Nature never hurries, little by little she achieves her work.

I used to run quite oftenly at this park connector behind my place, but not for the last 5 months.

I confess. I kinda gave up running after I took on yoga. I find myself dragging my feet to the park just to get the adrenaline feel. Maybe it's always dark when I reach the park after work, or maybe I was just sick of it. I needed a break.

So Sunday evening, a random feel for lacing on my shoes came. Ooo, was I excited about my run? A little I think! Hahaa.

I wanted to do 6km. But boy, I overestimated myself!! My stamina has dropped so much, I ended slowing down and took a walk instead.

What slowing down taught me:

1. Appreciate your surrounding
The walk back to the starting point was pretty interesting because this time, I was so much aware of my surroundings. I took the moment and had a good look at the park - noticing the almost non-existent beautiful tiny flowers, seeing happy families kite-flying, little girl fell from her bicycle and was crying aloud for her mom's attention, whom I smiled at. And also the foreigners working hard on our trees (yes, on a Sunday), elderly collecting buckets of water from the canal, etc.

The beautiful skylines and people working out was what I missed in the past. I realized I'm in awe and love the sight of all these. These are definitely what I don't see in studio or city area usually.

2. Mindfulness
Running seems to be so much tougher for me that day. But I got more conscious towards sight, noise, the sensation of my own breath and posture. I kept making sure I inhale and exhale equally to catch my breath properly while keeping in mind not to slouch my shoulders and back, which is probably why I'm experiencing a very bad upper body ache right now! >.<

Being outdoor on a bright cloudy Sunday evening canters me & fills my soul with love and mindfulness :) I love fresh air!

3. Why hurry?
Ya, why hurry? TBH, I like to be quick most of the time. I eat very quickly, drink very quickly, bathe very quickly, etc. Most times, I also rushed to bathe after our savasana. I don't fancy waiting alot :/ I always think it's a waste of time. Do you?

Thinking back, if I could slow down and enjoy my mouthful of food or sip of water or just take a couple more minutes and enjoy my savasana instead of thinking of running to the bathroom, I could have possibly learn better to be present and mindful of things.

Also maybe when I do, I get to appreciate more.

Well, these are just some of my little Sunday thoughts

life's a ride, enjoy it! :)

A happy mid-week to you! x

Easy Strala Stretch with Tara Stiles

 

Lovin' this new simple stretch video by Tara Stiles! <3

 

Happy mid-week ;)

Uttanasana - "Standing Forward Bend"

Uttanasana aka Standing Forward Bend is one of my favourite posture. This posture is pretty therapeutic and revitalizing. It calms the mind and smooth the nerves, also helps to relax my head and shoulders.

First stand with your feet parallel and hip-width apart. Bend your knees as much as you need to and go forth. You can sway a little side to side and enjoy for a moment. It took me some practice to get this flexible and straight. You can slowly try to straighten your legs to stretch the hips, hamstrings and calves :)

Free feel to play around with different variations too! You may slip your index & middle finger in between the big and second toe, straighten your arms and lift your front torso away from your thigh or simply grab your elbows and let your head hang heavy. Either way works :)

Happy weekends! x

Morning energy - Juicing vs Blending

Morning best starter :)

Sunday. I woke up earlier yesterday morning and made a cup of green juice before I headed for yoga.

It's a known fact that there are many health benefits from juices & smoothies. Just watch Fat, sick and nearly dead and you'll see why. Not only they are nourishing, they are also delicious (most of the time at least! I know how some people hate raw veggies taste), keeps us energized and ensure that we take in our daily recommended 2 servings of fruits & vegetables each.

Ingredients: (Serves 1)

• 2 Celery sticks
• Half of a big cucumber
• Handful of Kale
• 1 Green Apple

Juice it!

Juicing extracts only the liquid component and removes all the fiber and hence, the liquid juice would be absorbed into our blood stream very quickly. Therefore, I added only 1 apple to make the veggies taste a little sweeter. Anyway, I didn't wanted to have something extremely sweet at 730am too

After the cup of green goddess and 2 morning classes. I was all zonked out. I woke up feeling a little hungry after lunch & a short evening nap and decided to make a cup of smoothie before dinner! I couldn't wait. 

This recipe is inspired by Tara Stiles.I've been meaning to blend this quite some time and regretted not starting earlier because it was extremely yummy and creamy!!! I didn't had almond milk at home so I substituted with unsweetened soymilk, tastes as great as well.

Ingredients:
Serves 1

• 1 Banana
•  A handful of blueberries
• 1 scoop of homemade almond butter
• 1 cup of milk of your choice
• A couple of ice

Blend, and enjoy!

and now a common question we are always confused with.

"What's the difference between Juicing & Blending?"

Like I mentioned earlier, juicing removes all the fiber in the process and so our body doesn't have to work as hard to break down the food and we can absorb the vitamins and minerals without having to chow down the food (i.e. celery, broccoli). However, it may actually cause a rapid spike in our blood sugar especially if our juice is too sweet and this could leads to more cravings, mood swings, etc. My suggestion is to juice 80% vegetables and 20% fruits. Freshly squeezed vegetable juices can be most healing as they can restore the body at a cellular level.

Blending, on the other hand, consists of the entire fruit/veggie and would make a great choice as snacks as it satisfies hunger because the fiber fills us up. Smoothie also helps keep our blood sugar stable as it creates a slow, even release of nutrients. I personally like this as it keeps me fuller and more importantly, my drink is creamy & I love it!

I adapted the below useful & simple guide from Kris Carr, she's a cancer thriver, go read her amazing story!

I had another cup of juice, this time with carrot before my bowl of yummy oatmeal to kick start the day. I hope I can keep up with this at least 2 times a week :) Start blending and juice away now.

Twenty Fourteen - 2.0.1.4

hey guys, happy new year! :)

I hope 2014 has been splendid thus far, at least it was for me! How not to love short working week, especially when it's 2 consecutive weeks. I hope we don't have a hard time re-adjusting back to normal working days....

and fess up, I've been dipping into quite a bit of chocolate treats lately :| am sure you too! Well, December is notorious for giving us an excuse to snack on. All the delicious looking pastries/cakes, how can we resisttttttttt. But I guess it's OK to indulge once in awhile!

(L): Desserts at Paul's with J & his family over the last weekends of 2013. 
(R): Tried Aussie Roll over lunch. It was good but a little tad expensive. 2 rolls cost me $5.40. gonna try making someday!

(L): Home-cooked lunch of Pan-grilled salmon,  favourite broccoli and egg
(R): new year dinner at Nikon Mura. sushi anytime!

Not featuring of course are some other sweet treats like ice-cream and cakes. Now that December is over, it's time to leave it behind to where it belongs :)

Come new year, I always attempt to make grand resolutions - to lose weight, to run 3 times a week, to save xxx amount, to sleep early. I've come to realise these are pretty much 'rules' and doesn't seems to work.

This year, I've decided to be keep it simple.

Just 'Do more of what makes you happy'

  

There are plenty of things that can make one easily happy. Happiness can be pretty simple, it doesn't have to be fanciful or expensive. As long as my loved ones are happy, my body feels good, I love what I am doing and of course continuing practicing, practice tapping into myself :)

If you're also interested, I thought this article from MindBodyGreen is pretty much a great wellness reminder to keep out for the year. Self-love. Yes, that is :)

So, Chinese new year is coming in about 4 weeks time, some families and friends gathering & more yoga sounds like a pretty good way to start January! Not forgetting I already have two traveling plans in place for the year, now I can't wait for 2014 to begin! 

Just remember to drink up & hydrate yourself.

Have a great weekends :>

Moments of 2013

It's less than 24 hours to the closure of 2013. There's something magical about this time of the year, not only it's a season of joy and giving, it's the season of self-reflecting too. Over the years each December, I love to review my archive and read on the happenings for the past year (from 2012 & 2011). Nostalgic feeling~ 2013 is different as it marked the year I stepped into full time workforce and that said, no longer enjoying all student luxuries I used to have. As much as I missed the carefree school days, work however is great on the other hand because I get & contribute income. What's more important is that I'm definitely taught the value of hard earned money :'(

January, February - Jack & I took on our first flight to Hong Kong. I think both of us really liked HK! I missed strolling around the chilly weather, with an icy cold cup of mango smoothie, having HK breakfast early in the morning, dim sum for tea & shopping there :)

We had our first visit to Disneyland too :) thankful for the weather, we didn't sweat a single bit!

In March, I spent the entire month catching up with friends - from poly, uni , primary school :) Epicurus agreed "Of all the things that wisdom provides for living one's entire life in happiness, the greatest by far is the possession of friendship" :) I haven't meet some of them quite some time and so glad I did!

April, May - See me and the other half getting one step nearer to our future as we went down to HDB to pay our 5% payment. If nothing goes wrong, we should be getting our keys late 2016/ early 2017, that is about another 3.5 years. *keeping my fingers cross*

May was of course another joyous month of many catch-up with friends for birthday celebrations. Come next year, I'll be hitting my mid-twenties :<

 

June - I had our first company retreat to Bangkok :) It was definitely a great short break for all of us and even though we were hell tired from residential planning, I'm sure we (the comm members) took away quite abit and I surely enjoyed all the fun and laughter with my colleagues. Looking forward to the residential 2014!

July - I had my commencement after a long awaited 7 months since December'12. So proud to be part of the graduating class of 2013 :) nobody said it was easy, I can't be more than thankful to the bunch of people I've met in SMU. We all tided through the difficult but fun times in SIS, the endless projects & sleepless nights :')

I've also gained many opportunities & experience - overseas community service project to China (where I witness snow for the first time), Technology Study Mission to India (probably a country I'd never venture to w/o SMU) and 8 weeks summer exchange in Korea (my longest time away from home).

Of course with all these trips, it also meant I spent all my years of poly/uni working part time over the weekends. I am lucky to meet the most wonderful and understanding bosses whom I regret I have to leave them for somewhere better. we still stay in touch :) this job helped me through all my overseas trips, shopping loot, expenses, Starbucks and brunches hahaha, which most of these I find it ridiculously priced now lol!

 

Aug, Sep - I took a break from blogging. In that two months, I was figuring what I wanted to blog about and also wanted a change of name, which was why there's hellosoulmat today :)

In late aug-sep, Jack & I made an impromptu trip to Vietnam :)

4 days getaway from our bustle of cities and work was indeed a good recharge :)

October - Definitely a memorable month as I took on a 30 days hot yoga journey! :) It was a kind of life changing experience. After taking on this challenge, I've learnt more about myself and happy to make more friends too. I enjoy being in and around the almost one of the happiest and expansive place! You can read more about my journey here. 

November - I took on my first 21.1km with GE & clocked a decent 2 hours 30 minutes. Whooo! TBH, I haven't been running for a long while and was skeptical if I could make it. The weather was thankfully great albeit the drizzle and I'm happy to own a 21.1km finisher tee!

December - Random staycation in Carlton :) This month also marks my first year old onto my job!

As each year and day past, I'm thankful for all I have - my family, my another half, my friends, health, job and honestly, these suffice. 2013 was an incredible year for me and I hope 2014 will be too. I have plans but....but there are also so much to consider. & I have to be practical about it, practice about this life we're living in Singapore.

Oh well, till 2014444 :)

I hope you had a Merry Xmas and a happy blessed new year!

*p/s: all my pictures are in B&W but idk why blogger turned some of them to sepia

give life a meaning

 

“.:Move toward the things that make you feel GOOD. Surround yourself with people that make you feel GOOD. Listen to music that makes you feel GOOD. Eat food that makes you feel GOOD. Move in a way that makes you feel GOOD. Do all the things you can imagine that make you feel so so very GOOD. This is your true nature. It’s how you’ll connect to your authentic self, how you’ll become authentically you. You’ll break free of any chains and flow freely like water down a mountain side, like a fish released from a small jar into a rushing river. Dance with it. Be inspired by all the GOOD feelings. Stay there. That’s you:." via upliftedvibrations

 Merry Christmas! xo