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Had a very enjoyable alcohol fuelled few days celebrating a close friends birthday, so naturally waking up after this I wasn't feeling my best. This is natural in many ways, what goes up must come down and obviously alcohol itself, whilst very fun at the time, is in fact a depressant. Hangover cures come in many forms but having only been practicing yoga regularly for a couple of weeks, I have just finished one of my most effective sessions. Physically, you can feel yourself sweating out the damage of a heavy bender but the real benefits are felt mentally. It is a wonderful time for reflection and being able to take a step back from the self medicaiton, intoxication or whatever else you would like to call it; is truly blissful. At times like this it can be easy to sit around feeling sorry for yourself and consuming copious amounts of greasy food but as is generally the rule in life, picking yourself up and putting in the effort for something more productive will always leave you feeling better. The duality of moving seamlessly from drunken antics with your friends to a much more isolated and spiritual experiene is almost amusing but the more I consider it, the more it makes sense. Making a habit of not falling into a repetetive pattern is key, the easy option is to sit on the sofa watching TV, but this will most likely do little to improve how your body and mind are feeling. The concept of a healthy mind and a healthy body being inextricably connected is, at least in my opinion, undeniable. We all need nights to go out and induldge ourselves, forget our worries and have a good time. None of us can pretend that this removes the responsibilites of tomorrow from our shoulders and instead of doing so it is far better to embrace the challenge. To have our minds in a state where this is appealing, rather than seeming like a chore, it is necessary to take a moment to ourselves, step back and look at the bigger picture. Yoga or any other exercise is fantastic for this, because during your mind must focus on controlling your body, your breathing and performing whatever physical task is at hand. Afterwards, not only will a sense of accomplishment leave you feeling more successful but also motivated to get that feeling again. Essentially I think the point of this short blog entry is that pushing yourself over the finishing line is always rewarding, but if you can manage it when you feel the least natural motivation within you, the rewards will feel even better.