And just like that, the year is coming to a close!
This time of year always asks something particular of me. There is a kind of collective momentum around Christmas that I struggle to find my rhythm with. The noise, the consumption, the insistence on cheer. I often find myself quietly resisting it, looking to expend my energy alternatively, trying to locate some internal version of festivity that feels honest rather than performed.
There are moments I enjoy. An ‘aul Christmas tune slipping in unexpectedly. Gentle, low-stakes crafting with my daughter. Think printable colouring pages folded into wobbly 3D shapes rather than anything ambitious. Small things.
🧘 Practice
Keeping my personal practice and study alive has felt like refuge this week.
Rolling out the mat. Pulling every cushion and prop within reach. Letting intuition lead rather than structure. These moments have offered a kind of counterweight to the seasonal intensity, a way back into my body when the external world feels loud.
The practices have been quiet, spacious, and deeply supportive. Less about doing, more about listening. A reminder that practice does not need to be impressive to be meaningful.
🌸 Personal reflection
My mind has been busy, but in a new way.
As the medication continues to settle, I’ve noticed a shift in my evenings. The bone-deep exhaustion that once had me fighting sleep by 8:30pm has softened into something different. Currently, I’m not sleeping much before midnight. Part of me still questions whether this is a loss of rest, but another part is grateful for the extra time. My eyes too tired to physically read and my body craving stillness, I am enjoying listening to audiobooks, podcasts and meditations. This feels like new territory, and I’m trying to meet it gently and avoid making too many conclusions.
📚 Study and training
YTT is officially on break.
For me, this simply means a pause in physical classes. I’ll continue to study and practice, just without the structure of scheduled weekends. I’ve never fully subscribed to the idea that the winter holiday season should be the time we rest most deeply. For me, Summer feels far more aligned for that kind of replenishment. Right now, removing the obligation of class feels like enough space.
Last Saturday’s full training day landed beautifully. I taught Warrior I again and felt more at home with it this time. I’m beginning to recognise my own teaching voice as something I can trust, something that strengthens through use rather than perfection.
The afternoon was devoted to somatic practice, and it felt like such a gift. The integration of body-based awareness and nervous system regulation continues to stand out. From what my research tells me, it is this integration that really separates the embodied yoga style from most others. In our present world, neuroscience and neuroplasticity have been hot topics, and I have been along for the ride for a decade or so. Somatics fit into this so well. The connection as I see it is that science has uncovered that yes, humans can indeed change their brain chemistry – so long gone are the days where we can say “a leopard cannot change its spots”! I now believe that we can recondition our bodies and our minds simultaneously, and perhaps bringing body and mind together can even superfuel each process.
We’ll be continuing studying pelvic awareness into the new year before our immersion weekend, where we’ll spend close to forty-eight hours fully steeped in study and practice. I’ll share more when the time comes.
💬 Life in motion
Tomorrow, we head west for a few days with family.
Normally, this would come with a familiar undercurrent of anxiety. Lists, preparation, the feeling of being perpetually one step behind. This year feels different. Maybe that’s the medication quietly doing its work. Maybe it’s something else entirely.
The lists are written. The bags are not packed. The cats are booked into what can only be described as a luxury retreat of their own. I’ll bring my mat and a multipurpose blanket. A quiet intention to make space for practice where I can.
A reminder, written here for myself, that all time spent matters.
💭 Reflections
✨ Practice can be a shelter
✨ Stillness has many doorways
✨ My teaching voice strengthens through use
✨ Rest can look like slowing, not always fully stopping
📖 If you’re curious
- Rick Hanson, https://www.rickhanson.net – accessible neuroscience and neuroplasticity through mindfulness
- Judith Hanson Lasater, https://judithhansonlasater.com – A highly influential restorative yoga and nervous system support specialist
Lost&Found Wellness 