Wednesday 18 December 2013

Warm your cockles with some yogi tea this christams


Yogi Tea
    1 Gallon Water
    30 cloves
    30 whole green cardamon pods
    30 whole black peppercorns
    1 lg finger of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
    5 sticks cinnamon
    1 teabag, Black Tea
    *Milk and Honey to taste (*optional)
  1. Bring water to boil.
  2. Add all spices except black tea bag. Boil 30 -45 min. Longer is stronger.
  3. Finally, add black tea bag and boil another 5 min. **The black tea is added last because it amalgamates the spices and sort of seals them. Also the tannins help assimilate the spices into the body.
  4. If adding milk & honey, do so after adding the tea bag and letting it steep– OR BETTER add milk and honey to individual cup or a small batch. That way you can store the raw tea in the fridge and prepare with milk and honey as you go.
  5. If you go cup by cup, you can leave the raw tea on the stove on the lowest flame to enjoy all day.


Frankie's festive feel fantastic food


Mushroom and Cashew Stir Fry

Mushrooms provide vitamin d, good for us whilst the sun is elsewhere, while cashews contain healthy oils which are good for your heart!

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 small leeks, white and pale green parts, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
Pepper
3 tablespoons groundnut oil
250g fresh mixed mushrooms
4 spring onions, sliced thin
2 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
2 tsp rice vinegar, or to taste
1 packet of soba noodles
150g pea shoots
Coriander
A handful of toasted cashew nuts
Dash of sesame oil


Wednesday 4 September 2013

Love the skin you're in - BODY BRUSHING LOVE




Love it pamper it – it’s only your largest organ!!!!

Why would you add anything else to your already busy morning routine? Let me assure you, the extra five minutes this takes is well worth the investment.

The investment 
  • Shed dead skin cells - brighter skin.
  • Increasing the circulation to the skin could possibly reduce the appearance of cellulite
  • Improving vascular blood circulation and lymphatic drainage. By releasing toxins, it encourages the body’s discharge of metabolic wastes so the body is able to run more effectively.
  • Muscle tones
  • Helps your skin to absorb nutrients


The directions are pretty simple:
                Start on dry skin before bathing. 
                Work in gentle circular, upward motions, then longer, smoother strokes. 
                Always begin at the ankles in upwards movements towards the heart - the lymphatic fluid flows through the body towards the heart, so it's important that you brush in the same direction.
                Your back is the only exception to the preceding rule; brush from the neck down to the lower back.  
never brush over inflamed skin, sores, sun-burnt skin, or skin cancer.
                Ensure you shower to wash away the dead skin cells and impurities. 
                Tip: alternating temperatures in the shower from hot to cold will further invigorate the skin and stimulate blood circulation, bring more blood to the outer layers of the skin.  
Then follow it up with a slick moisturizer to nourish the skin 
ENJOY!!!!

Get ready, get steady & Boost your immune system




To boost your immune system and keep strong over this new Autumn period use the power of gentle exercise. Don’t let cooler temperatures stop you from moving your body!
Join us at Breath of Life Clinic for one of our yoga classes
http://breathoflifeclinic.co.uk/yoga-classes/

Eat food in season




Eat fresh seasonal foods and live in alignment with nature. 
Embrace the yummy foods that Autumn offers. Enjoy fresh pumpkins, parsnips, yams, winter squash, sweet potatoes, turnips, apples, pears, figs, elderberries and even cranberries!

Find the Farmers.  There’s many community sponsor farmers markets each week where farmers bring their seasonal haul to consumers. Farmers markets are a great way to see what local produce is available in your own community. You can find many stands promote organic fruits and vegetables. Farmers markets may also be the right place to get organic meats and dairy products fresh off the farm.
Check out these website to find your local market

Friday 14 June 2013

Yoga and Massage offer


Yoga and Massage offer:

Are you making the most of all the Breath of Life Clinic has to offer?

In order to get a full understanding and first hand experience of as much as possible of what the Breath of Life offers, we would like to offer you a voucher to buy as the perfect gift to someone or yourself; a voucher for two introductory yoga sessions and an hours rejuvenating massage treatment. 

This voucher is the perfect natural ‘pick me up’ honoring where our energy actually comes from…

In the city we are lead to believe that we can ‘gain energy’ from the likes of Red Bull, expensive coffee, ‘energy bars’ and many more gismos that ‘give us energy’.  With all of this advertising it is no wonder that we believe that energy is something we can ‘get’ by putting our hand in our pocket, paying for and then simply ingesting. 

Unfortunately its not that simple and this erroneous belief is leading us down a dangerous path of exhausting our adrenals to the point of no return. 

In Chinese Medicine it is understood that we are born with a certain amount of essential ‘energy’ (Heavenly Qi) and this amount varies for everyone, however, on top of this we also have ‘earned’ energy (Post Heavenly Qi) which is what we want to be using in order to fuel our daily lives so we don’t need to dip into that precious store of finite energy we were born with.  We have forgotten this very important fact in the West and do very little to make more energy naturally. 

When we drink coffee for example on a regular, consistent basis all we are doing is stimulating our bodies so that we ‘function’, however, by overriding our bodies voice which is saying ‘I am exhausted please let me rest’ we are forcing our bodies to tap into this precious finite energy source.  This is a vicious cycle as we all know and leaves us far more exhausted and strung out than before…

We have to give ourselves time to restore this ‘earned’ source of natural energy so that we don’t deplete ourselves too much which undoubtedly leads to disease.  In order to replenish this kind of energy we have to have a balance of work and rest, be eating a plant based diet with lots of nutrients and as little processed food as possible, laugh as much as we can, surround ourselves with those we love and develop energy enhancing practices such as Yoga and regular massages.

So today instead of making elaborate plans to give up coffee, take a gentle approach and see that your energy will really come from developing an energizing yoga practice and indulging in a massage from time to time to give your body the opportunity to repair and restore naturally

Our package is two yoga classes at the Breath of Life and a rejuvenating massage treatment with Philly for a total of £85

To book please call Natasha at the Breath of Life Clinic on: 02074863373

Friday 7 June 2013

Father’s day & yoga at the Breath of Life


Father’s day & yoga at the Breath of Life




Its curious that in the West yoga has been marketed overwhelmingly to women while the men have been somewhat left in the cold to find release through more ‘traditional’ forms of physical exercise, while in the East yoga was traditionally only practiced by men. 

One reason the Western man has shunned yoga is the erroneous belief that it is not strenuous enough for them!  Any man reading this who has done a yoga class will be able to vouch for the fact that this is pure myth! In reality it is an intense hour or 90 minutes where you are able to stretch your self in more ways than one.   

However, now Yoga is moving into a new era where we are beginning to see just as many men in a class as women – some of the most unlikely of suspects are turning their day to their mat as they salute the sun for both physical and mental release of the pressures of city life.

To celebrate Fathers day next weekend and to give a shout out to all the dads that haven’t come into contact with the transformative effects of yoga, gift your dad with a Breath of Life Yoga voucher.

At the Breath of Life we offer two types of yoga; Kundalini Yoga and Vinyassa Yoga.  While both focus on your breath Kundalini Yoga is known mainly for its exceptional personal transformational ability, while Vinyassa Flow is more an energetic and physical set of postures that detox you both mentally and physically.

At the Breath of Life we believe whole heartedly in the power of yoga and its lasting ability to bring about change within the individual, we believe it is an essential part of healing to put the care of ones health back into the right hands… your own. 

So this Fathers day offer the gift of physical and mental transformation to your Dad and change his old ideas that yoga is just for the girls!