Take Care: ‘Safe and Sustainable’

Take Care: ‘Safe and Sustainable’

For a long time I’ve pondered the questions of what is yoga, what is that I do when I practice yoga and what should I be doing. So, I was happy to encounter some wisdom via ‘The Yoga Lunchbox’ blog this week which has helped sort these questions.

Kara-Leah Grant of TYL interviewed Jennifer Allen about the topic of safe and sustainable yoga, an approach to which she is committed. […]

Take Care: Why is it Hard to Indulge Ourselves?

Take Care: Why is it Hard to Indulge Ourselves?

When Indulging Becomes Self-Care
When we first moved to Mitchells Island, we hadn’t yet winterised our house. Like a lot of people, we had mostly completed the interior but still needed to install a fireplace and block-out curtains. That first winter was painfully cold. Temperatures at night hovered around 3 degrees, with high winds and an unseasonable amount of rain.

There’s a windless, sheltered spot on one of our decks. During the day if the sun came out, I would grab fifteen minutes of unmitigated rays. […]

Take Care: What is Self-Advocacy?

Take Care: What is Self-Advocacy?

It might be an expression that’s been around for years, but I’ve just woken up to what a great one expression it is: self-advocacy.

It’s similar in meaning to self-care. But ‘self-care activist and mentor’, Christy Tending says it’s just the beginning. In her blog post, she says:
The art of self-advocacy means boldly declaring what we need in order to feel whole and well and like ourselves.
I was reminded of how advocating for ourselves can be a life or death matter when I read the news yesterday. […]

Take Care: Restorative Yoga is the Great Healer

Take Care: Restorative Yoga is the Great Healer

Restorative yoga helps you recover from illness
As I started up my Take Care blog series last week, I was reminded by my friend Lesley of the healing properties of restorative yoga practice. Lesley speaks from experience when she writes:
Dearest Eve, thank you for your article. As you know, I have used restorative yoga and yoga nidra to support my recovery from illness. It has helped in so many ways – supporting my immune system, helping with pain management & reduction (fibromyalgia), reducing fear/anxiety, and keeping me smiling through some very difficult times. […]

Take Care: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying

Take Care: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying

A few years ago, my friend and yoga colleague, Donna Cavanough, told me about a book that she had read called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. When I visited Donna’s home, she showed me the impeccable organisation of her pantry, kitchen cupboards and bedroom drawers and wardrobe. She had followed author Marie Kendo’s notions and created a beautiful environment from what may have formerly been chaotic spaces.

Unfortunately, I am still, at age 73, rebelling against the ideas of organisation that my mother tried to instil in me. […]

Take Care: How Yoga Can Help With Diabetes

Take Care: How Yoga Can Help With Diabetes

We’re fortunate to have yoga teacher,  Rachel Zinman, contributing her wisdom in today’s post.

I met Rachel when she was the twenty-something yogini she describes below–passionate about yoga but needing to push herself to the limits.

Then, as it happens, life intervened. Type 1 diabetes became her unforeseen teacher and has led Rachel to be able to share her learning with many others.

She will be launching her book Yoga for Diabetes in Taree and teaching at the Yoga Shed in early July.

Here’s Rachel:

I’ve often struggled with finding the best way to nurture myself. […]

Time to Bolster Your Immune System

Time to Bolster Your Immune System

Bolstering Our Immune Systems
Does anyone need to be told that we are well into the cold and flu season?

We are approaching the shortest day of the year. But we’re fooling ourselves if we don’t see that the Aussie winter is just beginning to settle in.

As smart yogis, we can bunker down, take care and look after our immune systems so as not to succumb to colds and flues.

For optimum health, all of us know to eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables, Vitamin D and lean protein. […]

Take Care: It’s Good Yoga Practice

Take Care: It’s Good Yoga Practice

Welcome to Take Care
From today Yoga Suits Her blog will feature daily posts relating to taking very good care of oneself. Being kind to oneself. Practising self-care.

Why do I want to emphasise self-care at this time? Because I’ve noticed recently that I haven’t been doing well in this department.

I have much room for improvement in the area of self-care. And maybe you do too. Little things, like resting when I’m tired, taking time to prepare meals carefully and eating mindfully. […]

Allowing Yourself to Feel: Being With Sadness

Allowing Yourself to Feel: Being With Sadness

Recently, I’ve had two episodes of feeling overcome with sadness. Not depression, but awash in sadness. You might have had times like this, too. They seemingly come out of nowhere and when I experience them, I feel compelled to figure out what’s going on. My hope is that I can defuse the melancholy as soon as possible, once I understand it. Thinking can take me out of the experience of being sad, as I build a narrative around the emotion. Sometimes the sadness is simply a black cloud that envelops and it’s not something to be understood. […]