Don't start again in January

Hi Reader

I've just finished celebrating Diwali with my family. A full day of cooking, eating, socialising and being with loved ones.

Next will be Christmas.

Every January the same thing happens. The gyms fill up, the new programmes start, and women who were strong in October begin again from nothing.

It isn't a lack of commitment. December asks more of you than any other month. More to organise, more people to hold, less sleep, less space. Training is usually the first thing to go, because it is the one thing that is only for you.

Then January arrives with a story attached: I let it slip, so now I have to make up for it. You push hard into a body that has spent six weeks braced, and three weeks later you stop again.

There is another way through December. Not more effort. Less, done consistently.

When the weeks get full, I keep one thing: ten minutes of release before anything else. Lie on the floor. Let the jaw soften. Breathe low into the ribs and let the hips go heavy. It doesn't look like training, but it is what keeps you connected to your body when everything else is pulling you out of it. A body that is released and moved a little, often, keeps far more of its strength than one that is driven hard and then dropped.

So this December, aim lower and stay consistent. Ten minutes on the hard days. A full session when there is space. You arrive in January already strong, with nothing to make up for.

If you would like me to guide you through it, this is exactly what my new Somatic Strength Cohort is built for. Six weeks of release, preparation and strength, starting Monday 16 November, with sessions from 10 minutes and a message from me every week. It runs through Christmas on purpose. The founding rate is £50 in total, paid in two instalments of £25, and enrolment closes this Friday.

​Join the founding cohort​

To your capacity,

Seema