The energy and fun of practicing with a community of people, learning, sweating and breathing together is amazing but we also love working one-on-one! Whether you are Yoga newbie or have been practicing for some time private yoga sessions has amazing benefits. In fact Yoga was traditionally designed to be taught in this way. If you are new to Yoga and feel intimidated by the idea of going into a room full of people, you can learn the basic poses safely and at your own pace. If you are more experienced and want to deepen your existing practice or nail some more advanced postures you can get specific guidance on how to do this. 

Have you every been a stressed out student?  Maybe you are doing your finals right now and feel like your brain is about to explode with all the information you need to remember. 

We study our whole lives and in the modern world there is a lot of credit and importance on studying. We go to school as little children, then high school, maybe college, universtity. Then we have to do extra trainings at work, studying the Ikea instructions on how to put your furniture together, learn to drive, learn another language or whatever. As we keep learning we keep growing and this keeps our minds active and alert! 

We can also become masters on certain topics and subjects. But what about mastering ourselves? 

In Yoga we have Niyamas, which are kind of ethical codes towards ourselves. Svadhaya is one of these Niyamas and means Self Study. We could call this principle 'the journey within' or exploring 'inner space' instead of outer space! How can we apply this to our own physical Yoga practice?

When we practice asanas (the Yoga poses) we are becoming more mindful and aware of ourselves. Instead of checking a heart rate monitor to see how many calories we are burning, we can feel our heart rate as we bring our hands to the centre of our chest in Anjali Mudra (prayer position). Notice how the quality of breath changes as we move through a backbend or bound positions. Notice your thoughts and the feeling of the letting the body relax in Savasana. By simply watching ourselves on the Yoga mat we are studying ourselves, our bodies and our minds. We can look within and realise a great many things that about ourselves. Maybe this will lead to some new ways of feeling and seeing. 

 We may live in London, New York, Paris or Rome, but we all firstly live in our bodies. There is so much to be learnt and so many wonderful things we can learn about ourselves from on the wonderful internal journey of a Yoga practice!

Hey there lovely people. This is a funny topic. Hana and I had a little discussion with each other about this last night. So basically one of is a night owl and the other an early bird. After much heated discussion we conclude that we don't think its better to practice in the morning than any other time. It just totally depends on you and your life, your personality, preferences and circumstances at this moment. Daily life schedules change at times for all of us. Being flexible enough to go with flow regarding times and lengths of our practice is important. Aiming to stick with rigid schedules can sometimes exhaust us or leave us feeling like a failure if we don't stick to it. There are many benefits of practicing in both the morning and evening. So we thought we would bring you some ideas from both sides. 

 You may have heard that its traditional to practice Yoga in the morning, and it is. There are many reasons for this. Its is very hot in India so the early morning may well be the only time of day that a physical practice bearable. But we aren't living the ashram life, we are living the crazy city life. Honoring traditions are great but honoring yourself and your circumstances is just as important. Here are some pros to morning Yoga Practice.

• You have already done it! You won't be thinking about when in the day you can squeeze your practice in because you've already done it by the time most people are brushing their teeth! 
• Consistency. You most likely won't have other commitments at stupid o'clock so won't have to ​'cancel' your class or practice. (Eg: friends party, after work drinks, laundry time or date night) And this can help you be more consistent. Practicing at the same time each day can help you be more aware of how your and your body feels each day.
• Stress Prevention. A morning practice can be stress prevention for the rest of the day. This gives you time to connect with yourself before all the external distractions of the day take over.
• Quite Time. The world, your house or studio you go to will be much quieter than later on in the day. Hear the birds and not the noise pollution that will be starting soon.
• Help you sleep more. Knowing you are going to wake up early might help you go to bed at reasonable hour. 

And here my loves are some reasons that a morning practice may not be for you....at the moment!

• Your morning is already crazy busy, maybe you have kids, a pet, your period, a hangover! All good reasons why your practice can wait until later on. 
• Your body is stiffer in the morning. You have been laying down all night so moving in the morning might feel horrible. 
• Misery!  If you are going to feel ratty and tired the rest of day because you forced yourself to practice in the morning then this is not for you! When it doesn't fit with your lifestyle, energy and personality then you will probably not enjoy it. If you don't enjoy your practice you are less likely to do it. 
• You like taking a class with friends, colleagues or seeing your Yoga buddies after work. Going to Yoga after work and at other times can be a lot of fun, being a part of a community of people coming together to sweat, breath and move is amazing! After work classes are probably the most poplar times at studios and there is always a great energy in the room. We love it! 
• An evening practice is stress relief. Evening practices are a perfect was to wind down and destress, making for a much better nights sleep.

Have you ever taken a Yoga class and felt so happy that you achieved a new pose? Or felt amazing that you were stronger or more flexible? But what happens when the thing you did last week doesn't happen today? Struggling to achieve the amazing Yoga pose we did last week or maintain a certain "level" of practice could leave us feeling frustrated, unsatisfied and defeated :(

Its easy to feel wonderful when things are going well. The problem can be when we get too attached to that. Maybe we go back to a class to get that same good feeling and then its not the same. We might not feel great, wobble all over the place, feel irritated by others around us or ourselves and our body.
We can so easily come out of being present and go to a place of judging ourselves.  After all we come from a culture of being judged very often, grades at school, college, university, assessed in our workplace and finances and probably worst of all by ourselves. But fret not friends....the answer lies in 'Santosha'

Santosha is one of the Niyamas (a kind of ethical code towards yourself in Yoga). It means Contentment.  Santosha helps us to be at peace with what is here now. Being present in our Yoga practice means accepting the way our body is today rather than wishing it was how it was 2 weeks ago, 5 years ago or 6 months into the future. Mentally cursing out your tight hamstrings is not the way to path to happiness. Practicing contentment means dropping the judgements, pressure and negative mind chatter and replacing it with love, self acceptance and honour for our bodies.

Remember if you are city dwellers like us life is always go, go, go. Practicing contentment on the Yoga mat can give us that unconditonal safe space to check in and come home to ourselves. Remember, contentment in Yoga isn't something that needs to be achieved it is something we can allow. Santosha-Contentment can keep our Yoga journey full of happiness, peace and joy! Om Shanti!

Saucha meaning cleanliness or purity is a Niyama in Yoga. The Niyamas could be described as guidelines, duties or ethical codes towards yourself that help you along the Yogic Path.  In our day to day life off the Yoga Mat we can relate Saucha to our outsides (e.g taking a shower) our insides (what we eat, drink) as well as the way we think, speak and do things. 

If you practice, sweat, breathe, mediate and search for inner peace on your mat....its nice to have it clean.  But you may be wondering how do I clean my Yoga mat? 

Here are a few ways....

• Put in the washing machine. Yes you can do just that. Pop in the washing machine don't use too much detergent, in fact very little (we did this and it ended up a little slimy) Also do not tumble dry. (We have done this too and yes, it did shrink). Also keep in mind that it might take quite a while to dry. Also some people advise against the washing machine method as it may damage the mat so bear that in mind too.
• Use a ready made Yoga mat spray. There are plenty out there on the market to choose from in lovely packing and gorgeous scents. Spray and wipe. 
• Make your own mat cleaner. Our favorite, cheapest and most eco friendly method. Get a spray bottle and simply add water, white vinegar and a few drops of essential oils. Lavender, Tea Tree and Eucalyptus are great as they also have antibacterial properties. Viola! 

How do you clean your mat? Have any amazing homemade recipes for a lush smelling mat spray? Would love to know. Let us know in the comments below. Until next time. Happy cleaning. ​