I follow the Iyengar system of yoga, although I’ve practiced a few of the others at different times in my life, and because the word “yoga” actually means “union”, I believe it’s really important to incorporate aspects of all the different systems into your practice, instead of being focused purely on one. The postures that I’m mentioning here today, are based on Iyengar, but any well-trained yoga teacher should be able to help you with any of them. On that note, I really would like to encourage any of you who are interested in practicing yoga, to take classes. It’s so important that you do the poses correctly so that you get the full benefits and don’t harm your body.
Ok, so what I’ve read is that the most important aspects about conception are that you are relaxed, healthy and that your hormones are balanced. read more…
THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS: Potty Teaching
I’ve called today’s post Potty Teaching because I don’t really like the word “training”. I think it has certain negative connatations, just like when people say “sleep training” and those associations don’t really fit in with my beliefs. I don’t think that teaching a child to use the potty or toilet should be a strict or regimented thing. I definitely don’t believe in setting time limits on them, punishing them or reprimanding them when they make a mistake. In fact, I like the idea of it being a fun, relaxed part of their life. read more…
I’m terribly sorry about not blogging for the last few days. Between a constant stream of house guests, and our internet being down, I’ve fallen rather behind! Oh, and I hope that all my South African readers had a wonderful long weekend?!
Ok, so I’m going to mix things up a little today, and share with you the recipe that I intended to post yesterday. My friend and I made these delicious Rice Paper Rolls last week, and they were so easy, so tasty and are so healthy, I just have to encourage you all to give them a try! Here goes.
LOVING IT: Continuum Concept
I promised that I would describe this book in more detail, and so here we go. It’s had the biggest impact on myself as a parent and the decisions that I make when caring for my little Lily. It’s more the general idea that I took from the book that has stayed with me, it’s in no way a self-help book or a step-by-step guide as to how to be a parent.
In a nutshell, the book was written by a woman called Jean Liedhoff, who went to stay with the Yehuana tribes in the South American jungles. She observed how they raise their babies and compared their ways to those of the Western world, offering theories on why their children seemed so much happier, more fulfilled and more independent than the average Western child. read more…
TASTY TUESDAY: Mexican Eggs
How’s this for a very yummy family meal? Eggs baked in salsa, served in tacos. Delicious!
NATURAL PRODUCTS: Eco Punk
Lily has outgrown pretty much every piece of clothing, and so I’ve been having lots of fun finding new bits and pieces for her to wear this winter. I’m not big into spending a lot on children’s clothes (up until this point, actually, Lily has been very blessed with 90% of her wardrobe being hand-me-downs) and I’m big into finding things which have been made in South Africa. Anyway, I was searching online for natural kiddies clothes when I came across Eco Punk. I’m so pleased that I did.
NATURAL LIVING: Outdoors Time
I know I’d said that I’d start my yoga asanas series this week, but I”m afraid I just haven’t had a chance to put it together. So sorry! I have my sister and my nieces staying with us, so we’ve been super busy. We’ve done lots of fun things, and that’s what gave me the idea for today’s post.
To me, one of the most important things in raising kids is outdoor time. The more time they spend in nature, surrounded by fresh air, trees, plants, blue skies, ocean, mountains,rivers, and all of nature’s little creatures, the more (I believe) they will grow into happy, fulfilled little people. Nature teaches them lessons, like the cycle of things, animals are born and then they die, plants grow and then they die, and that things change often, sometimes erratically, like the weather.
THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS: All Grown Up
Graeme and I always intended to send Lily to a little pre-school sometime later in the year. She’s a sociable little kid, but I worried that sending her to school too early would somehow make me a bad mom in the eyes of others, and would somehow harm her emotionally. The truth is that I work from home every morning and so she was spending this time only with Anna anyway. When the head of the school that we’d booked her into called me two weeks ago, to ask if Lily would be interested in starting this term, my tummy did a jump. It meant that she’d be starting in four days from the phonecall. “I’m just not ready”, I said.
LOVING IT: The Happy Yoga Mom
I’ve recently found a new fab mommy blog. It’s called the The Happy Yoga Mom, and is filled with lots of interesting posts about healthy food, raising children, yoga, and other bits and pieces about the author, Elisabeth’s, life. She’s also a photographer and artisits, so the blog has tons of pretty pictures to look at too.
TASTY TUESDAY: Simple Stirfry
I’m at the end of my eight weeks of eating no wheat, dairy, sugar, etc and must say that I’m feeling so much better for it. I’ve totally loved trying out lots of new recipes and finding new food products. Something basic, like stir fry, which usually includes soya sauce, and often egg noodles, was a no-no for me because of the wheat that’s found in both. What I discovered, though, is that there are replacements for most things, like Organic Tamari Sauce instead of Soya Sauce, and rice noodles instead of egg noodles. Lots of stir fries also include sauces like Sweet Chilli or Sweet & Sour that are loaded with sugar. I’ve found that raw honey does the trick instead! So, below is a recipe for a wheat and sugar-free stir fry.
