Hello! Welcome to our first Yamala Yoga Monthly Newsletter. First of all a huge and warm THANK YOU to everyone who has attended classes at the Letter Lounge over past couple of weeks. We have been absolutely humbled by the response in the neighbourhood and have really enjoyed getting to know each and everyone one of you as the week’s progress.
A little about Yamala Yoga: Yamala in Sanskrit means twin….and that’s who we are. Identical twin sisters with a passion for sharing our love for yoga. We first began our yoga journey as uni students 6 years ago and instantly fell in love with the way it made us feel more connected to ourselves, and found that it provided calm relief from the stress of a busy student lifestyle. Yoga is definitely a challenge, but we found ourselves always coming back for more. Last year we completed our Yoga Teacher Training with My Health Yoga in New Farm, and our love for Yoga has simply grown. We are passionate about sharing our knowledge of yoga, so that everyone has the opportunity to experience the joy and calmness that it offers. At Yamala Yoga, every day is different. So we invite you to come as you are, connect to yourself and enjoy the flow. We are all learning together, so come and learn with us, in a warm welcoming environment. We love meeting new people and it fills us with so much joy to welcome new smiles into the room each week.
With all of these long weekends out of the way we can truly settle down and get stuck into a new routine. We have only 8 weeks left of this 10 week block….how quickly it’s going! We will be running another 10 week block to coincide with the School Term (Term 3) once this one is over, so don’t fret – we have your back!
A reminder that Casual Classes are $15, pay at the door or $100 for a 10 Class Pass. These passes have a 12 month expiry from the date you purchase them, so you’ve got plenty of time to use them up (either in the studio or in the park, your choice!) Don’t forget to tell your friends. First class is free….so they have nothing to lose.
THIS MONTH’S TOP STORIES
Not just another Porridge Recipe
As the weather cools down a little, mornings become darker and we are keen to linger in bed as long as humanly possible – it’s only natural that we are drawn to warming foods to assist in making these mornings a little more bearable! What better way to kick off the day than with a winning combo (and our absolute favourite here at Yamala) Peanut Butter and Banana Porridge.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe off a gorgeous blog, Apples Under My Bed (do yourself a favour and check it out! Heidi is an Australian Dietitian, and just has a knack for creating delicious, easy meals! YUM!)
Peanut Butter and Banana Porridge- Serves 1
Ingredients
1/3 Cup Rolled Oats (not the instant type if you can avoid it!)
1⁄2 Cup Milk (any type you like! Almond, Coconut, Full Cream are some of our favourites with this combo!)
1⁄4 Cup Water
1 Banana
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (omit if you like, but it helps make breakfast feel more decedent)
1 generous tbsp Natural Peanut Butter (we like Mayers or DIY and make some yourself! Also note, that ANY nut butter is delicious with this recipe)
1 tbsp butter (or coconut oil is delicious here too!)
Method
- Place the oats and milk in a small, heavy-based saucepan. Cut your banana in half. Add half the banana (sliced) into the saucepan with the oats and milk. Stir, and let soak for 10-15minutes (it seems crazy, but trust us! This step makes your porridge super creamy and lush, just do it before you take a shower and voila- 15mins of soaking has been done!)
- Slice the other half of your banana lengthways, so you have two long slices- and set this aside.
- When it’s time to cook your breakfast, add the vanilla and heat over a low/medium heat until your milk is bubbling. Turn down the heat and stir everything together frequently for about 5minutes. Depending on how you like your porridge, you may like to add a little more water here now too.
- In a non-stick pan over medium heat, lightly grease with butter/coconut oil and cook your sliced banana until golden and caramelised. Flip as required and turning down the heat if it gets too hot.
- Serve in a gorgeous bowl, topped with peanut butters and your grilled banana slices.
A Final Thought
You aren’t the sama as you thought you were.
In yoga we practice the posture on each side to feel sama or “sameness”. No matter how many times we practice, one side of our body is always different from the other due to many different factors – mostly genetics or injuries. We are not perfectly balanced, and that’s perfectly okay! Acceptance and self-love is all we need.
This month we encourage you to move through some asanas (flows) with your eyes closed. Experience what yoga feels like, rather than what it looks like. Try at various times throughout your practice and really feel the stretch, rather than compare what you look like to others in the class. A great exercise in self-trust and body awareness. Give it a go, and let us know what you think.
“Yoga is the journey of the self. Through the self. To the self.” – The Bhagavad Gita