Get into Shape this New Year!

“Are you feeling bloated and sluggish after Christmas?” 

“Thinking about setting a New Year’s Resolution of starting or getting back to a fitness and diet regime to “get into shape” and "lose weight for good"?”

”This year will be YOUR year!!”

I cannot stand these post-Christmas marketing ploys that make us feel all kinds of negative emotions towards ourselves and our bodies.

Now that we are approaching January, the noise of the diet and fitness industry will be deafening. 

Fitness apparel and equipment will be hitting the shelves with gusto over the next few weeks, and everywhere we turn, businesses (including, sadly, yoga-related ones),  will bombard us with promises of quick fixes, weight-loss miracles, and ways to “get into shape” after all of our Christmas “indulgence”.

The diet industry has and will always play on our insecurities and feelings of low self-worth based around our physical appearance. It permeates everything we do, think, feel and believe. And what better time to drive sales, than just before the New Year when we might be experiencing those unwanted feelings of guilt around how much we have consumed over the holidays, and wanting to start “afresh”. 

How did I know that you would open my newsletter based on the subject line, and land here reading this post? Because you are probably not immune to the messages the diet industry ingrains into us on a daily basis - that in order to be worthy, accepted and loved in this world, you must be slim and aesthetically pleasing!

You are human. 

And I am playing devil's advocate here, I know. 

But here’s the truth: feelings of guilt around food and "Christmas indulgence" stem not from what you actually ate or how you look, but from societal pressures and a mindset shaped by diet culture and unrealistic standards. 

These feelings are a product of messages that equate worth with “self-control” and appearance, rather than recognising your inherent value. 

Without addressing this mindset and understanding that you are enough exactly as you are, and that health goes far beyond your physical form, the cycle of guilt and self-criticism will repeat year after year. 

True freedom lies in challenging these beliefs and embracing a more compassionate view of yourself and your relationship with food.

Enter Yoga…

Contrary to what the industry might have you believe, yoga isn’t about chasing a “perfect” physique, squeezing into a mold defined by numbers, and punishing your body to see results.

It’s about transformation that goes far deeper.

When we step onto the mat, it’s not about “getting into shape” in the diet culture sense - it’s about literally getting into shapes! Downward Dog, Warrior II, and all the playful postures, sequences and movements we explore, connect us with our bodies in a joyful, pressure-free way. 

Beyond that, yoga shapes our mental health, fostering clarity, self-compassion, and inner strength.

So this New Year, I’m inviting you to reject the noise.

Come and join me for a practice that focuses on creating space for what really matters: movement, mindfulness, and a sense of belonging. A practice that cultivates gratitude (not shame or guilt) for our full bellies at Christmas time, and encourages us to rejoice in the fact that we are lucky enough to live in such abundance. 

See you on the mat,
Namaste
xxx

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