As we grow older, our opportunities to try something new become fewer and fewer. The more we settle into our familiar habits, the less comfortable we feel expanding our comfort zone. And while there is a valuable sense of security to be found in our routines, there’s a big psychological benefit to be found in pushing those boundaries by picking up a new skill.

Compassion, kindness, empathy and sympathy are words lumped together in the big bag of other-orientated emotions. Although these terms can seemingly be used interchangeably when describing an understanding and reciprocity of the emotions of others, there are subtle differences in each of these concepts. I’m going to be exploring what it means to live with a sense of compassion (warning: it gets a little complicated and it’s not as warm and soft as it sounds) and how this can apply to our yoga practice. Digging deep …

A tradition sits on the day of the fullest moon (or Harvest Moon) where farming communities would celebrate the bringing in of a final crop from the fields. A gathering of stores for the upcoming winter and a big old feast to say thanks for the hard season’s labour. The term ‘harvest’ originates from the Old English word hærfest meaning ‘autumn’. It seems fitting to embed these seasonal principles into an autumnally inspired yoga practice. The aim, a sense of emotional balance as we align our movement and thoughts with nature’s seasonality, developing a practice to cultivate from months past and set seeds of intention for days to come.

It’s coming up to four months since finishing my yoga teacher training at State Yoga in Highgate. The whirlwind of asana and the sometimes overwhelming, always fascinating, information dump has settled and there’s a little time to reflect. What did I learn on the way? And where am I now? Clue here, 200 hours is just the start.