A Yogi’s Breakfast: Start Your Day with Vitality
Breakfast has been known to be one of the most important meals of the day. It is also a time of setting a healthy intention for the day ahead. If you start the day with a nutritious breakfast, you give yourself a good chance to picking healthier food choices for the rest of the day.
During the nights sleep the body goes through a healing and rejuvenating process. Any wear and tear that occurred during the day now has a chance to repair itself in the night. On rising the body begins the eliminatory process of the digestive system and hydration is the first step in a yogi’s breakfast.
Water
A warm lemon drink first thing in the morning to kick start the digestion and flush out the toxins from the night. Hydrating first thing in the morning, gives you an energising start to the day.
Fresh Juice
A fresh fruit and vegetable juice will give you a nutritional boost plus the water content allows easier absorption. Try apple, orange, celery and cucumber or carrot, apple, beet root, celery and a piece of ginger. Any of your favourite combinations work, just be conscious not to add too much fruit. High water content vegetables like celery and cucumber are a great way to water the sugar content down but still giving you taste and nutrition.
Green Smoothie
A high protein smoothie, preferably with added greens for a chlorophyll boost plus a piece of wholegrain toast and nut butter is a satisfying start to the day. Try ripe banana, a handful of berries, kale leaves, hemp or sprouted rice protein powder and maca powder. Just add water and blend until silky smooth.
Tea
Green tea and chai are nice accompanying hot drinks on a cool day. Enjoy the occasional organic coffee with friends but don’t overdo this little luxury- your adrenals will thank you for it!
Vegetarian breakfast
The traditional yogi diet is vegetarian due to the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence). Although not everyone has chosen this path, a good way to include some of these principles is by keeping breakfast a vegetarian option. It’s easy, healthy, economical and environmentally friendly.
Muesli Mix
Try mixing different proportions of rolled oats or quinoa, amaranth, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, sultanas, goji berries and cinnamon. Chop a banana and top with raw honey and your choice of milk and you have an energy filled start to the day.
Yoghurt and Berries
Biodynamic and organic yoghurt is a lighter breakfast option. Sprinkle with a high protein mix such as quinoa, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds and goji berries. Top with mixed berries or your choice of fruit.
Toast with Avocado
Not all bread is created equal but two slices of essene (sprouted grain bread) or sourdough rye is a wholesome savoury option. Spread half an avocado and add thin slices of tomato, fresh basil and some cracked pepper.
Eggs (for our non-vegan friends)
Poach, boil or fry or scramble with a little coconut oil two eggs for a high protein fix. Eat with baby spinach, tomato and mushrooms on the side. This is ideal for the weekend and those days where you need more on your plate. Coconut oil is ideal because its structure stays stable at high temperatures.
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5 Simple Morning Rituals to Uplift Your Mind, Body and Spirit
“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
The subtle beauty that occurs each morning, as the earth transitions from darkness to light, is so often filled with dread or, at the very least, busyness and rushing that we miss it altogether. According to the science of Ayurveda, by waking up at one and a half hours, or at least twenty minutes, before the sun rises, you experience “special energy in the air.” This special energy makes it easier to get out of bed, as opposed to waiting until after the sun rises, which can make you feel lethargic or, as many of us have experienced, irritable and anxious. This pre-sunrise time, which is referred to as Brahma-muhurata (“the time of Brahma”), is said to be when “hope, inspiration, and peace” are manifested in the universe.
With the universe calm and your mind fresh, you can leverage this additional time for yourself, allowing it to be hugely beneficial not just for your physical body, but for your emotional and spiritual well-being too.
Because we’re so accustomed to our daily schedules, following the same routine every day as we prepare for work or help to get kids ready for school, carving out extra time each morning simply to care for yourself can feel groundbreaking. For most people, these additional twenty minutes can feel almost like two hours, especially when they spent wisely. And, even when you’re “doing things” that very well could be considered just same-old-same-old parts of the day, by approaching them to be mindful, that they are something more, something special, you begin to unveil a whole new world, one where everything starts to be steeped in magic.
