into sensory body remembering.

Somatics is all about self-healing through mindful movement, working slowly, with awareness and with the least effort to achieve comfort and ease.  It encourages responsibility and, for yogis and non-yogis alike, a true understanding of how these unhelpful patterns can be unlearned.  The result is a feeling a rest, openness, presence and ultimately potential freedom from pain. 

Denise was drawn to explore the healing benefits of yoga after many years pounding the streets as a long-distance runner. She now teaches vinyasa flow yoga and works as a Thai Yoga Massage therapist in studios and private classes across London. 

Denise can be contacted at www.deniseroachyoga.co.uk.
Visit www.livingsomatics.com for more information on Dr. Brian Ingle and the Living Somatics programme.  

Cycle to the Yoga Studio!

We're loving the new range of bikes that have just been introduced by Urban Outfitters. Their bikes come in a variety of different styles and colours, and provide a healthy, eco (and fashionable!) alternative to the car.

Not only do these bikes ensure you arrive at the gym or yoga class on time, but look great teamed with agoy's yoga bags, a simple, yet stylish way to bring your own (agoy) yoga mat to the studio!

Check out the Urban Bag, available in five different colours, here.
www.agoy.co.uk