Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that and after the lonely chaos of 2020, we have learnt that the value of community is really the only way to heal.

After 2020 we miraculously find our vision clear and our ability to see what’s important and what isn’t, razor sharp. 

Much like our experience in the hot room- with the lights bright, sweat dripping and the chaotic monkey mind hopping all over the place- we are forced to go inwards, connect with our breath and use the predictable rhythm of this breath to move through the practice in a peaceful state of stillness. A moving meditation if you will. It is this incredible tool from the mat that is available to all of us of tapping into our core to find the peace needed to move in peace into this new year.

With physical communities disbanded, physical families kept apart, the value of this simple human right to connect began burning bright. 

This basic need, was the primary need that the NHYA was designed to meet, and our adaptability as humans has allowed us to embrace the digital and all of the benefits that it has to offer. 

As physical borders closed, the digital world opened them further than ever before with ease of accessibility. It also perhaps enabled one of the greatest lessons of 2020;  the awareness that we can choose to do things in a time and way that honored the other priorities in our life and so, we hope that you find something interesting here to read or participate in, when it suits you. 

Another great opportunity that 2020 offered us was the chance to understand and explore how we respond to fear and discomfort. On a personal level, the fear and discomfort of not being able to go home to see my family as well as the fear of losing my studio due to to extended forced closure has been one of the greatest challenges that I have had to face. And face it I did, and I do, because that’s one of the greatest tools that being sweaty tired and struggling in front of a giant ass mirror with eyes focused forward enables.

They say that the hot room is a microcosm of the real world and on the mat in that room, we learn a lot about how we respond to life and hopefully learn to sharpen our life tools in the process. Of course when you’re sweaty and falling out of a posture, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind lol, but like the practice, repetition creates space for awareness and change. 

This repetition is something that thankfully we were able to achieve last year via zoom classes and while it wasn’t the same sweaty extravaganza we’re used to, the ability to experience the joy of a routine kept me sane. If you haven’t tried zoom classes while your home studio is closed, I strongly recommend it- book into 1-2 a week for a period of a month if you can and while it’s not the same, it will still speak to the small routine loving hot yogi that you are. If anything, creating space in your life for a routine that is dedicated solely to your own well being will create waves of other benefits. 

One of our greatest responsibilities as teachers is to hold space for our students and be an inspiring light to lead them to seeing just how incredible they are and can feel. As a teacher, I felt the absence of this opportunity greatly but once I began teaching online, this opportunity presented itself again in a new form. Our ability to adapt is simply magical isn’t it?

The primary need underlying almost everything this past year was hope. It’s something that has been fueling me and guiding me through the year just as it does to our students on their journey on the mat. The hope for this pandemic to end, their hope to kick out in standing head to knee. Two very different contexts but the same powerful element. Hope. 

And in our loving role as teachers, students & community, whatever we can do to keep the light of hope burning, so we must. And so it is. 

Join me in our continuous learning module "How To Teach Online" if you're curious about how to move your classes to an online platform or create more of a social media presence to lift you into the digital light! 

I am hopeful that we can connect and whatever knowledge or experience I can share with you, I will do it joyfully, 

Here’s to hope, light & community.

Happy New Year 💕