International Lifestyle Magazine Issue 50 | Page 95

Yoga, which anyone of any age can participate, helps to focus the mind, it helps concentration which obviously helps greatly when dealing with any situation. Yoga teaches you how to bring the mind and body together assisting in a toned body which is flexible and able to move with ease. Through understanding breathing it helps to improve your respiration, you energy levels and your metabolism and best of all, it can help you much younger than you really are. I think to have at least two yoga sessions a week in schools would see a huge change in behaviour and attitude and I would go so far as to suggest that businesses should do the same for their staff, eliminate all that stress and produce productive and creative employees. Now anything which can promote all this, without the need for specialist equipment, expensive training grounds or a flair in anything in particular has to be worth considering for our younger generation. We need to build their confidence, their self esteem and get them understanding how their mind and body works together, which will encourage them to look at nutrition and so the cycle of healthy people can begin! So, why am I telling you all this? Even if you have never seen a yoga mat in your life, it is never too late to start, and there is not, again in my opinion, a single person on this planet who would not benefit from a yoga class. Man or woman! Just to learn how to stand, to have good posture, to be able to breath and benefit from breathing can make a huge change to how you look and feel. Now, combine that with a flexibility and a feeling of inner peace. How good would it feel to be able to eliminate any stress you may be carrying around with you? Stress can come from your work place, the people you mix with, maybe stress shows itself within the sports you play, whatever the cause, stress is a killer. Stress also inhibits the food you eat. Even if you eat really well, careful with your choices of food, if you are carrying stress around with you this will affect your digestion, all those nutrients you think you are filling yourself with are literally just flushing through your system with limited benefits. Samyak Yoga offers something for everyone from the brand new yogi to the seasoned yogi who is looking to take their experience to a new level perhaps through teacher training, the point is, you can start on your journey at anytime. I would suggest, if you are new to the idea of yoga, that you consider taking a detox retreat. As a holistic nutritionist myself I do feel it is important that you need to wipe the slate clean, cleanse the system and begin with a clean sheet of paper. A detox in itself will have you feeling on top of the world, begin from the inside out! On a detox retreat with Samyak Yoga you can take the time out you need, and you do need to allow yourself plenty of “me” time when on a detox. The Detox Retreat with Yoga, Ayurveda and Pilates offers you a complete detoxification with focus on stress reduction, immunity, rejuvenation, cleansing and nurturing of the body, mind and soul. A total detox to get you back into balance. One of the biggest lessons, is learning to listen to yourself. You will find you instinctively move towards certain foods, this is your body telling you what it needs, it is a truly uplifting moment when you start to move away from the toxic foods to the good foods, and you recognise the connection! On the detox you will experience the deeply cleansing and transformation with Yoga, Pranayama practices, reviving power of ayurveda, eating food prepared to the ayurvedic tradition and receiving daily ayurvedic massage treatments, Pilates practice to improve the physical fitness. With two weeks at this retreat you will have the opportu