Yoga news from the Season…
Welcome to the Summer Newsletter!
Greetings Friends
In the Chinese 5 Element model, Summer is ruled by the element of FIRE – the most Yang of all the elements, and the symbol of peak energy. Fire energy is circulating and dispersing.
If we look at what is happening in nature, everything is reaching its peak – plants are flowering, fruit and veg are rapidly growing. And in human nature we naturally feel the urge to “circulate” more; to gather with and connect to others and to stay up later.
Fire is the only element to have primary and secondary organs – these are the Heart/Small Intestine and the Pericardium/Triple Heater. In Seasonal Yoga, we teach a month or so of what we call “Early Summer” where we focus on the secondary Fire organs before moving into the main part of the Season.
The Fire element is associated with joy, warmth, enthusiasm, creativity… but also with calm & tranquillity. With too much Fire, you can become agitated, impatient, over-excited, maybe even experience “burn out”; with too little you might be joyless, anti-social and lacking in motivation.
Unless the weather is super hot (too much Fire) then the main Summer practice is most dynamic yoga of the year – we focus especially on sun salutations. Early Summer however has more of a chilled “Yin” feel, where we warm up the whole body ready for the more demanding practice.
We may struggle to move out of the resting stage and resent the seasonal change of energy. Transitions between seasons can be challenging.
I hope Summer allows you to reach the peak of your creativity and connect joyfully to those you love.
Love and Light
Rachel
Ways to nurture your Fire Element:
- Add the colour red into your clothing and/or home.
- Eat red summery foods such as berries and peppers; and cool foods rather than hot ones (cucumber is wonderfully cooling).
- Focus on your relationships; take time for your family and friends.
- Connect with your community – speak to neighbours; do some voluntary work; raise money for a local charity.
- Make sure you’re enjoying the fruits of your labour! Do what you love or love what you do.
- If you feel low in energy, depressed and reluctant to socialise, boost your Fire element by moving outdoors into the sunshine more, spending time with special people and finding an interest that you feel enthusiastic about.
- If you begin to feel “burnt out”, over-heated or over-excited, balance the Fire element with some watery activities such as calming breathing practices, meditation or Yin Yoga**
**YIN YOGA is so soothing and calming, and a great complement to a more dynamic practice of any kind. Perfect if the weather is too warm or your Fire element is burning a little too brightly! Don’t forget I run a Seasonal Special Yin Yoga class online every other month. The next classes are:
- Weds 28 May 7pm (Early Summer)
- Weds 30 July 7pm (Summer)
Everyone is welcome – £10 my weekly regulars, £12 others – Message me to book in.
AHIMSA YOGA NEWS
Seasonal Sundays – Treat Yourself!
After a short break Seasonal Sundays resume on 1 June. More details of these lovely sessions on the Seasonal Sundays page.
(Note the remainder of these sessions take place at The Studio, Pixmore Avenue, Letchworth SG6 1JJ – car park entrance opposite Teamworks Carting.)
Course News
Seasonal Yoga Immersion & Teacher Training Course
Our third cohort of SYTT course students are due to graduate in August and in a change of plans we hope to start with a fourth intake in September this year.
You don’t have to want to teach Yoga to take part in this course. While the course prepares you to teach yoga, you can also take it as part of your personal evolution. You don’t have to be young, thin, flexible or any of those other Yoga teacher stereotypes. You do need to be enthusiastic about Yoga and motivated to learn more!
The course runs 1 weekend per month and all the dates are on the Teacher Training page.
Teaching on the course will be from me, assisted by the lovely Melissa Campbell.
Find out more about this 200-hour Yoga Alliance accredited course on our website here and the Seasonal Yoga UK page which links to our Letchworth hub
Seasonal Yoga Five Elements Foundation Course
This course is for you if….
- You want to handle the daily stress and strains of life in a calm efficient way.
- Learning postures and pranayama safely and effectively is your goal.
- You feel that the time is right to develop a yoga self practice and integrate yoga into your life.
- You’d like to learn how to meditate or develop your meditation practice.
- You’d like to spend 5 months improving your lifestyle, health and wellbeing in a fun and safe environment.
I’m excited to say we will be running this course again in 2026, so if it sounds like something you’d be interested in, do let me know as soon as possible.
This course runs across 5 months – 1 day or 2 half days per month (weekends) – and is aimed at those who want to learn more about Seasonal Yoga and maybe establish a home practice, but are not yet ready for the Immersive/Teacher Training.
These are five weekends (1 each per element) where you get to focus on you, your wellbeing, and practices that support your health.
If you’d like to have more yoga in your life, and/or be able to establish a home practice which you feel confident about, this is the course for you.
Teaching on the course will be from me, assisted by the lovely Melissa Campbell.
“The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.”
TKV Desikachar