I saw a house for sale this week advertising a “parent’s retreat” as one of it’s features. As the mother of young children, I can appreciate the attraction! Retreating is our natural response to stress. We instinctively know when we need time out. Unfortunately, we don’t always act on that instinct, but here are three reasons why you should:

1. Look & Feel Better. Stress is behind many of the behaviours that make us sick, gain weight, create dark circles under the eyes and feel exhausted and out of control. Going on retreat gives your body and mind space to relax and heal. As you begin to unwind, you’ll notice how much more energy and clarity you have as stress levels plummet and your sense of wellbeing increases.

2. Be Yourself. During the busy whirl of the working week, you are bombarded by commitments, deadlines and responsibilities. There are not many opportunities to simply be who you are, without the pressure to perform. When you are on retreat, those obligations melt away and you start to notice your thoughts and feelings. You become aware of the things that matter most to you, priorities that can become smothered by the responsibilities of daily life. Going on retreat is like rediscovering your true self.

2. Create Change. From improving your diet to handling relationship issues, going on retreat can help you find new ways of tackling old problems. Stepping away from the patterns of everyday life gives you a sharper awareness of the habits and circumstances that hold you back. You can then nurture new habits, supported by the retreat environment, which will continue to grow and flourish when you return home.

Going on retreat is much more than taking time out. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with your true self and create a new life that reflects your deepest needs and values.

Adore Yoga runs regular retreats in New South Wales, Queensland and Bali. Enjoy a weekend of blissful health on our Spring Detox Retreat, 12-14 October at Maraylaya, just 50 mins from Sydney CBD.

With spring (and bikini weather!) just around the corner, it’s time to shake off the winter heaviness with a revitalizing detox program. But where should you start?

Much like finding the best diet, choosing the best detox technique can be confusing. Juice cleanse? Lemon detox? Total fast? The truth is that the best detox (like the best diet) is the one that sets up long term habits to keep your body healthy all year round.

Make a lasting change
While a quick-fix detox might help things for a few days, a Yoga Detox includes techniques that will give you year-round benefits, as well as giving you immediate results.

Using yoga to detoxify your body also has powerful mental and emotional benefits. The physical movements and breathing techniques that are used to expel toxins through yoga are also proven mood enhancers and stress reducers. It’s a cleanse for your mind as well as for your body.

Yogic cleansing
A yoga detox uses three special techniques to effectively cleanse the body: Detoxifying yoga poses, Cleansing yoga breathing, Calming yoga relaxation.

1. Detoxifying Yoga Poses
Yoga poses detoxify the body in two main ways:

a.Improving digestion – Twists help get the digestive system moving by stimulating digestive enzymes, toning muscles in the abdominal area and improving the function of the small and large intestine.

b. Improve elimination –Apana, the downward moving energy of elimination, is an important component of detoxification. A simple yoga pose such as Apanasana strengthens Apana, helping your body to expel waste.

2. Cleansing Yoga Breathing
Many of the toxins in your body are expelled through breathing. Pranayama (breathing) techniques will help you breathe away the dross and inhale fresh vitality.

3. Calming Yoga Relaxation
The digestive system is strongly impacted by stress. Stress slows the digestive system right down, making it sluggish and inefficient. When you relax, the body creates the optimum conditions for absorbing nutrients and eliminating waste.

A detoxifying weekend of yoga, practicing twice a day and eating only light, unprocessed foods, is the ideal way to cleanse body and mind. You can extend the benefits of a detox weekend by adding some simple yoga cleansing practices to your daily routine. Try this easy 15 minute home-practice:

Easy 15 Minute Detox Yoga Routine

Apanasana
1. Lie on your back with your knees drawn into your chest, feet off the floor and palms on knees.
2. Inhale: straighten your arms so that your knees draw away from your chest
3. Exhale: bend your elbows and use your abdominal muscles to draw your thighs into your belly
Repeat steps 2 & 3 eight times.


Simple Twist
1. Lie on your back with your knees drawn into your chest, feet off the floor and arms out to the sides at shoulder height.
2. Exhale: drop your knees down to the left, consciously drawing your belly button in to your spine. Simultaneously turn your head to look right.
3. Inhale: bring your knees and head back to centre
4. Exhale: drop your knees down to the right, consciously drawing your belly button in to your spine. Simultaneously turn your head to look left.
5. Inhale: bring your knees and head back to centre
6. Repeat steps 2-5 four times.

Relaxation Breath
1. Lie on the floor and close your eyes
2. Place your hands on your lower abdomen, beneath the belly button.
3. Inhale into your hands, feeling the belly rise and lift the hands gently
4. Exhale and feel the hands and belly drop back down.
5. Repeat 12 times.

Adore Yoga runs annual Spring Detox Weekend Retreats at Maralaya, 45 mins north west of Sydney CBD. The next retreat is 12-14 October. BOOK NOW.

I can’t help myself. Soup is the yummiest, fastest, easiest and most nutritious food in the world. As soon as the temperature drops below, er, 21 degrees, I’m in the kitchen with my blender. And I totally make it up every time.

Here’s what I made for dinner tonight (it’s currently sitting on the cooktop, steeping in its own goodness).  The recipe name says it all. 

There’s not much in my pantry Soup

 

Ingredients

1 Beetroot chopped in to 1cm chunks

1 medium sized sweet potato chopped in to 1cm chunks

½ cup split yellow peas

1 onion, sliced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

2cm square piece of ginger, sliced

1.5 cups veg stock

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp tumeric

3 cardamom pods

2 cloves

1tsp olive oil

Method

Boil split yellow peas in plenty of water for 35 - 40 mins

Pour oil into pan and lightly fry cumin, cardamom, tumeric and cloves

Add onion, ginger and garlic and fry till golden brown

Add beetroot and sweet potato and fry for 3 mins

Add stock and bring to boil, then simmer for 30 mins

Add cooked yellow peas

Blend to a smooth creamy consistency

Serve with a bit of cracked black pepper and maybe rock salt to taste

OR a bit of goats cheese on the top is nice!