Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I hope that your festive season is filled with peace and love, I hope that you get some quiet time and some time with people you love, and that you enjoy just the right amount of mince pies!

Just before Christmas we have the winter solstice, our darkest, longest night. As it happens I am off to a beautiful festive light trail with old friends on the night of the solstice – it seems so very appropriate to seek light on the darkest and longest of nights.

Another thing I like to do around this time of year is on a dry evening light a fire in the firepit. Toast some giant marshmallows and write down on paper anything we do not want to carry with us into the slowly returning light, then burn what we have written -watching the smoke drift away. It can be very cathartic, letting go of what no longer serves us with a symbolic ritual. It can be a really powerful way to help process and move on. This is particularly nice to do this at the New Year. You don’t need a firepit – you can just use a candle (though I would recommend doing this in a sink, health and safety!)

Believe it or not the days will start getting a little tiny bit longer after this weekend! But, it will take a while before we begin to notice the tiny creep of light back into the world.

To paraphrase Jane Austen – it is a truth universally acknowledged that January is the least fun month of the year. Part of the problem is that it really is the bleak midwinter, and then all the pretty sparkly fairy lights (and the cheese!) have been taken away too. On top of that January is a time when we are under pressure to start anew, and really this is not the time. A beautiful quote from one of my favourite books; The 2024 Almanac – A Seasonal Guide by Lia Leendertz: "This midwinter month is perfect for dreaming into the coming year. The darkness invites us back home to ourselves, drawing us inwards, removing the protective layers we have built up over the past year.....January is not the time for new beginnings - it is time for rest, reflection and imaginations."

Aligning with this January vibe all our stand alone events in house, this way they are guaranteed to be cosy, intimate and have everything you need provided. It means I can offer organic herbal teas as well as home made treats to close our stand alone sessions, and that you do not have to bring anything at all with you, yoga mats, blankets, cushions – its all provided. We have a beautiful restorative session on January 5th to start our January off with an extra boost of calm, nurturing self care and a Friday relax and unwind yin and nidra on 24th January class. The Wolf Moon luxury sound bath in January is already full, but there is also 1 space left on the Snow moon sound bath in February. You can book your space under the events and classes tab on this website. I would love to see you there!

Don't forget there are lots of lovely guided meditations and yoga nidras for you to enjoy on the website if you need time out in the festive season. And don't forget the 12 yoga poses of Christmas mini videos, up on both Facebook (emmasyogahut) and Instagram (emmasogahut)

I look forward to hopefully seeing you in 2025! In the mean time I wish you and your loved ones a lovely peaceful Christmas break!

With love,

Emma xx

(Emma runs Emma’s Yoga Hut in Earley. A tiny garden studio for small group yoga tuition. She is a yoga student and yoga teacher and has practiced yoga for nearly 30 years. She trained with the Traditional Yoga Association right here in Reading between 2016 and 2018 to achieve her 500 hour yoga teaching accreditation. She has additional teaching qualifications in Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra. She is an accredited Sound Bath Facilitator and specialises in crystal singing bowls. She teaches Chair Yoga classes at local community centres where there is almost always a coffee and a chat after class. She is passionate about getting the beautiful benefits of yoga out to as many people as possible, Emma tries her best to practice yoga every day.)