Anybody who regularly does yoga will agree: practicing yoga stimulates the desire for a change in habits. Don’t eat as much crap, cut down the alcohol, shed the drama, I even quit coffee two months ago (I know). And while you’re drawn to ditch some not-great habits, you might also be on the hunt for good ones to add on. Below are the 5 most awesome things I’ve added to my life since I’ve started doing yoga, and I highly recommend them all 
.
1. CHIA SEEDS: Ok whoa. I’ve always been a smoothie fanatic, but adding chia seeds to my morning smoothies has revolutionized my mornings. Fiber, protein, omega-3′s…it balances your blood sugar, fills you up and reduces cravings, lowers cholesterol, and a gazillion more things that I’m sure Google would be happy to share with you. Also, I haven’t done it yet, but I’m dying to try out chia seed pudding as a mid-day snack (maybe that will be the next post…maybe not…I can’t really say for sure).
2. A.M. LEMON WATER: Before that smoothie goes down in the morning, I drink some warm lemon water. It’s refreshing (especially when you cut out the coffee), alkalizing (meaning, the opposite of acidic on the pH spectrum), detoxifying, and…very lemony. Just make sure you rinse your mouth out with water so your teeth don’t disgustingly rot and fall out.
3. DRY SKIN BRUSHING: For this one, you basically take a big coarse skin brush, I use this one, and brush it all over your body before you get in the shower (of course there are techniques – brushing toward your heart and so forth). Dry brushing is a great way to treat your skin, the largest organ of your body, with a little TLC. It gets your circulation going, removes dead skin cells, stimulates the lymph canals (aka detoxes nasty stuff), and rejuvenates the nervous system. It’s also SUPPOSEDLY supposed to reduce the appearance of cellulite. I’ll believe dat when I see it.
4. EPSOM SALT BATHS: So this one is kind of cheating because I’ve been doing for a while, but it’s worth putting in here. Hot bath, Epsom salt, and a few drops of lavender oil. You should probably light a candle too for extra-strength tranquility. I started taking them after my gym injury, but I love them after massages, or walking all day, or uh – just living in NYC. They’re phenomenal for circulation, detoxification, nerve function, stress relief, and to reduce inflammation and pain. And, like the chia seeds and the lemon water (and probably the dry brushing too, who knows), Epsom salt baths are great for helping you um, poo. The lavender just smells really nice and calming. It’s also supposedly great for lots of stuff, you can read about that on your own here.
5. WRITING: I know blah blah, journaling is for hippies and adolescent girls…seriously though. I’m lucky to have the Strala Blog platform to chronicle my yoga journey, but you don’t need a blog to stay present with your thoughts. Writing down your thoughts about yoga and wellness and difficulties and awesome things is a fantastic way to notice where you’re at and consistently self-reflect. And hey! If you don’t want to write your own stuff from scratch, you can always comment on our stuff! Ferreal…like right now…comment on my stuff…kbye.
Happy posing!
“Practicing yoga stimulates a desire for a change in habits”–you caught a real big fish here. It’s not just a desire to change habits but when you create such a significant change in practice/habits, like doing yoga, your brain changes and therefore everything changes. How you are aligned in yourself changes. Another way of saying it is : how you do one thing you do everything. There have been studies that show that people who make their bed every morning have better credit…and now I know people who practice yoga may tend to eat chia seeds and drink lemon water instead of coffee (heehee)
thanks for sharing.
@sheshi: love this comment