Archive for yoga

3 ways to stay fit in Dominican republic

August 22, 2016 / / 2 comments

I found online a very informative article about the best beaches in the Dominican republic which gave me an idea to write the following post. If you are visiting the second largest Caribbean country, then the below tips might be helpful for you.

We all know how it goes on holidays, especially if we tend to stay at all-inclusive resorts with abundant food 24/7. We spend days tasting many local meals and alcoholic drinks (in Dominican republic we are talking of for example interesting mamajuana – a mixture of red wine, rum, honey and herbs).

But you don’t want to put on weight while on holidays, do you? If not, keep reading.

 

3 ways to stay fit in Dominican republic:

 

1.Water sports

All-inclusive resorts might be awesome, but there more than anywhere else is staying very active the key to not returning home heavier than before. Dominican republic offers a bunch of various activities, mostly water sports. I can only recommend snorkeling, swimming, scuba/snuba diving and surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing or practicing yoga on one of the white sand beaches. Just make your way along the coast and find the right sports for you.

 

2. Coconuts

My favorite drink on the planet is no wonder young coconut water. And in the Dominican republic you are able to get many coconuts, especially on the beach. Coconut water is rich in nutrients and electrolytes, it keeps you hydrated on hot days (more effective than energy drinks), reduces blood pressure, facilitates digestion and it’s very low in calories.

If you do any of the above mentioned sports, then drinking coconut water is a necessity for you to regain the minerals lost when sweating. When I am in the tropics, I cannot go a day without coconut water and trust me, I could even drink up to 5 coconuts per day and not get bored of the refreshing taste.

 

3. Fruit

Being located in the Caribbean, Dominican republic gives you an opportunity to fully explore all the tropical tastes. There’s so many different exotic fruits to munch on all day long. Do not settle for those you can get back home or you’ve tried in the countries you’ve visited before, but definitely give the unknown a try, too.

Go to a local market or to street vendors and ask for guanabana, guava, limoncillo, sea grape, noni, sapote, tamarindo, starfruit, bread of fruit, pineapple, avocado, mango, papaya (lechosa), cacao, passion fruit, acerolas, chayote or cashews. I am sure you will find a new favorite taste. Personally, I am a huge fan of papaya, pineapple, guanabana and mango but occassionally enjoy more of a sour taste, too.

Fruit might be high in natural sugar, but it’s the one your body can easily burn. So just swap heavy cooked meals for tasty fruit and you will be surprised at how much your weight might change. I am mainly eating just fruits and coconuts in tropical destinations to stay hydrated and have loads of energy and to be honest I’ve never felt better than on mostly raw vegan diet.

 

exotic fruit

 

Add a lot of walking around the hotel and beach, hiking in the mountains/jungle, and a sport massage to tone up your muscles and you might even go back home in a better shape than when you left.

 

If you are visiting the Dominican republic, get some time if you can to hop on the surrounding islands for more adventure in the Caribbean. Highly recommended!

 

Category: food and drinks, inspiration, sports, tips, yoga / Tags: ,

Practicing Yoga in the High Tatras

August 28, 2014 / / No comments

When I stayed at the highest situated High Tatras hotel Sliezsky dom, we hiked as much as we could with my dad.

The nature of the High Tatras, the highest mountain range in my home country Slovakia reaching 2,665 m a.s.l., offers beautiful views of peaks, lakes, rivers, flowers, animals, villages at the edge of the mountains …

When trekking around, to keep calm and warm in that cold and windy weather, I stopped and practiced yoga in the High Tatras for a few minutes. How many times can you practice yoga in a national park and in such a high altitude?

 

As you can see, you can practice yoga anywhere, no excuses, even yoga in the High Tatras when hiking in the 2,000 m a.s.l. can be an adventure and a way of staying fit when traveling. A few minutes of stretching are better than nothing, especially in the nature breathing fresh air and just add those views! 🙂

 

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Yoga at Samasati Nature Retreat Puerto Viejo

August 8, 2014 / / No comments
I stayed a week at the Samasati Nature Retreat close to Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica. Disconnected from the online world, connected to the nature, animals, myself and yoga. I took a few yoga classes with Max and then also one with Stephanie. Their style is very different but I always love to practice under various yoga teachers as it stretches more parts of my body and it also shows me what I want to do and do not want to do one day when I become a yoga teacher myself.
Max has been practicing the attitude for some 35 years, and hatha yoga as exercise for 18 years. He’s been in Costa Rica for 20 years already.
Yoga at Samasati Nature Retreat Costa Rica (1) Yoga at Samasati Nature Retreat Costa Rica (2)

What I learned at yoga at Samasati Nature Retreat with Max:

Yoga 1
 
No goal, movement itself is the goal. Being in the present moment is the goal.
Savasana is art of conscious meditation.
Yoga teaches us patience.
Use the breath to go deeper into the pose, not muscles. Using muscles can cause injuries, using breath is softer. Do the positions according to your own breath.
Max kept telling us not to follow him, but our own inhale and exhale instead.
Yoga for me is not only a workout, it’s more about lifestyle and incorporating it into life. It’s the attitude towards life.” Max said. ”Yoga is better with a mind of a beginner. Then we are open to learn new things.
Our body changes and it’s different every day.
Seated forward bent – East towards the Sun (in Sanskrit it’s what it means) vs. reversed plank pose should be done towards the West.
Yoga 2
 
Steady and easiness (suka means good space) are the 2 main principles of yoga. It’s balance between strength and struggle.
 
When doing the headstand – torso should be on top of the shoulders so then we don’t need to kick but just to put the legs up.
Women have to practice more arm strength, men more hip opening.
 
After Savasana at the end of the class ”May all people be happy. May all people be free. May all people be in peace.”

Face the fear – it’s painful but it pays off. It’s worth it.

We have emotions, it’s natural to have them but there’s a way to deal with them. If you get angry, it’s ok, but you can choose to forgive.
Forgiveness is to forgive yourself, not the others.
Being responsible for everything sets up free. It’s the most we can achieve in life – to be free. If we blame other people or things for what happens to us or what we do, we give away our freedom to them.
 
Yoga 3
 
I had at least 15 new mosquito bites from today which was not fun when I had to practice yoga and keep calm.
Om is a special vibration. Let it penetrate into us.
Ujjayi breath = victorious breath: ud = power, ji = victory
Meditation = when we touch the 2 fingers together it means knowledge and wisdom. The thumbs represent universal power while the index fingers mean individual power.
 
 
Yoga 4
 
Patanjali speaking about yoga – the 1st three sutras are the most important.
Yoga = to quiet the mind. It’s experience in mind to realize the true self.
Yoga 5
 
We did a meditation when we closed up all the holes on our faces. Nose counts as 1 and it was the only one we did not close completely but left some space to breathe through as we were not experienced enough yet to not to breathe like life long yogis.
Yoga is meditation, pranayama and asanas together. Hatha yoga is focused on positions.
Meditation – we have to be in it. There’s different ways of meditations. We meditate to get rid of negative thoughts, harmful thoughts and shut the feelings for a certain time in general. It calms us down.
Yoga at Samasati Nature Retreat Costa Rica (3)

What I learned at yoga at Samasati Nature Retreat with Stephanie:

We started in a seated cross-legged position with a sort of meditation when Stephanie guided us trying to realize parts of our body.
Meditation in the middle of the class before going down for shoulder stand and twists and final savasana.
OM MANE PADNE OM mantra at the end of the class – to reach intellectual and emotional balance.
Steph really appreciated us waking up so early in the morning (it was a morning yoga class) and she was also thankful for our beautiful practice. Steph encouraged us to use yoga practice every day of our life which could help us.
Category: inspiration, yoga / Tags: ,

How to be fit in Bocas del Toro – Bocas Yoga tips

August 6, 2014 / / One comment
My love for yoga started back in 2012 when I took 2 sexy yoga classes at Bocas Yoga with Laura Kay. For some reason, like many of us think, I also thought yoga is boring and not a proper workout.
Boy, was I wrong!
At Bocas Yoga Laura kicked my ass at every single class and I fell in love with yoga so much, I revisited Bocas Yoga in 2014 twice. I even stayed at Laura’s room for rent at the back of the yoga studio so I could practice yoga sometimes even twice a day.
I learned tons of things from Bocas Yoga classes:

  • spread the toes – it makes our muscles to work harder and we are more stable, also it prevents the external rotation of the knee so if you have any knee injuries, open your toes to activate your leg muscles
  • my first wheel since I was a kid
  • my first wheel with one arm and also with one leg only
  • my first head stand without a wall (even though Laura does not like to practice them in here as she hurt her neck once I was practicing them on my own as I was on a mission of learning how to do them)

 

 at Bocas Yoga Bocas del Toro (2) Crazy sexy fun traveler with Bocas Yoga Laura Kay

Yoga lesson 1: You deserve gratitude and abundance.

 

Yoga lesson 2: Being a child feels awesome. Be playful.

 

Yoga lesson 3: You have light in you. Bring it with you all the time, even when you travel. Shine it out. Show light you have inside the whole day wherever you go.

 

Yoga lesson 4: It’s good to live in abundance and be able to select. Yoga teaches us also how to be selective, to know our value. You do have a right to say no. It’s good to say no sometimes if we recognize we are worth more than what we are getting offered.

 

Yoga lesson 5: Passion is the key. Do everything with passion. Practice each yoga pose with passion.

 

Yoga lesson 6: Yoga is a creative process. Be creative. We create yoga poses, it’s art, too.

 

Yoga lesson 7: Through yoga you overcome your fear. Some poses seem fearful but you become fearless slowly. The same applies to your life. Do what you are afraid of and after a certain time you will learn how to deal with fear.

 

Yoga lesson 8: We are perfect inside where it matters. Choose to witness our inner beauty.

 

Yoga lesson 9: Cultivate gratitude. Look for the things you take for granted and be grateful for them. There’s so much to be grateful for. You have many things that others do not.

 

Yoga lesson 10: I am glad to see my friends at this yoga class. Celebrate the friendships and relationships you have.

 

Yoga lesson 11: Remember, you always have a choice. Choose your perception, choose to see the positive.

 

Yoga lesson 12: Karma does pay back. It’s worth it. Give more and you will get more.

 

at Bocas Yoga Bocas del Toro (1)

Category: inspiration, sports, tips, yoga / Tags: ,
 
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