The Nectar Yoga Blog: Best Yoga and Pilates Poses, Health and Wellness Tips, Herbal Recipes — Nectar Yoga

As seen in The New York Times! Learn More

,

Expanding Your Limits: Neuroscience, Yoga and Breathwork for Building Your Capacity

,
Expanding Your Limits: Neuroscience, Yoga and Breathwork for Building Your Capacity

Examining our inner judgments, there are 9 types of bias as shared by educator and author Clay Drinko, is not only opportunities for developing more self-awareness, but is also a way to identify where edges are in the first place. 

Yoga and Breathwork Practices for Growing Capacity

These practices are designed to help you connect with your edge while fostering a sense of joy and renewal.

Wild Thing (Camatkarasana)
This heart-opening pose embodies freedom and vitality. As you flow into Wild Thing, you’ll feel a playful release, inviting both physical and emotional renewal.

, ,

Cultivating Your Inner Landscape: Practices for Enhanced Self-Awareness

, ,
Cultivating Your Inner Landscape: Practices for Enhanced Self-Awareness

why self-awareness matters

Psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund have formulated this definition of self awareness, "Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don't align with your internal standards. If you're highly self-aware, you can objectively evaluate yourself, manage your emotions, align your behavior with your values, and understand correctly how others perceive you."

Mindset Matters: How Yoga and Breathwork Can Help Build Resilience and Accelerate Learning

Mindset Matters: How Yoga and Breathwork Can Help Build Resilience and Accelerate Learning

Our mindset shapes how we perceive and respond to the world. A resilient mindset doesn’t eliminate life’s difficulties but helps us move through them with greater ease, clarity, and agency. Studies have shown yoga and breathwork offer practical tools for building resilience, grounding us in the present moment while enhancing focus and increasing a deeper trust in life.

Resilience isn’t about perfection or control; it’s about showing up and empowered to embrace life, even in the face of mistakes, disappointments, setbacks, or grief. In a recent Andrew Huberman’s podcast episode, he discusses failure triggers the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters, which are essential for learning and neuroplasticity. He also discusses how movement, including yoga, teaches us that balance and strength emerge through consistent practice, not through instant mastery (or the pursuit of mastery at all). By accepting that there is no final destination, and recognizing that the way we navigate our journey shapes our character and sense of fortitude, we can begin to shift our perspective. Through mindful self-talk and small, daily habits, we can cultivate a deeper capacity for resourcefulness, empathy, and gratitude. Imagine what the impact is as we do this collectively.

Begin with Stilness: Why Stillness Matters, How to Calm Down, and Relaxation Techniques

Begin with Stilness: Why Stillness Matters, How to Calm Down, and Relaxation Techniques

As a new year unfolds, we are often pulled toward action—goal setting, planning, doing. But what if the most profound way to begin is to pause? To intentionally step into stillness and allow rest to guide the way? In this quiet beginning, we can reset, align with ourselves, and set a sustainable tone for the year ahead.

The yamas, the first of yoga’s eightfold path, remind us of ethical principles that support inner stillness. For example, Ahimsa (non-harming) encourages us to approach ourselves with compassion, letting go of harsh expectations or fear-based beliefs to “do more” and instead allowing space for stillness so that clarity can emerge. By embodying this principle, we create a foundation for the year that is kind, balanced, and sustainable.

Stillness is not passive; it is rich with possibility. Pausing allows the nervous system to regulate, creating space for our minds and bodies to align naturally. It’s in these moments of quiet reflection that we build the foundation for intentional living. Instead of rushing into the year fueled by adrenaline, we can ground ourselves in practices that invite relaxation and clarity.

The Healing Scent of the Forest: The Uplifting Douglas Fir

The Healing Scent of the Forest: The Uplifting Douglas Fir

Douglas Fir essential oil carries a fresh, invigorating aroma that evokes the crisp scent of a forest after rainfall. This uplifting fragrance is dominated by terpenes like α-pinene, β-pinene, and limonene, which give it a sharp, pine-like quality that is both grounding and energizing. The combination of these terpenes lends Douglas Fir oil its signature clean, woody scent, which can also have subtle hints of citrus, resinous-meets-green-apple sweetness.

The therapeutic qualities of Douglas Fir oil are deeply connected to its molecular structure. α-pinene, known for its anti-inflammatory and respiratory benefits, supports clear breathing and mental clarity. β-pinene is celebrated for its ability to promote relaxation while providing an aromatic bridge to feelings of openness and peace. Limonene, found in the oil, offers a bright, citrus-like note that uplifts the spirit and helps combat stress and anxiety, making it particularly beneficial for emotional balance and mood enhancement.

Ferns are part of a group of plants known as Pteridophytes, which include over 10,000 species. Unlike flowering plants, ferns reproduce through spores and do not produce seeds or flowers. These ancient plants played a significant role in shaping our planet’s ecosystems, and according to the Australian National University, some modern-day coal deposits are believed to be remnants of ancient fern forests.

The fern’s resilience lies in their adaptability. Species like the Bracken Fern and the Staghorn Fern can survive in harsh conditions, including poor soil and limited sunlight, making them a symbol of endurance and perseverance.

Ancient Beauties: Ferns and Where to Find Them On Bowen

Ancient Beauties: Ferns and Where to Find Them On Bowen

Ferns, among the oldest plant species on Earth, are nature’s quiet survivors. With origins dating back more than 360 million years, they’ve thrived through major environmental shifts, even outlasting dinosaurs. Today, these graceful plants can be found in forests, gardens, and homes, offering both beauty and environmental benefits.

Ferns are part of a group of plants known as Pteridophytes, which include over 10,000 species. Unlike flowering plants, ferns reproduce through spores and do not produce seeds or flowers. These ancient plants played a significant role in shaping our planet’s ecosystems, and according to the Australian National University, some modern-day coal deposits are believed to be remnants of ancient fern forests.

The fern’s resilience lies in their adaptability. Species like the Bracken Fern and the Staghorn Fern can survive in harsh conditions, including poor soil and limited sunlight, making them a symbol of endurance and perseverance.

Relaxation Techniques Rooted in Nature: Forest Bathing with Alder Trees on Bowen Island

Relaxation Techniques Rooted in Nature: Forest Bathing with Alder Trees on Bowen Island

Spending Time with Trees Reduces Cortisol Levels

Welcome to Nectar Yoga Retreat’s wellness blog, where we explore holistic and yoga practices that deepen your connection to nature, self and other relations. If you’ve been on this journey with us, this year on our wellness blog, we’ve been focusing on the mind-body-spirit benefits of plants and certain fungi. This month, we’re spotlighting the alder trees residing on the forest where Nectar is located, and the therapeutic practice of forest bathing with these majestic trees.

The Healing Power of Forest Bathing

Forest bathing, or "Shinrin-yoku" from its Japanese origins, is more than just a walk in the woods. It’s a mindful practice of immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere, engaging all the senses, and finding solace in one’s relationality with all of nature. Studies have shown that being among alder trees and other trees in the form of forest bathing significantly lowers cortisol levels—the body’s primary stress hormone. This reduction in cortisol is linked to decreased blood pressure, improved mood, and enhanced immune function, making forest bathing one of the most effective relaxation techniques available.

Plant Medicine | Trees of the Pacific Northwest

Plant Medicine | Trees of the Pacific Northwest

Here at Nectar Yoga Retreat on Bowen, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of Canada, we are blessed with an abundance of different flora and fauna, each lending its unique properties to our environments. Guests staying with us through our Nectar Experience Packages or attending our day / evening events or overnight spiritual retreats often share how the presence of trees during their Bowen Island getaway makes a lasting impression on their wellness within.

As part of the living yoga practice and our commitment to being stewards of the land, part of our practice of Svadhyaya, the Yama translating to self-study, is learning the wisdom of the trees.