Do you have CFS/ME? Register your interest in this exciting new study:
Louise’s Low Oxalate Rustic Seeded Loaf.
Vegan and Gluten Free. Total oxalate approx. 35-50gm
This is a delicious crunchy seed loaf, best eaten fresh, hard to resist and excellent to slice and freeze.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds (use as bought or soak in water overnight)
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (use as bought or soak in water overnight)
- ¼ cup flax seed
- ½ cup pea protein (do not substitute)
- ¼ cup psyllium husks
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup sunflower butter
- 1-2 tbs sesame oil
Method:
- Line a 1lb loaf tin and preheat oven to 190 degrees C.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Mix water, oil and sunflower butter together.
- Add water mixture to dry ingredients.
- The mixture will become thick and sticky.
- Press into tin
- Bake for 85 minutes.
- Cool on wire rack.
Press mixture into a lined tin 
- NOTE: this mixture tends to vary each time I make it in consistency, if it looks very dry add a little more water before baking.
Louise’s Low Oxalate Kitchen: Red Pepper, Broccoli & Butterbean Salad
Vegan and Gluten Free. Total Oxalate approx. 40mg
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
- 3 Red sweet peppers
- 1 packet tender stem broccoli
- 1 tin butter beans
- Oliver oil
- Pinch salt
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- Crushed dried chilli (optional)
- Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Method:
Place whole peppers on a tray under a hot grill, keep an eye on them and turn from time to time until the skin chars and they become soft. When cool, remove tops, seeds and skin (if wished), slice. Blanch the broccoli stems so they become bright green and retain crunch (followed by an optional char grill). Mix red peppers, broccoli, butter beans, garlic with pinch salt and good glug of olive oil. Serve warm or cold. Delicious with hummus and olives (remember this will increase the oxalate count). Sprinkle with fresh herbs!
To make into a vegetarian main add goats cheese or grilled halloumi.
Louise’s Low Oxalate Kitchen: Banana and Blueberry Pancakes!
Vegetarian & gluten free. Total Oxalate approx. 10 mg.
Ingredients:
- Nob of butter
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1 Banana mashed (small – medium)
- Handful blueberries (1/2 cup)
Melt butter in a small non-stick frying pan. Mix banana, blueberries and eggs together and pour into pan. When the pancake (really an omelette ) starts to set place pan under a hot grill until completely set and starting to brown.
Delicious served with Greek yoghurt, fresh blueberries and a drizzle of honey!
Yoga sequence to beat the winter blues!
With the clocks changing and the nights drawing in take time to spend time outdoors getting light into the eyes and if needed top up with Vitamin D during the winter months. If you find yourself feeling low in spirit then add the Dru Yoga Earth sequence to your practice:
https://druyoga.com/yoga-online/video/the-earth-sequence
Feel connected to the Earth and let go of unhelpful emotions with the Earth Sequence (Prithvi Namaskara). By doing this graceful sequence you can consciously cleanse and clear your emotions and the energy system (especially when you do it outside in nature).
Today: Flood your body with endorphins as you move with grace and freedom.
The earth is an energy that brings us balance and emotional stability. It has a calming energy that helps us align with something much bigger than just our individual self – nature… When performed outside, the benefits from this sequence seem to be amplified as you connect in directly to the source energy of the earth. The earth is here to nurture, protect and provide for us.
The overall aim of this sequence is to leave you feeling settled, calm and replenished by the quiet earth. Complete this class with a mudra (hand gesture) to calm your nervous system
Are your intentions of benefit?
It’s amazing what a bit of yoga does when practised outside in the glorious sunshine in the snow!!! I was only popping out this morning to get milk but it was such a glorious morning and the countryside beckoned. After finding a beautiful spot I practised Dru Yoga’s Energy Block Release 4, Salutation to the Earth and the Golden Eagle, I felt amazing! Using intensions has become part of my practice, it took a while and did not come easily but now makes a huge difference. Setting the intention to feel happiness is my go- to intention, its so easy to smile! During practising EBR4 there are 3 intentions incorporated at the end, ‘May all my thoughts be of benefit to everyone’, May all my intentions be of benefit to everyone’ and ‘May all my actions be of benefit to everyone’.
For the rest of my walk I delighted in the shadows cast by the trees, the sun reflecting on the water of a stream, the snow sparkling in the sunlight, I was defiantly very happy! I found myself reflecting on intentions, we often hear ‘You are what you eat’, perhaps we should also be saying ‘You are what you think’ more often.
We can think ourselves miserable however we can also think ourselves happy. We are so good at talking ourselves down, being self-critical and feeling inadequate, sound familiar? After a while we begin to believe these negative thoughts, how often do we tell ourselves we are amazing? Even when other people tell us we find it difficult to accept praise. By setting intentions to be happy, be kind to yourself and to accept praise for a job well done we will can begin to realise our potential! If you are happy those around response differently, happiness and laughter are so infectious!
In my joyful state I decided a snow angle was called for, I didn’t appreciate how frozen the snow was and my snow angle just became more of a splat! Despite this failure I found myself laughing all the way home! The simplest things in life can give us so much pleasure!
Namaste!
Core Stability
Core stability is a key part of yoga and identifying and engaging these muscles can help to improve strength, core stability and protect the lower back. Students can sometime find it difficult to isolate these muscles and the instruction ‘engage core’ is frequently used as a reminder during classes. It would be lovely if little lights came on when students have ‘engaged’, the smiles when I say ‘and of course you all have your core muscles engaged’ tells me another story. I frequently remind students in my class to engage their core muscles before and during sequences and asana, its as much a reminder for myself as them! For those who find it difficult to identify and turn on the core this excellent 3 minute 3-D video provides a simple and straight forward explanation. Core Stability 3-D video
Research study shows positive effect of a single yoga practice on CFS!
A recently published study showed that after just one yoga session for CFS that energy increased and that changes relating to autonomic functions and blood biomarkers suggested anti-stress and anti-inflammatory effects!!! Amazing! To read this paper follow link: Yoga and CFS 2018
I know from my own experience of practising yoga, particularly Dru I can feel the physical changes within my body, the more I practice the more I feel. I also notice what happens when I don’t practice for a few days reinforcing the need to maintain regular daily routine. I have experienced the increases in energy following practice, feeling relaxed, de-stressed and a softness in my body and joints. Others with CFS have reported increased energy following class attendance, its fantastic that this study has produce physical evidence adding support for yoga to be seen as a valid therapy for CFS.
Amber Glasses, Sleep and CFS
I recently decided to try wearing amber glasses in the evening whilst watching TV or using the computer to filter out blue light to reduce overstimulation of the brain before bedtime. This can aid a better quality of sleep and with CFS sleep can be a real issue. For me my sleeping pattern is fairly good on the whole with occasional bouts of insomnia for no real good reason. When I’m in the ‘tired but wired’ phase where my adrenaline and cortisol have gone out of whack yoga has proved helpful for helping calm the nervous system and combined with a relaxing Epsom salt bath can really aid sleeping. So why add in the amber glasses you may ask? Like all CFS sufferers you find yourself trying everything to help symptoms, these were recommended by Dr Rangan Chatterjee (Doctor in the House) in his book The Four Pillar Plan. Whilst they make TV viewing different I have found that I’m going to sleep quite quickly which is great although my occasional insomnia hasn’t been cured however there is one unexpected benefit….my eyesight has improved! After just a couple of evenings wearing the amber glasses I noticed I didn’t need to use my reading glasses as much. I can now read a cook book and see my watch face quite clearly! I still need my reading glasses for small print but am amazed at how my eyesight has improved so quickly and my eyes feel less tired! So if you have CFS and are exposed to blue light in the evening they are worth a try and are relatively cheap!
PS This is not an April 1st joke!
Dru Yoga: Energy Block Release 2
‘I must be willing to let go of the life I planned in order to live the one that is awaiting me’
For many of us with CFS at some point we have to let go of the life we were living and planning, grieve for it and try to look forward and enjoy the one we now have. Easier said than done!!!!! Energy Block Release 2 (EBR2) is a sequence that is all about being in the ‘here and now’, focusing your attention on how the body is moving and responding with the breath, stretching and strengthening.
I recently used the above quote in the form of an intention and affirmation as my class had been working up to completing the whole EBR2 sequence. Whilst I knew it may have an emotional effect on some of my CFS students I felt it would be helpful to the class as a whole. I didn’t expect it to have such a powerful effect on me!!! Following the class both of my CFS students both said how it really hit home, one still felt she was grieving for her old life, for myself I think I haven’t really grieved as such just moved on to my new life…..or so I thought! The next day I found myself emailing a Search and Rescue Colleague to arrange return of my equipment and uniform. I’d been hanging on to the hope of restarting volunteering with this fantastic group of volunteers doing a brilliant job unnoticed and often not known about: Oxfordshire Lowland Search and Rescue
Whilst sad to finally let go I feel privileged to have been part of the team, a very special group of dedicated people and whilst I close this chapter of my life to move on…… I’m just not ready yet to throw my running shoes and kit away just yet!!! Maybe another couple of rounds of EBR2?
To safely practice and learn this lovely EBR2 sequence go to the Dru Yoga On Line Studio. This video demonstrates beautifully that once learn EBR2 flows with ease and strength ! Energy Block Release 2