Thank you to all those who took part in our Yogasmiths Christmas Charity Raffle. As we discussed in class, Christmas and the start of the new year is a great opportunity to practice Karma yoga via charitable giving.
There were many prizes on offer;
The winner of our top prize, a block of 6 Yogasmiths classes and a box of After Eight mints, was Lisa Shaw from West Kirby;
We raised nearly £80 from the raffle. We have donated £100 to a local Community Interest Company that feed the local homeless. They are called Wirral’s Homeless CIC. They have a facebook page at;
If you would like to donate any money to the group they would be most grateful to receive it and they accept bank transfer of a Paypal. Wonderful local groups like this are dependant on the generosity of others.
This time of year it is natural that we feel tempted to engage with a lot of judgement with regards to the previous year and also projection in to the new year.
People talk about how “2017 was a terrible year… lets look forward to better times in 2018” or “2017 was a great year… onwards and upward in 2018”. Whilst this involves looking to the future with positivity when we come to the end of 2018 we will see the same types of comments being made. When we label a whole year as either bad or good then we are attaching an emotional response to that year.
If we step back and take a look at how this labelling and judgement of previous years makes us feel we sometimes see that maybe it is not all that great for our mental wellbeing. Any given year will be filled with highs and lows and our greatest skill is to navigate these peaks and troughs with mindfulness and a sense of ease.
In my own experience, mindfulness allows the lows of a year to not feel quite as low and likewise that the highs do not feel quite so high. This allows for an easy and smoother emotional and mental experience of life, less of a rollercoaster.
I have also felt that the practice of New Years Resolutions to be a self imposed pressure that often sets one up for failure. We can fall into the trap of making a list of resolutions which we cannot possibly keep. When we fail to keep these resolutions then we may well label that as such, as a “failure”. With mindfulness we can become more self aware and actually instigate intuitive stepped changes to our lives in a positive and healthy way at any time of the year.
If we approach the New Year as we approach any day with a sense of non-judgement and non-attachment then we can anchor our selves in the present and find peace and calm in that experience. We can embrace the sense of letting go of the old year without judgement or labelling and welcome in the new year with a sense of love and gratitude. We can welcome each new day like this, with a sense of being renewed each day.
Perhaps the best new years resolution is to be more mindful (and obviously to do more Yoga too!!)
Thank you to all those who attended our Charity Yoga Class this morning in Ashton Park, West Kirby, Wirral from 11:00 till 12:30. We had a great turnout, thank you for all of your support. It was wonderful to see both familiar faces from our weekly classes and to also welcome new friends to practice with us.
We took our practice into the Secret Garden part of Ashton Park where we were able to practice in nature. We were privileged to be surrounded by beautiful bird song all morning as well as a few cheeky little dogs checking out what we were up to!
We started our practice with a breath visualisation exercise and a dedication to all of those affected by the recent events in Manchester.
Moving through mobilisation and core work we launched into some strong Warrior poses and our peak pose was Vrksasana (Tree Pose). The secret garden had plenty of additional strong trees this morning! We closed our practice with a guided relaxation and Namaste.
Attendance was by donation to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. We counted up the money when we returned home and are extremely pleased to announce that together we all raised £215 to send to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund! Thank you so much to everyone for their very kind generosity.
We have sent the money to the British Red Cross We Love Manchester Emergency Fund via their Just Giving campaign page. We’ve set up our own Yogasmiths part of this campaign to allow anyone who could not attend to contribute, the link is below;
Again thank you all for attending, it was a joy to practice in nature in the park and to start our Sunday in such a beautiful way. We were overwhelmed by your generosity and support.
One of the eight limbs of Yoga, Yamas, includes Ahimsa – Compassion. Many Yoga practitioners choose a vegetarian or vegan diet as a way of living a more Ahimsa lifestyle. Compassion for all living beings and compassion for one’s self by eating healthy food.
It can sometimes be difficult to come up with tasty vegan sandwich ideas, here is one I came up with and really enjoyed.
Hoisin Tofu, Cucumber, Leek, Tomato and Lettuce Sandwich (Serves 2)
Ingredients;
1 block of tofu
4 Romaine Lettuce leaves
1 Beef tomato
1/3 of Cucumber
1/2 of a Leek
A bottle of hoisin sauce
Bread of your choice
Method;
Slice the block of tofu into 4 and place under a high grill until browned
Finely slice the leek and cucumber. Cut four slices off the beef tomato.
Divide the leek and cucumber between two of the slices.
Place two slices of the grilled tofu on each sandwich. Put as much hoisin sauce on as you like!
Then place the sliced tomato and lettuce on top and finish off with the other slice of bread and enjoy!
I use Tofoo brand of tofu. It is very tasty and is made in the traditional way using seaweed rather than chemicals. Our local Tesco stock it.
A vegan recipe fits in with the 8 Limbs of Yoga. One of the eight limbs, the first limb in fact, Yama, includes Ahimsa – Compassion. Many Yoga practitioners choose a vegetarian or vegan diet as a way of living a more Ahimsa lifestyle. Compassion for all living beings and compassion for one’s self by eating healthy food. I will occasionally post a vegan recipe on this blog that I have created myself.
Chilli Avocado, Garlic Mushrooms and Pine Nuts on toast – delicious vegan recipe – Serves 2
Ingredients:
500g Mushrooms – whatever type you like, I used ordinary white mushrooms but have used mixed forest mushrooms in the past
3 Ripe Avocados
100g Pine Nuts
4 Slices of Brown Bread
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Garlic Granules
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon of Chilli Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Smoked Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Cut in half the avocados and scoop out the inside into a bowl. Mash the avocados with 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon of Chilli Powder and 1/2 teaspoon of Smoked Paprika. Add salt and pepper to taste and feel free to add more chilli if you like it spicier.
Chop the mushrooms and fry in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for approx 10 minutes until they are starting to brown. Towards the end of cooking the mushroom add the 1 1/2 teaspoons of Garlic Granules and cook for a further few minutes.
Toast 4 slices of bread. Place two slices on each plate and divide the avocado mixture evenly across all slices. Divide the mushrooms evenly on top of the avocado.
Using the same non-stick frying pan used for the mushrooms, place the Pine Nuts in the pan and stir continually until they start to brown and toast. Then evenly divide the pine nuts across the mushrooms. Serve and Enjoy.
Feel free to use less Pine Nuts, I love them and like quite a few!
Chilli Avocado, Garlic Mushrooms and Pine Nuts on Toast – Enjoy this delicious vegan recipe!
