I learnt this the last time I was in Bali. I was very lucky to stay at the Como Shambhala Estate in Ubud: have a look it is amazing , you can even pop down just for a visit or to use their raw food restaurant or SPA programs. if  you are around:
http://www.cse.como.bz/

I was given an amazing ginger tea after a SPA treatment, so I asked one of the girls that worked there to teach me how to make it and she said: " Easy, just chop the ginger finely and boil for 2 hrs , keep adding water as is lowering "

So I did try back home and there it was , an amazing fully tingling and tasteful ginger tea:)

Especially now that is winter , give it a try and you will feel all the amazing benefits of ginger!:)

If you are around Rishikesh you can take a short drive to  
Tehri Garhwal , about 40 min away and visit one of the most beautiful holistic resorts in the area, Ananda in the Himalayas.

Ananda is a stunning palace and used to be the residence of  the Maharaja many years ago, but also to my great surprise I found out that Anandmayi Ma ( a spiritual guide and saint) visited and lived there for many years , in a small room on the palace terrace.  

This place is the perfect blend of luxury and holistic. The suggestive settings on the top of a mountain overlooking the Holy town of Rishikesh and the precisely looked after gardens in the resort grounds accompany you into a journey of holistic bliss.

At Ananda you can experiment a full range of holistic treatments in the Spa (one of the biggest spa I have ever seen), but also you can take part to a great range of classes to get a deeper understanding of the Indian culture and the yogic lifestyle. They have fully ayurvedic menus , but also the option of indian specialties if you feel like indulging yourself..

My ideal day when there was:
Meditation classes to start the day, yoga and a ayurvedic breakfast. Than join the Vedanta class for some philosphy discussions. Relax in the spa for some tailor made massage treatments for the rest of the morning reading a book and sipping herbal tea.
In the afternoon more yoga followed by a class of choice: they often run special classes from specialized guest teachers , while I was there they had the Art Therapy course.
For the early evening more vedanta and meditation or you can also join one of the cooking classes which runs every couple of days. 
In the evening there is usually some entertainment which sees local artists performing.
 
Here for you couple of my favourite recipes I have learnt while there :

LEMON AND CORIANDER SOUP

50g carrots
40g cabbage
40g button mushrooms
40g pock Choy
30g zucchini
  5g sea salt
  5ml lemon juice
  1g white pepper
30g corn flour
10g spring onions chopped
  1 bunch of spinach
  1 bunch of coriander finely chopped
800ml vegetable stock

In a pot put together the vegetable stock and all the veggies.
Bring it to boil and while boiling make sure that you clean the scum from the top.
When veggies are cooked add the seasoning and the lemon juice and serve with a little coriander sprinkled on top.


STEEL CUT OAT UPMA

300 g oats
150g sliced onions
  25g ginger
  10g chopped green chilli
    5g curry leaves
  25g finely diced carrots
  25g finely diced French beans
  40g ghee
  40ml oil (freshly pressed sunflower is better)
  10g mix lentils
    3g mustard seeds
  10g cashew
175ml fresh milk

I a large pan heat the oil in and add the mustard seeds, when they finish popping add the dal (lentils) the cashew nuts and let them sauté'  until golden.

Add the onions, ginger , curry leaves and chillies and let sauté' until the onions are ready.

Add the oats and let them cook until they are turning lightly brown.

Start adding the milk by whisking it through to avoid creating lumps. You can use hot water instead if you prefer.

When all the milk is absorbed the Upma is ready.

This is a great option for breakfast , you can serve it with different chutneys.

 Enjoy it :)

http://anandaspa.com/contact/default.asp

When I was in India in November , I was lucky enough to happen to be, as they say , in the right place at the right time for the 11/11/11 celebration . In Rishikesh , were I was , they organized a big Kunadlini Festival with many international guests and a fantastic week long program. I. At the festival they served an amazing buffet with a great variety of food , and there I came across this great organization called Navadanya, which was the one supplying the buffet.

Since 1987 , when Navdanya started as a program of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology
and Ecology (RFSTE), founded by Dr. Vandana Shiva, they have been actively involved  to provide direction and support to environmental activism.
The main aim of the Navdanya biodiversity conservation programme is to support local farmers, rescue and conserve crops and plants on way to extinction and make them available through direct marketing. They have their own seed bank and organic farm.

http://navdanya.org/home

This strike me as an amazing project, especially in a Country like India where love for food and Mother Earth is part of the culture and yet there is a great need to safeguard  and nourish them both. 
Furthermore, I acknowledged a reality, which is often left unspoken: in India, as a consequence to rising costs in the agricultural production system (because of the introduction of chemical agriculture  and genetic engineering and chemical irrigation)  matched with the falling prices of agricultural products due to an unjust and unfair trade system; a serious burden and debts have started shadowing the life of the poor Indian farmers. 
Since 1997 , more than 250,000 farmers only in four regions of India , have taken their lives because of this.

Navdanya promotes Fair Trade and knowledge in chemical free and organic agriculture.
It is now present in many different regions of India and hopefully will be saving more farmers' lives but it will also affect ours as nowadays the EU imports a great amount of food from India and we are what we eat.

Here in Montenegro, just before I left for India, I had the pleasure of meeting the person responsible  for the agricultural  development  in the rural regions  of Montenegro.
Great project which is helping farmers and supporting  organic farming.
Find here below the link to their project and website.

http://www.mpr.gov.me/en/organization/agriculture-and-farming/103228/NATIONAL-PROGRAMME-FOR-FOOD-PRODUCTION-AND-RURAL-DEVELOPMENT-2009-2013.html

Beauty and health come from the within, therefore it is really important that we look after what we eat and how we eat it.

Your skin is one of the first signals of an healthy diet.
If you want a radiant, youthful and acne free skin there are few things that you should include in your diet and other that you should avoid.

If you are looking into making your skin more glowy and healthy, you can simply enrich your diet with what is listed below :

Green tea -  has strong skin healing and  anti - inflammatory properties.

Flax Seeds ( linseeds)  - help keeping skin hydrated thanks to their richness in omega 3 fatty acid.

Vitamin E - is a great antioxidant helps protection against skin cancer, helping skin retain moisture and fight free 
                  radical damage.
Source: one of the best  are Almonds but also Wheat germ Oil, Sunflower Oil and Seeds, Nuts and Nut Oils, Palm Oil, High-value Green Leafy Vegetables like Spinach. Also Turnip, Beets,Collard and Dandelion Greens like Avocados, Asparagus, Kiwi , Broccoli.

Vitamin A - helps keeping the skin elastic and healthy creating new skin cells.Vit A can also be manufactured from
                   the body from beta-carotene.
Source: Vit A can be found in cheese , eggs , milk and yoghurt.  Beta -carotene can be found in Kale , Lettuce, Peppers, Carrots, Spinach , Pumpkin , Turnip, Cabbage , Mangoes, Sweet Potatoes Apricot, Watercress .


Vitamin C - best antioxidants to fight free radical damage and boost collagen.
Source: Berries and Papaya are a great source but also kiwis , tomatoes, red peppers, oranges, potatoes and peas.

WATER - helps the body detoxifyng ,the more the better!

PRANA - breathing techniques are fantastic to detoxify the body and keep your skin looking healthy and young!
              
When you eat always try and do it mindfully and when you cook always try and be positive transmitting love and positive energy to your food.

If you are experiencing problems with acne you can still make a great difference by using your diet to heal.
 
Acne is caused by an over stimulated oil gland that has become infected, 3 are the main factors for this : 

1 -   hormones
2 -   digestive function/ diet / liver related.
3 -   adrenal glands, they get stimulated creating a stress response in the body . This creates fire (too much Pitta in
       the body)

For the first 2 the best foods to be AVOIDED are all the one that can create congestion in the body, like animal fats , dairy products , chocolate and sweets.

For the third we will need to help the body decrease its fire, therefore stay away from anything that helps ignite the fire in the body. Like spicy foods, curry, chilli, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and also oranges and strawberries.

An helpful diet will consist in adding this to your everyday cooking:

Plenty of Fresh Salads: full of greens and more of the fresh veggies previously listed ,if you can add apple cider
                                      vinagre and freshly pressed sunflower oil it will make it even better and delicious.

Proteins : found in Eggs, Tofu, Quinoa, Amaranth,  Chia Seeds, Lentils

Fatty Acids : found in Sunflower Oil and Seeds, Nuts and Avocado.

WATER : again this is one of the most important things you should consume in abundance during the day .

PRANA - life force, for a youthful and an healthy functioning body. It will help detoxifying by  bringing new    oxygen in and expelling toxins. Facilitating cells regeneration.

You will start seeing results very soon after your change in diet ,  but for effective change you will have to be patience as it can take to up to 6 months, so try and be consistent in your diet regime and you will see the effect in your skin.

This is what I have gathered from my research and put together for you , but I am not a nutritionist and this research was done for my own personal use and also there is much more to it and many more sources on all of the above, so please feel free to add on here if you find out some more information.

My main sources were:

http://www.nutritionsociety.org/publications/nutrition-society-journals/british-journal-of-nutrition

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://ayurveda-foryou.com/

http://www.myyogaonline.com/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

http://nutritiondata.self.com/


Thank you :)

I was just skipping through some yogic news today from the Yoga Journal Blog and I came across this article about Rodney Yee and his new program with Urban Zen ( www.urbanzen.org ) which helps training nurses and doctors in hospitals to use yoga as a complementary therapy. Fantastic ! Apparently more than 300 doctors and nurses will be trained to bring yoga into hospitals.

Check it out:
http://blogs.yogajournal.com/conference/2012/01/14/rodney-yee-calls-for-yoga-in-the-hospital/

If you are in New York City and feeling like an healthy experience all around you should definitely pop into Liquiteria:
http://liquiteria.com/

They have pressed juices , detox programms , liquid meals and all sort of healthy snacks.

I had the Mr Green to start , than feeling brave I had The Killer XX, well if they call it the killer is for a reason and I found out! The cayenne pepper really wakes you up!!!

I took home some of their herbal supplements, great boosters to ad to your daily juices.