Karen Ashby

By Ram Jain People have been practicing fasting for many years for religious, spiritual or health reasons. Yogic philosophy also approves of fasting as a way to cleanse the body and to control both mind and body.  When you practice fasting you learn to control the senses and not to react on the tendency to eat food out of habit or routine.  Fasting allows the intestines to take a rest. They always work and because we keep eating, they never get to rest. While fasting, the intestines get the chance to digest all the food, to clean itself and to rest.  Fasting has always been a consistent part my lifestyle and has proven to be very beneficial, both physically and mentally.  Fasting can be done in many different ways. There are differences in length of fasting:  1-day fast every week 3-day fast every month one week fast a few times a year 10-day fast once a year or even several week fast A 1-day fast is the best way for beginners to experience fasting for the first time and to

By Simone de Villiers Travelling from Australia to India for my first  200hr yoga teacher training course , I felt nervous about my belly. So I drank all the kombucha before I left and stocked my bags with probiotics and Imodium to make sure I’d be able to cure any “Delhi Belly” I may encounter. Who knew that I was going to leave my school,  Gyan Yog Breath  in Rishikesh, feeling healthier (and fuller) than ever.  In the town of Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, everything is vegetarian. Previously a meat-eater, I was uneasy about the idea of just eating veggies and carbs for a month. I thought that having a meatless diet would leave me less energetic than usual. But the total opposite happened. I noticed that my mood improved, I was less bloated, I slept better and I was more energized.  The school had chefs dedicated to feeding us two vegetarian meals each day that incorporated Ayurvedic ingredients. Each meal was freshly prepared with the intention of calming the functions of th