September is the real reset month here in the UK.
There's something about September that naturally invites us to pause, reflect and begin again. The new school year starts, new teachers arrive, routines return and, for many of us, life begins to take on a familiar rhythm again.
And it's not just the kids who experience this shift, adults do too.
During the summer, we tend to switch off. We relax into long days of light, slower mornings and a little less structure. We allow ourselves to fall out of routine, or at least I do.
Summer, for me, is permission to be lazy.
But all that extra time, freedom and relaxation can come with a price.
We can return from summer feeling:
- A little stiff in our bodies
- Lacking movement after one too many ice creams and lazy days
- Crowded in the head after a busy summer
- Overstimulated from many a gathering
- Ready to clear some mental and physical clutter (I sit here writing this as I've just deep cleaned the sofa)
And so we find ourselves craving a reset, a clear slate, a calm space and an opportunity to start again.
It's Not About Touching Your Toes
This is where yoga can become so much more than simply a physical practice.
"I'm not flexible enough for yoga." I hear this all the time.
My response as a teacher is: great, I still have a job, and you are the perfect student.
So often the only part of us that needs more flexibility is our mind.
Sometimes we need to physically release what the summer has left behind, the stiffness, the lack of movement, the tension. Yoga isn't just about becoming more flexible. It isn't about touching your toes or creating the perfect shape. It's a practical tool for learning to listen to your body, work with your breath and become more aware of what is happening within you.
We use the mat as a place to seek balance and reconnect with ourselves, as we learn how to become comfortable in perhaps uncomfortable shapes or movements (not all yoga practice feels amazing) and how to quiet the inner stories we tell ourselves. We can then translate this into our daily lives. We begin to respond rather than react.
Yoga can help us build strength and mobility, but it can also teach us how to notice when we're pushing too hard, how to let go and create a little more space within ourselves.
When we learn to release our expectations of ourselves and others, we can begin to find a sense of freedom and spaciousness. Resetting and unwinding the nervous system.
And if it is rest rather than movement you are short of, I have since written about the wired and tired nights of perimenopause and where yoga nidra fits.
Why September Is the Right Time to Start
September, then, is a wonderful time to restart your yoga practice.
Not because you should be doing more, but because you can use this change of season as an invitation to come back to yourself.
- To move
- To breathe
- To soften
- To reset
So perhaps, as we move into autumn, we can meet the new season with a little more calm, clarity and intention, carrying the lighter energy of summer with us, while creating a quieter, more introspective space for what comes next.
Whether you're joining a class in Saffron Walden or practising closer to home in Cambridge, there's a spot on the mat waiting for you this September.
If this sounds like where you're at, come along to a class and see for yourself. Get in touch to find a class time that suits you.