Natasha Were [email protected]
New Year’s resolutions invariably focus on adopting new habits and improving one’s lifestyle. The fact that they often demand a commitment for life is what makes them hard for many people to stick to. But what if you set yourself a much shorter term view for your resolutions – like 30 days?
Bliss Living and Yoga, located at Marquee Plaza on Lawrence Boulevard, will be running their hugely popular 30-Day Yoga Challenge once again this year, beginning Monday, 9 January.
The challenge
While those who participate need only commit for 30 days, it is hoped that during this time the practice and the associated healthier habits will become ingrained and encourage people to pursue this improved lifestyle throughout 2012, explains Janelle Kroon, yoga instructor and owner of Bliss. As a further incentive, Bliss will be offering 50 per cent off the next month’s memebership to those who complete the challenge.
If you think yoga is lots of lying down, breathing deeply and relaxing, think again. “It’s called a challenge for a reason,” says Janelle. “Some days are amazing, but others will be challenging.”
The rules, however, are simple: Show up to a yoga class once a day for 30 consecutive days – and see what happens!
The classes
Lack of time is perhaps the most common excuse put forward for not working out regularly. There is really no excuse at Bliss, however, given that the 75 minute classes are taught throughout the day, seven days a week, starting as early as 6am and as late as 8pm, with up to eight classes per day. So whatever your schedule, you should be able to make it to at least one class per day.
In the event you miss a day, you can double up another day.
A variety of classes are taught – hot yoga, power yoga and flow being the main ones. Each has its own focus and benefits and all are guaranteed to make you sweat.
The programme is open to all, both beginners and experienced yogis, and classes are taught and structured in such a way that students of all levels will be able to follow them and will also be challenged. Athletes and those suffering from sports injuries will benefit particularly. “Yoga is low risk to injury and helps tremendously to heal old injuries,” Janelle explains.
The benefits
“An old and wise teacher said ‘do yoga and it will change your life’,” says Janelle. Yoga is a discipline that benefits body, mind and spirit. Not only will the physical workout stretch, strengthen and tone muscles and improve balance, but the sweat it induces will cleanse and alkalise the body, she explains.
Yoga benefits overall health by helping to flush out toxins, and can improve blood pressure, circulation, metabolism, and more. It also has emotional effects, reducing stress, anxiety and depression, improving self-control, concentration, memory and sleep.
Healthier living
“Statistics show when there is interest and study involved in your goal or challenge it settles deeper into the psyche as a habit and forms the neuro-pathways necessary to succeed with new habits,” says Janelle. Therefore, to encourage a greater interest in all round healthier living, Bliss will hold optional extras throughout the 30-Day Challenge. One will be a vegan and kombucha evening, aimed at demonstrating how easy it is to prepare vegan dishes and introducing kombucha, a fermented probiotic tea that alkalises the body and has all manner of health benefits.
There will also be a nutritional workshop and a cleanse preparation workshop followed by a week long dietary cleanse.
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