Mindfulvedana

Mindfulness is our ability to remain present in the moment we are in and be aware of what is happening around us (external environment and stimuli) and what is happening within us (emotional state, feelings, body sensations and physical cues). Practicing mindfulness help improve our awareness increasing our attention to external stimuli that may be affecting our eating habits and to our internal emotional state that may be the root cause of our eating habits!  There is significant research proving that mindfulness techniques improve unhealthy eating habits and develop a more positive and healthy relationship with food. Weight gain, in certain cases is a result of emotional eating and without awareness of the root cause of this habit, it will be more challenging to break or change it! Studies have also reported that mindfulness practice can reduce physiological distress such as depression, anxiety, stress, and eating behaviors including binge and emotional eating.  In addition to weight

  IS MINDFULNESS ESSENTIAL FOR WELLBEING?     What is mindfulness and how is it related to wellness? Well, in simple terms mindfulness is awareness! It is our ability to be fully present in the moment we are in, aware of what is happening around us and what is happening within us, while accepting our experience as is without judgment! Professor Jon Kabat Zin (founding Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School) and developer of MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) program) defines it as “… paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” It is a purposeful attention that gives us the opportunity to pause, reflect and then decide how to act, creating a space within us to respond rather than react.    Mindfulness has been shown to have significant psychological and physiological benefits when properly taught and practiced such as: •         Red

Nowadays, due to the fast paced and information overload environment we live in, most of us operate under what we call the “autopilot mode”. It is a state in which we have a vague awareness of what is happening in the present moment, we are hardly aware of what is occurring around us (sounds, sights, smells, etc.) and what is occurring within us (physical, mental and emotional sensations). We do things without much thought, we behave in a mechanical way and we do so without awareness! This is what we call the "autopilot mode" and "Mindfulness" is the exact opposite of that! Mindfulness is our ability to maintain moment by moment awareness of what is happening around us, and what is happening within us (our body sensations, feelings and thoughts)! It is simply being fully present in the current moment which allows us to have control over our emotions and in essence is the core of Emotional Intelligence. It helps us to pause, reflect then decide how to act, cultivatin

       Having its roots set in Ashtanga yoga, Power yoga is an intense and vigorous type of yoga that was created in the west in the 1990’s. Unlike Ashtanga however, it does not follow a set series of poses, and therefore Power yoga classes vary. This allows some to find it more fun as opposed to the classical kind and is believed to have been created to make yoga more accessible to the people in the west. It is evident that interest in yoga has flourished during the past decade and yoga has now become an addictive lifestyle that many are following. Some people consider yoga a trendy movement and try it out because others are! However, I believe this addiction is directly related to the health benefits that yoga provides. Power yoga, as with other types of yoga, provides both physical and mental health benefits. Some are evident such as flexibility and strength, while others are subtler and require a commitment to regular and longer periods of practice.          If you ask people why t