Hiking Matheson Lake

This past week Tim and I decided to take a day trip just out past Metchosin to Matheson Lake. We heard it was a nice walk around a pretty lake so we packed a lunch and headed out of Victoria.

It is a 45 minute drive from Victoria just past Metchosin. The trail goes around the circumference of Matheson lake. We started out on our hike and thought we were going to have to turn around.

High winds and a cool day and Tim wearing shorts were not a good combination.

However we persevered and once we got into the tree covered portion around the back of the lake, the sunshine warmed us up.

We have decided to start packing a lunch for our hikes. We find there is not usually too much around to eat at our hiking locations and we are usually gone for 4-6 hours, so we need some nourishment!

Having a lunch with us and hydration makes all the difference.

It is worth the extra weight in the back pack.

The second part of the hike around Matheson lake was more than we bargained for. There is more elevated climbing than we thought there was going to be. It is not too difficult, it is just that pretty much every hike in BC has some sort of incline. Don´t think you are ever going to get off easy, even on a hike around a lake.

The treasure trove of the day was the path that splits off from the hike around Matheson lake down Matheson Creek.

The moss covered rocks in the creek were just beautiful.

So beautiful in fact that we plan to return to Roche Cover Regional Park and walk the trail from the bottom of the creek to the top next week. :)

If you made it all the way to the end of the vlog put, ¨I love the hills in BC¨ in the comments. Thanks for all your support in the hiking vlogs.

We love getting outdoors and making these vlogs for you.

Namaste, Melissa

✮ YOGA TIPS FOR FIBROMYALGIA ✮

Fibromyalgia is a very unique chronic pain condition and can affect each person differently. Because of this, it can be a bit tricky to navigate the world of yoga when you’re first starting out. In this video, guest yoga teacher Rachel Marie White is sharing three tips to help you safely begin yoga if you’re living with fibromyalgia.

Rachel Marie White specializes in yoga for people living with chronic pain and chronic illness. As a chronic illness fighter herself, Rachel knows first hand what it is like to live with chronic symptoms. This allows her to create yoga practices that intuitively support the needs of chronic pain and chronic illness fighters. Rachel’s website is full of free resources and paid membership options as well. Every practice focuses on cultivating self acceptance.

✮ RACHEL’S FREE YOGA EBOOK ✮

http://eepurl.com/c7zpuf 

✮ YOGA FOR FIBROMYALGIA VIDEOS ✮

https://youtu.be/na1eiZzhp1s

https://youtu.be/-hFlgkFwDqw

https://youtu.be/YQ_UHAPGaqE

✮ CONNECT WITH RACHEL ✮

https://www.sleepysantosha.com

http://www.youtube.com/sleepysantosha

http://www.facebook.com/sleepysantosha

http://www.instagram.com/sleepysantosha

 

A Real Treat!

Kid Sister Ice Cream, my favourite place for ice cream in all of Victoria, opened for 2018. So of course we had to go by and say hello :)

While we were there we decided to treat ourselves to a flight of icecream. This is four scoops of ice cream with whip cream. We had double chocolate, lemon meringue pie, vanilla and salted caramel. The flavours are so deep and delicious. The double chocolate tastes like brownies. The lemon meringue tastes just like the pie with a bright lemon flavour. The vanilla tastes of real vanilla bean. The salted caramel is so smooth with a lovely balance of sweet and salty.

Tim and I chased each other down the plate. Sharing with Tim is always a challenge because he only has one speed when he eats, which is FAST!

We also took a few pints home. Tim wanted to make sure he liked the lemon meringue flavour. He also chose a black and tan which is a combination of salted caramel and double chocolate. I chose a london fog which is a lovely earl gray flavour.

If you made it all the way to the end put, ¨I love salted caramel ice cream or I love lemon meringue” depending on which is your favourite. Let us know if you like our food vlogs and we will do more for you. It was nice to mix it up from our hiking vlogs :)

Namaste, Melissa

Yoga Nidra Helps

A 2016 study found that yoga nidra helped employees manage stress in the workplace. The study suggests that the process of yoga nidra accesses the parasympathetic response and decreases the sympathetic nervous system response which results in more physical, mental and emotional relaxation in our bodies. In other words less anxiety.

How does this work exactly?

In our day to day lives, we have many responsibilities. As good people we try to keep on top of our to do lists. We become human doings rather than human beings, trying to control the endless commitments of our lives. We keep going, afraid to get off the hamster wheel of accomplishment. We become exhausted by our obligations. This constant, highly stressed state triggers anxiety.

Enter yoga nidra. During the practice of yoga nidra the body is systematically relaxed. Your muscles relax, your heart rate slows down and your breath deepens. Not only are stress hormones are actually removed from your body, but your body also releases hormones that help with anxiety including GABA, (which is incredibly calming to your body), serotonin and melatonin.

Now, if you head on over to my friend Silke Dewulfe’s channel she we personally fill you in on how minimalism helps her to deal with anxiety.

You know how much I love my fabulous finishers, so if you made it all the way to the end of this video put, “GABA calms my body and mind” in the comments.

Thanks for pressing the like button, sharing this video on your socials and I will see you next week.

Namaste, Melissa

Mystic Beach

Last Wednesday Tim and I took a day trip from Victoria BC, past Sooke, almost all the way to Port Renfrew to Mystic Beach. We chose Mystic Beach as part of the Juan de Fuca trail because it has a fabulous suspension bridge, covered forest trails and a beautiful beach with waterfalls at the end.

Mystic beach is about an hour and a half drive from Victoria B.C. We stopped at Shirley Delicious in Shirley for a little treat.

The windy roads and hills make for kind of a pukey ride for a passenger.

The trail to Mystic Beach starts at China Beach. The entrance is gorgeous with beautiful forest with a windy road. Our timing was impeccable because they are closing the trails for some maintenance over the next few weeks.

The suspension bridge goes over Peter Wolfe Creek. It is so high, you can bounce on it and look down over the creek below.

The waterfall on the beach was stunning. What an incredible beach.

If you watched all the way to the end say, “I am mystified by mystic beach.” in the comments.

Namaste, Melissa

 

Lone Tree Hill Hike

This Sunday we decided to take a family hike to one of our favourite hiking destinations close to Victoria B.C. Just outside of Langford is Lone Tree Hill. It is about a 30 minute drive from downtown Victoria and just 10 minutes outside of Langford. So it is easy to get to.

While the hike is only a short 1 km to the top of the hill, it is a steep incline so you feel as though you’ve had a good workout through the tree covered trails. The views from the top are absolutely stunning and give a panoramic view of the tree tops, the ocean and you can even look back on the city of Victoria.

The most surprising thing about Lone Tree hill is that there actually is no Lone Tree. The Lone Tree was struck by lightning.

If you check out the link to this resource for the hike you can see a photo of the original lone tree.

Thanks so much for watching the vlog this week. I love my fabulous finishers. If you watched all the way to the end put “I feel lonely for lone tree”

Next week we are thinking about taking a trip past Sooke to the Juan de Fuca trail and Mystic Beach. This is the trail with the suspension bridge. Give us a thumbs up and make sure to subscribe if you are looking forward to that.

Namaste, Melissa

 

Better Sleep

I know many of you have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Maybe you’ve tried sticking to a normal routine, getting exercise and sunshine during the day, having a warm bath at night. In the rest of this post I am going to share with you my favourite three reasons why you can stop thinking about better sleep.

So, why can you stop thinking about better sleep?

#1 Night Watch

My favourite authority on sleep, Dr. Rubin Naiman, talks about how we bring all our goal-oriented, agenda-driven personalities with us to bed. We go to sleep with the ambition of sleeping through the night and rushing into the next day. He speaks of one patient he treated who would take up in the middle of the night and his first thought would be “Oh no,” viewing his waking as a personal failure and calamity that would seep into the next day.

Dr. Rubin Naiman goes on to tell stories and describe anthropological and historical research that demonstrates prior to the industrial revolution, people would routinely wake in the middle of the night for an hour or two.

The period of awakening was called the “night watch” and was considered a special time to talk about your dreams, make love, and pray in the stillness of the night.

Instead of waking in the middle of the night with panic about how exhausted we will be the next day we can rest into this normal rhythm of our night. We can reflect on the stillness and darkness that surrounds us and enjoy the time of quiet in an otherwise busy and noisy world.

#2 Yoga Nidra Allows us to Relinquish our Thinking Mind

In a 2017 study published in Sleep Science and Practice researchers offered a 4 week yoga nidra (also known as sleep yoga) for patients suffering from insomnia. What they found was participants practicing yoga nidra over those four weeks and also following up 3 months later, were able to fall asleep more quickly, sleep for longer, improved sleep quality, and reduced anxiety and depression.

In our own membership community where we have been practicing yoga nidra in our live Monday classes and have 7 yoga nidra audio downloads including Yoga Nidra for Healing, Yoga Nidra for Sleep, Yoga Nidra for Dreaming, Yoga Nidra for Exhaustion, Yoga Nidra for Mental and Emotional Renewal, Yoga Nidra for Beginners our members are finding great benefit.

Probably the most telling endorsement of yoga nidra comes from one of our members, Jayne who works night shifts. It is no secret that working the night shift goes counter to our body’s circadian rhythm which is an internal clock that tells us when we should sleep and when we should wake. Many people who work night shifts suffer from insomnia, sleepiness, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Jayne has absolutely fallen in love with yoga nidra. Jayne says, “Yoga nidra offers the best night sleep a shift worker can get and asks, where have you been all my life? I go to bed after practicing yoga nidra and I sleep well. I woke after 5 hours and I feel refreshed.”

Other members love the yoga nidra as well. Anja says, “I love the audios. They help me calm down at night and fall asleep in no time.”

One of the reasons why I believe yoga nidra also known as sleep yoga works so well is that it allows us to shift away from our waking consciousness and our doing and problem solving mind and to let go into to our sleeping and dreaming consciousness Sleeping consciousness allows us to relinquish our thinking and doing mind and rest into a receptive state of being and presence, something entirely different from our waking consciousness, yet still aware.

I will put the links to our yoga nidra for members in the show notes, a link to become a member if you are not already a member and I will be offering yoga nidra once a month on my main channel starting this Friday.

Bear Hill

This past week I was experiencing a decline in my mental health due to cabin fever. It was time to escape the four white walls of my apartment and get outdoors. We had no food in our house so we combined it with a trip to the farm and got lunch at The Roost in North Saanich.

We love going to the Roost in North Saanich for lunch because they have amazing sandwiches. Victoria BC. had a good amount of snow last Wednesday so we were somewhat concerned about the snow travelling around Victoria and the surrounding area.

We ended up on a trail just off of Bear Hill Drive in Saanichton. It is funny that we have never taken any of these trails before because we are quite often in this area picking up our local fruits and vegetables from Dan’s Farm and Country Market and Firbank farm.

There are a series of paths that run from the roads all the way down by Dan’s Farm, even as low as Elk Lake and Beaver Lake. Or you can take the short cuts and drive further up the hill like we did and start the trail further up.

Make sure you say hi to the adorable miniature ponies on your way up the paths. They are quite friendly and like to be pet on their noses.

It was good to get out and enjoy the views from close to the top :) Another way to make the trail a little easier is to avoid going all the way to the top.

If you made it all the way to the end, let me know if you are a fabulous finisher by putting, “I’m cured of my cabin fever” in the comments.

See you next week :)

Namaste, Melissa

Matcha Latte

Maybe you’ve heard all the buzz about matcha green tea, but you’ve wondered about all the hype. What exactly are the health benefits? Is it really a good alternative to my coffee or even my green smoothie? In this video I will be explaining the health benefits of a matcha latte and showing you how to make one.

A few weeks ago, I did a video on How to do Yoga in the morning in which I suggested making the morning special with a matcha latte.  Many of you wanted to know how I made my matcha latte.

Today I am going to take you through how to make a matcha latte as well as why you would want to do that.

Matcha is a clean alternative to coffee that will not give you the coffee caffeine crashes. While coffee contains 80-120 mg of caffeine and is acidifying. Matcha contains only 20-25 mg of caffeine and is alkalizing.

Because of the way that the plants for matcha tea are grown and harvested, they have higher levels of L-theanine and chlorophyll in their tea leaves. Matcha only uses the tender tea shoots found at the top of the tea plant.

So what is L-theanine? Well, it is an amino acid found in tea leaves. In short L-theanine will give you sustained energy and focus.

In more detail, L-theanine contributes to a number of changes in your brain. L-theanine boosts the levels of GABA in your brain GABA is a neurotransmitter which regulates emotions, mood concentration, alertness, energy, cognitive skills, increases calm and relaxation and even helps you sleep.

L-theanine brings a feeling of calm by reducing the chemicals in your brain that are linked to stress and anxiety.

L-theanine is said to release alpha waves in your brain. This is the brain wave state that is associated with meditation and creativity.

The great thing about L-theanine is that it is relaxing without being sedating.

Resource: Click Here

Secondly, matcha has antioxidants called catechins, specifically EGCG. Match is said to have up to 137 times more EGCG than all other tea.

The antioxidants found in matcha can help to lower your risk of cancer. Research studies have shown that the EGCG in matcha lowers the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer in humans.

Like the L-theanine, the EGCG also has a positive impact on your brain. It reduces fatigue and helps to relax and refresh your brain.

Many of you have probably heard that green tea can help you lose weight, well, it is the EGCG that suppresses and enzyme and breaks down norepinephrine. This increases the amount of norepinephrine in your body signally for more fat cells to be broken down and used for energy.

The EGCG also improves your insulin sensitivity and lowers blood glucose levels, also reducing your risk for Type II diabetes.

Resource on EGCG: Click Here

Oh, and why would you want to replace your green smoothie with a matcha latte? This is a question that has come up a few times recently, particularly since I mentioned that I no longer make juices and smoothies.

Quite simply, green smoothies and juices are cold, damp and full of sugar. They literally destroy our digestive tract and digestive fire. It is much healthier for our digestive system to take in warm, cooked foods according to both ayurvedic and traditional chinese medicine.

Resource: Reasons to avoid Green Smoothies

OK, let’s make our matcha latte.

First I will show you how easy it is to make the per...

Live Classes BTS

This week I thought I would remove the veil of the behind the scenes work I do. If you are not a member and even if you are a member, you only see a fraction of the work that I do for you. A good deal of my time and energy is spent in our membership community. One of our key features in our membership community is our live classes. This is where we come together 10xs a month with 2 way video to go deeper with the teachings.

A lot of you tell me you miss the long teachings that I used to give in the Yoga with Dr. Melissa West videos. Quite honestly I got tired of all the “you talk too much comments” and I took the advice of the commenters and moved the in depth teachings to another platform, one where people are happy to engage with them. So now they happen weekly, twice every Monday so that we access every time zone in the world - Europe, Asia and North America - and we get to contemplate the teachings together with two way video.

So what goes into this? I am going to take you behind the scenes this weekend as I prepare for Monday’s live classes. Here 10 step process that went into preparing for and creating Monday’s live classes.

#1 The first thing that happens is that I meet with the Carriers of the Teachings the second Tuesday of every month. This is a team of 10 leaders that offer their karma yoga to carry the teachings for the month into our community. Michelle carries the teachings into our moonstruck section where we follow the rhythm of the phases of the moon. Maria carries the teachings into our book club and aligns them with whatever book we are currently reading. Linda does an amazing job of combining dharma teachings with recipes. Ivy carries the teachings into her devotional section with a more spiritual focus. The rest of my carriers of the teachings: Nicole, Michele, Peige, Jackie, Jane and Sandrine carry the teachings into our daily yoga connection where they offer a short teaching for the week and curate video content for the week: short videos for weekdays and longer videos for weekends.

#2.. When our team meets monthly I give them focus for the following month, then we all have a unifying theme that connects us across all the sections of our membership community, so no matter where you are in our membership community, it feels like a cohesive whole. This month our focus is fascia: Fascia February. We are focusing on particular aspects of fascia because it is a big topic. So the first thing I am going to do in preparing for my live talk on Monday is to check back on our focus for the month and the aspects of fascia that we are talking about. The teachings that I brought forward to cover in Fascia February were wholeness, stiffness and detoxification. I keep going back to wholeness and that is where I feel myself gravitating again.

#3. I have just completed some yoga nidra training and so I want to be teaching on yoga nidra right now on Mondays. I have been preparing our Monday live meditation classes for yoga nidra for the past month or so and I am ready to roll this out. So now I am going to go through our membership community and get my finger on the pulse of our community and see where they are at, particularly in the places where people are talking about yoga nidra and where people hang out everyday. I also look at people’s requests and see what people's biggest problems are. One of the biggest requests I get is yoga for sleep and yoga nidra for sleep.

#4. I do my own research. Since my own yoga nidra training I have been researching the topic of sleep a lot more. I have been doing a lot of research on sleep and one thing that I know from my research is that maintenance insomnia is a huge deal. That is people can fall asleep, but cannot stay asleep. Also the first part of the night is deep sleep the second part of the night is REM sleep.