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Wellness

February: Favorite list of the month

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With the New Year there always comes an opportunity to change things, chance of new beginnings. To our family the start of the year has been really about new beginnings when our baby boy was born. And after that I have literally slowed down (that is why the favorite list of the months comes now in February). In these past weeks I have lived in a baby bubble. From our sixth floor apartment I have looked when it has been snowing, listened the silence during night times. The new everyday routine left me with the feeling that sometimes I don’t even know if it is day or night. Even when I have been feeling tired, I do have to share this: I am so happy about this baby boy, and that I am now a mother of two children.

After giving birth my body is in a slow recovering process. This time I will give it its time to recover, and try not to rush to be a woman again. This beginning of the year is literally for me a slowly waking up process – that is why the theme of the month is slow waking; maybe you feel the same, too. Anyway, below you will find my good mood list of the month. Enjoy!

Drink of the month: Pukka’s Organic Latte Turmelic Gold. I have replaced my afternoon coffee with this smooth and warm drink.

In my diffuser: peppermint

Book of the month: Late Bloomers by Eveliina Nieminen. This short novel collection is all about today’s overachieving people who try to be the best version of them self. These short stories dive deep into our western culture and in its sharp and sarcastic way. Also, there are beautiful illustrations in this book and you just want to stop reading for a while and have a pause. I even got inspiration to start drawing again.

The song of the month: Choir Of Young Believers: Does It Look As If I Care.  

Natural cosmetics: Mádara’s Gloss and Vibration Shampoo and Nourish and Repair Conditioner. I have used these natural cosmetics products a couple of months, and I can assure that these hair products are the best for my thin and blondened hair. The shampoo is giving my hair extra volume and shine, and the conditioner is making sure that my hair is soft and more silkier.

3 x yoga asanas of the month

I have returned to my yoga mat with softness and in humility. Below you can find asanas, which I do every night.

Paschimottanasana “west stretching pose”

Did you know that forwarding bend has a calming effect to your mind? It draw us into the inner mysteries and dynamics of our lives. The energetic effects of forward bends are concentrated in the lower chakras, often revealing base emotions held deep in the body. When you hold this position at least five minutes, you have a time to explore your feelings.

Sit tall in Dandasana. Check that your sitting bones are grounded. If needed add a towel on your sitting bones to help you bend forward.  Bring the hands toward the feet as far as possible without bending the spine. Clasp there to leverage the activation of the legs, lengthening of the spine, and anterior rotation of the pelvis. Draw the torso forward over the legs. With each inhale, lengthen the spine, and with each exhale release the torso forward. Try not to get your head at first to your legs, instead of concentrate on drawing the heart center up and forward. Keep your legs active. Feel how the back of the body release, and how the posture stretch the muscles around the pelvis.

Supported chest opener

Add a couple of blocks and bolster on your mat as you see in the picture. If you don’t have these, you can always use a pile of pillows. Then lye down and let your upper body rest against the bolster. Relax your arms to the side. You can let your legs rest straight or bring the feet together. Enjoy and relax. This is a good position to do a little meditation.

Balasana “Child’s pose”

This is a nurturing pose; we are in this position during nine months of gestion and naturally return to this fetal position to nurture or protect ourselves.

You can always do this asana without a bolster, but for me with this support balasana is just heaven.

How to get in Balasana?

Release the hips back towards and to the heels. Then lay down. Let your other cheek rest on a pillow or a bolster and release your arms straight ahead. Relax. After a couple of minutes change your head to other direction and let the other cheek rest on your bolster.

Have a beautiful start of the month!

Read more:

Sweet Boredom

My favorite list for December

Shine on November

Wellness

Shine on November!

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The darkest season (in North) is here, and it is perfect excuse to carry light and warmness to your body and soul.

November is one of my favorite months. You might think, I am kidding, but nope, it is. And I am going to tell you why:

It is time to slow time. Literally here in North we need to start walk slower not to fall down. This is a perfect moment to walk more intentionally, to be more present.

November is a perfect month to turn attention to your inner self and get cozy. It is time to change cold drinks to hot ones, like Finnish glögi or tea, take breaks during the day on your yoga mat or just read a couple page of a good book on your sofa. It is time to light candles and praise the soft light. I would say that November is an official month of hygge.

Also, for me, November is a good excuse to start prepare for Christmas without the stress of buying gifts and all the other things we have to do before that big day. It is just the perfect time, slowly, to start enjoying Christmas lights and to eat chocolate, not to forget all the fun pre-Christmas parties that are waiting (well not for me that much parting this year).

Here is my pampering list for you to make the month even better:

In my diffuser: Last week, when I tried a new yoga studio, I smelled a little spicy, Christmas-like scent. “What was in the diffuser?”, I asked. “It is an essential oil called Thieves by Young Living”, answered the yoga teacher. I bought one bottle for myself right away. Thieves is a perfect essential oil for Christmas season. It is a mix of special aromatic combination composed of clove, rosemary, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus radiate. It definitely fills the place with seductive, rich and spicy aroma. The name thieves comes from 15th century French thieves who combined this special mixture. High recommendations. You can get your own bottle from here.

Drink of the month: Spicy Sweet Chai tea by Yogitea.

On my plate: dates and chocolate

On my skin: Himalayan Body Scrub by Flow Cosmetics. This vanilla & orange mix body scrub purifies my skin and makes it soft. After this I am addict to Melvita’s Argan oil, which I have been using this autumn non-stop. After adding the body oil, I like to put another layer of Mossa’s Intense Nutrition, Sea Buckthorn body lotion. This season calls for an extra attention to my skin. Oh boy, how the skin feels different when living here in North than it was in sunny Spain. Luckily we have the sauna in our apartment. My favorite routine after the sauna is to do a slow body nutrition routine and do it in mindfully.

Music: Snatam Kaur – soft and spiritual.

Asana of the month: Baddha konasana, butterfly. For us women, we attend to have a lot of pressure on our hips. This asana helps you open more your inner tights and hip area. Make it a routine, do this asana every night before going to bed and you will notice the difference after a couple of weeks. This asana helps you also during periods.

How to do it:

Bent the knees and bring the feet together. Sit tall on the sitting bones (both sitting bones rooted) with the hands of the floor. Open the feet like a book, press the heels together while stretching the knees out toward the floor. Rotate the pelvis forward to draw the hearth center toward the horizon. If you feel any pressure on the knee area, add a block under the knees.

Enjoy!

Read more:

Home sweet home

A slow down list for the autumn

5 tips how to reach your goals

Wellness

Getting back in shape

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Kirjoitin aiemmin blogissani raskausajan liikunnasta ja sen merkityksestä hyvinvoinnilleni. Halusin palata aiheeseen nyt raskausajan jälkeen. Eli miten liikkuminen ja palautuminen ovat onnistuneet? Omalla kohdallani tunsin oloni jo sen verran hyväksi, että palasin joogamatolle jo kaksi viikkoa synnytyksen jälkeen. Olin siinä mielessä onnekas, että palauduin synnytyksestä nopeasti, ja olinhan harrastanut liikuntaa koko raskauden ajan.

Joka tapauksessa halusin tarttua tähän aiheeseen, koska viime aikoina olen törmännyt sosiaalisessa mediassa kirjoituksiin, joissa on suhtauduttu negatiivisesti siihen, että tuore äiti haluaa palautua nopeasti vanhoihin mittoihinsa synnytyksen jälkeen. Kritiikin kohteeksi joutuu tyypillisesti aktiivinen nainen, joka urheilee oman kehonsa sallimissa rajoissa ja katsoo hieman, mitä suuhunsa laittaa. Tämä on vastoin sitä äitikulttuuria, jota naiset keskuudessaan ylläpitävät. Tuntuu, että erityisesti suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa ihannoidaan äitihahmoa, joka on jatkuvasti vain kiinni vauvassa, ja että omaan hyvinvointiin panostaminen koetaan itsekkäänä tekona. Ja kun oman kehon hyvinvoinnista vihjaillaan, vetävät marttyyriäidit äitikortin ja vetoavat liikkumattomuuteensa ajan puutteeseen ja väsymykseen. Tämä ”rankka” elämänvaihe myös oikeuttaa kohtuuttomaan herkutteluun, joka ruokkii edelleen tyytymättömyyttä omaan kehoon. Joukon jatkeena tyytymättömyys oikeuttaa taas kritisoimaan niitä, jotka haluavat panostaa liikkumiseen ja hyvinvointiin vauvanhoidon ohella.

Halusinkin puuttua tähän negatiiviseen ilmapiiriin, ja jakaa omat kokemukseni palautumisesta, ja siitä, kuinka pienin muutoksin olen taas voinut omassa kehossani paremmin. (Tosin en missään vaiheessa kokenut oloani epämiellyttäväksi raskauden aikana.)

Omalla kohdallani kevyt liikunta ja pieni ruokavalioremontti ovat tehneet tehtävänsä. On selvää, etteivät tässä iässä ylimääräiset raskauskilot (5 kg) lähde noin vain, vaan jotain on tehtävä. Omalla kohdallani liikunnan harrastaminen ei kuitenkaan tarkoita orjallista vaakaan tuijottamista tai väkinäistä laihduttamista. En edes tällaiseen kykenisi, sillä niin hyvä rouva olen syömään!

Mitä muutoksia sitten tein syömisen osalta? Ensinnäkin karsin ruokavaliostani satunnaiset lauantaipizzat. Toiseksi aloin noudattaa taas ranskalaista ateriarytmiä (aamupala, lounas, pieni välipala, ilta-ateria)ja syömään säännöllisesti, toisin sanoen jätin lukuisat välipalanapostelut pois. Kolmanneksi luovuin joka-aamuisesta suklaansyönnistä. Raskausaikana (ja ennen sitäkin) olimme mieheni kanssa omaksuneet tavaksi herkutella muutamalla suklaapalalla aamukahvin kera. Nykyisin herkuttelu on siirtynyt viikonloppupainotteiseksi. Jokapäiväinen tarve on muuttunut satunnaisiksi herkkuhetkiksi. Tämä ruokavalioremontti on tuottanut tulosta, ja siinä sivussa painokin on pudonnut– kai (en ole käynyt vaa’alla). Samalla olen myös siirtynyt entistä kasvisruokapainotteisempaan ruokavalioon.

Liikunnan osalta olen joogan rinnalle lisännyt tehokkaampia tunteja, kuten balettia ja zumbaa treenikalenteriini. Käyn myös kerran viikossa kuntosalilla. Ohjatuilla tunneilla en ole tietysti voinut jokaista liikesarjaa tehdä, ja olenkin vahvasti kuunnellut omaa kehoani ja jättänyt tekemättä liikkeet, jotka eivät tunnu vielä hyvältä. Joka tapauksessa on tuntunut mielettömän hyvältä löytää uusia liikuntalajeja, heiluttaa sitä takamusta ja antautua musiikin vietäväksi. Kotiin on aina palannut energinen pakkaus, jota eivät yösyötöt nujerra. Liikunnan ja pienen ruokaremontin myötä kuin huomaamatta myös ne vanhat farkut ovat sujahtaneet jalkaan. Ja ei: en todellakaan ole vielä vanhoissa mitoissani, eikä se ole varsinaisena tavoitteenakaan. Silti turha minun on väittää, ettenkö tuntisi oloani mukavammaksi aavistuksen hoikempana kuin muutama viikko raskauden jälkeen. Ja onhan toki ekologisempaa tehdä löytöjä omalta vaatekaapiltani kuin ostaa uusia farkkuja vain siksi, ettei mahtuisi entisiin – ja etenkin, jos en olisi yrittänyt tehdä asian eteen mitään.

I wrote earlier about doing sports during pregnancy. Now I wanted to return to the subject with a postnatal angle and share my story on how did I got back in shape after the labour. For me, as a sportive woman, I felt good to return to my yoga mat just two weeks after giving birth. Also, I have to mention that I was lucky enough to have an easy and pain-free labour.

Anyhow, recently in the social media I have noticed some criticism towards mothers who want to get back in shape after giving birth. It seems that the mentality is like this: it is ok to do nothing about your body, because you are  a mother. Mothers have more sympathy towards other mothers who are doing the same: staying home with their baby and taking care of him/her all the time. And when you start to exercise and look after yourself, you are considered as selfish and a bad mother.

I want to interfere with this negative attitude and share my tips on how did I got back in shape by just changing my eating routines a bit and by adding a couple of effective sports activities in my schedule. Firstly, I got back to the French eating habits, where you eat at regular times (breakfast at 8–9am, lunch at 1pm, snack, and dinner at 8–10pm). So I gave up eating several snacks during the day. Then I gave up those fatty Saturday night pizzas and eating chocolate every morning. For my husband and me it started to be a habit to start the morning with coffee and a couple of pieces of chocolate. Also, I started to eat more and more vegetables food. By all these little changes I have started to lose weight – or at least I think so (I don’t weigh myself regularly).

Besides yoga, I have added a couple of new classes in my exercise routine: ballet barre and zumba – and oh boy: these classes are really something; they are effective but also super fun, too. Every time after a zumba class I return home with a smile and full of energy. By shaking my butt I also liberate my spirit.

When you are in your thirties it is a fact that besides changing your eating routines you have to exercise too, if you want to get back in shape. As for me, I am not in the same shape that I used to be before the pregnancy, and that is not even my goal. My goal is to feel comfortable and healthy in my body. But of course I cannot lie about it: it feels great to wear those old jeans again. And let’s also consider the fact that it is more ecological to wear your old clothes than to buy new ones just because you cannot fit in them (and if you haven’t done anything about it!)

Below you can find my training schedule from last week. But notice this: I don’t force myself to do certain hours of exercises per week; I do what I feel like doing and I change my weekly schedule a lot. And when I don’t have a chance to go the live classes I do yoga or gymnastic exercises from YouTube or just lie down on the sofa and read a book.

Monday:

Ballet barre (1 hour)

Tuesday:

Gym + swimming (1,5 h)

Wednesday:

Zumba (1h)

Thursday:

Morning yoga at home (45 min)

Friday:

Hatha yoga (1h)

Saturday:

Vinyasa flow yoga (1,5 h)

Sunday:

Rest

 

Wellness

Pregnancy and excercise

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This time I wanted to write about doing sports during pregnancy. For more than two years I have exercised regularly three to four times a week, and pregnancy hasn’t changed that. In the first trimester I continued running (at a slow pace, of course) and did some yoga and ballet videos on YouTube. Then in the second trimester I traded running for walking on a treadmill, a butt workout with a cross-trainer and some muscle excercises for my legs and arms. Luckily our gym also has a swimming pool, where I usually go for a swim and relax after my workout.

Now that I am six months along I have continued my gym excercise routine, and also started going to a hatha yoga class, which was recommended by a friend. Normally, as I mentioned, I have done yoga workouts at home with help of online videos. Yoga especially has helped a lot with my back problems, which started in the end of the second trimester.

Of course I don’t know how much longer I can continue to do sport as much I do now. Carrying my workout bag, walking to the gym and putting my trainers on are starting to be a problem. Luckily I have my man to help me. And when moving gets too difficult, I can always go back to doing yoga videos on YouTube.

Anyway, what I do know is that sports and especially hatha yoga have helped me with my pregnancy-related back problems. After working out I also feel more energetic and healthier. I discovered this once again when I had stayed home a couple of days without any excercise. (It was a weekend and in Paris it was like zero degree, too cold to get out.) After the weekend I felt more tired, ate much less healthily, and felt irritated. On Monday, when I finally got around to going to the gym, I felt so much better after the workout than before. Yes, of course I did, but when you really feel the difference in your body and mind, you still are amazed: just excercise regularly and the effect is enormous!

During the last couple of years I have mysteriously started to repeat this simple mantra (like every healthy guru does): eat healthily (and organic), sleep well, excercise regularly and organize your week better so you don’t have to hurry all the time. All these things together have helped me find a balanced routine in my everyday life. And as a bonus all this has an effect on my body and mind. Not to mention the impact on my unborn baby: when the mother feels good and balanced, the baby has a safe place to grow.