Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Weight: 55.9 kg
I woke up feeling tired this morning, probably because of the late night yesterday, so it's another 6:30am start for me. I weighed myself and was quite happy to learn that I have lost just over 1kg in 2 days! This might only be water and will slow down as the week progresses, but I am impressed. I really haven't had to limit myself much with food these last two days, especially at lunch. So far, this has been a fairly busy week for me and I didn't really feel hungry in the afternoons. Ayurveda dictates that we should only eat when we feel hungry so my diet this week resembles intermittent fasting, with almost no evening meals at all.
After my usual morning routine I head to the kitchen for my morning water - 1 glass of plain warm water and another glass of warm water with the ginger immunity support elixir. My yoga practice today includes sun salutations and kapalabhati breathing. I add Agni Sara kriya to this. Both, kapalabhati pranayama and Agni Sara kriya are beneficial for digestion. Kapalabhati pranayama is also good for weight loss, is energising and reduces Kapha dosha, which I have in excess right now. Agni Sara is translated as Fire Essence. It is a specific practice that is performed by quickly tightening and relaxing the abdominal muscles whilst retaining the breath on exhalation. It is great for strengthening the core muscles as well as stimulating digestion. There are, however, other more subtle and energetic benefits to both practices, which include reduced anxiety, increase in energy, activating prana (life force) and directing its flow upwards. All yogic practices aim at activating and moving the prana upwards towards the higher chakras in the body. The goal of yoga is to awaken those higher energetic centres so we can achieve liberation and experience oneness with the Absolute Consciousness, a state of pure awareness.
My breakfast today is, again, baked quince. I love this fruit! I have it baked on it's own, sprinkled with a little organic coconut sugar. For sure, the taste is very sour and astringent but these are the tastes that, along with bitter, are good during detox. I am, however, looking forward to baking a quince pie or a crumble after my cleanse. Hopefully they will still be in season by then!
I am spending most of my day doing an online course so I will not be getting out much during the day. However, I make sure that I stand up and walk around the room frequently to keep my blood circulation going. I manage to answer a few emails before the course starts and then get absorbed in the training. We break for lunch at 12:30pm and I prepare a quick meal with pre-soaked and pre-cooked mung beans (yes, it is another mung bean soup day for me!), steamed red rice, steamed greens and chapattis. I feel pretty full after my meal! If you have been following my progress for the last two days, you would have noticed that I eat my main meal at lunch and it is usually a large one! This is, again, a very Ayurvedic approach to meal planning as, according to Ayurveda, our metabolism is strongest between noon and 2pm.
I follow my lunch with a cup of hot digestive tea - I've made a CCF tea (a mixture of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds), and have a snack in a form of a small apple at 4pm.
The training finishes at 4:30pm but I return to my laptop and write a few quick email replies. Finally, I go for a brisk one hour walk at 6pm. I am a little peckish but not hungry when I get back home, so I have half a banana and a turmeric latte with home made almond milk. I prepared the almond milk this morning by soaking and skinning 25 almonds, then blending them with 600ml of filtered water.
I work till 9pm and then it is time for rest. My night time routine is very simple at the moment. I do try to read something small and inspiring before I finally close my eyes at night. Normally, I would have a couple of books by my side and at the moment I am reading a book on Creative Visualisation by Shakti Gawain and a book called Healing Mantras by Thomas Ashley-Farrand. If you know me, you will know that I use mantras every day as meditation and for manifestation. My experience in the last 6 years tells me that they 100% work on so many different levels! Finally, I go to sleep at 10pm and I am excited for tomorrow as I am teaching a morning yoga class with some great new students!