Thank goodness for yoga! While almost everything else in the world still feels unsettled I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve thought, how on earth do people cope without the support of a yoga practice?

New year is often billed as a time of fresh starts and new goals. Even, a better you! I don’t know about you but often I feel under pressure to try and figure out where I went wrong, what didn’t work and why, and what new things I should be striving for and putting in place to make me fitter/happier/healthier/more successful/calmer [insert your chosen aim] this new year.

And of course working towards a goal can be really beneficial. But it’s also okay to feel stuck and heavy and unclear too.

This quote from author, journalist and naturalist Hal Borland reassures me that even if I don’t reflect and set goals just now I haven’t missed the boat:

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on.”

We can pause, reconsider and change course at any time.

The effects of Covid-19 and it’s lockdowns, financial pressures and emotional challenges has been given a lot of attention. The change in people’s behaviours and habits are having a dramatic impact on the yoga world and the work of yoga teachers and studios.

Experience and depth of practice appear to be less valued than they once were; participants tend to be looking for quick fixes and hacks rather than the steady progress that comes with time and attention; attendance can be completely unpredictable.

For all the prevalence of yoga teachers and availability of yoga resources it feels that the yoga world is in a bit of a mess just now and I’ve no idea how it’s going to shake down. It’s uncharted territory and that’s scary.

My yoga teaching practice is about meeting people where they are. As things shift in the yoga world I’m navigating a path between giving people what they want even when it feels we might be moving further away from what yoga is and preserving the complexity, diversity and richness of yoga.

I’m the first to admit as a long time yoga teacher and studio owner, there’s a danger that I turn into a bit of a dinosaur. But I do try to keep learning from my mistakes and responding to what’s happening in front of me. If the global pandemic means that our yoga world is noticeably changed then yoga teachers and studios have to change with it.

When what we’ve always done doesn’t work any more it’s tempting to change things up. Poor attendance and changing attitudes can really trigger feelings of urgency and even panic. Like lots of people I feel better when there’s something I can do, action to be taken. It helps me feel more in control and that I’m not being thrown about on the seas of uncertainty.

Actor Jennifer Aniston says:

“Don’t make plans. Make options.”

We’ve all worked really hard here at MCY over this past year to make sure we’re still here for you. Now, instead of imposing our plans onto the changing yoga world, I wonder if it’s time to engage less in “efforting” and more in trust? To give our hard work the time it needs to unfold and yield its fruit.

In the words of poet Mary Oliver, to “keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable”.

As we move into 2023 I know my yoga practice, my yoga teaching practice and the MCY community will continue to give me support and reassurance in the midst of the worries and stresses of the world. I and the MCY teachers will be by your side in the months to come, helping you get the most from your time on the yoga mat.

Where would we be without our yoga practice and community, and all that comes with them?

Whatever this year brings, we have yoga and each other - a reassuring constant while everything around us continues to shift.

Judi x

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