Read Maya Fiennes' interview in the July 2011 issue of Easy Living.
Postcards from the health Gurus
by Gabrielle Nathan
Ever wondered what the wellbeing experts get up to while they're away? We asked nine of them to reveal exactly which healthy habits they maintain during their summer holiday - and those they're happy to let slide.
Maya Fiennes Kundalini Yoga Instructor
I'm GOING TO... Cuixmala, a resort on Mexico's Pacific Coast, with my girlfriends
WHILE THERE, I WILL BE... doing my morning sadhanas, an hour of yoga and meditation that fills my days with purpose.
I do it as soon as I roll out of bed, which is any time between 4am and 7am, and before breakfast. Afterwards, I chant the mantra Sa Ta Na Ma while sitting cross-legged. I press my fingers against my thumb, starting with my index finger as I say, "Sa" then I move to my middle finger and say, "Ta," then my ring finger and say, "Na" and lastly my little finger as I say, "Ma," before repeating it for twelve minutes. It's great for balancing hormones, especially magnesium and potassium levels, and is particularly good for increasing female fertility and helping to deal with the menopause. Andrew Newberg's book, How God Changes Your Brain (Ballantine Books, £10.99), explains how people who do this for 12 minutes every day for eight weeks have decreased anxiety, self-doubt and increased concentration.
I WON'T BOTHER WITH... an immnue-boosting exercise, which is a must when I'm working.
I close my eyes and concentrate on the third eye (between the eyebrows), while raising my left elbow to just below my shoulder and positioning my left hand as if taking an oath, touching the tip of my ring finger with my thumb and then closing my right nostril with my right index finger. Then I start a steady 'breath of fire' - a rapid equal inhale and exhale through the left nostril, like sniffing. This strengthens the immune system by creating an army of white blood cells to go fight viruses. But I won't do this on holiday because it's good to get out of your comfort zone and shock the body into building up strengths so it learns how to deal with challenges easily.
