December 2025

Hello Red Cat YOga Friends,

Dear Friends,

Welcome to December.

December is a wonderful month--one of contrasts. Reunions with family, celebrations with friends and a time to reflect on the past yet spread hope for the future. But I am aware that this time is often stressful and sad for some of us.

My wish for you is that you can find time for relaxation and show yourself some grace during this busy time. I hope you can schedule in some time for you as you navigate the season. My advice would be to schedule a time, physically put it on your calendar, digitally or handwritten. Before you take on too many tasks set an intention and time to relax. Honor it just as you would any other obligation.

To embrace relaxation you need to make time. You need time to transition from a busy mindset to preparing to relax. Just like any skill you need to warm up and loosen up a little. My favorite time is the time before sleep or on waking up. I often set my alarm a little bit earlier, so I can spend 10-20 minutes checking in with body and transitioning from sleep - to relaxed - to up and ready for the day. I would highly recommend as it is a truly lovely way to start your day and it can set you up for a productive, easier day without being a time overtaken by events.

I am frequently reminded that for some people relaxation does not come naturally. In yoga they find the relaxation part (savasana) the hardest. Often, they can maintain poses, understand transitions and flows but cannot get their minds to settle in savasana. Their busy minds are wired to keep working and have a tough time holding space for relaxation.

I start by asking if it is something they would like to hold space for. Sometimes they say yes they really would like to learn how to schedule relaxation, but often they tell me it is pointless, unproductive and not a good use of time. I can empathize I also struggled with savasana and did not see it as a productive use of my time. But, now see it as a way to produce the most economical, effective, balanced version of myself and rank it as a very productive use of my time and a skill I wish to share.

Allowing yourself to experience 'scheduled relaxation' is worth the time and work. I hope after reading this some of you will be willing to give scheduled relaxation a chance. For those of you already convinced, this is still worth a read as a reminder and incentive to continue finding time.

Firstly how to find relaxation in our practice and poses.

I teach this first as this is how I became a believer in the purpose of scheduled relaxation. In yoga practice we are endeavoring to find a flow state; a way to move mindfully connecting our breath to our body. If we are holding tension we are hindering our progress. One of the wonders and gifts of yoga is being able to 'breath into the pose.' This requires practice. When done correctly, we can bring ease to our poses and even go a step further in depth or focus. We are often redirected to our breath. Our inhale, allowing us to scan our body, bringing strength and awareness to our movement, allowing us to locate areas of our body where we need to dial down the tension and relax (bring in the ease). Our exhale, bringing the ease, the relaxation to the areas of tension we have located. The exhale allows us to settle in the pose with precision and focus. With economy and presence.

On our inhale, we need to be present, to really locate any areas of tension. We need to bear in mind that the location of our tension is often unrelated to the muscles activated in holding the pose. Our tension could be in our jaw, temples or shoulders in the warrior poses; or the glutes in cobra or sleeping swan. If we are runners, sometimes we are holding tension in our shoulders, or our fists are clenched, or even our jaw. There is no reason for this part of our body to hold tension. Our jaw, shoulders or fists do not help the forward motion of running or make me any faster, the tension is a byproduct of my concentration of effort. If I can let it go, I can become a better runner, more economical with my effort. I can find more ease in my motion. Please note: You could apply this to yourself as a crossfitter, skier, swimmer, parent, teacher, human. We all have a tendency to hold tension we do not need. Tension which does not make us better - the opposite it hinders our forward motion. Often we are completely unaware.

How to find deep, scheduled relaxation.

Deep relaxation allows your body to reboot. To practice the skill of relaxation to bring it into our daily lives. I am reminded about the quote, "Yoga is in the pauses not the poses." But how do we let ourselves find time. Let's find out first what it should feel like. It should feel like contentment, safety, purpose. How can I describe it better?

Have you ever felt a song which makes you want to stop and listen? One which makes you feel happy and contented? Maybe a little nostalgic? *