Brazilian Black Bean Soup - Oca Caldinho de Feijão Recipe
At our Oca Brunch we served a bowl of pure Brazilian soul — a vegan Caldinho de Feijão that warmed the room as much as the practice did. Creamy black beans, smoky depth, plant-based comfort, and that Oca touch of love and community. A simple dish with ancestral roots… and maybe the first recipe of a future Oca Cookbook (who knows?). Dive in and enjoy the recipe below
Shedding the Old: Winter Reflections on Growth and Change
Explore the beauty of transformation with Nancy as she reflects on growth, seasonal change, and the importance of rest and integration before stepping into what’s next.
Why Cacao is More Than a Treat: New Research says & What It Means for Us
At Oca, cacao isn’t just a comforting ritual drink — it’s a living medicine for the heart, body, and spirit. ✨
New research from the University of Birmingham reveals that high-flavanol cocoa, like quality ceremonial cacao, can actually protect blood-vessel function during long periods of sitting. Science is now catching up to what ancient traditions have always known — cacao supports vitality, connection, and emotional balance.
Read how this study links to our heart-centred rituals and why a daily cup of cacao can be more powerful than you think. 🍫🤎
One Year of Yoga: Friendship, Community, and Shared Practice
From a gentle nudge by a friend to a year of mindful yoga, Aurora shares how shared practice fosters friendship, community, and gratitude.
Seasonal Gratitude: Embracing Autumn and Letting Go of What No Longer Serves
This autumn, Yee reflects on gratitude for community, knowledge, and joyful living, while letting go of negative patterns, phone attachment, and ego to embrace mindful growth.
Parenting Is Yoga: How Mindful Parenting Becomes a Daily Practice
Parenting is one of the most powerful forms of yoga. In this blog, Meg explores how the challenges and joys of raising children invite us to practise patience, presence, compassion, and breath—yoga’s core teachings—off the mat. From tantrums to sleepless nights, discover how mindful parenting becomes a daily path of connection, growth, and self-kindness.
The Joy of Lifelong Learning: Expanding Your Yoga Practice
Discover the joy of lifelong learning in yoga. Leah reflects on her Advanced Yoga Teacher Training journey, exploring anatomy, philosophy, and mindfulness, and shows how curiosity on and off the mat inspires growth, reflection, and a deeper, ever-evolving practice.
8 Essential Yoga Books to Deepen Your Practice On and Off the Mat
Take your yoga practice beyond the mat with these 8 essential books that blend philosophy and asana. Learn to integrate mindfulness, ethics, and self-awareness into your practice, turning poses into a daily path of growth, presence, and inner reflection.
Feminine Movement and Ritual: Explore Your Body’s Deeper Truth
Explore the path of the feminine through Movement for the Feminine, a weekly women’s circle and movement class. Using somatic practices and body-based inquiry, women learn to embody their soul’s truth, connect with their bodies, and expand into their fullest selves in a supportive, soulful community.
Karma Yoga in Everyday Life: Finding Mindfulness Through Acts of Service
Karma Yoga isn’t just about grand gestures — it’s about bringing mindfulness and compassion to everyday tasks. While cleaning my mum’s kitchen, I discovered how simple acts of service can become a spiritual practice, cultivating patience, gratitude, and presence. Even small actions, done with care, can embody love and mindful living.
Holding Space: Lessons from the Mat
Yoga is more than just movement — it’s a personal journey of self-awareness, compassion, and connection. Each time we step onto the mat, we bring our whole selves: our breath, emotions, and energy. Recently, I was reminded of the importance of creating a safe, supportive space when a student experienced a panic attack during class. Moments like these highlight how powerful yoga can be for healing, trust, and growth — both for students and teachers alike.
The Heartfelt Story Behind Ajeet’s ‘Haseya’ and Its Message of Hope
Discover the deeper meaning of “Haseya,” an Indigenous word symbolizing rise and renewal, and learn how Ajeet’s powerful storytelling encourages compassion, healing, and community support.
October Energy: Libra Season, the Aries Full Moon, and Embracing New Cycles
October brings powerful energy with the transition from Summer to Autumn, eclipse season, and the Virgo New Moon. As Libra season unfolds alongside the Aries Full Moon, it’s a time to embrace change, find balance, and step into personal growth.
Moving Meditation: Why Yoga is More Than Just the Poses
Focusing on transitions between yoga poses transforms your practice into a moving meditation. Learn how mindfulness in the journey, not just the poses, builds stability, resilience, and presence.
From Dreaming to Doing: Finding Peace in the Shift from Summer to Autumn
If you’re like me, a total sun worshipper, this time of year is such an adjustment. As we swap the endless sun for grey and damp shorter days, it’s okay to feel a little low as summer fades.
Healing Your Back with Yoga and the Zen Concept of Beginner’s Mind
After a lower back strain, I discovered how yoga and the Zen concept of Beginner’s Mind (Shoshin) can guide recovery. Listening to your body, adapting your practice, and embracing each moment as a learning opportunity turned pain into mindful growth.
Rooted in Change: How Autumn Teaches Us to Harvest, Compost, and Begin Again
Learning from the trees: I admit, I might be biased, but I think autumn is the most magical season of the year. The memories of summer are still fresh, yet the world around us is already shifting, whispering of change. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, late summer is considered the 5th season of the year, associated with the element of Earth. How fitting. The Earth steadies us, holds us when storms gather, and offers a quiet strength to root deeper. She gives us the ground to plant, to rest, to transform.
From Summer to Autumn: How Walking in Nature Helps Us Embrace the Change
Walking in nature, even in the big City we live in, I notice the leaves crunching underfoot, witnessing nature's signs of Autumn drawing ever closer. It is one thing to observe the calendar milestones but to truly witness it with all your senses helps embody the changes to come.
Sweat, Laugh, and Dance: Your Weekly Return to Pleasure
Pleasure is not always loud or extravagant. Sometimes it is simple: the sweetness of a laugh that escapes without asking permission.
When you laugh, your body remembers joy in its purest form. The tension that held you hostage melts. The pulse softens. You are, for a brief moment, completely free.
Karma Yoga in Action: Practicing Compassion On and Off the Mat
I’ve been inspired this month by witnessing yoga as action amongst the teachers at Oca. Sometimes the world feels like it's burning, whether in our personal lives or when bearing witness to global events, and we feel disempowered to change things for the better. Through yoga practice, exercising compassion towards ourselves can then enable us to do the same to others when “off the mat”.