Kat’s Movement Mission | Peaceful Christmas

Happy Christmas Eve – for those who celebrate. And for those who don’t, happy peaceful period.

I do hope you’re enjoying your rest, and for those workers who continue to work, in the emergency services (or those who run small online businesses!) I do hope you manage to take a small pause for breath.

It’s a lovely time of year to take stock. We’ve just had the winter equinox, such a beautiful, special time when we’re able to celebrate the darkness. This time of year is when we’re given permission to turn inwards, to meditate on the year, when we sleep longer and our bodies urge us to take rest.

It’s a time of year I love and really look forward to. The darkness here in the UK is just wonderful for my fireside Yin yoga practice, for getting really cozy and wrapped up in lovely warm blankets, for giving ourselves the gift of time and space to contemplate.

In this society, there’s little permission given for simple contemplation. Not goal-setting contemplation, not with any aim or objective except just contemplating life. I like to set myself up in arestorative pose, or perhaps do a very quiet Yin class and silently contemplate on how things are inside of me. I find that when I learn about my inner landscape better, I’m able to navigate my reactions to people better, and back decisions which are better aligned to my own truth.

I’m also taking a review at this time of year of the things that really changed my life, my inner and outer life:

1. My gratitude practice. About this time last year I wrote to you about the start of my gratitude practice. Well I formalised it, so that I write down by gratitude lists, so now I literally count my blessings before sleep. For me, my gratitude practice has been the biggest game-changer of the year. I’ve felt happier, and ‘luckier’ than ever before. I do recommend you try it!
2. I stopped locking my knees!! I went to a Qi-Gong retreat and learnt that I’ve spent most of my life with locked knees. Now I even do the dishes with bent knees. I feel stronger, more grounded, and of course the weight-bearing is great for my bones and building strength. This has really changed my life!
3. I’ve had a tricky year, struggling with grief (as I think many of us have), and I’ve really found my deeper breath-work (thanks to Dan’s breath work challenge and also my explorations into the breath) to be fabulously helpful. I wonder if the breath-work challenge helped you at all? I’d love to hear your thoughts on our Movers Group? We’ve had some really interesting feedback and insights on there, and I know that for myself, it’s been really eye-opening.

I do wish you all the peace and happiness for the Yuletide period, and for those of us who are taking some moments of contemplation over this time, perhaps Dan’s Christmas Peace and Breath Class will help you.

With love
Kat and Team MFML
xxx

24 December 2018