Yogahound blog

Most people tend to think yoga teachers only do yoga to keep strong and fit. Now, although that is true in some cases, I also know many yoga teachers who run, do strength training, cycle and dance to keep healthy and strong on top of doing their yoga practice. Yoga offers great benefits to most of these other practices, but we can also use alternate excercises to strengthen and improve our yoga practice. I have found kettlebells enormously helpful in my yoga practice as I am naturally quite flexible but I struggle more when it comes to strength in poses.

So in honour of my helpful kettlebells I would like to share a couple of moves that really help strengthen two common yoga standing poses.

The Warm-Up

I like to start with a set of 5 sun salutations before I pick up my kettlebell. The sun salutations help to warm up my spine and legs and focus on my breathing. Once done I pick up my kettlebell from a slight squat position, holding on with both hands. Keeping my back straight I then push forwards with my hips and allow straight my arms to swing the kettle up to shoulder height (not above!). I bend my knees as the kettlebell comes down and allow the kettlebell to swing between my legs whilst keeping my mula bandha (pelvic floor muscles and lower abdominals) active .

Strong Trikonasana

• For this modified Triangle pose, I start in the regular squat position to safely pick the kettlebell up with both hands.
• I then step my feet further apart and turn my left foot and right foot out.
• Holding the kettlebell close to my chest with my left hand only, I gently bend my knees and push the kettlebell straight up above my shoulder as I straighten my knees.
• Looking at the kettlebell to make sure it stays above my shoulder I then stretch to the right as I normally would in Triangle pose.
• Holding for a couple of breaths, I inhale to come back up pushing the kettlebell straight above my shoulder before I gently bring it back down towards my chest. Repeat on the other side. Once both sides are done, try holding for 5 breaths on each side.

Heavy Warrior (Virabhadrasana)

To strengthen the shoulders as well as toning legs and hip flexors, try this kettlebell move.

• I always start in my regular high squat to pick up the kettlebell with both hands.
• I then step my feet further apart into a Warrior stance. and turn my toes towards the right hand side of my mat. Holding the kettlebell close to my chest and gripping the sides of the handle I then come onto the ball of the left foot and bend the front knee.
• I make sure to keep the back leg straight and my lower abdominals and Mula Bandha drawn in strongly to avoid over arching the lower back. Once the pose is set up stronge through the legs and core, I slowly extend my arms directly forwards of the shoulders.
• Holding for two breaths, I draw the kettlebell close to my chest before straightening the right knee and reapeating on the other side.
• Once both sides are done,  I try and hold the pose a bit longer (but I must admit this one is tough for me, which is why I need to do it more regularly).

As of February of this year I have made another big change, I moved to a new town in East Sussex – the quirky town of Lewes.

I’m also back to teaching yoga, which feels so unbelievably good. I really miss sharing yoga when I don’t teach. So if you’re around the Sussex coast on a Saturday join me for my Saturday slow flow class at the Equilibrium Studio, see here for more details.

Now that I’m starting to settle into my new town , I would like to regularly share my favourite things about Lewes here on the blog, so first up is my very favourite shop called Wickle - a mini department store on the hilly High Street of Lewes.

The first time I visited Lewes I stepped into Wickle, and it just seemed to perfectly capture the creative spirit and quirkiness of Lewes. Since moving here, Wickle has become my go-to shop for gifts. Not to mention the gluten-free award winning Battenberg cake (you must simply not go to Wickle and not try the Battenberg, even when you’re trying to be healthy, it’s a great gluten-free treat!). But there is not just cake on offer, they also do beautiful salads freshly made in the mornings.

But rather than trying to explain the variety of amazing, beautiful things to be found in Wickle, here’s a visual tour for you…

As you can see, there’s so much to tempt at Wickle! I love those stuffed animals on the walls, they look like something from a story book. Check back soon for more great things to see and do in Lewes, but also coming up are some posts about kettlebell exercises for yogis to help improve your poses, and a fantastic new Iyengar yoga book.

Visit the Wickle shop website at

http://www.wickle.co.uk/

Enjoy!

Hanri

It has taken me a while to write this post… some things need time before we can face them, and this one of them. Even now I am finding this difficult, but it needs to be shared before I can continue my blog in 2014.

Sadly, Banjo my greyhound, and yes the original Yogahound who inspired me to start this blog, passed away on the 24th of November 2013. He had been ill for a while with digestive problems that gradually worsened. The exact details of what happened remain unclear, what is clear however is that as horrible as it was to face the loss of him, having the privilege of sharing one’s life with a rescue Greyhound such as Banjo is 100% worth it.

2013 was a difficult year for me, made more difficult by the fact that after facing a divorce I had to come to terms that I could no longer share my day-today existence with my favourite non-human friend. Banjo was to stay with his “dad” – a heart-breaking decision but one that I do not regret. Although I was Banjo’s “mum” – I did not have the heart to take him away from his “dad” and from his home comforts. Instead I moved into a house share with two lovely ladies and visited Banjo weekdays on my lunch breaks from work, and on two occasions he stayed with me for a visit. It was hard.

What was harder yet was not being able to be there the day he fell so ill that it was time for him to leave his body. The only comfort to me is knowing he was with someone he loved and was gently released from this life.

I miss him. I miss his wiry tail with it’s black tip, the softest fur behind his ears, the way he looked up and blinked when food was near, his authoratative bark at ‘strange’ dogs on his territory, the way he nestled the top of his head into my lap when I was lucky enough to relax with him on the sofa or rug, I miss him doing his ‘statue’ pose when I tried to walk in a direction he didn’t want to walk in, the way he sometimes tripped me up with his lead because he found a smell that was off-course to where we were heading and the way he’d run up to me in the garden when he knew it was time for a treat.

What I have learnt from Banjo is this…

• A bit of attention is what we all we all crave and want. Pay attention to those around you, and when you do, don’t multitask (he use to whine if I tried to read or do anything else whilst fussing him) just pay attention to what is in front of you.
• Don’t judge from appearances – when I saw Banjo the very first time I thought “I did not sign up for such a big dog” – he was a pretty big 40kg male Greyhound and I had no idea they were that big, I was actually a bit scared of him to start with. Yet he turned out to be the most gentle dog who took up less room than most smaller dogs (unless he fell asleep on the bed, in which case he’d spread himself out).
• Don’t force things in life to happen, allow time for progress. I tried on numerous occassions to teach Banjo to climb stairs without much luck. Then one day after giving up on him coming upstairs he decided he was ready – the sounds of footsteps accompanied by the appearance of a long neck and nose beyond the upstairs banister… the hound decided to climb up by himself. Going back down took a bit longer but by the end he was a stair pro – anyone with a Greyhound will know how awkward stairs are for their long limbs. Give things time, if it’s right it will happen.

But here’s a message I cannot emphasise enough, if you think you have space in your life for a retired Greyhound in need of a home (they take up less room than you think), you will not regret sharing your life with one of these beauties . There are so many retired racers that urgently need homes. My yogahound boy brought so many happy times – and everyone who met him loved him so. For more information about adopting a Greyhound please read my Greyhounds page. For me it was a life changing decision, and a bit of my heart will always belong to the original Yogahound.

Hanri x

Truth is, recently I have hardly had the chance to cook properly and eat as healthily as I’d like to. Over the past year I have made some pretty big, sometimes traumatic, other times exciting changes. My health has definitely suffered for the lack of routine and time. So when I read about a health food or supplement that is quick, easy and versatile to add to my diet I get very excited.   

 I was aware that bone broth is excellent for health, thanks to the Mark’s Daily Apple website, but I simply don’t have the time currently to make bone broth. What I did not realise however is that you get tremendous health benefits by simply taking in gelatin. It seems people are adding gelatin to their breakfast yogurts, smoothies and even coffee. Below I have answered some questions about gelatin, and why it’s a great addition to a diet – even if you don’t have time to make your own bone broth.

 What are the benefits of gelatin?

 Gelatin can help soothe the digestive tract, it acts as an anti-inflammatory, stimulates the immune system, regulates hormones and improves nail, hair and joint conditions. Also the glycine in gelatin apparently has a calming effect on the body, making it ideal to take before bed time for those with sleep disorders.

 Why is gelatin good for health?

Gelatin is basically the collagen found in animal hair, skin, bone and hoofs. Collagen is often sold as an anti-ageing product and that is because taking in collagen actually stimulates the body to produce more of its own collagen. Collagen is essential to protein synthesis in the body which helps to rejuvenate new cells.

Gelatin contains Argenine and Glycine. In a nutshell –  argenine helps regulate metabolism and glycine converts glucose to energy instead of fat and has a calming effect on the body.*

Is all gelatin equal?

 Nope, as always with animal products it’s best to go for products derived from grass-fed animals. Failing that organic is better than non-organic. Also note that most supermarket gelatin is derived from the pork industry which does not always have the best welfare standards. It’s better to go for beef gelatin where possible, and at best go for grass-fed non-hydrolyzed if you can find it. I have found beef gelatin on Amazon here.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beef-Gelatin-Unflavoured-Powder-454/dp/B000MGR302/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384962192&sr=8-1&keywords=beef+gelatin

 But if you can afford it, this brand is supposedly the best and can be found from a variety of online sites…

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Lakes-Gelatin-Regular-Unflavoured/dp/B001LV6I8K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384962192&sr=8-3&keywords=beef+gelatin

 How can you add gelatin to your diet?

 You can easily simply add granules to yogurt, smoothies, hot drinks, vegetable soups etc. If you’d like the traditional gelatin route then why not try Sophistimom’s recipe for fruit studded gelatin or make some paleo marshmallows … oooh!

Lastly, for my veggie friends out there – the Zen to fitness blog suggests Seaweed derived gelatin – not quite the same benefits, but worth a look into.

Well, I’m off to try adding gelatin to my diet and will let you know how I get on.

 Do you use gelatin as part of your diet? Let me know if you have seen the benefits? Let me know please.

Hanri x

I’m so happy be to be able to offer one of my European readers (sorry rest of the World!) the chance to win my favourite kitchen gadget… the Lurch Spiralo. This giveaway is thanks to the healthy lifestyle product company (and my fave kitchen gadget website) UK Juicers. Basically, I contacted UK Juicers telling them how much I love my Spiralo, and how often I use it on my blog and that I’d love to be able to offer one to one of my blog readers… and they agreed!

So what is the Lurch Spiralo?

It’s a kitchen gadget that allows you turn vegetables into spaghetti/pasta spirals. This is an amazing thing to do for people who avoid grains or eat gluten-free, raw, paleo or low-carb… especially if you miss eating pasta. My favourite use for it by far is using the fine spaghetti blade with courgettes which I then fry, and add pesto to. Simple and quick!

If you haven’t seen me post about it before, here are some of my favourite recipes:

Sardine Puttanesca

Apple Pie Breakfast

In the photos below you can see i have use the ribbon blade for the warm courgette salad, and the thin spaghetti blade for sweet potatoes, which I then fried in some coconut oil with sea salt and a sprinkle of tapioca flour for a filling side dish. I have also made a cucumber salad with the madium spaghetti blade, to which I added peppers, tomatoes, baby spinach leaves and dressed it with olive oil, lime and poppy seeds. Amazing!

Other healthy ideas to use the Spiralo for:

• Using it on veg to turn into fritters/add to frittata
• Make curly fries with sweet potatoes
• Use the ribbon blade on carrots for stir-fries
• Parboil spaghettied root veg and add a homemade pasta sauce
• Use for layering veg for a vegetable bake
• Fancy up a salad with curley veg/fruit
• Slice apples & pears for breakfast or dessert

All you have to do to stand a chance to get your own Spiralo, is visit the UK Juicers website and then comment on my blog to let me know which of their other products you’d use the most if you had the chance. For example “I’d use one of the Walder Biotech Grain mill if I had one because I’d love to make my own almond flour”.

And for those of you on Facebook, you get an extra entry for ‘liking’ this post on Facebook.

The winner will be selected at random, and your Spiralo will be posted anywhere within europe by UK Juicers. Entries close Friday the 30th of August at 12:00 (GMT + 1), so get your entries in!

Good luck.

Hanri x

Update: The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Penny D! Penny was selected randomly by the Giveaway plugin. Comments for this post is now closed. Thanks for entering everyone!

This post is especially for my students who came to my mini yoga-event at the Woodstock community Centre last week. I haven’t had a chance to photograph these, so all I have for you is a camera phone snap. But, I didn’t dare wait any longer to post the recipe because I keep getting requests for it.

This recipe is from the book Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, a firm favourite of mine that I just can’t stop using. Yatam Ottolenghi is not a health food specialist cook per-se, but his recipes have so much colour to them tha they are just packed full of goodness. This recipe is probably not one of the healthiest (it has quite a bit of icing sugar), but it is gluten-free an dmade from ground almonds full of good fats. The original recipe calls for sour cherries, but I used dried blueberries and loved the result!

The youngest of all the students last Wednesday was a lovely girl called Anna. Anna helped me hand around the biscuits, and she had lots of good things to say about these little crunchy yet soft creations. Compliments from children from children are sincere and high praise indeed, so this recipe was created by Yatam Ottolengi and approved by Anna – a winner of a recipe. Here it is:

Blueberry Amaretti Biscuits

• 60g dried blueberries (or cranberries)

• 120g caster sugar

• 180g ground almonds

• 1/2tsp almond essence

• zest one lemon

• pinch salt

• 2 tsp honey

• 2 egg whites

• icing sugar, for serious dusting

Heat oven to 170degrees. Mix together the almonds, sugar, lemon zest, almond essence and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and honey into soft peaks. Fold the egg white mixture along with the blueberries gently into the other ingredients to form a soft paste. Scattering icing sugar on a plate scoop  walnut size balls of the mixture onto the plate and roll roughly into balls making 20 biscuits.  Place on a greaseproof-covered baking tray. Bake for 12 mins, until slightly coloured but still soft inside. Leave to cool and enjoy!

This weekend I’m off to the Wilderness festival for some music and yoga (I of course had to choose a festival with lots of yoga on offer). so watch this space for some photos and a write-up of the festival.

Have a great weekend yogis.

Hanri x

I love how my blog has given me the opportunity to get in touch with all sorts of people. So I am delighted to introduce you all to an illustrator and a yoga teacher who got in touch with me regarding a really beautiful yoga art print that they created, entitled “Yoga Godesses”.

 I was so taken with the beautiful silk screen print that I just had to know more, not to mention buy my very own print… it was simply too delightful not to have. Lucky for me, Laurie Hastings the illustrator & Rebecca the  founder of Yoga Will Save the World (and a yoga teacher too) took some time out for an interview with me…

YH: Laurie, how did you and Rebecca come up with the idea to do this print?

Laurie: Rebs was in the process of setting up her Yoga Will Save the World gift shop, and asked if I’d like to create a screenprint for her start up collection of gifts. I was excited at the thought of drawing super-yogis, and quickly had lots of ideas for how it could look. 

 YH: How do you two know each other?

Laurie: We go way back to the mid-90s, where we met at secondary school in Hong Kong and became best buddies.

 YH: Yoga is such a visually beautiful practice and lends itself well to art. What is the concept behind this particular print?

Laurie: Rebs suggested I create something that had a repeat pattern so we could potentially use it on other products too, so that influenced the basic composition. I liked the idea of framing each yoga goddess with organic shapes, showing a connection with nature and also so that each had a unique personality but they were all part of one group.

 YH: Rebecca, I see that you are both a yoga teacher and an illustrator? What first inspired you to do yoga doodles?

Rebecca: It was when I was doing my yoga teacher training in Byron Bay, we had to note down poses and sequences really quickly. I used to do art at school and for a year after and it just made sense to draw the poses rather than write the long sanskrit names. Then I started getting commissions from students to draw them yogi folk, I think that’s when YWSTW started.

 YH: I enjoyed reading about how you started “Yoga will save the World” and completely relate to you saying how you tried to smuggle coffees into your room at the ashram. Your illustrations are very playful, do you incorporate this playfulness into your classes?

Rebecca: I do hope my classes are playful. Adults can lose their sense of adventure and also have a fear around what their bodies are capable of. I love it when I help a beginner into their first handstand. They really don’t believe they can do it and suddenly they’re upside down and loving it. I still love coffee and wine. I don’t think denial should be part of life, just some moderation and the occasional indulgence.  

 YH: I personally think the US is still way ahead with popularity of yoga, but London seems to be catching up. How do you both find the the yoga vibe in London?

Rebecca: The yoga vibe in London is definitely growing like is everywhere. There are some brilliant teachers. I am practicing a lot with Stewart Gilchrist and my practice has become so much stronger. He’s a great teacher and features in some of my designs. There are so many others too I think are so inspirational. Gingi Lee and Kath Roberts too. Too many teachers, too little time.

 YH: What do you both love most about yoga?

Rebecca: I love the peace it brings to my often crazy mind. It’s a physical practice but the more you practice develops the more you realise it’s so much more than that. I love that I can do it anywhere and need nothing but your body and two bare feet. 

Laurie: Although Rebs has tried to loosen my hamstrings with yoga, I am more of team sports type of girl, so you will more often catch me playing tag rugby or running around my local park!

 YH: And finally, are you two planning on doing any more yoga prints in the future?

Laurie: We don’t have any immediate plans, but we are always conjuring up new ideas for us to work together, so watch this space!

Rebecca: Laurie and I are always plotting. I’d love to get this print made on wallpaper and someone on YWSTW’s facebook page suggested fabric which would be so beautiful. Like Laurie says, just stay tuned to Laurie Hastings Illustration (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurie-Hastings-Illustration/171689529586627) and YWSTW (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yoga-Will-Save-the-World/136800263020454) and you’ll be the first to hear.

YH: Thank you ladies, what a joy to get to know more about your stories!  I am so delighted with my print, I can’t wait to frame it!

With only 40 prints made, if you too would like a beautiful limited edition silk screen print, you can buy it here on the Yoga Will Save the World website. At £40, it’s a steal and the perfect gift for yogi friends or yoga teachers!

So many beautiful things, so little time.

Enjoy yogis x

This Sardine Puttanesca recipe is thanks to my colleague and friend Claire who sits next to me in the office. I needed an idea for dinner one night and Claire told me that this recipe was super quick but full of flavour. My twist however is that I add spinach to the sauce and serve the Puttanesca with courgette strips instead of traditional pasta – that way I know I’m getting my greens in too. Since then this has become my go-to recipe when I’m in the mood for pasta but without the grains. 

Hint: This recipe is much quicker if you have a spirallo or a mandolin slicer for the courgettes.

2 tins of sardines in oil

• 1 can of tinned tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1/2 cup of olives diced
• handfull of spinach
• sea salt to taste
• 2 large courgettes sliced into thin strips or turned into spaghetti strips with a spiralo
• 1 teaspoon of coconut or olive oil