GIVEAWAY: Mala Collective Necklace

Can you believe that we are into summer already? On Sunday, the summer solstice was also the first UN International Yoga Day as well as fathers' day. Whether you spent the day meditation and practicing yoga at group events, with your family or just having a lazy Sunday, I hope you had a lovely day.

One brand associated with meditation and yoga -they have even collaborated with Lululemon -is Mala Collective. I have mentioned them in the past after meeting the founders at the Om Yoga Show last year. Mala Collective is a US based brand that works closely with small groups in Bali to make beautiful, hand-knotted Mala necklaces and bracelets. Mala beads are meditation jewellery made from rudruksha beads and precious stones. Many believe them to have healing powers that can realign the yogic chakras. However, if gem stone healing is a little New Age for you, I still think that these pieces are a gorgeous way to remind you of an intention or attitude. Counting the beads is also a useful mediation aid.

Organic Denim Shirt: H&M Conscious Collection; Recycled Tee: Teeki UK

Mala Collective were kind enough to send me two necklaces -one for me and one for YOU! Up for grabs is the Prana Mala necklace. Prana in yogic terms, is the energy that we must live to manifest dreams, and in Sanskrit translates as "vital life". This necklace, made from Green Adventurine, is said to help unlock this energy within you and clear the heart chakra. Wear this if  you wish to be reminded to keep your heart open. The Prana Mala is worth $77 or £49.

For myself, I chose the Manifest Mala, made with Green Jasper and Unakite. Between my university work, blog and projects beyond, I have lots of plans and intentions that I would like to manifest themselves, so I am hoping that this will remind me to keep striving forward!

On an additional note, I have just started a Facebook page for Green+Aquamarine and I would love it if you could give it a like! I have added the link on the Rafflecopter widget below to help you find it and for an easy entry. This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, but please be aware that if your country charges custom fees I cannot cover this. The giveaway runs for a week until 12:00AM 1st July. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

21 Day Yoga Slim and Mindful March Challenges

If there's one thing I can't resist, it is a fitness or food-based challenge. I'm not sure why really, I guess the shake up routine, and the challenge of changing what I do appeals to me. I'm currently trying to avoid chocolate since I've been relying on it so much lately! However, I prefer community challenges over self-imposed rules. The tutorials and sense of support is so much better, especially when a challenge involves taking up something rather than giving up. This month it seems, I'll be taking up two challenges, which I thought to share with you today.

The first is the 21 day yoga body slim down challenge. Run by Julie Montagu of the Flexie Foodie for Grokker, this challenge mixes a vinyasa yoga timetable with lots of healthy recipes to compliment your practice. I am part way through my first week, and just about catch up on yesterday's yoga session. Julie is a Baptise power vinyasa yoga instructor and has a certificate in plant-based nutrition, so she knows what she is talking about when bringing together these two sides of healthy living. The plan gives a timetable of four classes a week out of a total of eight videos. There is also a wide variety of recipes, covering breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, some of which I have already tried or have lined up. I like how many of the recipes share some ingredients to make shopping more efficient and less wasteful. I can't wait to try the coconut smoothie bowl (featured in the almond butter porridge video) and really enjoyed the combination of lentils and quinoa cooked together. Julie's yoga classes themselves are 30 minutes long, and each have a specific focus on a body part. So far, I have really been enjoying the playful, flowing sequences. It takes 21 days on average to make a habit, so why not give this one a go and see where it takes you? You can find Julie Montagu's videos here, or visit the Flexie Foodie.

Secondly, Mala Collective is running a Mindful March challenge all throughout next week. From the 15th-21st, Mala Collective will be sending out guided meditations, mindfulness challenges and more every day. All you to do is to sign up to receive the emails with the Mindful March tutorials and get involved. Here's what Mala Collective have to say on the week:

"We have, on average, 60 thousand thoughts a day.

In our daily doings and with the thousands of things that stimulate our attention every day, there’s little space for us to stop and really listen to ourselves – unless we create the space for it.

Being mindful is paying attention, without judgement, to thoughts and feelings that arise on a daily basis. By cultivating awareness of these positive or negative thought patterns, we are able to change the story, and let go of what is not serving us."

There will also be opportunities to win prizes every day, so head over to Instagram and follow @malacollective to get involved!

Yoga with Geoff Powell

On Sunday, I attended my first yoga day course, after being told about the day by my yoga teacher, Morfudd,  who trained with the course's teacher, Geoff Powell. Geoff has been teaching Iyengar yoga since the 1970's and has trained with the late Mr. B. K. S. Iyengar himself. He then became one of the first yoga teacher's to practice in North Wales, and is largely responsible for training many of the Iyengar tutors in the area today. (To find out more about Iyengar yoga, read my post here.) With such experience as this, I found myself looking forward to the day's experience greatly. Set in the mountainous backdrop of Gwynedd county and overlooking the Menai Straits from atop the village, the location for the day was remote and peaceful. A few minutes before the start of the day, I entered the naturally-lit hall, which was already filling with students. Many there attend Geoff's yoga classes or courses regularly and knew one another already, but everyone was so friendly that I quickly felt comfortable. After a cup of lemon and ginger tea, we settled down and Geoff, who made sure to know us all by name, introduced us to the day.

The morning and early afternoon was filled with just under three hours of posture work, with a brief break part way through. Many of the asanas and progressions were familiar to me from my weekly class, but the extra time and focussed session let us all expand our practice. The time at the beginning spent opening up the back, shoulders and hips set my body up for the rest of the day. I was excited to discover that handstands and headstands were part of the day. I taught myself to hold a headstand over the summer (see my post explaining how to hold headstands here) and my current aim is to be able to hold a handstand. This last week I have started being able to hold myself away from the wall for a few brief seconds, and the work on Sunday really helped. My arms certainly felt it afterwards! I learnt lots of new techniques, some that I was more comfortable with than others. But, as Geoff said, it is the poses that you least want to do that are the ones that you need to practice. So I am now inspired to push myself more in my home practice! The focus on each individual pose was really useful for correcting my alignment and so I found the whole session very helpful.

Lunch was a delicious affair, all cooked by Geoff's partner, Gwyn, who is a trained chef. There was a carrot and lentil soup that slipped down all too well, along with a selection of flavoursome, hearty salads and cheeses. Geoff and Gwyn had us all well looked after for the whole day! It was hard not to over eat with such a spread, and I wish I had taken a photo now as it was laid out beautifully, and in stonewear bowls. I took a few minutes during lunch just to stand outside and breath in the fresh, clean air.

After lunch, we let our food settle whilst listening to Geoff give a talk on subtle energy, also known as prana in Indian/yogic practice. The topic is pretty new to me, so I listened with interest. Geoff studies the meridian system, a Chinese energy system that holds some resemblance to the perhaps more commonly known chakras. He explained that specific poses helped to open up certain pathways, each of which is linked to an organ or gland. Acupuncture and Yin yoga are both based around the principles of the meridian system. Geoff gave us some demonstrations, comparing our strength or flexibility in a certain area before and after stimulating the relevant meridian, by holding postures or "tapping" particular body areas. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the physical change that the adjustments certainly surprised me. I would certainly be much more open to trying acupuncture if I start to suffer from migraines or similar. A fellow student also explained to me about reflexology and the nerve endings found on the feet and hands and how it can relieve many symptoms. I really learnt a lot in that hour.

Finally, we ended the day with an hour of Qigong, which holds similarity to Tai Chi. As I haven't tried Tai Chi, I can't compared the two, but the steady, fluid movements of Qigong were gently stimulating and helped to loosen up my muscles after the morning's stretching. Jill, who ran the session with a warm energy, was quietly enthusiastic and very helpful in showing us Qigong, which was new to many of the group. In summer, Jill holds Qigong sessions on Bangor pier and I'm pretty tempted to go -I can't think of a more energising location to practice!

I really had a wonderful day and would love to attend similar events in the future. One day, I would really love to go on a yoga course or retreat abroad, and this has cemented that desire. Geoff holds regular classes in North Wales along with residential courses in Turkey and Crete, and I would highly recommend his teaching.

All my photographs in this post were taken the day before close to Snowdon when on a walk. I can't think of a more gorgeous place to live in and practice yoga!

Mala Collective: Beads with Intention

Last month I went to the Om Yoga Show where I met Ashley from Mala Collective. There, I bought myself the Ocean Turquoise bracelet, made with rudraksha beads and turquoise. I mentioned Mala Collective a couple of months ago, and since then I have been talking with Doug from the team, who suggested that I become an affiliate and explore the beads further.

The meditation beads and jewellery originates from Bali, in partnership with Soma Temple, who sounds like an amazing, positive woman. Rudraksha are actually seeds, and have been known to survive many generations as mala beads. I like to wear my bracelet as a daily reminder to stay positive and healthy. At the end of yoga practice, I find having a mala bracelet useful to help me focus during the meditation and savasana. At some point, I'd love to get a full length necklace to meditate with.

You can buy Mala Collective online here, or send the team a quick message to see if there is a stockist near you!

Disclaimer: I am an affiliated blogger with Mala Collective. This is an original post and all thoughts are my own.