January is traditionally the time of year where we make resolutions, and those of us in the fitness industries are secretly rubbing our hands knowing that this is the busiest time of year. We rely on it, knowing that this month will make up for a December; when so many of us forget about our health, well-
being and fitness choosing late nights, parties and indulging in a more excessive pattern of eating and drinking. December, a month when we attend work dos rather than our yoga, Pilates or HIIT class. December, a month when it is acceptable to not know what day of the week it is. December, a month when throw away our routines and just let it go.
In the health and fitness industry we are used to fluctuations in numbers and we plan for it in our lives. Have you ever noticed how many substitute teachers you tend to get in August and December? They know that these are great times to take a break and avoid teacher burnout knowing that they are unlikely to miss a surge of newbies enthusiastically wanting to join a class.
And then 2020 came along and totally changed everything, the lives of every single person. And whilst so many of us were hoping to cash in on the ‘New Year New You’ mantra that has served us for so many years we are beginning to realise that it is just not having the same impact in 2021. But perhaps this is a good thing? It’s so easy to try to look to the past, see it through rose tinted specs and long for those days. But surely this is where our yoga practice really kicks in? Maybe this is a great time for reflection and look to what we need most now in the present rather than trying to replicate old patterns that do not serve us?
Whilst I have always been grateful for January from a financial point of view - how convenient that my most profitable time of year comes just after some big Christmas spending not to mention having 2 daughters with January birthdays - I have always felt really uncomfortable that my work industry is part of a system that is telling people that they are not good enough. Those indulgent weeks before Christmas are now punishable during a cold and bleak month where we are made to feel guilty for our previous excesses. And January 2021 is feeling just that little bit more Puritanical - no dancing, no theatre, no meeting friends for drinks, no live music (I would still choose 2021 over the 1640s but only because I am an opinionated woman who would have been burned as a witch by now under Cromwell)!
But change is a good thing and whilst I would rather go back to a world pre-COVID where loved ones did not have to die alone, where we could celebrate births, marriages and even funerals with loved ones using those necessary human connections, face to face and physical contact; I realise that this thinking is not going to serve me. And this is where my yoga practice kicks in. And this is why I am so grateful for it. Maybe we will shift our motives for starting a wellbeing programme this time around? Rather than our motives being grounded in shame for our ‘bad habits’ or trying to find some quick fix approach, how about we find ways to change our deeply set patterns and embrace the new normal? If the commute to work is no longer a thing, could you take that extra 20 minutes starting the day with a mindful meditation? Or wake yourself up with an embodied Vinyasa Flow? If you are working from home, can you take a pause during the day to join a short yoga class or go for a walk? Or slow down with a bit of Yin at the end of the day to promote a good night’s sleep?
Things aren’t going to go back to the way they were by tomorrow. They will, most likely, never return to what we considered normal. Change is inevitable and we can lament it, fight it or embrace it. And whilst it would not be totally true to say that I am loving January 2021, I am seeking out the opportunities and finding new ways of introducing and re-connecting people to a yoga practice. And the reason that I am confident that people will find their love of the practice, is because yoga works. It just does. And I will continue teaching it because I want to share this love with as many people who want to learn. And I will continue to practise because that is what my body and mind need most to help make sense of this strange new world.
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