Anwen Meditates - A Steemit Health Channel // 11 Yoga Poses For Digestion Plus Fresh Squeezed Pear Juice

Happy Monday everyone! Today on #anwen-meditates I want to share 11 yoga poses that I practice to aid digestion. These poses can be practiced if your stomach is feeling a bit off, or just as a preventive measure to keep your digestive tract healthy and happy. I usually pick a number of breaths that I want to stay in each pose for, that way I know how long to remain in each pose and am not anxious about moving onto the next one. Perhaps it is 5 breathes, perhaps it is 15. It really depends on where you are that day. So, if you want to dive into this practice, go ahead and pick that number of breathes per pose for yourself. This is a gentle series that includes twists and a lot of floor work. It should feel good on your body. If you feel any pain while practicing a pose please ease out of the pose. And remember, there is a difference between hurting yourself and challenging yourself. I always strive to meet my edge in yoga, but not hurt myself by crossing it. I hope that this series can aid you with a healthy stomach and a peaceful mind, and that you have a great start to your week. Namaste :-)

1- Malasana (Extended Wide Squat)

2 - Marjaryasana-Bitilasana (Cat-Cow) - Inhale on the cow

Marjaryasana-Bitilasana (Cat-Cow) - Exhale on the cat

3 - Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold) - modification knees bent grabbing elbows

4 - Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

5 - Halasana (Plow Pose)

6 - Ananda Balasana (Happy Baby Pose)

7 - Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)

8 - Ardha Matsyendrāsana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)

9 - Pavanamuktasana (Wind Removing Pose)

Pavanamuktasana (Wind Removing Pose)

10 - Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)

11 - Balasana (Child's Pose)

And when all else fails, just play with your dog! (or find a few to play with at your local dog park)

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Let's make some fresh-squeezed pear juice!

I have two pear trees in my backyard that are brimming with pears. Some branches are even breaking off because they are so heavy from the weight of all of the pears. So...what do you do with hundreds of pears? Make fresh squeezed juice of course! I ran down to the trees, collected a few bags worth of pears, and got my juicer out.

I first quartered the pears and then cored them, making sure to get out all of the seeds. Then, I cranked on my juicer and popped the pear quarters down the machine. I understand why fresh squeezed juice in cafes is so expensive. It took about 6 pears to make a cup of juice!

I prefer to only juice what I am going to drink that day. This is in order to avoid oxidation, which decreases the vitamins and and enzymes in the juice. In fact, I try to drink the juice within 30 minutes of making it. However, the juicing process can take a lot of time and energy, and it is a pain to clean your juicer every time you want a cup of juice. When I make extra juice for the next day I always add a bit of fresh-squeezed lemon juice to slow down the oxidation process.

Yum! That's some fresh squeezed juice :-) Straight from my backyard, organic pears, without any preservatives or added sugars. If you want to get fancy you can try adding some cinnamon and orange rinds to the juice.

Cheers to everyone on Steemit!

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Hi friends! If you didn't catch my last posts, I am creating a new tag #anwen-meditates to post my own health videos and tutorials. I am creating a Steemit health channel - all of my videos and tutorials are for the wonderful users of Steemit! I am planning on sharing many tutorials, including yoga, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and more. I am also uploading the videos to YouTube in the hope of attracting more users to Steemit.

I have been practicing yoga and meditation for 8 years now, and these practices have been critical in shaping who I am today. My constant practices have brought me inner peace and stability during crazy times, have healed physical and emotional injuries, and have taught me how to be PRESENT!

I am really excited to be able to share these practices with you all. I am first going to share tutorials and videos that you can do right now, wherever you are. These can be used as breaks from the information overload of Steemit / life in general, when you wake up, before you go to bed, or really any time at all. I hope you enjoy :-)