I get it, putting on weight is scary. In the 90s the bodies that were in style were starved, drugged and abused. When I grew up, the fashion was walking dead or heroin chic.

And I was never skinny. Never “fat” either, but with areas of stubborn fat, even at my lowest weight I could never appear slim.

I struggled with an ED most of my life.

But let’s think about how fat works. Fat cells store energy for later. That’s all. The reason fat starts to build in your body is that you are not getting enough energy to do what you need to do. Usually, these are essential repairs on your body and the key different is resting.

If you do not rest effectively, you will always be malnourished and gain weight.

Big physical injuries might include broken bones, organ damage from poor gut management, drug or alcohol abuse or exhaustion. They could also include chronic stress and emotional injury.

If you’re the kind of person who lives through big emotional waves that can overtake your life, this places a huge tax on your nervous system. Your brain and body interprets emotional pain like physical. And the intensity of impulses travelling along your nerves cause them to fry, quite literally.

Your nervous system protects itself with fat. Myelin is the fatty sheath around nerve cells that insulate them as impulses travel around your body. Through normal wear and tear and cell turnover your body must myelinate your nerves constantly. This requires a little sugar, healthy fats and a lot of rest. You also need to strengthen your nerves with a little stress – gentle and regular exercise is perfect for this.

So remember – in times when you gain a little ask yourself:

• am I sleeping enough?

• am I eating enough?

• am I moving enough?

Am I loving myself enough?

Stay healthy

X Jazmin

I just saw one of the worst and most shocking things I’ve ever seen on IG. In terms of yoga at home.

It was a woman attempting a highly advanced transition from standing wide-legged forward bend, direct into halasana.

She didn’t land it, hurt her neck.

While she’s “okay” this could have potentially caused her paralysis or even death.

I’m not joking.

Now I love a good yoga challenge. When I was starting a home practice I kept my motivation high by participating in yoga challenges on IG. It helped me feel, as someone pretty isolated, a part of community and like I was learning with people.

But the rule I followed was to not f—k with the spine. 

By the time I was trying more advanced postures I had been attending classes for a couple of years around four times per week. I hadn’t booked a private but I attended labs on proper posture as well: because I knew from my first class I was going to teach.

If you do not have a dedicated practice with a teacher who knows your body well, or are teacher trained yourself do not f—k with advanced poses and transitions that could potentially kill you.

Guys

It’s for a photo. It’s not that important!

In all yoga practice, and this is coming up as my private practice starts to incorporate more asana once again, if you don’t have a “guru” who has met you and seen you move a lot, stick with beginner poses by yourself.

Thanks ever so x