liz yoga

Prana Poem 

| Liz Thomas

Prana is not only about the breath, it’s also about the environment in which we surround ourselves. Consider the food you eat, the people you share your time with, your relationship to plants and animals, the prioritising of your activities. 

The energy you gather and take into yourself nourishes your own life-force. Ask yourself how you can provide a fertile growing media for that seed within you that wants to emerge. 

What’s in your pod? 

Inhale intention

Exhale manifestation 


Namaste Liz 

 “The true expression of love is to make oneself and others more and more alive and to share prosperity together” Masahiro Oki 

Equinox: a time to balance

| Liz Thomas

The 23rd Sept is equal day and night hours, it is the equinox. A time to reflect on how we can bring balance to our lives.

Our yoga class gives us the opportunity to observe with total attention. This is something to aim for in all of life’s activities, however, in our yoga practice we can train for such concentration. You may have heard it referred to as ‘Mindfulness’, a concept from Buddism, embraced by western psychology, and gone totally mainstream.

At the Equinox you may become aware that you are more energetic or aware of the need to stop and smell the new blooms. A strong sense of what is needed for this balance maybe available if you listen.

Instead of making a judgement when observing your body or mind-heart or life force,  trying to discover why or how any imbalance has occurred, make a resolution to simply take action.

If possible try this yoga posture now. Eg Tadasana, Mountain pose: Stand with your feet under your hips, lift the toes and spread them, place them down. Bring your attention to the big toe ball, the little toe ball and the heel, the sides, inside and outside of the feet. Observe the other muscles that may support the function of the feet. Resolve to stand evenly on your feet and sway back, forward, side to side and activate muscles that ensure you feel the three arches of the feet.

Eg2 If your mind is distracted gently focus on the architecture of your body and your proprioception, where your body is in space. Your spinal alignment. Where your centre is. Weight evenly diatributed. Follow your breath, relax and use your dristi, your gentle gaze, to focus on the task at hand.


LISTEN BELOW FOR THIS GUIDED BREATHING AND VISUALISATION FOR BALANCE

Analoma Viloma

Balance Meditation

Bring attention to the spaces around you and release from the sensual experiences.

Three deep sighs and release attention from the breath and move to the body.

Alternate attention at each side of the body (from the extremities inward guided relaxation).

Rest at the heart centre, just observe the energy at the centre of the chest.

Release attention from the body and move to the place of thought, imagination &memory.

Come to present moment awareness.

Imagine you are perfectly still , balanced and serene floating in lake with a sand bottom, the sky reflecting a turquoise hue, …………… enveloped in the colour, light, buoyant and refreshed.

Allow your focus to move to any imbalance you have observed in your body, mind-heart or energy.

If and when you make such and observation, do not chase thoughts of explanation, although euphonies and realisations may spontaneously occur. Just observe without criticism, without judgement, perhaps being a little light-hearted about “Oh look how I do that?” being curious, “That’s interesting how I respond that way”.

From here you may like to enquire into how to allow balance to arise in your body, mind-heart, energy. “how can I take action to redress the imbalance??”

Once again do not chase an answer. It may come now, it may come later when you awareness returns to the place of asymmetry or imbalance in everyday life.

Trust that you have all the tools to know what action to take within you.

Just resolve now to take action when it is clear what action will be helpful.

Release and traces of this observation and enquiry into serene blue of that lake that surrounds you.

Rest now in silence.

You are the Sky, a practice to reveal the peace that already resides within you.

| Liz Thomas

Practice being the sky. Look up, breath in. 

Using the process of sense withdrawal, known as pratyahara, one of the limbs in the 8 limbs Yoga. 

Use this script to help develop a witness consciousness, an empowering practice to help us understand our true nature.

Be comfortable and breath slowly particularly on exhalation. an extended exhalation creates the relaxation response in the body. Notice all your senses as they take in the information, furthest sounds, the temperature, the textures of your clothes, scent in the room, close your eyes softly and withdraw from them and notice sensation in the body. Bring attention to any tingling, pain, comfort and any other sensation in the body. Move your attention away from this sensation to watch the breath move in and out of the body, in through the nose and out through the nose, relaxed one, natural, move away from attention from the breath knowing if discomfort or distraction does arise you can slow the breath by focus on a long exhalation. Notice your thought, watch it pass like clouds across the vast expanse of sky, allow thought without getting caught up, be kind to yourself should you find yourself attached, perhaps use a breath to let the thought pass. Rest now in silence and pure consciousness for 10-30mins.

Namaste

Liz

  

All your Veg Asian Slaw with Cashews and Crunchy Noodles

| Liz Thomas

 

 
The most delicious way to get your veg is to make a dressing that is hot, salty, sweet and sour. Fresh lime, chilli and ginger are the champs in this salad: chop it all up and stir it through the salad veg and voila! It tastes like a cross between a Thai and Vietnamese salad.

Clean out the crisper with this one. You can use any crunchy veg sliced up fine in any combination. Make up a huge container it stays crunchy for days without the dressing. You will look forward to your lunch everyday.

I used the leftovers of this salad to make a delicious kimchi-like wild ferment mmmm

Inspired by the recipe on the back of the noodle packet, this version is punked right up with big flavours. Enjoy making your own versions with whatever you have on hand. The most important part is to get the balance to your liking in the dressing which depend on the sweetness in your lime and the heat in your chilli, so taste it before you dress it.

lovely on its own or even better with some tofu marinated in soy, fivespice powder and seasame oil.

Salmon grilled, sliced steak, prawns or chicken also make this into a wonderful meal. Even a can of tuna, for a work lunch, is a good match.

Ingredients

Fried Noodles, handful

Cashews, dry roasted in a warm pan for a few minutes

Zest of two limes

1/4- 1/2 wombok, chinese cabbage or any cabbage, finely sliced

10 cavalo nero, black cabbage, stripped from the stem, very finely sliced

1 red capsicum/pepper finely sliced

1 green capsicum/pepper finely sliced

1-2 cucumbers cut into strips

1-2 carrots sliced with a vegetable peeler nd cut on diagonal

1 cup coriander or vietnamese mint or lemon basil or combo, roughly chopped

optional red chilli finely sliced

Dressing

1 tespoon seasame oil

2cm knob of fresh ginger, if you keep your ginger in the freezer its easier to grate

1 clove of garlic finely grated

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1-2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce or fresh chilli & 1-3 teaspoons sugar

optional fish sauce

2 limes squeezed, plus lime wedges to serve

Method

  1. Mix all the veg and lime zest together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2. Put all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake, taste and adjust to your liking so the flavours are balanced.
  3. When your ready to serve assemble all ingedients in a bowl reserving some nuts and noodles for the top, mix thouroughly and taste and adjust for balance.
  4. Serve with lime wedges, nuts, noodles and any additional protein of your choice. MIX!

There you go Yogis! This is one of our recipes from Monday Munchies, a little sharing of food love after class, this one was requested by Julia. Love my yoga friends.

namaste 

Liz


AFFIRMATION: I AM LOVE

| Liz Thomas

  

In yoga we are fond of setting an intention for our practice and manifesting our desires. In Sanskrit it is known as sankalpa. Living a life of passion, from the heart brings contentment, satisfaction and peace into our personal life. This then ripples out into our environment and the world.

When completing the affirmation, or any sankalpa bringing the feelings associated with our desire is what gives it power. We make our desires manifest when we act as if has already happened! 

You can do this by bringing up a memory of feeling completely loved, or giving unconditional love. Then drop the association with that place or person that helped you experience love and just experience the LOVE. 

Namaste 

Liz 

Spelt Oregano Crackers

| Liz Thomas

Go simple, easy and natural. This easy, very loose “recipe” will alleviate the salt-max-out that usually accompanies already salty cheese. And if you have chosen one lovely cheese, instead of 5 factory plastics, then you will highlight its unique characteristics instead of having a salt sandwich!
Rough instructions for cracker bread: to about a cup of spelt or another yummy whole organic flour, add some seeds like nigella, sesame, linseed, poppy etc say 2-3 tablespoons, large handful of oregano leaves (or other herb), good teaspoon of chilli salt or some other mineral rich salt, 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, and slosh of water. Keep adding small amounts of water and oil until it comes together. I refrigerated for an hour but that because I was going out! Otherwise roll it out to 2-3mm thickness and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for approx. 20mins. Keep an eye on it though. Delicious and very impressive for you party this silly season. mmmmmmm
Thanks to my fellow foodie friend Jan for the inspiration.

Namaste
Liz

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Red Meat and Bitter greens

| Liz Thomas

Lean beef is a wonderful source of protein but so is kangaroo, lamb or goat. All of which would work perfectly with this salad. The yoga approach to meat consumption (we are not all vegetarians) is to eat small amounts of meat compared to our vegetable content on our plates. I eat red meat for iron and it makes me feel good. Of course its your yoga and you must do what is right for your body and philosophy.
Try growing your own bitter greens in the garden or in a pot on the balcony. The fresher you can get your greens the more nutrients they have, and the crunchier the salad.

IMG_0833.JPGIngredients
Marinade
1/2 brown onion
3 bay leaves
1-3 cloves garlic smashed
1 glass of red wine
6 peppercorns
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 eye fillet, kangaroo fillet/rump, lamb/goat backstrap marinated for at least 4hrs or overnight is preferable.
Enough Bitter greens or Mixed leaf salad to cover your platter abundantly: try using lots of colours and shapes for nutrient and visual variety eg. chickory, raddichio, sorrel, rocket (agrulia)
10 large basil leaves finely sliced
Balsamic vinegar, the best you can afford
Olive Oil

Method

1. Barbecue or pan fry meat till medium rare to rare. and crusty on the outside.
2. While its cooking dress leaves lightly with a little salt, vinegar and oil.
3. Rest meat for 10mins covered.
4. Slice meat finely and arrange over the leaves.
5. Pour juices over meat, a little drizzle more of balsamic and olive oil, salt, pepper and sprinkle with basil.

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Roasted Capsicum(Red Pepper), Potato and Artichoke Salad

| Liz Thomas

This a whole meal right here healthy eaters. Eggs have an excellent nutrient profile, a complete food. I recommend you include eggs in your diet and source them as close to home as possible. With backyard growers and local free range farmers, healthy eggs have never been more accessible and the taste!

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Ingredients

700g steamed potatoes, peeled or skins left on for nutrient density
1-2 Sliced Roasted Red capsicum: Cut into 4, blacken the skins under the griller, place in a paper bag till cool enough to handle and peel off the skin
1 400g can artichoke hearts, or 6 marinated hearts from the delicatessen. Cut in half or quarters depending on size.
6 soft boiled eggs: bring eggs to the boil in a small pot, simmer for 2-3 minutes, refresh under cold water, cool, peel, halve
1 lemon zest and juice
olive oil
finely chopped parsley
S & P

Method

1. Cook potatoes till soft, stir though zest and parsley with a drizzle of oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Arrange all ingredients on a platter, squeeze juice over, particularly the cut surface of artichokes to prevent browning.
3. Scatter a little parsley
3. Lovely served still slightly warm.

 

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