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JanAsana – Week 4

Posted on 12th February 2014 by Matt Ryan

Welcome to the fourth and final instalment of the Yoga Manchester JanAsana newsletter!

JanAsana has been designed to get your New Year’s resolutions off to the best possible start and forms part of Yoga Manchester’s New Year New Body New Mind (NYNBNM for short!) initiative. With weekly instalments throughout January, Yoga Manchester will be offering tips and tools to help you pay attention to both the mind and the body to allow you to keep up your intentions!

Your 10 minute Yoga Express sequence

This is the final section of the Yoga Express sequence devised by Matt Ryan. The full sequence is designed to provide the physical and mental benefits of a 90 minute Yoga class, but in just 45 minutes. Classes started on 13^th January at Studio 25 – visit www.yogaexpressmanchester.co.uk more details.

Resolution of the week

This is a simple act or intention that should start this week and if it makes you feel good, stays with you for as long as possible.

Smile at a stranger.

Heads down, a void, if not annoyed, look in the eyes is how we often move from A to B with little recognition that we’re surrounded by fellow, sentient beings which can add to the feeling of isolation we all feel from time to time. An artist recently reflected this so-called ‘urban solitude’ and replaced London Underground signs with fake ones – thought-provoking, genius and above all, spot on. So this week, smile at least once a day to a passer-by and see how it makes you feel!

Smoothie of the week

Green power is where it’s at this week, with kale and spinach our top ingredients that will super boost your diet. There are a few decent recipes on here, and our pick for all ginger beer lovers is the Kale, Apple and Ginger Smoothie. With the tingle of ginger and bite of apple, this will give your digestion a head start for the day.

Recipe of the week

Curried Butternut Squash and Kale

This recipe is in season, nutritious and so delicious! With only a handful of ingredients, a serving of rice is the perfect accompaniment to this recipe, which is courtesy of yoga guru Richard Freeman.

JanAsana Newsletter – Week 3

Posted on 25th January 2014 by Matt Ryan

JanAsana

Welcome to the third instalment of the Yoga Manchester JanAsana newsletter!

Your 10 minute Yoga Express sequence

This is the third section of the Yoga Express sequence devised by Matt Ryan. The full sequence is designed to provide the physical and mental benefits of a 90 minute Yoga class, but in just 45 minutes. Classes started on 13^th January at Studio 25 – visit www.yogaexpressmanchester.co.uk more details.

Resolution of the week

This is a simple act or intention that should start this week and if it makes you feel good, stays with you for as long as possible.

Acknowledge five things I’m thankful for in the morning and evening.

Stressful living, bad drivers, and unexpected bills can make us feel as if there’s more to moan about than to be grateful for. Oftentimes, we are trapped by a negative mode of being which fails to recognise the significant things we have come to take for granted such as health, family, friends, shelter, environment – the list is endless. So each day this week, make a mental or physical note in the morning and evening of five things you’re thankful to have in your life.

Smoothie of the week

There was a brilliant post on Mind Body Green about cravings and how to replace these with healthier alternatives, which then led us to discover The Perfect Tonic recipe. Featuring hydrating coconut water and protein rich chia seeds, this helps to refresh the palate and quell cravings. Give it a go and let us know how you find it.

Recipe of the week

Breakfast pudding

It seems January 1^st marked the day the war against sugar began, with every magazine and newspaper jumping on the ‘war on sugar’ bandwagon. The thing is though, they’ve all got a point as sugar has zero nutritious value.

Evolution has designed us to love anything with sugar as back in the day fructose meant the food wasn’t poisonous, so we have our ancestors to thank for our love of sugar!

With all this in mind, we’ve been testing tasty sweet treats, and have come across the delicious Breakfast Pudding recipe that has as little sugar as possible but is ultra delicious and nutritious.

JanAsana Newsletter – Week 2

Posted on 13th January 2014 by Matt Ryan

Introduction

Welcome to the second instalment of the Yoga Manchester JanAsana newsletter!

Your 10 minute Yoga Express sequence

This is the second section of the Yoga Express sequence devised by Matt Ryan. The full sequence is designed to provide the physical and mental benefits of a 90 minute Yoga class, but in just 45 minutes. Classes start on 13^th January at Studio 25 – visit www.yogaexpressmanchester.co.uk more details.

Resolution of the week

This is a simple act or intention that should start this week and if it makes you feel good, stays with you for as long as possible.

I’m going to take a three-minute pause in my day to mindfully breathe and pay attention to my thoughts.

Observing your thoughts and mindfully breathing for three minutes seems easy peasy, but is actually near on possible for many. Multi-tasking, technology, television, and day-to-day stresses ensure the mind has enough material to distract us with, placing our attention everywhere except the present moment. Listen to this brilliant three-minute podcast from Mark Williams to bring you into the here and now, and if you enjoy, perhaps buy his book, Mindfulness – A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world.

Smoothie of the week

Vanilla Milkshake smoothie

Yes, you’ve read correctly, Vanilla Milkshake is our smoothie of the week. Rather than being packed with nasties and tons of trans fats, this milkshake is made from only five ingredients: avocados, milk, vanilla essence, maple syrup, and a bit of salt.

Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fat which reduces ‘bad’ cholesterol and helps to promote a healthy weight as the body uses these to slowly release energy rather than being stored as body fat – who says you can’t have your milkshake and drink it?

Recipe of the week

Quinoa, chickpea, mango salad

This is quite possibly the most delicious salad ever! We know it’s winter but this salad is substantial, fresh, and a perfect replacement to the stodge-overload that was Christmas. Enjoy.

100g quinoa

275ml hot vegetable stock

1 medium onion

2 tsp medium curry powder

150g chickpeas, rinsed

1 tbsp lime pickle

2 tbsp Greek or natural yoghurt

Small bunches coriander and mint, chopped

1 mango, peeled and diced

100g cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 Little Gem lettuces

1 Cook quinoa in stock for about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Heat drizzle of olive oil in small pan and sweat onion with curry powder for 5-6 minutes until soft. Add chickpeas and cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. Leave to cool.

2 Mix pickle and yoghurt. Toss together quinoa, onion and chickpea mixture. Stir through yoghurt dressing, herbs, mango and tomatoes. Spoon on top of lettuce leaves. Serve.

Until next week, TTFN!