http://www.alayaholistichealth.com/

Alaya Holistic Health, Sydney (2025)

19/01/2024

🌙 Cows & Their Babies

There are many reasons people avoid or limit dairy – most people in the world are actully lactose intolerant, some have other health concerns, or are motivated by the environmental or ethical implications of dairy. Let’s talk about the latter - dairy ethics 🐄

I grew up with the idea of cows having udders full of spontaneously produced milk. That’s why we drank cow’s milk, right? Cows naturally produced it and needed to be milked, just like sheep naturally produced wool and needed to be shorn 🐑

Unfortunately, this is not the case 😢

Cows – like all mammals – need to have a baby to produce milk. And calves are a by-product of dairy production. In fact, a 2021 animal welfare and industry collaborative article within Frontiers of Veterinary Science addressed this ethical issue, referring to “The dispensable surplus dairy calf”. These are the calves born for their mothers to produce milk who are either killed on the farm, or slaughtered for their meat from days to weeks old depending on the area.

Calves are often separated from their mothers within a day of birth, sometimes much sooner. This is because the milk is intended for human consumption, not the calf. Obviously biological intention and industrial intention are very different.

Unfortunately, baby cows and their mothers are victims of a very cruel industry.

Mother cows cry out for their babies when they’re taken. If they are lucky to live in a field, they will run after the vehicle carrying their baby away from them.

Female animals are biologically designed to love and care for their young. We know this as wild animals often posing the greatest threat to humans are mother animals who have babies. They fiercely and sometimes fatally protect their vulnerable young.

If female animals didn’t have this drive, species would not have the same chances of survival. They are genetically programmed to care for their babies’ lives at least as much they do for their own.

I hope you’ll consider the kinder choice and choose non-dairy 🙏

17/01/2024

🌙 Vegan Dairy Swaps

There are many ways dairy is used and many types of dairy products. Vegan dairy has flooded the market and are getting better – both their taste and nutrition. Here are some of my favourite vegan dairy swaps that are high in protein and calcium, but low in saturated fat.

1️⃣ While there are countless plant milks, my favourite is soy. This is partly a flavour preference (which obviously varies) but it is high in protein and calcium, making it a great swap for dairy. Like many plant milks, soy milk is often fortified with nutrients present in dairy milk like calcium, vitamin D and B 12. However, other milks do not contain phyto-oestrogens – a compound present in soy that are shown to reduce risks of certain cancers and osteoporosis. This, in my opinion, makes soy the superior dairy milk replacement. 
2️⃣ Tofu is often set with calcium carbonate and unprocessed soy beans are a good calcium source, making tofu a doubly great calcium source while also being very high in protein. Tofu comes in varying degrees of firmness. Cubed firm tofu can be marinated like feta or crumbled like ricotta. Soft tofu can be blended with nutritional yeast (a cheesy condiment), cashews and seasonings to create a luscious creamy sauce for pasta or as a cream alternative in curries and risotto. You can even use it in some dessert recipes. Yum! 
3️⃣ Vegan yoghurts have been out for a while now and I have to say that soy yoghurt is definitely a winner! It is smooth and creamy and ticks the nutritional boxes listed in other soy products, but here with the added benefit of probiotics – which can be great for your gut health. It is also SUPER simple to make your own. All you need is unsweetened high protein soy milk, a yoghurt maker and a culture – this you can purchase online as a powder or by using 2 tablespoons of cultured yoghurt. It’s tangy, creamy and delicious!  4️⃣ Nuts and seeds also make a great alternative to dairy. They are high in protein, minerals and healthy fats, and can be used instead of tofu to create creamy sauces, crumbly ricotta and parmesan alternative.

17/01/2024

🌙 Tofu Appreciation

Tofu has got to be the most versatile and nutritious of vegan foods 🌱 It’s packed with protein, calcium, iron and unsaturated fat - and there are countless ways to incorporate it into your diet and make it delicious 🍲

Here are some ideas accompanied by some tasty soy-spiration (that sounded better in my head, I think!)

🫛 Tofu stir fry
🫛 Tofu curry
🫛 Baked or fried tofu
🫛 Tofu noodle soup
🫛 Tofu on toast (so good!)
🫛 Scrambled tofu (this one!)

PLUS! You can blend tofu into creamy sauces for pasta, soups and curries. You can even use it for desserts!

There have been many unfounded health risk implications thrown at soy ☠️ Like that it increases risk of diseases such as certain cancers and interrupts hormonal health in men and women. These claims are not backed by quality evidence and in fact, the scientific consensus overwhelmingly suggests many health benefits of soy.

These include reduced risk of:

🫀 Cardiovascular disease
🚻 Ovarian, prostate & breast cancers
🫁 Gastric, colorectal & lung cancers
🍭 Diabetes
🦴 Osteoporosis
🥵 Menopausal symptoms

Soy contains phytoestrogens and are known as selective oestrogen receptor modulators. This means they exert oestrogenic effects on some tissues and anti-oestrogenic effects on others ↕️

Get some more tofu on your plate today!

Note: Of course, if you are allergic to soy, please don’t eat it! You can find alternatives like tempeh made from other legumes, and swapping tofu for any white bean for blended recipes can offer a great alternative ↕️

📚 PMID: 31584249

11/01/2024

🌙 Vegan Meat Swaps

This swap is generally the most important when going more or completely 🌱Generally, meat is the star animal food for many people and provides considerable calories and nutrition. Filling this space with the right food is key!
Here are my Top Tips!

1️⃣ Beans & lentils are cornerstones of many diets, including lentils and chickpeas in India and beans in South America. The food group itself is called legumes and they are a nutritional powerhouse! In my opinion, leaving out legumes when switching to a plant-based diet is the biggest mistake one can make 🚨They are dense in calories and offer substantial protein and micronutrients like zinc, iron and some B vitamins – so they replace meat very appropriately. They also pack a load of fibre, which makes your gut happy but also helps you feel full. Canned legumes are just as good as fresh! Choose low sodium options and rinse them well if you aren’t used to eating them often 💨

2️⃣ Tofu & tempeh originated in Japan and Indonesia respectively and are commonly used in several Asian cuisines as a plant protein. They are made from legumes (usually soy beans), but are more processed. Tofu consists more of the protein and fat components of soy beans and tempeh is a fermented food that contains the beans more whole. Tofu has a milder taste and soaks up the flavour of your meal perfectly!

3️⃣ Seitan is a protein-packed meat alternative made from vital wheat gluten. It has a stringy meaty texture and works great as a chick’n replacement – sometimes with more protein than chicken! You can find great recipes online to make your own. Avoid if gluten free.

4️⃣ Faux meats are flooding the supermarkets right now as more people are looking for plant-based alternatives for familiar faves. These can be a great addition to a diet, but check their sodium and saturated fat content if you have certain health concerns. They are primarily made from soy (like textured vegetable protein) or seitan. Some are even fortified with nutrients like iron and B12, so they can make an even better meat swap!

Use these tips to swap out meat and feel great!

21/12/2023

Vitamin B12 is needed for many functions, including DNA synthesis and energy production. This is a vitamin you don’t want to mess around with, as deficiency can lead to serious problems like nerve damage and anaemia

B12 is only found at significant and reliable levels in animal foods, particularly beef, and it’s a good idea to supplement if you remove or reduce meat intake 🐮🐷🐥

B12 (cobalamin) is made by microbes from the mineral cobalt. But while animal foods are a key source of the nutrient today, our past unsanitary living provided us with all the B12 we needed for millennia. Vegetarians in developing countries appear to get theirs from untreated water, and our primate cousins from eating faeces 💩 Luckily for us, we can easily take a supplement!

Vegetarian adults are recommended 50mcg per day or 2000mcg per week. However, if you are over 65, B12 deficient or have malabsorption issues 1000mcg a day may be required. This highlights that it is not just vegetarians who need to be cautious of B12 intake. Aging can diminish B12 absorption & digestion complexity can leave people vulnerable to deficiency.

Sublingual supplements mostly absorb through capillaries under the tongue & help bypass this complicated digestion, moving the B12 more directly into the bloodstream. Three daily servings of B12 fortified foods like nutritional yeast and some plant milks can also maintain adequate levels 💪

Not keen on supplements or fortified foods? Well, it turns out that cobalt supplementation in cattle used for beef and dairy production is commonplace. Bacteria in these animals’ digestive systems can make their own B12 from cobalt, which can be low in many areas. Pigs and chickens are also commonly supplemented B12 directly. So, acquiring B12 from these high B12 foods is likely just second-hand supplementation anyway!

There are two main types of B12 supplements, cyanocobalamin is the most studied and stable whereas methylcobalamin could be better for those who smoke or have kidney disease.

Take care with your B12 so it can take care of you!

📚⏬

19/12/2023

🌙 Healthy Vegan Swaps

Concerns about the environment, animal welfare and health are leading more people to shift toward a
A common mistake people make when trying to reduce or eliminate animal foods is that they don’t think mindfully about what they are replacing these foods with. This is why it is a good idea to consult a nutrition professional before making significant changes to your diet.
Here are my top tips to help you make healthy

1️⃣ Ensuring nutrients like protein, vitamins and minerals are at least equivalent in your swap is key to helping you feel your best, particularly in the long-term. Special consideration should be made for protein, calcium and iron. Plant foods have these nutrients too, but some foods have more than others. Without swapping appropriately, you can wind up with a deficiency. When this happens, the blame usually lies in the absence of animal food, but really it is the fault of the swap!

2️⃣ Animal foods are generally more energy dense compared to plant foods. An unexpected significant calorie deficit can leave you feeling lethargic and rundown. Replacing meat, dairy and eggs with energy-dense & nutritious foods like legumes, wholegrains and healthy fats will help you stay energised

3️⃣ Many vegan foods use large amounts of coconut oil & sodium. While coconut oil has been shown to be a little healthier than butter and lard that doesn’t say much! Coconut oil raises LDL cholesterol, which increases disease risk. High sodium intake increases risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Many vegan cheeses and other alternatives can be very high in coconut oil and sodium. Always check the ingredients list and the nutrition panel 🥥🧂 
4️⃣ Your swap needs to offer a similar eating experience - taste, sight & texture – so you do not feel deprived of what you enjoy. You’ll be surprised by how easily you can tweak & veganise your faves! 🌱

Finding a balance of all these factors will help you make a healthier choice that is sustainable – not just for the planet but also for you. 🌏 Stay tuned to learn about healthy vegan swaps for meat, dairy & eggs!

29/11/2023

🌙 Utthita Hasta Padungusthasana III

The third and final posture of the UHP vinyasa in the Ashtanga system, this posture primarily challenges the strength of your quads and hip flexors. I remember when I was first practising power vinyasa yoga - this was such a killer! I could barely keep my foot off the floor and I was shaking like a leaf! But after consistent practice and once I learned the nuance of the pose (and stopped panicking!), the leg became higher and steadier.
Here are my top tips!

1️⃣ Hug in lower core – your deep core (transverse abdominis) connects through the fascia into your iliopsoas hip flexors. By engaging your core, you assist your psoas muscle to lift and hold your leg up. This also helps you to lengthen up out of your spine and stay stable through the pelvis.

2️⃣ Suction lifted thigh bone into pelvis – this subtle movement is related to the TVA activation above, but more specific to the lifted leg. Pulling the femur (thigh bone) into the pelvis will offer you more stability and connection into the hip flexor muscles. Often when students extend their standing leg forward, their hip comes with them – sending their spine back and losing the strength needed in the core for this pose. Pulling the thigh into the hip or sending the sit bone slightly back will help counter this temptation and help you find your strength.

3️⃣ Ground down and lift tall – consolidating the above cues, lifting your spine away from the floor and reaching through the top of your head will help stabilise through the pose. Grounding through your standing foot and leg will help you find this axial extension through the spine and engage your lifted leg.

4️⃣ Point your foot & spread your toes – through the fascial connections into the sole of the foot (plantar fascia) this foot positions helps create length and lightness through the leg. This alignment helps the working muscles by allowing them to do less! Give it a go and see how it feels in your body!

29/08/2023

🌙 Backbends Top Tips

Probably the most polarising posture class, backbends can be uncomfortable or even painful. However, backbends can be an extremely functional movement, especially as we spend so much time sitting and rounding forward 🪑 Backbends actually offer us much needed balance! Here are my top tips!

1️⃣ To shorten or “bend” the back we need to open the front. Tightness here can be limiting for your backbend. There are two fascial frontline chains, deep and superficial, and muscles along these chains can restrict your backbend. Try stretching and myofascial release and see where along the line you are restricted 🫶

2️⃣ We need to support our spine to bend and we do that through where we are grounded. Most of the time, this is our legs. Spinal extension is supported by hip extension, and our hamstrings are important here. Depending on the pose, our quads need to be strong (like in bridge) for other postures it’s more the hamstrings (bow pose & ustrasana). Knee bend and your relationship to gravity will also impact what is working more 🏋️‍♀️

3️⃣ The cue “soften your glutes” in backbends lacks nuance. Hip extension (sending the hips in front of the chest) requires glute engagement, especially the lower glutes above the thighs. We don’t want to squeeze the glutes so much that we might have apples in our pockets, but they NEED to work. It is common for the upper glutes below the lower back to tighten – they don’t help our backbend but can create compression. Here we can relax, but the lower glutes we need to engage! Many people struggle to connect to this muscle – they are sat on a lot!

4️⃣ The lumbar spine (lower back) is where most of our backbend happens. When people feel discomfort in the lower back in a backbend, especially in cobra and up dog, they are often creating too much compression here. To help create more space within the bend, send your chest forward as you lift up, and reach back through your feet. Pulling the hands back rather than pushing them forward also creates length

✨Practise with me online! LIVE flow & MFR classes with affordable class packs! MFR programs! www.alayaholistichealth.com✨

28/08/2023

🌙 Tree Pose | Vrksasana

One of my favourite postures that helps us to connect to our grounding and centre, tree pose invites the beautiful qualities we all experience through trees 🌲

Rooting down through the floor, we can observe the delicate intelligence of our feet – where it grounds down, where it lifts and supports and the small movements through to the ankle as it recalibrates the balance 🦶

The foot becomes a microcosm of the pose as we notice where else we are providing support to hold the shape (like the subtle core) but also where we feel lifted through the whole body 🌳

However, a key area of this pose is actually our hips and that was what I will focus on today!

1️⃣ Hug the standing hip in: When we balance on one leg, our hip stabilisers (gluteus medius and minimus) engage to keep us stable. These are the same muscles that work in side plank to lift the bottom hip away from the floor, and should invoke a similar sensation. Instead of letting the hip sag out, we pull the hip in. I find it easiest to connect to this subtle activation by first letting the hip hang away and contrasting by engaging and pulling it in. You should feel a sensation to the side of the pelvis 🌴

2️⃣ Pressing the lifted foot: Tree can be explored with the lifted foot on the inner ankle, shin or in the inner thigh. When your foot is high up the leg, pushing your foot into your thigh and your thigh back into your foot helps to engage the hip stabilisers. It also helps you to align the lifted hip 💕

3️⃣ Opening the lifted knee out: While keeping your hips facing the front (without twisting), try opening your standing leg to face the side. This is external rotation and you should feel some activation where you feel a stretch in pigeon pose. Your knee should turn more to face the side, for some people it’s a little and for others it’s a lot 🙏

If you feel your hips could do with a little extra love like less tension and better range of motion, I have a Roll & Revive: The Hips program on my website! Use discount code ALAYAFRIEND20 to receive 20% off! And sign up to my newsletter for more special offers!
www.alayaholistichealth.com

✨

17/08/2023

🌙 Practise with Me Online!

Since moving to California, I have been missing teaching yoga so SO much.

If you have been missing practising with me too, you can now practise with me online!

Visit my website alayaholistichealth.com to access classes, and join my newsletter to receive exclusive discounts and learn what’s new!

Here’s a run-down of my current offering of programs and LIVE classes.

1️⃣ Myofascial Release Programs – Invest in supporting your body through self-massage. You’ll learn how to restore and revive the body to improve recovery, reduce pain and support better range of motion and function.

Roll & Revive: The Hips and Roll & Revive: The Lower Back each offer over 1 hour of video content and pdf manuals to help you get the most out of your program.

You have unlimited access to the programs. Use discount code BUNDLE20 to receive 20% off when you purchase both programs together.

2️⃣ Hatha Flow – A slower dynamic practice to build strength and consolidate your alignment (Level II) Tuesdays 12:15pm

3️⃣ Gentle Hatha w MFR – A gentle practice that combines aspects of restorative yoga, nourishing movement and myofascial release. A great class to ease tight and tense muscles, and to help you relax and unwind (Level I)
Wednesday 1:15pm

4️⃣ Vinyasa Flow – A fun, very dynamic practice offers challenging movement and postures. Things usually get sweaty! (Level II & III) Thursday 6:15am

LIVE classes are taught via Zoom. If you can’t make it live or you want to repeat the class, you will receive a class recording and have access for a whole week!

Class Pricing Options:
✨Drop in - $15
✨5 Pack - $55
✨10 Pack - $100

Subscriptions:
✨Rolling 10 Pack - $95/mo

✨Unlimited - $110/mo. All LIVE classes plus unlimited access to full on-demand class library.

Checkout the link in bio for more info!

I hope to see you in class soon!

All love,

Jess 🙏💕

10/05/2023

🌙 FLOW TO RELEASE: BACKBEND WORKSHOP

You’re invited to join me for a final yoga workshop before I move to California 🇺🇸

We will combine vinyasa flow, some anatomical breakdowns, drills and myofascial release to help you get to know your back bend on a deeper level - literally or otherwise!

You don’t need to be big on backbending to enjoy or benefit from this workshop. Backbends help you to release through the front of the body and strengthen the back body - which are both important to balance out our more regular modern movement patterns. Many back bends also help to improve shoulder mobility.

I’d love to see you on the mat! 🙏

BOOK via link in bio on my website: alayaholistichealth.com/events

WHEN: Sunday 4th June 9:30-11:30am

WHERE: Waterview Community Centre, Lane Cove (7 Waterview Drive)

COST: $60 per person

BRING: A yoga mat

OPTIONAL: I will provide tennis balls for mfr. If you would like to invest in your own set, I recommend RAD Recovery Rounds (you can only purchase on Amazon in Australia currently)

Can’t wait to see you there!

Jess 🙏🌙

Alaya Holistic Health

19/01/2024

17/01/2024

17/01/2024

11/01/2024

21/12/2023

19/12/2023

29/11/2023

29/08/2023

28/08/2023

17/08/2023

10/05/2023

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