Monthly Digest- February 2018
Make your best day- TODAY!
Hello! Welcome to our February edition of the Yamala Yoga Monthly Newsletter.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Term 1: Term 1 is started on Sunday 21st January and is running through until the Thursday 29th March. We have lots of opportunity for you to jump on your mat and practice some yoga, including general yoga and specialised Mums & Bubs Yoga classes:
✽ General Yoga at the Paddington Annexe. Our classic Yamala Yoga style class with plenty of flows, deep stretches and meditation suitable for everyone (including beginners, children and advanced yogis!). A reminder that Casual Classes are $15 or $100 for a 10 Class Pass.
- Tuesday’s @ 6:15-7pm
- Sunday’s @ 7:45-8:30am
✽ Mums & Bubs Yoga at The Soul Pantry: This year saw the start of our brand new Mums & Bubs Yoga on Wednesdays @ 9:30am. These classes run for the term (24th Jan – 28th Mar) at the gorgeous Soul Pantry in Stafford. Prices for the Mums & Bubs Yoga is $20 for a casual class or $150 for a 10 Class Pass (which has a years expiry!). Tell all your mumma friends, kids from 0-5 years old welcome! It’s a lovely class, with coffee and chats to follow.
Just a reminder that we unfortunately don’t have eftpos facilities available at this time. So please remember to bring cash or do a bank transfer for your passes. Just ask us for bank details if you don’t have them already.
THIS MONTH’S
TOP STORIES
Positive starts for a fabulous day
Starting the day on the right foot
We don’t all have the opportunity to jump out of bed every morning to jog a few km, take a yoga class, drink a green juice and meditate (while that does sound like bliss). The reality is that most of us wake up with kiddies that need to be fed, dogs that need to be walked, emails that need to be checked and a coffee that needs to be drunk (amen to that!).
The truth is, it isn’t what makes up your morning routine that can set you up for a fantastic (or crappy!) day, it is the how you go about it. Your internal voice, your mental state, this is what really matters. Regardless of how you start your day, it is possible to bring mindfulness and intention into your morning and set a positive tone for the rest of the day.
We have put together a few ideas to help you start your morning on a positive note, why not try them and see what works for you. You never know, your best day could be TODAY!
-
- As soon as you wake up: You know, that moment when you are awake but you haven’t opened your eyes yet. You might normally think something like: “Morning already, feels like I’ve had no sleep, is that my dog barking, etc, etc”. BUT what if you changed your morning thoughts to something way more positive. Thinking about an intention for the day or a positive mantra can help you practice a little love and a little mindfulness before your head has even left the pillow. So, tomorrow, why not try something like: May today flow with ease. May I be happy. May I be healthy.
- In the bathroom: Pick something that you do every morning – brush your teeth, wash your face, showering…whatever it is, and focus on it COMPLETELY! Pay attention to the way the tube feels as you squeeze the toothpaste out, notice the sounds and smells around you. Notice how you feel. Being present and taking the time to focus on just one thing before the day starts is a perfect way to practice being calm and mindful for the day ahead.
- Getting Dressed: Once you have your clothes on, take a moment to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how beautiful/handsome you look today. Self love and happiness go hand in hand, and what better way to get the day off to a positive start! You can always break it down into bite sized chunks of self love too…“I love my hair today, my eyes are sparkling today, my smile is beautiful”. Finding even just one thing to love about yourself every morning will definitely start your day right.
- Before you start any work: Before you launch into your emails or race into the office, take a moment to think about how you want your day to go. Focus on being positive and productive. As they say, energy flows where your intention goes….so make sure that your energy is flowing to the right place as soon as you get started! You can even give yourself a little pre-work mantra to really get things going: “Today I am focused, Today will go smoothly, Today I am productive, It will be a great day!”. Once you start feeling good about work each day, you will not look back.
Something a little extra….
Harnessing that Full Moon Energy
The full moon falls in the sign of Leo on 1 February at 12.26am (AEST)…and this one is special! It’s a Super Blood Full Moon Lunar Eclipse. This occurs when the Earth and Moon are in total alignment, with the Earth directly between the Sun and Moon. The Moon with have a reddish shadow from the Sun.
Eclipses bring about transformation, illuminating what needs attention in our lives (particularly in our personal and home front). It’s all about shaking things up to push us out of our comfort zone.
This influence of fiery Leo may cause an urge to act, but listen to your inner goddess and be patient- the first step to letting go is allowing it to come up and surrender to it.
With the Sun opposite the Moon, you need to think about the polarities in your life. It’s time to look carefully to see if you have the right balance in your life. Balance between family and work, children and career, or between looking after yourself and nurturing others. The key to finding the right balance is to trust and have faith in yourself and your belief system.
A Final Thought
Fuel your day, the right way.
It you really want to maximise your energy throughout the day, think about what you a fueling your body with. No matter how many meals you choose to eat in a day, whatever you pop into your gob has the ability to make you feel vibrant and amazing or sluggish and crap. So instead of reaching for that packet of chips or choccie from the charity box to satisfy your hunger…try having some delicious, easy pre-made snacks.
Here are a bunch of our favorite little snacks to help keep our minds and bodies ticking. Easy to make and store in batches, you’ll never be caught out hangry (hungry + angry) again!
Mac & Cheese Muffins- when you’re craving something cheesy!
What you need: 6 eggs, ¼ cup greek yoghurt, 1 cup dried macaroni pasta, 1 cup chopped baby spinach, 1 large grated carrot, 1 large grated zucchini, 100g cheddar cheese, salt/pepper to taste.
How to make them:
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 and grease a muffin tin with a little butter or oil.
- Whisk the eggs and yoghurt together in a large bowl until well-combined. Add in the cooked pasta, spinach, carrot, zucchini, cheese and a few crunches each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Divide mixture evenly between the muffin holes. Top with a bit of extra grated cheese and place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until muffins have set and are golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out of the tin and letting cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
GF Choc Chip Cookies- perfect for that sweet treat with a cuppa!
What you need:
- 1 1/4 cups (137 g) almond meal
- 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped dairy-free dark chocolate (Sara used cacao nibs)
- 1/2 cup (40 g) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (Sara used sea salt)
- 1/3 cup (73 g) brown sugar (Sara used muscovado)
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp (45 g) coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond meal, dark chocolate chips, coconut, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg until uniform in color and doubled in volume.
- Whisk in the coconut oil and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or even overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls, place on baking sheet with 1-1/2 inch space in between each. Press down slightly to flatten a bit.
- Bake until edges begin to brown, 7-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
If cooking really isn’t your jam, why not try these grab and go options! All of these options below can be made up and popped in the fridge on a Sunday…ready to grab without fuss anytime during the week as you dash out the door.
- Banana or Apple Slices with peanut butter (don’t know about you…but PB is life for me! YUM!)
- Veggie sticks with hummus (pre-made or store bought! So easy! So delicious!)
- Greek Yoghurt sprinkled with some cinnamon and chopped up nuts.
- Boiled Egg and some Veggie sticks.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
❝You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.❞ — Buddha