Good morning and Happy Sunday! God I love lazy Sunday mornings.
I’m very happy the sun decided to come out this weekend after a windy rainy week. British Summer eh.
I love my food and yesterday I enjoyed a Rubenesque toastie (I LOVE Sourdough bread) in the sun with a friend (at Mettricks Guildhall) which was too delicious not to share with you all.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXapVCzBapN/?taken-by=eleni_zenonos
I can talk about food for ever (I wish I could be a food blogger travelling around the world taking photos and tasting delicious local dishes, that’s the dream!) but today is all about the 31 day yoga programme I’m doing at the moment.
Is designed and run by Adriene Mishler, an American actress and yoga teacher and as the name suggests is daily yoga sessions for 31 days. Her Yoga Youtube channel has 2.4 million subscribers!!
It’s pretty amazing that thousands of people across the world including me tune in to Adriene’s channel every day and follow the same journey.
A friend told me about it a while ago and since I’ve tried yoga before and enjoyed it (although I still struggle with balance!) I thought I’d give it a go. I’m one of those people that feel that the world slows down when exercising and I’m clock watching eagerly waiting for the workout to end so I didn’t think I could commit and do it every single day.
BUT I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t give up, I’m on day 15 today and I absolutely love it.
Every session has a theme (yesterday was about forgiveness and today is on being fearless!!) and lasts for about half an hour. Time flies by and I never realise, that’s how good it is!
It is designed for everyone, from beginners like me to pros. Some of the poses can be challenging but as regularly mentioned at each session is not about nailing the pose. So if that put you off Yoga, give it another go, and shift your focus on relaxing and enjoying the mental and body exercise rather than perfect every pose.
Adriene is an awesome teacher. She is funny-her spontaneous singing and accidental innuendos make the practice even more fun-, she guides you through every pose and as she always says is not about getting it right or getting physically fit (although that’s definitely one of the perks that comes with it), but is practising the theme of each day and above all, although not explicitly said, mindfulness.
I’m a big advocate of mindfulness (I highly recommend A mindfulness guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax) but I found it hard to practise it. Well, not anymore!
Every time I get on my mat, after a minute or two I forget all my worries and things I have to do and I concentrate on my breath and being aware of every inch of my body. And miraculously all negative thoughts just disappear!
I felt the physical benefits from the first couple of days. My muscles across my body from legs to arms feel tighter and I’m aware of my posture almost all the time. AND my balance is getting better. I can’t wait to be able to do the tree pose without falling!
My daily session is on of my favourite times of the day and although there are days that I struggle and my balance and concentration are off, I look forward to it every day!
Yoga will definitely be part of my life from now on.
If you fancy giving it a go or you are just curious to find out more all details here and here.
I quite enjoy blogging lately and I’ll try and do it even more regularly.
I have no idea what my next post will be about though! If you have any ideas you are more than welcome to comment below.
Have a great Sunday!
Namaste
Lessons I learned after I turned 30 
Gosh, this is so funny because I’ve just started the same thing! Currently on day 5. She is great isn’t she? I love how aware it makes me feel, and just gives me that dedicated time to breathe and have time for myself. I hope I can keep it up!
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Oh that is amazing!! She is awesome. Even on days I feel I don’t want to do anything, I force myself to do it and I’ve never regretted it! xx
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I find mindfulness very interesting, but struggle to stick with it. I don’t concentrate easily at the best of times, with one exception: Riding my bike. I absolutely love the mental place it puts me in.
Like you I’ve not had a lot of time for grind of exercise (although I stuck out a gym membership for nearly a year before getting bored).
Glad it’s working out for you. I think everyone can find that thing that clicks for them.
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That’s exactly right. It takes time and exploration to find what works for you, like riding your bike. For me other than yoga recently, playing my guitar is one of the very few things I can do for hours!
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