María has filmed videos for our new category on YouTube: hejhej-friends. This is where we introduce inspiring people. To give you the chance to get to know María better, we have prepared an interview for you below. María talks about how nutrition helps her balance, how she combines nutrition with yoga and what she does in her evening routine to sleep better. At the end, she has 3 tips for you on how you can create a more balanced life through nutrition and yoga. Let yourself be inspired!
Who is María Eskitxabel?
I am a 24 year old yoga teacher, holistic nutritionist based in the south of France. I consider myself a constant student and seeker who is always open to learn and to share my learnings with others.
What was your first experience with yoga, and how did it lead to your journey into nutrition?
I went to my first yoga class at the age of 15 and it was a door that opened on my path to what would become a pillar in my life. It was a meditation class where we practiced a very few asanas. Later I discovered more asana based practices like vinyasa, rocket and ashtanga which I practiced for many years.
When I started practicing yoga I was already interested in nutrition, but it was the connection with the body that the constant practice of yoga gives you that led me to dig deeper into the impact that what we eat has on how we function.
How do yoga and nutrition complement each other in your life?
They go hand in hand. Eating well gives me the nutrients and energy I need to feel good, and yoga gives me the connection with my body to know what I need on each moment.
How do you incorporate hejhej-products into your wellness routine, and what benefits have you noticed?
I start my day with some kind of meditation or breath work over the hejhej-pillow and later in the morning is when I roll out my hejhej-mat and do my yoga practice. Apart from the quality of the products, I fully believe in the harmony of spaces and visually it gives me a lot of peace to see the hejhej-products in my space.
As you lead a wind-down evening practice for our YouTube channel, could you walk us through your personal evening routine?
Each evening, I choose the practices that give me a sense of calm and relax my nervous system before going to bed. Just before dinner, I turn off my phone and do some kind of restorative yoga poses. I try to eat dinner early to give my body the time to digest and after dinner, while I sip an herbal tea, I write on my gratitude journal. Once in bed, I read some pages of an inspiring book while I practice 5 minutes of legs up the wall and I soon fall asleep.
Can you give three tips for people who want to start finding balance in life through yoga and nutrition?
Here are the three simple but essential tips for balance:
(1) Connect with the rhythms of nature and know which foods are in season. These should be the foods that should be most present in your diet. Those that come from the earth and are in season.
(2) Spend time in silence. Whether on your mat, on your meditation pillow or in nature. These moments are important to establish a relationship with yourself and identify what you need.
(3) Be consistent with your practices. Whether it's dedicating 5 minutes to stretching in the morning or including more vegetables in your diet, but consistency is what makes these practices become habits.
Dear María, thank you for an inspiring interview and we look forward to starting a relaxed evening routine with your Youtube video. Do you fancy it too? You can find the yoga session directly here:
