The gift of yoga

Yoga practice is so much about consistency. It’s the regular practice, whether it’s daily or weekly, that will create transformation. We make quicker progress with consistent practice and the effects of our practice are everlasting. Moreover, regular yoga and meditation practice is like savings in your bank account, it comes handy when we need it. When we have especially difficult time in our life, illness, loss of a loved one or any other challenge we may need to face - that previous regular yoga practice and energy we generated there will be working for you. Even if you can’t physically do yoga or meditation.

However, as a yogini with many years of regular practice, I must say that daily practice doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes it feels like a routine, chore, maybe even a bit boring. And there is nothing wrong with having a bit of break from yoga but lack of regular practice is noticable in our physical, emotional and mental state.

I was in such situation recently and needed a bit inspiration. So I booked a private yoga session with a teacher and she inspired me. She said something that really touched me, she said ‘Give yourself the gift of yoga’ instead of forcing yourself to do it, trying to motivate yourself, just give yourself the gift of yoga.

And obviously, I’ve heard that many times, I even sell vouchers that say ‘Gift of yoga’ haha but this time it really touched me and I now look at my practice differently. So I’m sharing it with you, because maybe there is somebody out there who really needs to hear it and it will inspire them.

Let’s not treat yoga as another way to punish ourselves, as a measurement if we are good enough or as something that needs to be ticked off the list. Let’s do yoga with compassion, kindness, care, gentleness and love that we all need.

Do you struggle sometimes with regular practice? How do you motivate yourself? What works for you? Please share in the comments below🙏

5 reasons gratitude is so important for your body, mind and soul.

It connects you with your soul.

It connects you with the universe. The ancient root of the word GRATITUDE, that means “to praise, to celebrate; to be in contact with the Divine.” In other words, being grateful is equivalent to feeling the presence of the Divine in our lives. It is the same as being in a state of bliss. It allows us to see value, virtue and blessings in everything. 

Experiencing gratitude is one of the most effective ways of getting in touch with your soul. When you’re in touch with your soul, you are in your heart, when your heart is open - feeling abundance and generosity come easy. You feel connected to everything in creation. You embrace the wisdom of uncertainty and you sense yourself as a field of infinite possibilities. You are one with the universe. 

It gets you out of your own way.

The feeling of gratitude involves two stages. First we are grateful for something. Second, we are grateful to something/somebody. One can be grateful to other people, to animals, and to the world, but not to oneself. We are reminded that a lot in our lives depends on others, that we are not the centre of the universe:-) So we get out of our own way here.

It challenges our ego.

Gratitude is a fullness of heart that moves you from limitation and fear (EGO) to expansion and love(SOUL). When you’re appreciating something, your ego moves out of the way. You can’t have your attention on ego and gratitude at the same time.

Present moment. 

Gratitude brings your attention into the present time, which is the moment in which miracles can unfold. We spend so much of our time in the past or in the future, creating a lot of anxiety and depression as a result. Gratitude helps us to stay present, and avoid a lot of unnecessary suffering. 

Gratitude is good for your health and science proofs that. 

Research performed in 2015 showed that patients with heart failure who completed gratitude journals showed reduced inflammation, improved sleep, and better moods; this reduced their symptoms of heart failure after only 8 weeks.

In these and other studies, science has been providing clinical proof supporting what many religions and spiritual traditions have been saying for millennia: gratitude does good.

If you would like to learn more about gratitude join high on yoga membership where you will find the full programme with yoga mediation and yogic teachings.

The link is here.

7 ideas to be kinder to yourself

Love is the easiest and works best when expressed as self-compassion. If we are not compassionate towards ourselves, we can't truly love another person, we can’t understand them fully. The flight attendants always remind us to put on our own mask first before assisting others. Self-compassion is a gate to happiness. 

Self-love awakens your soul, self-love invites your soul to be more present in your physical body. The more you love and appreciate yourself, the more peace, love and light your body and nervous system can hold. And this is how you become the light, radiating the energy of peace, love and stillness.   

This all sounds lovely, but most of us still struggle with self-love. So here are some ideas for you on how to be lovelier and kinder to yourself. 

  1. Go on a MIND DETOX.

    On a regular detox, we stop eating junk food, unhealthy stuff, and tons of sugar. On a mind detox, we leave out complaining, trashing ourselves, being mean to ourselves, calling ourselves names, etc. You get the point. Never done it before? I invite you to a 7-day mind detox, where you will be kind to yourself, where you will appreciate yourself and give yourself the recognition and love you deserve. Your self-critic or self-victim will most likely try to sneak in, but you will catch them every time and say, "Thank you, but we are on themind detox."Try it, it’s fun and very rewarding! And you will build positive habits that may stay with you forever.

  2. Practice AFFIRMATIONS.

    I know affirmations are very worn off but they are great and work. Create your own affirmation in the form of ‘I AM ….’ for example ‘I am loveable’, ‘I am loving’, ‘I am enough’, ‘I am beautiful,’ ‘I am peace’, ‘I am loved and supported by the Universe’. These are just ideas, it’s best to create your own affirmations that resonate uniquely with you. What to do with your affirmations? Write them down 100 times a day in your journal, meditate on repeating them mentally, walk mentally repeating them, create a screensaver or drawing with them. Possibilities are endless.

  3. Protect your energy.

    Are you always making sure that other people’s needs are met first? Are you trying to be helpful to others while forgetting about yourself? It’s time to start valuing you and making yourself important to you. It’s time to start blessing yourself and connecting with the infinite qualities in you. Time to rely on your sacred space. The more you protect your energy and nurture your sacred space, the more your sacred space will protect and nurture you. Crete small habits where you protect your energy, value yourself and connect with your inner sacred space. I know I’m biassed, but I think the best way to connect with your sacred space is through yoga and meditation.

  4. JOY in your heart.

    Connect with your heart, see what comes to you when you think of joy and inspiration, find the answer and do that regularly. Do the things that bring you genuine joy more often. This is an easy way back to your heart, where compassion and love live.

  5. Be kind and generous to others.

    When we think badly of others or hate them, - we are filling up our being with that negative energy first. When we are kind and generous to others, we get to experience that energy too. So love yourself first and then love others. Not because they are your family members or friends, love all - a shopkeeper, a bus driver, anybody you meet.

  6. STAY HUMAN.

    We can’t be happy non stop, it’s difficult to be kind and loving all the time, so when you slip, don’t beat yourself up. Love yourself, both your good and bad sides, your cheerleader and your critic.The whole of you. Love and accept yourselves as you are, and you will feel the peace and happiness you never thought was possible.

At the end, I will leave you with something that inspired me years ago and it keeps inspiring me… If you don’t value yourself, nobody will value you…  

Oh and a bit of Kundalini yoga to open your heart to yourself. Try it on YouTube.

How does it sound? Are you going to try on of those ideas? Please let me know in the comments below.


Digestion and why it matters so much?

Digestion is a very fascinating subject. You may be surprised, but the quality of your digestion is directly related to the quality of your life. We digest food, emotions, ideas, thoughts, experiences, etc. The better we are able to digest, the more balance and peace we have in our daily life. Good digestion helps us create a strong body, a clear mind and live a life full of purpose and meaning. Poor digestion contributes to ill health, mental cloudiness, and an inability to focus on things that really matter in our lives. 

A lot of people come to yoga because they have problems with digestion (food intolerances, IBS, absorption problems and more). That was my story too...

My story with digestion. 

When I was in my early twenties, I had a typical student lifestyle, I was drinking, partying and eating whatever was at hand. Luckily, my body didn’t like it and started breaking down. I was ill all the time, didn’t have any energy and everyday life became difficult. Everything in my life was toxic, my food, all the other ‘things’ I was putting into my body and my environment (I was working and pretty much living in a bar). I wanted at least one healthy thing in my life, and this is how I found myself in a yoga class. The rest is history:-). Needless to say, my digestion improved, and my life transformed on so many levels in the last 17 years too. So there are many life lessons to be learned when we examine our digestion.    

Your digestion will teach you a lot about yourself.

I believe problems with digestion can be symptoms of deeper issues in our body and mind. Often, indigestion is caused by stress, worries, unresolved trauma, anger, inability to give and receive love and more… I say that because I see a lot of people at yoga who are intolerant to gluten, lactose, or have other problems with digestion but after some time of regular practice their condition improves. Side effects of regular yoga and meditation practice are: peace, acceptance, healing, opening of the heart and ability to deal with challenges  of every day life. This is why I think your body is trying to tell you something through indigestion. When the digestive system is functioning well we are able to have a balanced life, taking in as much as we need to and letting go of as much as it’s necessary too.  

However, if this is a bit too deep and spiritual for you, don’t worry. You don’t need to think of any emotional or mental matters and just focus on improving your digestion and eating a more healthy and balanced diet and you will see other aspects of your life improving too.

This is why I have created the Digestion Programme in the High On Yoga membership. It contains daily meditations, short yoga practice to circulate energy in your digestive system and make it function better, and a big yoga class to help you master your digestion, learn to let go of toxins and impurities, and it’s a great anti-aging set too. 

P.S. Here is the link to join High On Yoga Online Community

Pre-spring meditation challenge to achieve strong mind

Daily practice is an important part of Kundalini Yoga. When we start doing daily practice this is when we transform and heal quickly, this is when the magic happens. Let’s face it, with busy lives it’s not always easy to stay committed and motivated to do daily yoga or meditation but this is exactly why every few months, I invite yogis to join a practice together. We can support each other, it keeps us accountable and we are connected through that practice. 

Here is my new invitation to you! Join us for a daily meditation practice to create strong mind and reach excellence in life. The meditation lasts only 11 minutes but it’s a strong practice that will create powerful results. 

Here are the benefits of the meditation:

  • Strengthen your mind and your nervous system.

  • Reach excellence in life.

  • Find new stability and self-trust.

  • Improve your breathing.

  • Increased energy.

  • Challenge yourself and renew yourself physically, mentally and spiritually.

  • Connect with others doing the same practice globally.

Does it sound appealing?

There are 2 ways to join the challenge. You can join the live meditation on Zoom everyday at 6.45am GMT to see other people doing it live, in the same time, 

or you can do it with a YouTube video in your own time.

We are starting the challenge on 10th of February and continue till the 21st of March so we can enter the Spring with this new energy, strong mind, strong nervous system and enhanced sense of self-trust. 

If you are willing to join us, please sign up here.  And comment below letting us know you are joining!