I hope you had a lovely Christmas break and enjoyed resting, spending (safe) quality time with your loved ones and family, eating lots of delicious foods and/or indulging in festive drinks. I hope you enjoyed it all without the guilt and self-criticism that tend to creep up on us during the holidays - you know that inner critic who loves to judge how much we eat or how little we move? Or who tries to convince us that resting is lazy and our down time needs to be more productive?
As I'm writing these thoughts though, I'm pretty sure this critic of ours is here to stay and follow us through our lives. But the good news is that we don't really need to get rid of it - the way we reduce the power it holds over us or the damage it causes is by becoming aware of it. And if any part of this blog-post is resonating with you, then that's what we're doing here - bringing this inner critic out of the shadows and into the light.
As we've entered 2021 and 'New Year, New Me' resolutions might be coming at you from every direction, I encourage us to keep an eye on falling into 'All or Nothing' thinking. This could come in the form of needing to make up for the week of 'indulgence', or setting too many or unattainable goals, or approaching self-care as a way of 'fixing' / 'reinventing' ourselves, or giving into the urgency that there's a deadline that comes with January.
The New Year nudges us to reflect on the difficult year that has passed and perhaps highlights the contrast between where we are now and where we may want to be. But to feel good and find acceptance in that space is everything. Can we be inspired by what our future selves could be, but without judging or rejecting our present selves?
The New Year invites us to open a new page, but truly every moment can be a new beginning. And every moment is equally as worthy of that chance to make a change, go back to the habits that support us or create new ones. No moment is too late to look after ourselves or start over, be it in January or June, or your 30s, 50s, or 90s in my eyes.
When it comes to the inner peace, harmony and balance we seek through self-care it's the long-term that counts; how sustainable are our efforts and practices, how much do they become a part of our lifestyle, and how able are we to come back to them when life throws us off track. If you've set yourself any resolutions for the year already, are they supporting you in the long-run and are they coming from a place of kindness within you?
The holidays have a way of making us have tunnel vision, but let me share this brilliant thought I've heard a few years ago:
It's not the time between Christmas and New Year that really matters for our health and habits, it's the time between New Year and Christmas we should focus on.
And as we're in this time now, I'm here to inspire and support your practice in the long run. Here's to a brighter 2021 and to an ever deepening and loving relationship we're building with ourselves and each other through yoga. We need it more than ever and I hope I will be seeing you in our weekly yoga classes together - every Saturday @10-11:00AM GMT.
All my love and warmest wishes 🧡
Inga
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