The Health Benefits of Yoga for Teens//Bad Yogi

 

My latest article with Bad Yogi is now published, this is the grand finale of a three part series based around yoga for Teens, you can read the other two below. It’s an in-depth look at the health benefits of yoga for Teens. This particular article took a short while to put together and edit as its such a vast subject that is still under research. My teacher, Charlotta Martinus is pioneering for Teen Yoga to be brought into schools across the UK, she is even doing talks at the house of Lords and her first Teen Yoga book will be published this August 2018.

This is my 10th article with Bad Yogi (hurray!) and it may be my final too. I have so much going right now and I think it is time to move on to other ventures. I do have ideas for two more articles, but we’ll see.

I do feel that this is one of the most important pieces of writing I’ve had published and I also feel strongly that young adults need our help more than ever before.

“Yoga for Kids and Teens is growing in popularity all over the world; adults are realizing how beneficial a yoga practice is to the children in their lives. School teachers and parents alike are learning how to teach simple yoga and mindfulness sessions before class or before bedtime and qualified kids and teens yoga teachers are highly sort after and some yoga seniors are pioneering to put yoga onto the school curriculum because there is strong evidence from psychological and neurobiological reports that suggest yoga and meditation are deeply beneficial practices both in short term and long term in your children’s lives as they grow into adults.”
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Bulgaria: Arbanasi


Arbanasi is a village in the province of Veliko Tarnovo (central northern Bulgaria) set on a high plateau near to the town of Veliko Tarnovo (four kilometres away). It’s a very pretty and quiet place to visit however the views of the picturesque traditional buildings are ruined by cars parked outside along the main road which saddened me. Tourists come here mainly to see the Church of the Nativity but this place has a lot more to offer and I do recommend taking a leisurely walk around, even visit the local museum and merchant’s house, we learned quite a bit more about Bulgarian traditions and we bumped into a few friendly locals, including this accordion player who welcomed me to dance as he played his music.
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Bulgaria: Hotnitsa Falls

yoga in Bulgaria
Hotnitsa falls (also known as “Kaya Bunar”) and eco-trail is a splendid day trip from Veliko Tarnovo. It is best to hire a car as I’m unsure of the bus time schedules, however there is an information office in the centre of Veliko Tarnovo where you can inquire about buses and taxis to your destination. The waterfalls are situated near the village Hotnitsa and is only 15KM from Veliko Tarnovo. If you are holidaying in Veliko Tarnovo province and have seen the main sites and fancy a wonder, Hotnitsa falls is a brilliant day trip for nature lovers.

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Bulgaria: Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration of God

Veliko Tarnovo
If you are staying in Veliko Tarnovo for a few days or for the majority of your holiday. Then I do recommend a day trip to the Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration of God. The monastery is a good option if you want to visit a new place close to the city and learn more about Bulgarian history and religion. The monastery is Eastern Orthodox and is located in the Dervent gorge of the Yantra River. It lies near the village of Samovodene, seven kilometres north of Veliko Tarnovo, in central northern Bulgaria. It is one of the five stauropegic monasteries of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. We traveled there by car, and I am unsure if you can book day excursions from Veliko Tarnovo, if this isn’t possible, the Bulgarians should make it a possibility because this is definitely a great tourist hot spot, I am aware you can take a taxi and there are buses nearby too.
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6 Books about Natural Magic & Herbalism

I have started to become a lot more interested in the study of herbs and flowers recently. As a little girl I spent a lot of time in nature, writing poetry and reading books whilst walking on my own in my local park on a warm summer’s day or my mum would take my sister and I on day trips to the lake district or the Trough of Bowland, regardless of the weather. I’ve been inspired by nature all my life and I’d spend hours drawing flowers, butterfly wings or feathers at home or in art class at school. At University whilst studying my Fine Art degree I seemed more interested in video and installation art but nature was always present in my videos, from close ups of hands or feet sensually caressing the muddy earth, to giant projections of wild flowers and falling rose petals. Now as my art changes, I’m working directly with nature, foraging for natural objects to create my dream catcher totems.

 I was initiated as a Pagan Priestess  in 2017 immersing myself in that way of life via meditations, rituals and making seasonal altars based on the Pagan wheel of the year and I’m so happy to be living this spiritual path. I’m currently finishing my studies on fitness, yoga and mental health but once again nature isn’t far from my mind. I believe once I’ve achieved all my qualifications in those subjects above, I want to move onto studying plant life, whether I take courses on botany or herbalism or perhaps workshops in foraging or flower arranging, it doesn’t matter to me because whatever I do will inspire my art and my Pagan-Yogic lifestyle. To have knowledge of the earth and such topics like sustainability, being Eco-friendly, growing my own herbs to make herbal teas or creating outdoor classes in which donations give back to an earth based charity would be a dream.

I want more houseplants  and I’m passionate about recycling so our next step is creating our own composter in which our natural food waste won’t go to waste but will supply extra sustenance to our garden and help us make ‘compost tea’ for our houseplants.

That being said, here are six books about herbalism and nature magic I highly recommend if you want to follow a similar lifestyle to me.

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Bulgaria: Sofia

Sofia Bulgaria

During our first visit to Bulgaria, we spent ten days roaming around Veliko Tarnovo and the surrounding areas. Towards the tail end of our trip and before we flew back to the UK from Sofia airport we opted to spend a night and two days exploring Sofia.

Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria is a destination many holiday makers avoid, its unkempt, grimy and urban. Tourists want the sunny beaches of Varna or the epic scenery of forests and mountains in Veliko Tarnovo or the elegance of Plovdiv so sadly Sofia often gets overlooked.

However there is quite a bit of charm underneath the grime and Sofia is showing signs of revival, particularly in the arts scene and I do whole-heartedly believe you should visit this place as part of your Bulgarian holiday. Whether that’s an overnight stay and a day of exploring after your flight and before your coach journey to your main destination, a cheap city break or as part of your Euro trip.

A day or two is enough to explore this city. There is a wonderful and easy, little walking tour recommended by Lonely Planet that allows you to visit a few beautiful Orthodox churches, art galleries, The Ivan Vazov National Theatre, museums and the excavated site of the Rotunda of Saint George. A day trip from Sofia can take you to visit the famous Rila monastery and Boyana waterfall, and Borovets ski resort is only one hour away!  We sadly didn’t have enough time to go see these places for ourselves .

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12 books for Teen Yogis// Bad Yogi Article


As the second part of the Teen Yoga series for Bad Yogi Magazine I wrote a book haul review of some great books for Teen Yogis. Some books are yoga related, others are young adult novels or memoirs that delve into topics adolsecents struggle with, such as gender, sexuality, culture, society, family and mental health. I wanted this book haul to have variety and to appeal to young adult voices. As well as fiction, there is also a poetry collection, a personal diary and a handbook on mindfulness specifically for Teens. I hope you enjoy this article as much as I did writing it!

“I am a newly trained Teen Yoga & Mindfulness teacher and I also love books (I quite fancy leading a weekly yoga & book club one day — a girl can dream!)

I thoroughly enjoy expanding my knowledge in subjects I’m passionate about so after my Teen yoga teacher training I really wanted to delve deeper into the mindset of being a Teen, tapping into my own memories of being a young adult and so I read numerous YA novels, published journals and yoga books specific to Teens that could be brought into a Teen class as part of a theme or as recommendations to pupils who also loved to read and may benefit from a particular book or if there are Teen Yogis who read Bad Yogi Magazine!”

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7 Books about the Sacred Feminine

I am extremely passionate about women’s health. I’ve been obsessed by the idea of women’s circles and the sacred feminine since my mid teens and now as a Teen Yoga teacher I am currently creating lessons and workshops specifically for Teen girls in which I’ll facilitate yoga Menarche sessions and empowering blessing ceremonies centered around the moon, flowers, the seasons and connecting to the divine feminine from within. I want to lead ‘Red Tents’ and nature inspired women’s circles, bringing yoga, dance, art making, massage, reiki and meditation into the mix and so I’ve been researching a good number of books to inspire me as I create these sacred feminine workshops for Teen girls and Women alike- perhaps even Mother & Daughter workshops? From all I’ve read, these are my favourite books on the topic of goddesses and finding your inner goddess.

Awakening Shakti: : The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga by Sally Kempton

This is a book to slowly savour and steep. The author presents information of Hindu Goddesses in an accessible and compelling way. Each chapter, which follows the same format, is centered around a specific goddess and includes meditations to help the reader manifest the goddess and her energy. Even if you don’t particularly believe in Hinduism or goddesses, a person could benefit from reading this book by exploring personality archetypes. Each person embodies a combination of Hindu goddess archetypes, and it can be helpful when you want to enhance or diminish certain aspects of your personality. Awakening Shakti is an amazing introduction to divine feminine wisdom packed full of info, practical exercises and visualization. Every Woman who relishes her feminine energy and time to herself should invest in this book.
Beautifully written and a keepsake by the bedside.
Buy the book here: Awakening Shakti

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Bulgaria: Krushuna Falls

Visit Bulgaria

If residing in Veliko Tarnovo for a few days and you want to go on a day trip, I highly recommend visiting Krushuna falls. On the way we pit stopped at the Sopot Reservoir to stretch our legs because our friend/driver Paul got a tad lost. The reservoir was quite peaceful and picturesque, a nice warm breeze blew as local families camped nearby and a small group of men enjoyed a spot of fishing. After about 45 minutes resting here we hopped back in the car and eventually found road signs directing us to Krushuna falls.

Nested in a scenic forested landscape with abundant caves and other karst formations, the Krushuna Falls impress with their turquoise waters and peaceful natural setting. The Krushuna waterfalls are reputed to be the highest in Bulgaria and are also known as the Maarta waterfalls which is the name of the river which flows through this area. Some of the falls are as high as 20m along the gorge and there are many eco paths you can choose to walk.

Walk up the eco- trail to see the waterfalls from the top of the gorge and have an enjoyable lunch on the meadow by the caves. Or even spend the night camping under the stars at this heavenly location!

How to get there: The Krushuna Falls are adjacent to the village of Krushuna, not far from Lovech in north central Bulgaria. There are regular daily buses from Sofia or Veliko Tarnovo to Lovech as well as local buses from Lovech to Krushuna and back, so even though our journey was a bit muddled it is actually rather easy to get to these waterfalls.

Interesting fact: Krushuna is a bird of prey that is still found in the area.
Bulgaria trip
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Bulgaria: Etar Living Museum

Easy to get to from Veliko Tarnovo- Etar Museum is based in Gabrovo and take under an hour by car to get there. It’s a world inside its own gates, a selection of building showing how life was in Bulgaria until quite recently, how families lived and worked,many still do here. Lots of crafts to see and buy, my favourite are the wooden plates. This is a safe place to bring children and there are two very good restaurants at either end of the complex. This open air museum is very cheap to go in at about 5 Lev plus free WiFi too. This is a Brilliant place for a day out.

This is an enjoyable walk through the recreation of how Bulgarian life used to be-if you are a history buff or culture vulture, this beautiful place is for you. Set in a very scenic location this outdoor village museum shows the trades and traditions of Bulgaria in way that keeps you interested. Information boards are in both Bulgarian and English and explain what each house was used for and the items inside, the living quarters were also shown with an explanation to complete the full picture.

There are many seating areas to rest at as you take a slow wander around the site.


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