Winter Solstice

The long dark hours and ending of another calendar year lends itself to some reflection about the activities and achievements of the year that’s been. How was your 2025? Some things were probably unexpectedly challenging or delightful. Likely there were some tears as well as laughter. How was your health?

In the UK we enjoyed some seemingly endless hot summer days in 2025 and yearned for the rain that we’re now a bit fed of again. In our gardens and countryside some trees, shrubs and plants flourished during the dry warm days and others did not grow as much as usual or even survive.

Taking our cue from the natural world, practising yoga can be a useful tool in your kit for building and maintaining resilience because it supports the body with physical movement, breathing and relaxation. These things can aid digestion, reduce stress, promote healthy sleep patterns and make us all round better able to handle whatever comes along. One of my favourite definitions from The Bhagavad Gita describes yoga as equanimity – that evenness of mood and reaction in the face of the inevitable ups and downs of life.

Updated 21st December 2025