I went to a Pilates class last night run by my friend Katrina, who is also a yoga teacher (so honestly it’s pretty far removed from the Pilates if you are a sort of Body Control Pilates type – but it’s exactly the sort of Pilates I like – we use Ujjayi breath – very un-Pilates!!). I find I have to go to Pilates every couple of weeks for so to just check in with my alignment again. Alignment and physiology are so important to my yoga practice.

Katrina was talking about the changing of the seasons – I know she finds this time of year as depressing as I do. She said we all have a tendency to close in on ourselves, to want to hug ourselves – whether that be actually or metaphorically. So to counteract this we did an “opening out” practice. Lots of chest/shoulder/hip openers. Lots of grounding. Lots of strength.

And it felt gooooood!!

The first signs of winter have begun to show themselves here in the UK. It’s still only October but the mornings and evenings are darker, the leaves are turning and there is a hint of unmistakable chill in the air. Not to mention the long grey featureless days of nothingness which are so typical of East Anglia from about October to March every year.

I won’t lie to you, I find the winter months extraordinarily difficult. I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder and without my lamp that simulates sunrise I honestly don’t think I could even get out of bed in the mornings. It can be truly beautiful in England at this time of year but I always approach autumn with a feeling of dread knowing that the days will get shorter, colder, drearier. It would help of course if we had had any semblance of summer in this country over the last few years but….

To counteract the onslaught (and for me it truly is an onslaught) of winter, I allow my yoga practice to change, to slow down, to become more introspective. I focus on poses that ground me, that keep me in the here and now and that warm me. Lots of Ujjayi breath, lots of standing and balance. It helps, it is as close to hibernation as I can get.

My yoga changes with the seasons, with my body, with my mood. And thank goodness it does because until I can afford to retire to the Gold Coast it is all I have!