A little bit of happy

Wouldn't it be nice if every time we felt a bit down, we could just take the day off work and head to the beach? Or better yet, make it a week and head overseas to some island where you can let go of your bad mood and bliss out in the sun?

Sadly, that isn't an option for 99.99% of us. When we wake up in a bit of a fog or just feeling low, we have drag ourselves up and out to our daily lives - work, kids  - whatever our commitments, they tend not to be things that can just wait until we are in a better mood.

So, what can we do?

Well, over time, I have come up with a bunch of small things that I can do that cost next to nothing (and in some cases are totally free!) and that can just make things seem a little brighter. Some might seem obvious, others ridiculous, but I thought I would share them anyway, just in case there is something in there that might help you out the next time you are feeling a bit crappy.

• Duh - I do some yoga! Whether it be going to a full class, doing some invigorating poses before I get dressed in the morning (and yes, occasionally in my office if the mood takes me) or taking time to do some breathing exercises and/or meditation. Yoga brings our focus back inside, away from external stressors and even away from our own thoughts. So it is particularly great to do if your mood is connected to an event, a person or your environment or if it is driven by negative thoughts that are running on repeat through your mind. By tuning back into your self through yoga, you can create some space between you and the cause of your mood - almost like a circuit-breaker - so you can start to see things more clearly and start moving forward. 

• I wear bright coloured socks. Ok - so this one probably seems a bit daft. But bright, cute socks totally make me happy! It is only a recent discovery, too. For ages, I would just buy (or steal my husband's) plain, mostly black socks because I figured this made it easier to always find a pair. But so boring!!! And then for some reason, I think it was during a big sale, I decided I would buy a pack of 3 Happy Socks socks which were multicoloured and a mix of spots and stripes. Since then, I have never gone back to black socks. It isn't like you can see them when I wear them because they are normally hidden by my boots or jeans. But I know that under all of that, there is a pair of brightly coloured, spotty socks. And that just makes me ridiculously happy. I own so many different pairs now - tie-dyed, hot pink animal print, little hamster faces - the cuter and brighter the better!

Source: www.pagesdigital.com

•  I take a nice, long hot bath. Sometimes, even just promising myself that I will have a nice, long hot bath when I get home can get me through a crappy day. Of course, it only works if I then follow-through with my promise! And I make the most of it - candles, bath salts, play my favourite music, put on a face mask (the steam from the bath can actually help the mask sink in and be even more effective) and plenty of time to just lie there and do nothing but soak in the goodness. It is something that I like to do on a Sunday evening - I tend to have the time then to really make the most of it and it makes me feel ready for the week. I especially recommend this if you get the "Sunday evening dread" - that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realise that the weekend is almost over and that you have to face a perhaps unpleasant job for the next 5 days. (Also, maybe consider changing jobs - because Sunday evening dreads are, in my experience, a sign that something is not right at work.)

Source: www.topdog4me.com

• I listen to some old tunes and dance like I'm a teenager. When I am feeling good, doing something that makes me super happy, I don't *feel* like I am in my 30s. It is only when I am stressed out or feeling bummed that I feel my age - or sometimes even older. So I tap into those carefree younger days by putting on something old school, sing along really loud and dance, dance, dance! (Or, if I am listening to grunge, I kind of mosh about the house and maybe even air guitar a bit.) But, while this is heaps of fun and a great stress-reliever, if you are going to do this, it is VERY important to make sure you are on your own and no-one is likely to walk in on you. Because it could be hard to explain.

Source: www.sirensofsong.com

• I hang out with my cats. Sometimes I just need a bit of time out away from other people so I can recharge. But I never feel the need to spend less time with my cats. Because cats are great. They just want food, sleep and cuddles. And so long as you don't forget the food, they will give you all the love you could ever ask for. Just sitting on the couch, surrounded by my furry little guys makes me ridiculously happy. (I am pretty sure it will work with dogs too - dogs will lavish you with undivided attention and unconditional love, like you are the most wonderful person in the world. Pretty hard to stay unhappy with that kind of energy around you!)
  

So those are a few of the things that make me ridiculously happy. And I try to do them as often as possible - but especially when I'm feeling a little less than awesome. 

Would love to hear your own happy tricks - what do you to bring the smiles on? 

Teacher traps

Since starting my yoga teacher training course, I have been paying a lot more attention to how different teachers conduct their classes. Mostly I am hoping to pick up tips and alignment cues that I can maybe weave into my own teaching. But, it turns out, I have also been picking up on a lot of things that I definitely do NOT want to incorporate into my classes.

So here's a list of my top 5 things that a yoga teacher (including me eventually) shouldn't do:

1. Agressive adjustments
This is number one because it is super-duper important to me - especially since one particular adjustment gave me a very painful injury that took months to get better. I was in a wide-legged forward bend - quite happily staying at the edge where the stretch felt strong but not uncomfortable. And then the overly-helpul teacher decided to push my chest closer to the ground - and kept going until there was an audible "pop" from within my hip socket. Not a dislocation, but a pretty nasty torn muscle at the insertion point. Ouch!

And I have heard similar stories of woe from other students - theirs may not have had such serious consequences, but they have definitely made them feel unsafe.

Not cool.

A good teacher asks before they start adjusting and don't feel the need to push their students beyond their limits. And this way, nobody gets hurt.

2. Making students feel inferior
My favourite teachers all have one thing in common - their vibe is friendly, relatable and down to earth.  They have a way of making everyone in the class feel at ease by meeting them on their level - they aren't trying to create a relationship where they have a lofty status above their students.

But then there are those teachers who seem to have purposefully cultivated a superior yogi air about them - like they have all the answers and you should be extremely grateful that they are teaching you. They have a very particular idea of what a "real" yogi should be and drop little comments throughout the class that make you feel like you have a long way to go before you will ever be one. Basically, they are condescending towards their class.

One of the common ways that this can happen (and I really don't think the teachers intend this to make their students feel inferior) is the over-use of the sanskrit names for poses. It is great to know all the names, and amazing if you can pronounce them properly, but if you just say "down dog" instead of "adho mukha svanasana", your students are going be a lot less confused.

Maybe it is ego. Maybe they think they are just giving the students what they want. But, as a student, feeling inferior, intimidated or just plain confused doesn't tend to make a class enjoyable or help make you a better yogi. It just makes you feel bad. Which is like the total opposite of what yoga should do!

3. Teaching yoga likes it's a workout
A common criticism of modern yoga is that it has become too much like a gym workout - that the focus is just on using the poses to create the perfect "yoga body".

Personally, I think it is ok if a yoga class is taught with a strong physical focus - whether it be through a continuously moving vinyasa flow or through a series of powerful poses designed to tone and strengthen (maybe even dropping in a few cheeky push-ups or ab exercises). Creating a strong, healthy body is one of the aims of a regular asana practice and if you get that through a vigorous or strong class, I think that is great!

But some teachers do take this too far. They race through sun salutations with the aim of increasing their students' heart-rates, but go so fast that the students can't keep up, or can only keep the pace by compromising their alignment, breathing or both. The same goes for strengthening poses that are held for a crazy-long time.

Heart-rates can be raised and bodies can be strengthened without pushing students beyond their limits. If the majority of the class is struggling to keep up, maybe it is a good idea to slow it down or come out the pose early - even if it means modifying the rest of the class a little.

4. Showing off 
It always amazes me when I am in a mixed level class and out of nowhere the teacher jumps into, say Astavakrasana, without explaining how to get into the pose or breaking it down. Afterwards, ignoring the confused and bewildered faces of their students, they go back to teaching as if nothing has happened. Basically, it seems as though the only reason they have included the pose is so that they can show everyone that they can do it. Bragging is so not yoga!

Another thing that bugs me is when teachers teach students a really advanced pose that the majority of the class just aren't ready for. Throwing a more challenging pose into class is great - especially if it is taught with lots of options for all levels in the class. If the majority of the class aren't advanced or confident enough to try it out and will just end up sitting on their mats and watching on as a couple students - or worse just the instructor - attempt the pose, then it is probably best to leave it out. Or - my personal preference - teach lots of options so that everyone can have a go and maybe even discover that they are capable of doing a pose that previously seemed impossible.

5. Making ridiculous claims
Yoga has been proven to have many amazing benefits - helping with chronic pain, reducing stress, improving sleep, increasing flexibility and strength, improving moods - all legitimate claims. But sometimes teachers come out with some seriously crazy claims that I am pretty certain have not been proven in clinical trials.

One of my favourites was a teacher who claimed that a certain pose would "increase your metabolism and eventually change your DNA". Now I am not a medical professional, but that sounded pretty dubious to me!

Making dubious claims like this - things that seem to have no real scientific basis - can actually damage people's perceptions of yoga. Because when these claims are disproven or dismissed as being too fantastical, the other real benefits of yoga might get dismissed as well.

And yes, I know that there are some benefits of yoga that might not be capable of being proven by science but that you have nevertheless experienced and believe in. But you can express these without making them sound like a medical fact. Like, instead of saying that yoga will make you lose weight, maybe say that a regular yoga practice can make you more aware of what your body wants and can help you make better food choices. Sure that requires a bit of faith on the part of the student - but at least you aren't saying anything that is false.

I think that most yoga teachers have the best of intentions. And just because they might have done some of these things before doesn't mean that they are bad teachers. And yes, I am also sure that I will probably at some point fall into one or more of these traps myself.

But given that they bug me, I am sure that they bug many other students too. So I am going to at least try not to do any of them when I start teaching. And that is something, right?

How do you like your yoga?

Last month, I headed to Yoga Fest in Brisbane with a bunch of my fellow yogis-in-training - two whole days of yoga and yoga-related goodness!

While there was a pretty amazing variety of stalls selling hot chai, yoga clothes, mala beads, yoga mats and anything else yoga-ish you can think of, the real attraction was the jammed-packed schedule of yoga classes and workshops being held in 5 halls throughout the weekend. Everything from your yoga basics (meditation, pranayama, asana) through to your more specialised and/or out there (I didn't get to find out exactly what "metaphysical flow" involved - but I was certainly curious!) were on offer.

The trouble was, to fit it all into the one weekend, classes ran simultaneously in the 5 halls so it is impossible to go to everything. Plus, there is only so much asana a girl can do so you have to pace yourself!!! So I had to choose which ones sounded the most interesting and that they weren't on at the same time.

Cute yoga things on sale in the market

Given that I didn't know anything about most of classes being offered or the people teaching them, I just kind of went with what sounded the most "me". I am sure I misjudged a lot of the classes - and some of the ones that I thought would be amazing weren't quite what I thought they would be. But the whole experience made me realise that I do actually have a few strong preferences when it comes to how I like my yoga.

1. Nothing too hippy
Maybe it is because I grew up near Byron Bay - but if yoga is taught in a way that is too spacey or hippy, I am probably not going to like it. I have nothing against hippies personally - I am just not that into it myself. So if a class starts to fill with patchouli, dreads and fisherman's pants, I start to get very nervous.

This is not to say that I want yoga that is devoid of any spirituality. But I have my limits. And it usually starts with instructions to "waken my inner-godess" or to "feel myself expanding beyond the boundaries of my body". Just - no.

2. It has to actually be yoga
There are plenty of styles of yoga out there and I think that is totally cool. I am not a hatha purist who thinks we can't play with or slightly outside of the traditional asana practice.

But, that said, I am not keen on the yoga-hybrids - yoga-lates, barre, nia, sacred dancing, bikram... No. Noooo. And I don't want to try out Bollywood dancing either.

Hatha, vinyasa, yin, power, iyengar, kundalini, ashtanga - so long as it is still an actual yoga class, I will find something good in it.

Me and my mat, ready to go!

3. Nothing beyond "Om"
I love the sound of "om" being chanted by a room full of people all in the same zone. Maybe, now and then, it can be cool to throw in a few "shanti"s at the end too. But I don't see the point in sitting in class and trying to follow more complicated chants that I will pronounce incorrectly (if at all) that I don't understand in any event. I don't find it enlightening - if anything I find it embarrassing.

I am also kinda creeped out at the thought of sitting in a room full of people chanting with their eyes closed and that blissed-out look on their face. It is probably related to number 1 above.

So any classes with the words "chanting", "singing", "mantra" or *shudder* "kirtan" (which is the sanskrit name for call-and-response chanting) will not be on my hit list.

4. Music is a-ok
I know a lot of people don't like any music to be played while they are getting their asana on. Or maybe they only like the sounds of Tibetan bowls and throat singing. But I don't mind it. So long as it has been carefully selected so that it enhances rather than distracts from the class, I think it can really make the experience something special.

My favourite at Yoga Fest was a class called "Reggae Yoga" which was exactly that - a gorgeous vinyasa class taught to slow, groovy reggae tunes. Something about yoga and reggae makes me feel like I am chilling on a beach somewhere, even though I was actually just in a hall in Brisbane in winter with drizzly rain outside.

5. Celebrity teachers aren't necessary
Sure, it is kind of a buzz to be taught by a teacher that you have already heard so much about, whose articles you've read and photos you've seen in Yoga Journal magazine. But you can have just as good an experience by checking out a teacher you've never heard of but that is maybe trying something a little different. It might even be better!

I passed up on one of the more famous "yoga-lebrities" at the festival to go to something I had never heard of before and with a teacher I had never heard of - and I can't imagine that it could have been any better. Maybe it is because the big names don't need to try so hard. Maybe it is because their classes are so popular that they pack out the much bigger hall so you don't really get to feel much of a connection. Whatever it is, sometimes it is worth giving them a miss and giving the unknowns a go.

Is all pleasure just relief?

I have recently come back from a holiday. Which means, right now, I am feeling pretty relaxed and rejuvenated.

And while I was unwinding next to the pool, I came across a quote in the book I was reading that got me thinking about the nature of relaxation, pleasure and our perpetual pursuit of happiness. Strangely enough, it was 'Junky' by William S Burroughs:

"Perhaps all pleasure is relief."

He was talking about the pleasure and relief that junkies experience when they give in to their addiction after attempting to quit. While that is not an experience I am familiar with, I can definitely relate to the idea of having the main source of my pleasure or happiness being the release from a stressful or strenuous experience.  

Hell - often my holidays have felt like that. I will have been working so hard, doing longing hours and feeling like I am being pulled in all directions right up until the moment my plane leaves. And then - nothing. Days and days with no deadlines, no stress, no routine. I normally spend the first few days just catching up on sleep. And, if things have been particularly bad, I find that sometimes I will get sick thanks to adrenal fatigue and a poor, worn out immune system. 

But there is that feeling you get when something that seems unbearable - something that you are just white-knuckling your way through - finally stops. It is quite amazing, isn't it. And it can be pretty addictive. 

Back when I was an exercise junky, it wasn't just being ultra-fit or looking good that kept me going to the gym - it was that pleasure from relief that really kept me motivated. I used to get through a tough class or a long run by thinking about how good it would feel when I stopped. How great that hot shower would feel on my aching and exhausted muscles. How deeply I would sleep that night. And I would use this to push myself harder, knowing that it would make the reward all that sweeter. 

The trouble is though, as sweet as the reward might be, when you are seeking pleasure through relief, it is only ever temporary. And, of course, it comes at a cost - the pain and discomfort that comes from pushing yourself to the extreme, be it mentally, physically or emotionally. Hardly a sustainable path to happiness, is it?

But what if feeling happy was your normal state? Something that you just experienced every day. Is that even possible? 

Well, I am starting to come around to the idea that not only is this possible - it is possible for me! 

It isn't a quick-fix though, like you might get from drugs, drinking, a holiday, exercising, shopping or anything else we might use for a immediate dose of happy. You actually have to commit to being a happy person. And that requires a commitment to changing the things in your life that aren't serving you. The things that take you further away from feeling happy every day. You need to let go of old habits and introduce good ones. Which will required you to be disciplined and, occasionally, uncomfortable. 

Because, even though we might know on an intellectual level that the things we are currently doing are not making us happy in the long-term and may even make us feel worse - like eating too much, not exercising enough or exercising too much, working too hard, drinking to excess, gossiping about people, spending too much time on the internet - we find comfort in these things. These are things that we are familiar with and it can be scary to let go of them. 

Which explains why people go for the quick-fixes. They are a LOT easier! But, ultimately, they don't really work. And they won't deliver what you are really after - to be happy! 

So what could you be doing differently to start being happier? 

To make it less scary, try making a commitment to making just one change for the next 30 days, just to see what it feels like. If you want to, you can go back to your old ways afterwards.

But chances are, you won't want to. Instead, you might find that you have have replaced an old habit with a new one - one that serves you and brings you closer to the life that you want. And sure enough, you will be ready to make even more changes! 

Here's to a happy life - not just relief!

Keeping your face kind

I am going on holiday to the US and Canada in a couple of weeks. Cannot wait!

I plan on hitting all the shops, museums, art galleries and cafes that I can fit in while in New York City and also Toronto. Then, to end the trip, I am going to be in Hawaii, soaking up rays, playing in the surf and eating all the tropical food I can. And, of course, I will be trying out a few different yoga studios along the way.

Bliss!

One of the things that I will definitely be stocking up on while I am in the US will be cosmetics. Due to the high Australian dollar and also some really weird regulations in Australia, cosmetics can cost almost three times as much in Australia than they do in America. You can order some products online direct from America and save $$ that way, but a lot of them won't deliver here. So whenever I go to the States, I go on a buying frenzy and come back with at least a year's worth of cosmetics. 

Given that I am a vegan, it makes sense that I would also like the products I buy to be cruelty free. So I have done a bit of research first to make sure that I am only buying products that are worthy of my dollars. But finding information about who does and does not test on animals (either directly or indirectly) can be incredibly confusing and it changes all the time. While I thought I had been doing ok on this front, I recently became aware of a few brands that I had always thought were ok have now been added to the list of companies that DO test on animals or are affiliated with animal testing. 

Sad. Face. 

Why do so many companies continue to test on animals when there are proven, cruelty-free alternatives readily available? Well, it seems that one of the key reasons is so that the companies can sell their products in China - Chinese laws require animal testing to be undertaken on cosmetics that are being imported into China. 

So companies that had for a long time abolished animal testing - including Estee Lauder, Mary Kay and Avon - have now resumed animal testing of their products to gain access to the lucrative Chinese market. There are other big companies that are also involved in animal testing, including L'Oreal and Johnson & Johnson. These companies own a huge number of popular brands - which means that all of the brands that they own are also not 100% cruelty free. 

Some popular brands that are NOT cruelty free (according to the PETA website) include: 

• Aveeno (Johnson & Johnson)
• Bobbi Brown (Estee Lauder)
• Bumble & Bumble (Estee Lauder) 
• Clinique (Estee Lauder)
• Garnier (L'Oreal)
• Jo Malone (Estee Lauder)
• Kiehl's (L'Oreal)
• L'Occitane
• Lancome (L'Oreal)
• M.A.C Cosmetics (L'Oreal)
• Neutrogena (Johnson & Johnson)
• Revlon
• Shu Uemura (L'Oreal)
• SK-II (Procter & Gamble)

To all of these brands, I say BOOOOO!!!!! There are many other mean brands too - this is just a sample of some of the ones that I have previously purchased but will no longer be buying. It is worth checking the PETA website to see if your favourite brands are listed too. (And information and practices change all the time - so companies come off and on the list all the time. You should check the list regularly to make sure your brand is still behaving itself!) 

Ok. So that is depressing, right? But fear not! There are still some lovely, amazing, quality brands out there that do not test on animals!!! HOORAY!!!!!

Source: www.themescompany.com

To act on my beliefs via my credit card, I am only going to buying cosmetics from companies that are proudly cruelty free. I have made a list of some of the brands that I can happily buy so that I don't get confused by all the pretty colours when I walk into Sephora (if you aren't familiar with Sephora, it is this amazing super-store that sells pretty much every brand of cosmetics you could ever want - I can spend hours and many, many dollars in there). 

Here are some of my favourites:

• Urban Decay (this edgy, vegan, cruelty free brand is going to replace my M.A.C addiction).
• Stila (gorgeous colours, gorgeous textures, kind to all animals)
• Lush (natural, animal friendly and it all smells delicious - just try not to eat it)
• Kora (Miranda Kerr's organic skin care range that really works)
• Ultraceauticals (active ingredients for serious skin care, and cruelty free)
• Aesop (makes your hair and skin look great and smell amazing thanks to high-quality natural ingredients)
• Philosophy (another great skin care range that can deliver amazing results without needing to test on animals - and their shower gels are to DIE for!)
• Illamasqua (this brand makes amazing, innovative make-up, like the kick-ass blue lipgloss that I bought recently, without touching animals)
• Kevin.Murphy (given I won't be buying any more Bumble & Bumble hair products, this is going to be my new go-to, animal friendly hair care range)
• Manic Panic (the leaders in extreme, unicorn hair colours - pink, blue, green, orange, purple - it is all good)
• Butter London (nail polish in amazing colours, free from formaldehyde, toluene and DBP and is kind to the animals)

Source: www.freegreatpicture.com

Again, this is not an exhaustive list. If you want to know if a particular brand is cruelty free, first check out the PETA website. If it isn't listed on the list of companies that DO test and it isn't listed on the DO NOT test list, the next step is to check out the company's website. And if you are still unsure, email the company and ask them whether they test on animals. 

(It is also worth asking them if they supply to China because if they do, they basically HAVE to be testing on animals - even if the product supplied to you in Australia or elsewhere hasn't been tested. A dead give-away is if their statement is something like "We do not test our products on animals or use ingredients that have been tested on animals unless required to by law" - this is code for "We test on animals so that we can supply to China". BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!)

They don't make it easy to make sure you are looking cute without hurting any animals - but it is totally worth it. 

Source: www.reallycuteanimals.co.uk

And the bunnies thank you!!!!! (And I do too!)

(PS - I made a decision not to add any pictures of the bunnies and other animals that have actually been subjected to testing. If you haven't already seen the horrific photos, I am sure you know, in your heart of hearts, that this testing is incredibly detrimental to the rabbits and that they suffer greatly just so we can wear a particular brand of mascara or use a certain shampoo. But if you happen to be curious, or if you are thinking that maybe it isn't that bad and companies wouldn't be doing anything too awful to these gorgeous, innocent creatures, have a look for yourself here. It will break your heart.)

Life beyond the asana

When most people think of yoga, they are thinking of the physical practice - the asana. While some may question how strenuous it is, it is generally considered to be a type of exercise. And, beyond a few breathing exercises and maybe even a couple of minutes of meditation at the end, this is how mainstream yoga is most often taught.

This has certainly been my experience in yoga classes. Up until recently, I would say that 90% of my yoga practice was dedicated to the physical practice.

Which was cool. I knew that the physical aspect was just one part of yoga - and that there was a lot that I didn't regularly practice or even really know about - but I got so much out of the physical side, that it didn't really bother me.

And no - I am not just talking about being more flexible or slimming down. I found that through my practice, I was calmer, more in control of my emotions, more focused, more energised, more positive, more in tune with what I needed (be it physically or emotionally). All good things that you didn't necessarily get from any other form of exercise.

So I must admit to be somewhat shocked and a little confused when, on the first day of my yoga teacher training, our teacher told us that he didn't really practice asana anymore.

Don't get me wrong - my teacher knows his asana. He has spent decades perfecting poses (I mean, he even used to practice and teach Ashtanga-style yoga, which is a very strong, physical practice). But, as he constantly reminds us in class, doing asana is not yoga - it is just one component of a greater system that is yoga. And it is only a small component at that. And, he has explained, he has reached a point in his yoga practice where generally speaking he doesn't need to practice asana.

But, if it isn't about handstands and backbends like we have all been lead to believe, what is yoga?

Well, at its core it is a system or method through which, if followed and worked at consistently and with dedication, we can reconnect with our true self. Which I know sounds a bit hippy. But basically it is a way of stripping back all of things that we identify with as being part of our "self" - the external possessions and our ideas and thoughts that make up who we "think" we are (i.e. the identity that we have created for ourselves - or let others create for us) so that we just be ourselves. And when we are ourselves, we can be the happy, loving and calm beings that we are all meant to be. Kind of nice, right?

To get to this point though, we need a strong, healthy and balanced body. Which is where doing a regular asana practice comes into it - stretching and strengthening our bodies to bring it into balance and remove any pain or tightness that keep us from feeling physically at ease. But that isn't the end of it. We also need to calm and bring ease to our nervous system, which we can do through regular breathing exercises (pranayama). And we need to bring stillness to our minds, which is achieved through meditation to bring our mind to a single point of focus. And we also need to act in a way that is kind, truthful and compassionate - both in our relationships with others and with ourselves.

When the bigger picture was explained to us in class, what struck me was that the yogic path was kind of where I was heading anyway - I just wasn't aware of it. This is not to say that I have been living this perfect, balanced yogi life up until now. But it is what I strive for - what I thought life should be all about. So all this time I had been thinking that I wasn't being a a proper yogi because I didn't really know what the 8 limbs were about, it turns out that I had been heading in the right direction all along!

But in spite of this revelation, I still can't picture me ever getting to a point where I no longer want or need to do my asana practice. It just brings me so much joy! I love how I feel after I have taken my body through a long and thorough practice. And I feel that it plays an important part in my larger yoga practice - it teaches me discipline and patience, it challenges my ego (especially when I face-plant in the middle of a full class), it makes my body feel strong, my breathing even and my mind alert and calm. And it can be fun! And I am pretty sure there is nothing in the Yoga Sutras that say yoga can't be fun (although, admittedly, I have not read - definitely do not understand - all of the Sutras yet).

So while I am enjoying learning and embracing all the other aspects of yoga, I am not going to be giving up my mat anytime soon.

Namaste!

Chocolatey goodness!

Happy Easter you guys!

Whatever your religious beliefs, most of us tend to indulge in a bit of chocolate over the Easter break. And I am definitely not an exception! Right now, I am basically experiencing what can only be described as a chocolate coma.

As a vegan, my Easter treats are a little more limited but there are still plenty of dairy-free goodies for me to get my chocolate on. And it just keeps getting easier to buy animal-friendly chocolate too - there are even vegan Easter eggs! Like this yummy Organic Times dark chocolate egg:

Source: www.biome.com.au

Nom!

It is important to note that not all dark chocolate is necessarily vegan - you have to read the label to make sure it doesn't contain milk solids or butter fats. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the more likely it is that it will be dairy free (but this still isn't a guarantee). It is worth searching for though and at least you know that, while you might be being a little bit naughty, at least you are getting a nice dose of antioxidants at the same time!

There is also another issue with our Easter noms that has got a lot more attention this Easter - the use of palm oil.

The use of palm oil is controversial as palm oil plantations have caused the destruction of rain forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, where around 85% of the world's palm oil is produced. This has resulted in habitat loss for a number of endangered species, including the orangutan. You can find out more about this here. Because of its direct impact on the welfare of animals, a lot of vegans avoid palm oil even though it isn't an actual animal product itself.

Palm oil is used in a lot of products - it is usually just listed as a vegetable oil so it is hard to know what you are buying. And this Easter, it was showing up in the ingredients list for a number of brands of hot cross buns - including Woolworths' and Coles' home brand varieties. This received a lot of negative press though so hopefully most people bought their hot cross buns from local bakeries instead.

Baked goods aren't the only thing that can contain palm oil - in the past Nestle has copped a lot of flack for using it in its chocolate.

One way to guarantee that you won't be getting any of these nasties is to make your own. Yes - even chocolate!

I was lucky enough to attend a special Easter yoga event this weekend at the gorgeous yoga studio, House of Yoga in Redfern. After sweating it out through a yummy 90 minute vinyasa class, we all got to indulge in some AMAZING homemade raw chocolate goodies.

I am not exaggerating when I say these were some of the yummiest treats I have ever tasted. I mean it - they were SO. GOOD.

Instead of being made with cocoa (which is what most chocolate is made from) they were all made using cacao. While they might sound like they are the same thing, the differences between the two are very important. Cacao is basically the seed that is used to make cocoa, but that hasn't gone through the cleaning, roasting and processing that cocoa goes through. So cacao is essentially raw. Why does this matter? Well, when it is processed, cocoa loses most of its nutritional value. Even if you eat dark chocolate, if it has been made with cocoa, it won't contain anywhere near the same levels of antioxidants and other nutrients that you get in cacao. In addition to high antioxidant levels, cacao also contains iron, copper, zinc, magnesium and calcium as well as a whole host of vitamins. 

The basic ingredients of cacao chocolate are cacao powder, cacao butter (not actual butter obviously - it is just the fat that comes from the cacao bean) and some kind of sweetener, like honey or agave syrup. The tasty treats that we were served up also had all sorts of amazing ingredients added in - coconut, almonds, dried figs, fresh ginger. All tasty and all super good for you! Win!!

But what if you can't / don't want to make it yourself (or be lucky enough to have yoga teachers that make them for you)? Well, you can buy chocolate made with cacao too so you have no excuses! My favourite is Loving Earth but there are lots of other brands out there and more and more are showing up in the shops as people learn about cacao's amazing properties.

Another easy way to get a dose of cacao is in powder form - I add it to my green smoothies to turn them into perhaps the healthiest chocolate thick shake EVER. You can also use to make up a hot chocolate - definitely something to keep in mind when it gets colder.

So, even though Easter is practically over for another year, you can totally justify getting your chocolate on all year round so long as you make sure it has been made with cacao (oh and, you know, blah blah moderation blah) aaaaaaand you can feel good about doing it! Yay cacao!!!!