Christmas madness has arrived, so I will keep this short, sweet and to the point.

I know your MIND may be filled up already with the To Do list, presents, functions, end of year concerts, and all the running around doing everything that most people get caught up with at Christmas.

But however pressed for time you are, and whatever it is that you are doing, at some stage you will be forced to:

 ‘CENTER YOUR BALANCE’ 


In today’s world it is extremely easy to fall out of balance – daily, weekly or monthly. Your threshold will be different to your partner’s or friends’, but you will know when you have lost your center – your core balance.

Understanding your own body’s needs, and learning how to fine tune your body is critical, but it does take time. I have spent my entire life learning how to find my own core center balance, fine tuning, and learning how to restore and rest my body at the ‘CELL’ level.

Now it is my turn to help YOU!

Learning how to manage your physical body – your amazing ‘temple’ – and to align your mind, body and soul takes time. It requires tools and techniques that fit into your life and that feel aligned. A great start is to work out your ‘output’ versus your ‘input’. On my retreats and workshops you have the opportunity to explore your body and to gain the right balance of tools and knowledge that will allow you to live your life with energy, vitality, renewed happiness and self love. Your immune system will become strong, and your body restored for longevity.

Centering your balance is a way of life, not a destination. The ultimate destination for a life that is centered and aligned everyday with perfection just doesn’t exist. With today’s extreme ways of living, and with the pressures of today’s world and the environment, our balance can often be offset.

I’m sure that all you want now though, is to find out how you can center your balance between now and Christmas – and hopefully maintain the balance over the Christmas period. But let’s face it. Over Christmas you will be challenged with drinking, partying, shopping, overeating, and spending ‘overtime’ with family. The energies around you may not be aligned to your own. This is the time of the year when many people tend to feel on top of one another. School holidays are starting, and extended families and even our partners are around us for longer than usual.

In an ideal life – living the Yoga lifestyle and philosophy – we would work together and breathe together without judgment or conflict. What you can do over the next month is to use the following tips on a daily basis to regain balance and to center yourself.

Looking after yourself is everything, the rest will be amazing!

7 Tips to center your balance this Christmas

1. Nutrition: Eat 80% of your food RAW, VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE and WHEAT FREE
2. Intention: Set up a daily intention by sitting in a 5 minute meditation before getting out of bed. Focus on your breath first. Connect with your breath and then think about your day ahead, setting a clear intention for the day.
3. Exercise: Move and Breathe daily. This helps keep your chi energy flowing. Get along to a Yoga class, or try Tai Chi, swimming, a nature walk, paddle boarding, or a light jog.
4. Meditate: Begin daily meditation with 5 minutes, then increase. Find a quiet spot, maybe around nature, and sit upright first for 5-20 minutes. Then relax into savasana (lying on your back) to fully relax. Visualise yourself relaxing every body part, working your way up the body to the crown of your head. Meditation can be used to balance serotonin and melatonin levels – helpful for overcoming jet lag, insomnia and depression.
5. Affirmations: Learn to use daily positive affirmations. When you begin to be quiet in your mind, you hear the voice that is authentic to your true self.
6. Goals: Write your goals daily. Turn them into a To Do list, so you can calmly have your Christmas To Do list with you wherever you go. Writing things down helps you to center your balance. You download the information from your brain onto the paper. You can do this at night before bed.
7. Time out: Create a sacred space, or somewhere where you can go to center your balance. The best and fastest way to center yourself is always around NATURE. Touch the trees as you walk by, look at the plants, flowers and sky around you, breathe in MOTHER NATURE. Nature wants you to feel balanced, calm, and at peace.

Shopping for gifts

Getting caught up in the busy Christmas rush in shopping centers can create negative energy and stress in your body.

Stay well away from shopping centers if you can! My tips are to order online, shop when it is not peak time, and look at supporting smaller local villages to buy your gifts. Choose gifts like plants, herbs, candles and other holistic gifts this year at Christmas. You will receive earthy and grounded energy purchasing the gifts and your family and friends will receive it from you also. Mother Nature provides us with an abundance of natural gifts to give.

Restore

Give yourself time to sit in silence each day and to connect with nature, so you can restore at a Cell level. Nature is a powerful way to connect and restore. Lying down on the earth and feeling the ground below you, it feels like the ground is holding you in a space of connectedness and security. Lying down on the earth allows you to let go of all the stresses and negative emotion that don’t belong to you.

Breathe

The key at this time of the year is to remember to look after yourself. Look after yourself and your immune system will support you. One of the 3 major organs – the lungs – are critical for supporting your immune system. Getting good quality oxygen to your lungs and upper respiratory system means breathing deeply and knowing when you may be holding your breath. Breathing deeply keeps your energy flowing.

Lifestyle

Aim to live a good lifestyle. Follow a healthy diet; try not to skip your breakfast or lunch. Don’t stay up too late and try not to be over-stressed mentally. Exercise regularly but don’t become over-tired physically. Use meditation and relaxation daily… All these behaviours contribute to the strength of your immune system and to living an amazing centered life.

Raw Vegan Recipe – By Nicky Arthur

Raw Healthy Christmas Pudding – Gluten free

I couldn’t leave you this year without a Yummy Raw Christmas Recipe.

Of course it is guilt free! Wheat, dairy, gluten and refined sugar free. No nasty additives or oils either! Grab the ingredients today and you can be treating your friends and family to the healthiest Xmas Pudding around!  I served this recipe last Christmas and will be making it again this year for Christmas Day for my loved ones (mostly non-Raw Foodies). You can serve this to your Mum, Dad, Nana and friends and they will love it.

Ingredients for the Xmas pudding


1 & 1/2C almond flour
1/2C flax meal
1/2C flaked almonds
1/2C chopped walnuts
1C chopped sultanas- I used Cranberries.
6 chopped medjool dates
2 chopped figs
2T sour cherries chopped
2T white mulberries chopped
1t cinnamon
1t nutmeg
1T mixed spice
1/2t ginger
few drops almond extract
1t vanilla extract
Rind and juice of 1 lemon
Rind and juice of 1 orange
2cm piece ginger grated- 
pinch cardamom

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. In a high powered blender combine:

1/2C almond nut butter or you can just use LSA
1/2C coconut oil / butter – I used both 
1 Table spoon Agave – I used honey as I ran out of Agave 
1 Tablespoon Molasses – If you don’t have molasses you could substitute it for honey
6 medjool dates (soaked to soften and pitted)
Pinch Himalayan crystal salt

Blend all ingredients together. Add to ingredients in bowl and combine. Shape by hand or using a small bowl and turn upside down onto baking paper or paraflexx lined dehydrator sheet & dehydrate at 105°F for approx 5-6 hours.* 
*If you don’t have a dehydrator you can try this in the oven at the lowest setting (on or below 50°C) with the door slightly ajar. Check every hour. It is done when a skewer placed in the middle of the pudding comes out fairly clean. (You want the pudding to stay slightly moist). I made this the day of a party and baked it on low. It still came out moist.

Ingredients for the custard cream

1/2C coconut meat, 1/2C coconut water, 1 vanilla bean pod – scraped, pinch Himalayan crystal salt, pinch cloves, 1/2t star anise, pinch turmeric. Blend all in a high speed blender. Serve over Xmas Pudding.

For those who want to still use custard or cream on Xmas Day, you could lightly drizzle over and some with the Raw Custard cream.

This is a very quick easy enjoyable recipe, you just need to make sure you have the ingredients.

Blessings at Christmas

Main image courtesy of Shutterstock.com