Dear Reader,
I’ve had tonnes to do this week... From last weekend’s free-form yoga trance dancing with the awesome Shiva Rea; to three packed days of teaching classes and then on to four days of learning at the Minded Institute. Wow! Heather Mason is actively cramming the most amount of information into our yoga-teacher brains, and I’m drinking it in… For me, it’s like nectar…
Yet, doing a lot in a heatwave takes a bit of finessing, to avoid getting all hot and bothered. I’m finding that if I allow myself to sucumb to the heat, and become a little leisurely and lackadaisical I can balance out these busy-bee states of dancing, teaching and learning. This slower pace enables me to soak up the the torrent of yoga techniques, facts, figures, ideas and inspirations that are flowing in my direction right now.
In general, we Brits are not great at dealing with extremes in temperature. We don’t really know how to take siestas, little naps, or even put our feet up for a post-prandial rest. We might have forgotten the joy of taking time to meander to the shops in our local neighbourhood, stopping to chat with the locals we meet. Supermarkets have a lot to answer for. Sadly, it is more common to see people marching directly to their destination, with a flat white in hand.
Many of us dream about visiting other hot countries to lounge on the beach and relax. However, as we’re in the thick of a cost of living crisis and a heatwave, why don’t we just create our own holiday right here, today?. Perhaps many of you are on to this already? Let me know about your stay-cations in the comments!
For me, the key is to not rush, take it easy, slow down, and smell scent of the the honeysuckle, the jasmine, and the lime flower blossom on the warm summer breeze.
On the subject of edible flowers… Why not ease up on the caffeine and take some iced hibiscus tea with schisandra berries instead. Yum!
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Hibiscus and Schisandra Cordial
2 tablespoons of hibiscus flowers
1 tablespoon of whole schisandra berries (not powder)*
Put the herbs in a 1-litre pyrex glass jug.
Fill with just boiled water.
Leave to steep overnight.
Refrigerate in the morning.
You can add sparkling water and a few drops of stevia liquid to taste. You can eat the berries, which have an unusual flavour (they are said to have all five flavours). Schizandra berry is thought to be good for reducing stress, and anxiety and increasing longevity. However, best to avoid it if you are pregnant, on medication or need to avoid oestrogens.
This cordial makes a nice mixer with vodka, or if you are feeling decadent: mezcal (a Mexican spirit made from the agave plant, uplifting for your heart).
You can get the herbs here.
This recipe is from the fabulous Witches Herbal Apothecary by Marysia Miernowska
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What can we do more slowly this week?
Slow spacious yoga, slow breathing, resting deeply in yoga nidra or a long and delicious savasana (the ultimate antidote to a busy day), slow evening walks in the park (maybe barefoot if that works for you), slowing our thoughts down, slow mornings rising early with the sun to water our plants, potter and make herbal teas, chia puddings, salads with fruits - melon, mango, strawberries, papaya…
Slowly sip (decaf) affogato with pistachio ice cream. Pretend you are in Italy… Ahhhhh….
Eat fruits slowly. Eat everything slowly.
Rest after your meals… put your feet up. Go to the park in your lunch break or simply sit outside. Feel that beautiful, precious sunlight on your skin, or delight in the gentle breeze under the shade of a tree. Take a sarong with you and lie on the earth, look up at the sky, and listen to the sound of the swifts, whirling high in the sky.
Enjoy this precious time!
Enjoy your week!
Let’s see if we can keep up the go slow until the sharp coolness of autumn arrives!
If you’d like to join classes this week… there is a free group Zoom meditation, where I’ll teach slow coherent breathing, the Monday in-person which is always a beautiful restful, leisurely exploration of somatic movement and the evening Zoom on Tuesday… even more leisurely as it’s in your own home! You can do this practice from anywhere in the world, in your bed, in your garden, on the beach… and you get to retain that beautiful dreamy post-yoga state all the way until bedtime…
That is truly perfecting the art of going slowly…
Slow DownLess is More
Rest and Receive
With love and good wishes, from Julia xxx
PS
On a completely other note… if you or a loved one are thinking of getting a child vaccinated against covid, I’m urging you to do a bit of research first. I’ve stayed on the fence on this issue since the launch of the vaccines. In the beginning, I thought that they were only meant for people who are more vulnerable to covid: frail elderly people and immune-compromised people. And that seemed like a sensible plan at the time, especially as there were no drug treatments for covid then.
However, I cannot see the sense in giving these novel vaccines to children as they don’t seem to work to stop the spread of the virus and children are at very low risk from complications of covid. Here is a video by Canadian doctors and health professionals which questions the practice of giving covid vaccines to children.
🌺 🌺 🌺 Slowly Does It! 🌺 🌺 🌺