KB The Yogi

Hi I’m Kristin !!! 👋🏼

I just want to introduce myself to those who may not know who I am. 🤗

I’m a recent BAH Psychology graduate and a 200hr hatha-vinyasa registered yoga teacher. I’m passionate about promoting mental well-being in and outside of my yoga practice. I wish to expand my knowledge regarding mental health within my yoga teachings. 🧘🏼‍♀️

I’ve been practicing yoga for nearly 10 years. I was first introduced to yoga in my youth and I’ve been drawn to its energetic powers ever since. ⚡️

I love a juicy vinyasa flow. My favourite asana is wild thing as it opens the heart chakra and allows myself to share love, kindness, and compassion not only with myself but with others. ❤️

Reverse warrior but with a twist 🤪

I love being able to flow with unique variations and transitions. Yoga doesn’t always have to be a strict and rigid practice. Let’s have some fun with it !!! 🫧

FLoP dOwN fRidAy’s ?? 🧐

Okay maybe I should be a bit more specific. When I say flop down, I am referring to when we fold our bodies and let gravity take action. There are many variations of forward folds, such as more active folds (as seen in the picture above - using the arms to draw our chest towards our bodies and lengthening the backside of our legs) or we can make them more passive (generous bend in the knees and allowing our mid-section to rest on our thighs and letting our head, neck, and shoulders hang heavy). Doing these yummy forward folds feel amazing physically for our back side bodies, but they even offer support to our mental and spiritual well-being. 🕉

When in a forward fold, it provides a chance to let our minds rest with ease. They carry a calming effect on the mind, thus, reducing anxious symptoms. We can experience a more grounded experience in our yoga practices by spending more time in forward folds. As you may recall from one of my previous posts, chest-openers (poses allowing our hearts to shine outward as we open the chest and peel open our shoulders) can energize our nervous system. Similarly, forward folds actually remove a stimulating energy to our nervous system promoting a calming effect along our spine. 💆🏼‍♀️

In forward folds, when our back side bodies lengthen and open, it allows us to be more receptive to the things we desire to receive in our lives. When our gaze is drawn towards our bodies due to the physical action of folding forward. We are also looking inwards and providing the opportunity to allow our minds to examine themselves. As we live in quite a chaotic society with so many anxiety triggers, the calming effect of this pose provides balance when we need it the most. ✨

CALLING ALL LEAN MEAN GREEN FIGHTING MACHINES - This one’s for you 💚

In this yummy looking salad we have some juicy leafy greens. Some may look at this photo and think “ew” but little did we know, leafy greens are hella beneficial to our mental health. Before diving into how leafy greens can benefit those with anxiety, I figured I should give ya’ll a little recap on what actually is an anxiety disorder. 🥗

Anxiety disorders are typical reactions to stress and surprisingly can benefit us in particular situations. Let’s say you are walking through the park and a soccer ball comes flying at your head, your body’s natural response is to dodge the ball (Or you may join in the game if you love soccer just as much as I do 😉)! This is our fight or flight response, when dangers are presented to us, our body helps us prepare to pay attention to what those may be. However, anxiety disorders are when our mind and body is chronically put under that stressed state. The stress response becomes excessive fear which develop into feelings of anxiousness. Sadly, anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental disorders and almost 30% of adults experience it at some point in their lives. 🙇🏼‍♀️

Leafy greens contain a mineral called magnesium. Magnesium actually has crazy cool benefits for those who experience anxiety or stress symptoms. Magnesium actually blocks the binding of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) that are more stimulating and create that fight or flight response. Instead, it binds to the more calming receptors creating a more peaceful and resting state. 😌

Here are some of my favourite leafy greens that are high in magnesium:

✅ Spinach
✅ Kale
✅ Arugula
✅ Swiss Chard
✅ Broccoli

Bending over backwards isn’t always such a bad thing 🤔

I suppose I should clarify here… I am talking about the physical poses of backbends, not exerting oneself to their fullest extent (this is where we can deplete a lot of emotional energy). But yes, physical backbends are beautiful poses that have fantastic benefits for our emotional health. And if you are someone who often finds yourself “bending over backwards for someone/something”, perhaps some backbends may truly benefit you! 🧚🏼‍♀️

Believe it or not, yoga poses can do much more than enhance our physical bodies. For example, backbends are great tools to support our emotional health. Yoga therapists and other famous yogis recommend backbends to assist those with depression. These shapes create an opening in the sacral and heart chakra (responsible for self-esteem, love and compassion). When one displays body language that reflects their depression, their posture is often found to be hunched over and their heads hanging downwards. Backbends reverse this pattern and provide an improvement to their posture which indirectly boosts their mood. 💫

Backbends encourage the opening of our emotional body. They break up patterns and break down barriers we’ve habitually created over time that hide our vulnerable self. They encourage us to open up to who we truly are and allow for a deeper connection to ourselves. 🤲🏼

Creating these energizing postures will assist us to connect back with repressed energy leading to healthy and loving human connection. ❤️‍🩹

HAPPY EARTH DAY 🌎

Appreciation post for the one and only Mother Nature! She provides nourishment for our bodies and breath taking views for our souls. And therefore, we should give thanks to everything she does for us 🙏🏼

In the delicious looking bowl above, we have a powerful handful of raw green pumpkin seeds. These little babies have immense health benefits for our brains and I will share with you a couple of fun food facts regarding this superfood. 🥗

1 - Pumpkin seeds are high in tyrosine which is one of our essential amino acids. We use the word “essential” because it refers to the amino acids we cannot naturally make in our bodies. Tyrosine is greatly linked to an increase in our memory and intelligence. 🤓

2 - Increased amounts of tyrosine in our bodies (eating pumpkin seeds more regularly) is thought to increase levels of dopamine in our brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (little chemical messenger that boosts signals between our nerve cells in the brain) that plays a direct role in our pleasure and motivation). 💪🏼

3 - Pumpkin seeds are also super high in magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that is critical to the body’s function and has great importance for our brain health. More specifically, when we do not have enough magnesium in our diets, it can negatively influence cognitive function, leading to brain fog symptoms. One common example of brain fog, is having the difficulty to concentrate. 🌫

Thank you again to this beautiful planet we call earth and all of the natural healing goodies it provides us!!! 💙

Ever heard of CBD’s connection to brain health??? 🌱

As today remarks a day to celebrate cannabis products, there are many people who often overlook another component to this green plant - Cannabidiol (CBD). Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component found in cannabis - causing sensations of getting high - also potentially the only component you may have ever heard about. Quick plant and human anatomy!! 👩🏼‍🎓

Did you know that cannabis plants have 113 cannabinoids in its leafy greens? And CBD is one of those cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are compounds that interact with the endocannabinoid system that runs throughout our nervous system. This system has a role in regulating functions such as sleep and mood; which are critical components to our mental health. 🧬

CBD is extracted from the plant and often diluted with a carrier to produce CBD oil. The CBD then travels through our nervous system until it reaches the brain and enhances the effects of our neural pathways. A recent review of studies concluded CBD carries anti-stress effect, which may reduce depression related to stress. It can also reduce generalized anxiety disorders. 🤍

Low serotonin levels are connected depression and anxiety symptoms. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter known to modulate brain activity and neuropsychological processes, such as our sleep and mood. Although CBD doesn’t necessarily boost serotonin, it responds to the serotonin already in our systems, thus, promoting in the regulation of our sleep and mood. 😌

*Disclaimer: Although I’m not licensed to prescribe anything, the information listed above has been gathered by medically reviewed articles. If you plan to try any new substances, please speak with your doctor!!! 👩🏼‍⚕️

Sending mush love from me to you ❤️

These FUN-GI’s have so many nutritional properties, and plenty of fun puns too! Although there are tons of cool facts about mushrooms and their health benefits, and how they will vary depending on the mushrooms, I’d like to focus on what they can do for the mind. 🧠

Remember how we spoke about antioxidants (tiny molecules that fight off free radicals)? Well, wouldn’t you know that oyster, white button, and shiitake mushrooms all contain an antioxidant called ergothioneine (ET). This unique antioxidant is unable to be synthesized in humans, yet it is power packed in mushrooms! Researchers state that “ET may have a direct effect on the risk of cognitive decline” (article link below). 😱

Have you heard of reishi mushrooms? These funky chonks have a particular way to calm the mind and spirit. It calms the nervous system with its anti-inflammatory properties. In traditional Chinese medicine, reishi is known to encourage emotional balance through the nervous system. 🎭

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324710 -dramatic-effect-on-cognitive-decline?

Let’s talk inversions !!!! 🤪

Inversions are a great way to get things circulating in the body, primarily our cardiovascular system. Anytime our heart is above our heads, or our body is in a position that is upside to its normal position, we count this as an inversion. 🫀

Why do we want to boost our circulatory system?? Well, for someone like myself who works in an industry where we are on our feet all day, a lot of blood will flow in the direction of gravity, which is down to the legs and feet. 🦵🏼

Why is that so bad?? Well, this makes the heart have to work much harder in order to get the blood flowing against gravity, drawing it back to the heart. With easier inversions such as legs up the wall or legs on a chair (laying on your back with your feet up against a wall or laying on your back with your legs at a 90 degree resting position on a chair), or more challenging inversions such as headstands (image above), we are able to get the exact same results. 📈

By putting our bodies in an inverted asana (posture), we can assist our cardiovascular system by working against gravity allowing the blood to flow much easier in the direction it needs to go. ❤️

Benefits aside from the cardiovascular system include: release of tension, increased energy levels, facilitates healthier exchange of nutrients, promotes emotional growth, calms the mind and spirit, and allows us to feel more connected to Mother Earth. 🌎

You are the pineapple of my eye 💛

FUN FOOD FACTS !!!

1 - Pineapple contains a natural enzyme called bromalain (enzymes are tiny proteins in the body which speed up our digestion when eating). Eating pineapple with heavy meals will help with that icky bloated feeling. 🥴

2 - Pineapples are super high in antioxidants (antioxidants are molecules we have that fight off free radicals. Too many free radicals floating in and around the body can cause harm to the body such as inflammation, cardiovascular issues, and many other chronic health problems). 🫀

3 - Pineapples are high in vitamin C. This lovely vitamin does wonders for your immune system. It’s good to have an optimal functioning immune system as it prevents many illnesses that make you feel sick (for example, the common cold). 🤧

Sending much love with one of my favourite fruits 💝