Happy and Healthy Holidays
December is often one of our busiest times of year due to all the Christmas preparations and such that need to be made!
Much of the time it’s in the nicest possible way with a full social schedule of visits to and from family and friends, however the lead up to all celebrations can be hectic when juggling family, events and work!
So taking time each day to practice yoga even if it’s just 10 minutes of gentle movement and pranayama is good to make part of your self care routine .
If you also partake in winter sports such as skiing and skating, these activities like running can put a lot of pressure on things like knee joints and they require a lot of muscle strength. So at the end of a day on the slopes some of the best ‘Apres Ski’ can be practices like Yin Yoga which incorporates bolsters, blocks and blankets to allow the body to rest passively in postures thus helping to restore anatomical balance by helping to relax and release tightened muscles.
A good resource for anyone who’s interested to find out more is *Yin Yoga app with my wonderful teacher Simon Low who is the principal of *The Yoga Academy. You can find the app on iTunes and it’s a superb simple easy to follow resource.
It’s also very important to stay mindful of what we consume during the festive season!
Inevitably we can all indulge a little in our most favourite food and drink during this time, and there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of what you fancy ! ;-) We just need to keep everything balanced by staying hydrated with lots of water (better still than sparkling at room temperature ), and there’s nothing better than your favourite home made warm soup broth to stave off the germs on any days where you feel ‘under the weather’
The best ‘Soul food’ of course has to be enjoying the company of family and friends over the holiday period and being thankful for each and every one of them. I’m constantly reminded , especially during this time of one of the things I consider to be yoga’s greatest teachings, which is to enjoy each precious present moment. Even if we can’t always make it to be with everyone in person , take the time to make those FaceTime , Skype and video calls! They’re the next best thing to being there in person and surely one of the best inventions of modern technology .. to be able to see your most cherished faces while you catch up from one side of the world to the other!
So wherever in the world you may be, wishing you all very happy and healthy holidays 🎄Namaste🙏🌞