September Yogi Surprise Box – Love of Yoga

One of my favourite times of the month is when I can come home and find a little purple Yogi Surprise box waiting for me! It is always filled with so many hand-picked items with the yogi or health nut in mind. This months September YS box is full of everything I love, and celebrates National Yoga Month – so you know it’s going to be gooooood šŸ˜‰

The items in this box are meant to enhance our practice and help ground us in this transition to chilly autumn days. For the love of yoga, let’s get to it!

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The best part isĀ opening the box and just seeing past the Packing List at all the goodies inside. Knowing you get to pull each one out, one by one. It’s like a never ending birthday present, but tailored to my lifestyle! Right off the bat I saw food… brownies to be specific… brownie BRITTLE to be reaaallly specific!! Yes, Yogi Surprise, you know me too well.

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You know it’s going to be a good box when you kick it off with Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle! I’m not going to lie, I opened these immediately and started munching on them. WOW. SO. YUMMY. I had to stop myself from eating the whole bag and quickly packed it away, saving it for my Teacher Training this weekend as a good power up snack.

Underneath the Brownie Brittle was a beautiful geometric designed yoga strap from Yoga Design Lab and Scentuals Yoga Mat Spray. Super handy to keep in my Yoga bag for my Teacher training as well. We started using straps like this one so it definitely came at the right time and in an extra long length. Also, it’s so pretty! Next was a 100% beeswax candle in a cute tin from Barefoot Lake. It has a yummy lavender and peppermint scent and it is going to accompany me the next time I take a bath. It is meant to help slow down and soothe creating a tranquil space between body and self.

I kept digging through the box to find an aromatherapy incense sampler made from a blend of natural essential oils and hand rolled by local village women in South India. 25% of Auromere’s incense profits go towards supporting education in rural India, so go check them out!! Also included at the bottom of the box was a book by called Yoga To The Rescue: Ageless Beauty. It talks about some key poses that help keep the body rejuvenated, somewhat slowing down time. Such a handy little book! I always love when there is food and something to read while I eat the food in my Yogi Surprise Box hehe.

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“Is that box empty yet? I want to try and fit”

I went through my Yogi Surprise Lifestyle box, but the fun isn’t over yet! I also got the Yogi Surprise Jewelry box! A cute little box that has two pieces and a snack.

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Opened it up and saw my beautiful friend Alexzandra Peters on the insert. SO that was awesome already. Just after I spotted a gorgeous mala, with deep and dark colours I knew I would love right away.

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Made from African Turquoise and an accompanying Jade beaded bracelet. What a gorgeous set, and the quality feels incredible! Love the matching tassel as well, the pop of colour is stunning.

If you want a discount on your firstĀ Yogi Surprise – be sure to use the code YOGILOVE at checkout! You won’t regret this purchase, treat yourself – this one is WORTH IT! <3

Eleuthera 2016 – Surreal Beach Yoga Experience

So we didn’t really go on this trip so I could do yoga on the beach, but squeezing it in to our relaxing time in Eleuthera, Bahamas was not so bad, especially since it felt just so RIGHT! The warmth of the sun on your skin followed by that sweet salty breeze is the most wonderful experience. Especially when the beach is at low tide and the sand banks appear – yoga right in the middle of all that water, where you can walk for miles before itĀ reaches your knees.

Mala pictured above is fromĀ Seed of IntentionĀ where you can use the codeĀ ASANAVANESSA10 for 10% off. I am also wearing HEAT Swimwear in the above photos. We had this idea that we would explore the entire island, and see every single beach. Well, we didn’t see the whole island, no matter how deceivingly small it may seem – we would need months to discover every beach this beautiful island holds. We did manage to see the top beaches on the island, with the above photos being from Alabaster Bay – one of the highest rated beaches on the island. Gaulding Cay was also one of the nicest beaches we went to (pictured below), but only because it gave us an awesome first time snorkelling experience to the island. I would highly recommend making the treck out to this beach just for that alone.

Bikini by @wetchic_beachwear

Speaking of top rated beaches, one of the top in the world belongs to this tiny island – famed for its coral coloured sand. We had to see this beach. So we woke up early and made the hour long car journey to the docks to take a small ferry boat over to harbour island. We had to rent a golf cart once we got to this tiny little island to make it to the famous beach, but that was so much fun as it is how the locals ride around. Every golf cart to themselves riding around in the sun on narrow roads, where you have to remember to drive to the left! Feet in the sand below, can you see the hues of pink in this sand?

I was wearing all JVRNEY swimwearĀ on this day. So comfortable and I loved the white top with the green palms and floral on it. Felt perfect for this setting and practicing on the softest sand ever. We even had some of the best conch on the whole island in a salad as we watched the sun start to set. It was perfect. Conch is not my favourite but the way it was prepared for this salad was divine.

We did a lot more beach exploring after this, of course. Beach after beach after beach… but I’m not complaining. memorable moments include eating food, snorkelling, tanning, floating, eating food, drinking, tanning, snorkelling, eating food. So ya know, it was awesome.

We visited the Marker bars by Schooner Cays in the first photo above. just miles and miles of sand banks in the middle of the ocean between Eleuthera and Exuma Sounds. We stayed close to the small town of James Cistern where I had to strike a pose on the dock (the locals loved that haha). And one of our personal favourite beaches in the last photo above called Ten Bay beach. Such an awesome spot where the water is like a big clear pool at high tide.

I had to do some underwater yoga at South Palmetto Beach as well. We saw a shark soon after this so that was the last photo taken before moving it on to the beach for the rest of the day!

What is amazing about the beaches of Eleuthera is how private they are. We rarely bumped into anyone on these beaches so if thats your thing then this place is for you. You have an entire beach to yourself every day – all day. It truly is magical and breathtaking place. Since it is so empty all the time and the roads are hard to drive without a 4×4, if you get trapped at a beach, then you have to wait and hope someone drives by šŸ˜€ That’s why we always packed enough food and drinks in this AMAZING Sol & Selene bag that came so handy for this trip. We stuffed it full of everything we needed to last throughout the day – I am so happy we brought it.

Bag by @solandsolene 😍 Use the code ASANAVANESSA15 for a discount at solandsolene.com

Bag by @solandsolene 😍 Use the code ASANAVANESSA15 for a discount at solandsolene.com

Other than beaches we visited the Cliffs in James Cistern – just for a little adventuring. The pools behind me in the first photo below were full of crabs and sea urchins. It is also where the Atlantic ocean crashed against the edge of the cliffside. The second photo below was a rainy day where we visited Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve and learned about the various insects and plants of the Bahamas and Eleuthera. We also got stuck in the pouring rain but made it to this lovely tower within the park, so it wasnt so bad.

Last photo is one of my favourites. From the land of pineapples we had the juiciest little ones in Eleuthera. The most delicious pineapples live here and you need to sample these babies.

We had to visit Spanish wells as well, noted as one of the most beautiful beaches. As it was super beautiful but our taste had grown quite high after Harbour Island and Ten Bay beach – this one was beautiful, but very windy and full of larger bigger fish which we couldn’t see because of murky water. That freaked me out a bit so not too much snorkelling happened. It is home to Lobster island though so we had to sample the local cuisine – SO YUMMY.

Of course I had to do some underwater yoga, taken at our most favourite beach – Lighthouse Point beach. I think if we had seen this beach from the beginning and not save dit to last, we probably would have just come here every day. WOW. It is so incredibly breathtaking. The sand is soft and pink, there is adventuring to be done with the hike up the the Lighthouse and around, and plenty of amazing snorkelling spots in deep water close to shore. this was by far my favourite spot on the entire island. You can see how clear of a pool it is below.

The white bikini pictured is from Bikini CNĀ which I loved for cheeky tanning šŸ˜‰ The top also felt like a rash guard so it was great for snorkelling. We spent the entire day from morning to night on this beach, we came prepared to do just that because this one was the hardest road to drive to get to this beach. Super bumpy for 20 minutes on a slow ride in. But so worth it.

Thank you Lighthouse beach for a last magical perfect day in Eleuthera. I had my mermaid moment here too, pictured above in my fave dress from Red Carter Swim. You can see how crystal blue the water is – I will remember this moment forever.Ā 

Extra special thank you to my main muffin photographer for documenting some of my yoga experience on the island. love chu!

November Yogi Surprise featuring OM PHONES!!

I have been seeing sneak previous of this months Yogi Surprise all over, and one of the items that really caught my eye are the fantabulous OM PHONES!! These are super unique mala headphones that soothe your mind and nourish your soul. They are made from sustainable materials and the sounds quality is killer. I will definitely be taking these on my holiday because they are the cutest headphones ever!!! I got the red tassel mala phones but I did see a beautiful blue version as well! The ear buds are super comfy and soft in the ear, I can see myself wearing these for a while during a workout.Ā IMG_0562

Last month I received an awesome yoga mat strap my Manduka, which I was thrilled for because I finally had something to wrap up my Manduka mat in! Coincidence, or does Yogi Surprise know me too well? Either way, this month I got a certified organic Manduka yoga mat spray – you can tell it is a high quality spray that won’t degrade you mat over time. I always find there is something super yummy smelly in the box, and this month it was the Aura Cacia Chakra balancing roll on scent. This is one of my favourites in the box, it allows you to roll on without having to spray anything. The scent is a calming earthy floral aroma, love it!

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This whole time I was going through the box I was wearing the first thing I pulled out which were SOCK – I FREAKING LOVE SOCKS! These Toe Talk manta Socks are made for practice with their grippy leafy design at the bottom and they have a personal mantra printed on the top. My socks said Find Your Zen – ah, yes I will socks… yes I will.

Next comes our yummy Balance Superfood shot, containing half a days worth of fruit and veggies in such a little cute green bottle. I am saving this one for after a yoga practice, will let you know how it goes but I read the ingredients and it cant get any more natural than this. PURE fruit and veggies with noĀ sugar or chemicals added. HOW YUM! <3 There is also a Buddha Teas Organic Zen Cleanse blend in a Hibiscus and cranberry flavour which I have yet to try, but like all Buddha Tea products – you can’t go wrong.

The surprises are not done yet as I still have the Yogi Surprise Jewelry box. I love this cute little box the most because there is always a yummy treat inside too, and this one had a limited batch Apple Pie virgin chocolate bar from Raaka. I had one of these in a previous box – it was salted dark chocolate, so I was excited to see one in this months box too. I know it’s cheesy but I personally love the packaging on this bar. These are hand crafted in Brooklyn and you can see and tatse the love that goes into each one. Lovely Bean-to-bar magic.

On to the jewelry! a beautiful matching set of beads, one bracelet and one necklace. The wood and fire agate beadsĀ on the necklace hang on a fine chain and are strung in a line – super simple. They are a warm ambery colour, perfect for this fall. Perfect for this months gratitude theme!

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Such happiness every time I get one of these boxes, so many subscription boxes to choose from, but this is for sure my favourite little parcel that lands on my doorstep. Sign up for Yogi Surprise, You really won’t regret it.

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Easy peasy, yummy smoothie bowl!

I’ve got a confession. I hate breakfast. And as the most important meal of the day, I struggle to get the energy I need to start it off right. That’s where these delicious smoothie bowls come in, they are super nutritious, energy fueling and they look pretty awesome too!

My favourite combination of fruits is strawberries and bananas so those are a must in every one of my smoothie bowls!Ā I usually start with those two as a base, and then add fruits as I find them in my fridge.

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This particular morning I was feeling a bit adventurous so I added blueberries and grapes. The blueberries were great and broke up a lot in the blender, but the grapes are probably best served as a topping, the skin didn’t shred that much so there were a bunch of grape skins floating about (still tasty though!).

The best part comes after when you get to top it with all the extra fruit left over. This morning I used grapes, blackberries, and blueberries to snaz up my smoothie bowl. I sprinkled some of Stephano’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry Granola and a few mini dark chocolate chips, because, chocolate.

I love making these smoothie bowls! They are so quick to make and boost my energy levels after the first bite!