Have you ever been told during a Yoga class or fitness program that you have ‘tight hips’? Tight hips are a common problem in our modern world. If you spend a lot of time sitting during your day – commuting to and from work, sitting at a desk and then collapsing on the couch at home, then your hip joints are bent for most of the day. This means that the muscles at the front of your hips are held in a shortened position and without the stimulus of standing and moving your hips regularly. Your body assumes that you only need a limited amount of hip movement and adjusts the length of the muscles ..read more

2021 was a messy year to say the least. As a new year comes around it’s a great time to be reflective and put some thought into goals and resolutions. However, this last year has been unsettling and disorientating as we navigate unknowns and lockdowns. It’s truly challenging to find opportunity in uncertainty as it requires an energy and motivation that has been beaten out of most of us at this point. You may have ended the year feeling disheartened. Sluggish. Unmotivated. But don’t be hard on yourself if you feel you didn’t achieve what you set out. Be proud of how far you’ve come even if it ..read more

Looking to incorporate a clean and healthy juice into your routine? Here are six fantastic juice recipe combinations to get you started. We stick to mostly veggies when juicing since adding lots of fruit makes the sugar content skyrocket. So far, our favourite veggies are beets and carrots — they are already naturally sweet and really don’t need much help from fruit to make it taste incredible. People juice for many reasons including weight loss, to live a healthier lifestyle and to help with general health, energy, clear skin and weight loss. In our previous article, you can re ..read more

Guest writer Joan Lara explores what makes a healthier diet and gives her tips to achieve a balanced outlook towards our lifestyle and what we eat…   Considered the “Healthiest Country in the World” in the Bloomberg Global Health Index, Spain’s relatively high life expectancy and lower health risks are largely credited to a good lifestyle. For the longest time, this was believed to include the much raved about Mediterranean Diet of healthy fats, veggies, legumes, and fish. However, new evidence on El Pais shows that today, only 45% of Spanish people follow this diet. What’s more, the youn ..read more

If you are just starting out with an exercise program or you aren’t seeing results with your current routine, then going on a Fitness Retreat is a great way to dedicate time and focus on your health. By dedicating a week to your fitness it will allow you to be immersed in your health goals with the right support, equipment and environment. At a Retreat it’s unrealistic to expect you will lose 10 kilos and walk out with a 6 pack. But you will be able to build on your fitness levels and knowledge alongside likeminded individuals, trainers and coaches, where no one is ‘too unfit’ or asks ‘silly ..read more

Suffering from a bloated stomach? Feeling tired all of the time? Finding that your toilet habits aren’t as regular or consistent as they used to be? A colon cleanse could be the answer to your problems. What is the colon? The colon is also known as the large bowel or large intestine. It is an organ that is part of the digestive system (also called the digestive tract) in the human body. The digestive system is the group of organs that allow us to eat and to use the food we eat to fuel our bodies. In the small intestine, a special hair-like lining known as villi absorb the liquid parts. Those l ..read more

Reiki is a spiritual healing practice which originated in Japan in the early 20th century. It is built on the belief that the body is innately able to heal itself. The word “reiki” loosely translates to “universal life energy” — an energy which practitioners believe exists within, and surrounds every body.  At it’s core, the practice involves transmitting or balancing that energy, through the specific placement of hands on or above a recipient’s body. Most commonly, it is used to ease pain, anxiety, fatigue, and depression. But let’s face it, from the outset it sounds like a bit of hocus ..read more

Affirmations are a powerful way to improve your mindset on a daily basis, and research has shown that they can increase our feelings of self-worth. Since your thoughts play a big part in your overall success and happiness, it’s important to find ways to improve your mindset. If you don’t, you risk falling into negative thought patterns and holding yourself back. What’s more, it may help boost your overall health. Studies support the idea that the words we choose matter. A good positive affirmation can help you combat stress and increase the neural pathways in your brai ..read more

At Shanti-Som we welcomed Sound Relaxation Coach, Christine Heckel, to facilitate a Cosmic Sound Bath experience. The soothing sounds of a gong and 12 metal singing bowls filled the air and all guests left evidently relaxed, with an aura of humble calm around them. We decided to look into what is a sound bath exactly and the benefits to our wellbeing and health. What is a Sound Bath? It is basically a therapeutic and meditative experience whereby you “bathe” in the sounds and vibrations produced by different instruments such as gongs, tuning forks, and crystal bowls. Through these sounds and v ..read more

Coined by the psychologist, Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s, burnout describes a severe stress condition that leads to severe physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. Much worse than ordinary fatigue, burnout makes it challenging for people to cope with stress and handle day-to-day responsibilities. People experiencing burnout often feel like they have nothing left to give and may dread getting out of bed each morning. They may even adopt a pessimistic outlook toward life and feel hopeless. Burnout doesn’t go away on its own and, if left untreated, it can lead to serious ph ..read more