Category: yoga

A drawing of the word November 11 Things For November
ADHD · fitness · goals · habits · self care · walking · yoga

11 Things For November

Christine Hennebury5 Comments

Do I still have a bunch of updates, some posts I promised, and a handful of drafts that I *should* be posting? 

Well, yes. 

But you know how I feel about the word should…(I hate it)

So, here I am on Monday, November 2 writing about my ideas for the month ahead instead of catching up on the various posts that I haven’t gotten to. 

Luckily, catching up on those posts is one item on my list so it all works out. Or, at least, it CAN work out. 🙂

Now, let’s roll with my fitness & well-being ideas for November 2026.

  1. Finish the 4 posts/updates I have partially drafted for Fit is a Feminist Issue

These posts are open loops and my brain would like to close them. Meanwhile, my brain is not keen to actually work on them, it just wants them to be done. Soooo, I am breaking them down into teeny steps and working on them bit by bit – which is always a good thing for me to practice and will be beneficial for my mental health.

  1. Do at least 11 ten minute yoga practices for my upper back.

My shoulders, upper back, and neck are pretty cranky these days and a daily practice feels out of reach but 11 is an odd number (in both senses of the word) of practices to do and that feels appealing to me.

  1. Have cake with at least one person per week in November

This is less about the cake than the conversation but I am kind of cheating with this one. My birthday is next week and at least 6 other people close to me have birthdays this month so it will not really be a challenge to pull this one off. It will definitely be good for my mental health though.

A drawing of a small robot holding a heart and a cupcake.
I don’t know why I drew this little robot on a slant but I like it. Image description: a drawing of a small smiling green robot holding a pink heart in one hand and a plate holding a cupcake with a lit candle in it in the other.
  1. Restart my strength training

If you recall, I was doing the Hybrid Calisthenics program for over 6 weeks this summer. Then I did something to my back (unrelated to the program) and had to take a break. I got back into it but then it fell by the wayside as my busy fall made exercise math too complicated to solve.* 

I’m starting the program again on Wednesday (November 4) because I know I have time that morning.

  1. Schedule time for reading and writing

This one covers a lot of different activities but I have scheduled myself some weekly time for reading and understanding some important non-fiction books I have set aside, I have signed up for my friend Trudy’s ‘Finish That Book’ course (I have a draft written but I need guidance for turning it into something I could publish), and I am doing some short daily writing exercises.

A drawing of a stack of books on a table.
I know these books don’t have titles but I didn’t want to commit at this point – ha! Image description: a drawing of a stack of books on a table. The bottom book is purple, the next one is yellow, next is green, and the top one is pink. The table cloth is decorated in small yellow, green, and pink polka dots.
  1. Yard work and a fire in the firepit

In general, I do a half-assed job in prepping my yard for the winter but this year I am consciously making time to tidy things up and ensure that I have less work to do in the spring when I want to enjoy my outdoor space even more. 

The fire in the firepit is a bonus for the outdoor work. I really like being a bit chilly while sitting by the fire with a cup of tea and some time to think.

  1. Go for one longer walk each week in November

I walk with Khalee almost every day but it’s more of a stroll than a walk and she’s not so keen on longer walks these days (she’s thirteen so that’s to be expected.) 

I sometimes find myself wanting to go a bit further, a bit faster, and do a bit more hard work on my walks but I don’t always fit that into my week so I am starting with one longer walk a week to see how that feels. (I’m trying to reduce my all-or-nothing thinking in all areas of my life.)

  1. Do 11 hours of decluttering/rearranging/tidying in my house

Again, the odd number has a certain appeal for me here. 

I don’t want to set myself a project of ‘declutter the house’ because there is no clear end to that project. 

And trying to do a little bit each day doesn’t feel very useful (I know it IS objectively useful but my brain refuses to believe it) so I needed another solution that would have a definite conclusion. 

So, 11 hours it is and I can do those 11 hours in whatever size chunks I like. 

  1. Have another art day with my friends

Through a series of coincidences, I ended up spending a few hours on the weekend collaging with some dear friends of mine and it was a wonderfully relaxing couple of hours.

I want to do that again this month but on purpose. Maybe as part of my birthday celebration.

10. Plan at least one thing to bake each week

I used to bake a lot more often than I do now and I think the issue is that I am waiting for the magical combination of free time and motivation. 

Of course, we all know that those things don’t just appear together regularly, we have to create the conditions for them to show up. 

So, this week I am going to make a cinnamon coffee cake.

But I will defy its very name and eat it while I have tea. 

11. Plan my December fun

I have learned my lesson from my October plans! I didn’t finish everything that I had on my October list but making the plan kept my ideas top of mind and it helped me choose to have more fun throughout the month instead of putting it off until the end.

So, throughout November, I will be making deliberate choices about what to include in my December plans so I can do what needs doing while increasing my capacity and my opportunities to have fun.  

*****

So, there it is, my November list.

Will I get all of this done? Who knows?

Does it matter? Definitely not!

Having this list will help me shape my days and my weeks and my month and I am determined to keep checking in with myself about the items on here. 

Maybe I will change my mind about some of them. Maybe I will reshape what some of them mean for me. Maybe I will do some of them exactly as I have written them.

Either way, having this guideline will make it easier to choose what to do with my time and it will give me some interesting information about what I want in my life and what feels good to include in my days. 

What kinds of things are you including in your November plans?

*Exercise math refers, in my case, to the challenges of trying to time my exercise sessions around a haphazard schedule, family, volunteer, and work obligations, the timing of showers and errands, all of which is complicated by my ADHD-related difficulty with prioritization, sense of time, and perception of effort required. I know everyone has to balance a lot of things to fit exercise into their days but the scheduling math seems to overwhelm me more often than it does for other people.

Nat’s avoiding stretching for all the wrong reasons
Sat with Nat · stretching · yoga

Nat’s avoiding stretching for all the wrong reasons

natalieh (she/her)Leave a comment
Look how happy this person is while they touch their toes!

Comparison as the thief of joy

I know it’s not helpful to compare 52 year old me to younger versions. I do it anyway. I know. I know. I KNOW!

I used to effortlessly touch my toes and wonder what, exactly, was this supposed to be stretching?

I’d sit in Butterfly pose with my feet together, tucked in towards my groin with my thighs flat on the floor. It looked neat but I didn’t feel stretching.

I’m totally jealous of the peaceful look while her elbows are on the floor!

Avoiding being mediocre

Before warming up I gently start a forward bend and my hands make it midway down my shin. Huh. It is uncomfortable. I feel all the muscles and tendons from the base of my skull to the bottoms of my feet resisting.

The tissues protest, sending jolts of discomfort. They eventually let go in fits and starts. It doesn’t feel better when they do, just different. I now understand why touching your toes is a stretch and it’s an effort.

Aversion to discomfort

I’m in a seated forward bend and I’m certain from the outside I don’t look like I’m forward at all.

My hamstrings and calves are rock hard, resisting. I breathe. I get my yoga strap and loop it around my feet. The gentle pressure does help me inch downward. I remember laying my forearms on the floor next to my calves. It seems unlikely I’ll do that.

Abstaining from stretching

Together this has made stretching and yoga something I no longer do regularly. I keep setting little challenges for myself to include stretching in my daily routines and promptly abandoning those plans.

I do feel better afterwards. I really do.

Negative feedback loop

I find stretching uncomfortable, so I do it less. This makes stretching harder, I no longer enjoy it. You get the point.

Tie it to something I always do

Walking Michel and Lucy is something I do at least twice a day. So I’m going to add a small stretch after the walk and see if I can regain some range of motion as well as my joy of being bendy.

I miss my competent, joyful stretching!

Woman standing on wall in bedroom. By Taurean Hill for Unsplash. Catherine adds yoga before bed to her evening, and her hips are thanking her
226 in 2026 · fitness · Physiotherapy · self care · yoga

Catherine adds yoga before bed to her evening, and her hips are thanking her

catherine wLeave a comment

Last summer I spent a lot of time dealing with sciatica, which had me limping and having trouble with climbing stairs. Thanks to many months of physical therapy, I got better. My gait became steady and strong, and I could climb stairs without pain or favoring one side. Yay!

A lamb leaping for joy-- my inner lamb is doing the same. By Jonathan Mabey for Unsplash.
A lamb leaping for joy– my inner lamb is doing the same. By Jonathan Mabey for Unsplash.

Maintaining my hard-won stability and strength takes effort, and I’ve done my hip exercises regularly. But I noticed that if I read in bed before sleeping, I would be creaky or have some hip pain– not enough to wake me up, but noticeable.

Reenter yoga before bed. I used to do some rotation of gentle yoga exercises before bed most nights, but for no particular reason stopped.In the past few weeks, I restarted, and noticed happy changes:

  • no joint pain in bed during the night or in the morning
  • easier walking around in the morning
  • a little more stability and flexibility in general

What I do varies– sometimes it’s mini sun salutations with warrior poses and twists and forward folds, other times I’m on my mat in the living room doing twists and hamstring stretches with my yoga strap. I sometimes do tree pose as well, although I’m less balanced in the evening. So far I haven’t fallen over, which I’m taking as a win.

I’m not sure it matters exactly what yoga poses I do. But I’m thinking it does matter that I do it. So I’m doing it. Having restarted my posts for the 226 workouts in 2026 is helping motivate me to do it (almost) every night. Yay again!

Yeah, yay to that. By Fausto Garcia for Unsplash.
Yeah, yay to that. By Fausto Garcia for Unsplash.

Readers, are you doing or re-doing something that’s making you feel good or better? I’d love to hear from you.

Hip, Hip… OK. Christine’s upcoming experiment
ADHD · fitness · mobility · stretching · yoga

Hip, Hip… OK. Christine’s upcoming experiment

Christine HenneburyLeave a comment

My hips are very cranky lately and instead of just being annoyed most of the time and stretching when I think of it, I have decided to actually try to make them happier by doing some targeted exercises and stretches and the like.

Yes, I know that a problem with my hips is not an isolated thing – I probably have a whole series of cranky muscles that need some kind attention – but I also know that my brain loves falling into the trap of ‘if I can’t do everything, I won’t do anything’ so I have decided to start by focusing on my hips.

And since I also know that my brain gets easily bored exercise routines, I have decided that ‘focusing on my hips’ means ‘trying all kinds of different videos to see which ones my hips like best.

So, here is my ‘happier hips’ experiment:

Try each of these videos once over the next two weeks and see which ones we (me and my hips) like best.

Updates will follow as events warrant.

A video called ‘7 Tight Hip Stretches’ from the Ask Dr Jo YouTube channel. The still image shows Dr. Jo, a woman with light skin whose brown hair is pulled back in a bun, sitting on a mat on the floor with her hands on the mat behind her. Her right leg is bent at the knee with her foot on the floor and her left leg is bent with her knee facing the camera and her left foot on her right knee. She is facing the camera and she is mid-sentence.
a short YouTube video called ‘Tight Hips? You’re not alone’ from the Yoga with DJ channel. In the still image a person in a grey tank top and black shorts. with black framed glasses with their hair in a bun on top of their head sits on a black yoga mat with the soles of their feet touching each other and their knees pointed to the sides of the mat (butterfly pose), and they are using their hands to push downwards on their knees. There are shelves of plants behind them and their yoga mat is on light-coloured parquet flooring.
a video called ‘Gentle Yoga for Tight Hips’ from Yoga with Adriene. In the still image, Adriene, a woman with long dark hair and a happy expression is wearing back leggings and a black tshirt as she sits on a yoga mat that is divided long ways into two shades of green. Her hands are resting behind her on the mat and she is leaned back slightly. Her left foot is on the floor and her left knee is bent (pointed toward the ceiling) Her right leg is bent, her right foot is resting on her left leg, and her right knee is pointing away from the viewer. Her dog Benji is sleeping in front of her but near the back wall and a table with a plant and a decorative item on it is behind her to her right.
a video called ‘Hip CARs//For IT Band Syndrom, Piriformis Syndrome etc’ from Tom Morrison. The left hand side of the image is red with text reading ‘What is The Best Hip Mobility Drill Ever!?and the right shows Tom Morrison, a man with long hair wearing a black shirt and dark pants and a woman in a black shirt and grey capri leggings with her blonde hair in a high ponytail standing next to the frame of a machine at the gym. She is holding on to the frame and tipping her leg to one side to stretch her hips.
another Yoga with Adriene video. This one is called ‘Hip Mobility – Open Your Hips – 13 Minute Yoga practice and there’s still image shows her lying on her back on a light green yoga mat and she is wearing a one piece exercise suit that is both a tank top and leggings. She is making the figure 4 position with her legs. Her right leg is bent with the knee pointing away from the viewer and her right ankle is resting on her left thigh as she pulls her left thigh toward her with her hands .
This video from Oscar Moves is called ‘Give Me 4 Minutes. I’ll Fix Your Tight Hips.’ Still image is divided into halves. On the left, he is wearing a dark shirt and shorts and he is pushing down on his right leg near the knee with both hands. On the right side, he is wearing a green shirt and dark shorts and he is sitting with the souls of his feet together and his knees pointing out to either side in butterfly position and he looks relaxed.

PS- The YouTube algorithm tossed another Tom Morrison hip video at me just now ( about an hour before the post goes live) so I’m going to include that too: https://youtube.com/shorts/56aOHZq2JKI?si=rfSRHcZFuMZBICAe

woman girl animal dog Sam is finding what feels good in May. Want to join in?
fitness · yoga

Sam is finding what feels good in May. Want to join in?

Sam BLeave a comment
A listing of new releases for May 2026 from YWA and FWFG, featuring various wellness classes and videos with specific dates.

During the pandemic, I enoyed daily Yoga with Adriene, but it’s been a challenge ever since. That’s more about knee surgery and knee physio than anything else, for me.

But I feel like I’m moving past–finally!–the focus on knees. I’m doing new things, like skating. I’m taking some fun classes, like anti-gravity restorative fitness at Movati, and I’m going on long walks. I am so very very happy about all of that!

I’m also thinking it’s time to revisit Adriene. I miss her! I’m not going to be able to manage every day, but I thought I might try her new content each month.

Here’s the first new one:

a photo of the author's legs and there is a lot of snow in the background It’s a bit early for patio yoga but Christine gave it a go anyway.
fitness · health · snow · yoga

It’s a bit early for patio yoga but Christine gave it a go anyway.

Christine Hennebury

And it was GREAT!

It was sunny here last Friday so my husband spend a bit of time shoveling snow off of our patio – mostly to have something to do outside.

When it was sunny and spring-ish on Saturday, we wanted to have the patio door open so I dug the screen door out of the shed and had the brilliant idea (if I do say so myself) to drag a few patio chairs out at the same time.

Now it was sunny and relatively warm and we had chairs on the patio so it suddenly felt like our outdoor space was available to us again.

Obviously, my next step was to drag out a mat and do some yoga outdoors.

Did it feel strange to be doing yoga outside with snowshovels in the background? I’ll let you interpret that for yourself.

a selfie of the author with the sun on her face, and two snowshovels in the background
Image description: a selfie of me (a middle-aged white woman with a round face and light brown hair that is pulled back by a cloth band that happens to contain earphones) in a dark pink hoodie with the sun shining on my face, smirking at the fact that I am doing yoga outdoors while there are still necessary snow shovels propped against my house.

Was it weird to be lying on my mat in the sunshine while the grass in my backyard was still mostly covered in snow?

Well, it felt weird enough to take a photo of it at least…

A person's leg and foot in black socks resting on a deck, with bare trees and a blue sky in the background.
Image description: a photo of my legs with the backyard full of snow visible in the background while propping myself up a little as I was lying on my mat on the patio. In the photo, I am lying on the ground with my right leg bent so the knee is toward the sky and the foot is on the ground. My left leg is bent so the outside of my foot is resting on the top of my right knee and my left knee is pointing to the left. You can see my blue yoga mat and part of the patio through the triangle formed by my legs. On my right is our patio mats, and more patio slats and beyond them you can see the railings, a whole bunch of snow, some leafless trees, the blue sky and our faded wooden fence.

But even though it felt kinda weird, it also felt great to be doing that slow, steady, focused movement in the bright sunlight and the fresh air.

Despite the snow, it felt like warm weather and more outdoor fun might be just around the (very long!) corner.

And if you saw this when you opened your eyes after Savasana, you might have believed it, too.

a photo of bare tree branches and blue sky
A photo of my view upwards from my yoga mat. Image description: a photo of bare tree branches with just a hint of growth on them with the bright blue sky in the background.

PS – Thanks to Steve for shoveling off the patio and setting this whole thing in motion.

Why not make March the new January? Looking for March momentum
fitness · yoga

Why not make March the new January? Looking for March momentum

catherine w

For me, January and February of this year have been busy and productive work and social months. I’ve hosted people at my house, gone out to social events, and done fun extra-curricular things at school with students. I’ve also written some conference abstracts, made progress on a newish research project and had meetings with my friend and research partner Norah.

But movement? Not so much. Yes, I’ve done a little walking, a little yoga, and went swimming with a friend and her toddler. But I haven’t established, much less adhered to, any sort of schedule or regular plan. And, I fell off the radar of my 226 in 2026 Facebook group.

Well, it’s March 1. What better time to start afresh with a plan for movement momentum?

And I have a plan. Well, rather my local yoga studio Artemis has a plan. It’s March momentum time!

What does this mean for them and me? Well, it’s simple: you just take classes, and with each class you take, you get an entry ticket into a raffle for yoga swag. Check it out below.

An announcement for Artemis Yoga's March Momentum 2026 program, detailing a 31-day yoga challenge with information on sign-up, tracking progress, and prizes.

Yes, I would love a new yoga mat or other prizes, but the main thing here is it’s getting my attention with a fun challenge to restart my yoga practice. And I’m starting TODAY with a sound journey yoga thing for members only. My goal is to do two classes a week for the month of March– one in person and one synchronous online.

Like any good challenge program, there are also extra little incentives. Some classes are designated bonus classes, for which you get TWO raffle entries. I’m going to try to do at least two of those this month.

The last time Artemis ran this challenge, Norah threw herself into it, and she ended up winning a sweatshirt. Imma see if I can score something for myself this time.

What I really want to score, though, is an easier yoga habit. We’ll see how it goes, and I’ll report back in April.

Readers, are you feeling winter sluggishness or in a rut? Are you humming along with your activity schedule? How are your plans going? I’d love to hear from you.

fitness · yoga

Exploring Unorthodox Yoga Practices

Sam B

I’ve long been a fan of unorthodox forms of yoga.

I love yoga with goats, yoga with alpacas, yoga in the water, and yoga in silk hammocks.

Goat yoga! No longer can you go to yoga to escape the kids

I love snow yoga too.

The best is Snow-ga with Alpacas!

Snow-ga with Alpacas!

This weekend I did AquaYoga on Saturday and Anti-Gravity Restorative Yoga on Sunday.

Sam’s new favorite fitness class, or 6 things Sam loves about anti-gravity restorative fitness
Interior of a wellness studio featuring purple aerial silks hanging from the ceiling, with a person sitting in a silk in the background.

Do you have any non-standard forms of yoga that you love? Which ones and why? Let us know in the comments below!

a drawing of the number 21 Making Space 2025: Day 21
holiday fitness · mindfulness · self care · yoga

Making Space 2025: Day 21

Christine Hennebury

Hey Everyone,

First things first: Today’s post is late because I made space in my day to have brunch with friends but I forgot to make space to write this post beforehand. I don’t know if that makes me a good example or a bad example but I’m definitely something. 😉

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the Winter Solstice.

It’s the darkest time of the year and traditionally a time when everyone would slow down, tell stories, do some reflection (or divination), and find ways to bring the light inside…at least metaphorically, through warm fires, bright candles, and good company.

And, of course, a lot of people still do all of that in one form or another.

Personally, I enjoy small rituals to mark special occasions and the change from ‘it’s getting darker all the time’ to ‘it is slowly getting lighter all the time’ feels like a good occasion to celebrate.

It also feels like a good time for us all to Make Space for to give ourselves what we need – whether that is movement, rest, meditation, ritual, journaling, delicious snacks, good company, or anything else we can think of.

In that spirit, I have compiled my usual offering of a movement practice and meditation practice AND I have a bunch of other things for you to try – if you are so inclined.

And, as always, I wish you ease as you create more space for yourself in your own life and please feel free to ignore these suggestions and do what you need to do.

Here are some Winter Solstice journal prompts from _WovenWomen and Therapy_with_Noel and if you’re like me and you like a personal ritual to mark different times of the year, here are some simple ones for Winter Solstice from The Mystical Society*

And here are a few more restful Solstice videos, just for fun: Solstice – Celebrating the Light from Danu’s Irish Herb Garden, Winter Solstice Sanctuary Ambience ambience from Dead of Night, and Music For Yule – Winter Solstice Songs from Miguel Berkemeier.

Here’s our movement practice for today. It’s a longer video but please don’t feel that you must do it all – just do what you have time/capacity to do.

The still image for this 30 minute Winter Solstice Yoga from PERSON shows the instructor doing Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2) pose on a yoga mat with a large window behind them. They are wearing a blue tshirt and leggings and their hair is in a ponytail with some strands falling around their face. Their torso is mostly facing the camera, their right arm is extended in front of them and their left arm is extended behind them (both at shoulder height) their bodyweight is shifted onto their right leg which is bent and pointed to the right. Their left leg is extended in line with but away from their right and their left toes are pointing towards the camera.

When I looked for Solstice meditations on YouTube today, I found that they were either very long or that they were wandering too far into metaphysical spirituality to share casually without discussion.

So, instead, I went to the website for my favourite meditation app Insight Timer and found this track from Lyn Delmastro-Thomson that is symbolic but not especially ‘woo.’ https://insighttimer.com/play/playlist/mYu9SJojrI40WpnFtALP?track=d3r8r6s8x9w7q9w6c0r3a6b7b3c3t1u9e2t2m2l3 If that track doesn’t appeal, you can always click on the other images you can see and try out one of those meditations instead.

*I like the simplicity of the rituals they suggest but I disagree with their characterization of more complicated rituals as bullsh*t. I also disagree with anyone who suggests that everything needs to be complex to be helpful. I’m sure it will shock you to discover that I think everyone should do things in the way that serves them best.

A small drawing of the number 12 Making Space 2025: Day 12
ADHD · fitness · holiday fitness · mindfulness · self care · yoga

Making Space 2025: Day 12

Christine Hennebury

Hey Everyone,

Today, I’m inviting you to take an extra moment to give yourself something you need.

Perhaps that’s a little extra movement or a few more minutes rest.

Maybe you need some time away from your email or a little time to chat with a friend.

You may need a warm cup of tea, a blanket, or some paper to make a list.

I’m sure we all have a lot of needs that are much bigger than any of those things (and I hope you can meet those needs, too!) but we definitely all have relatively small needs like this that we tend to delay meeting because they aren’t part of the big plan or because they feel a little inconvenient.

But imagine how much better the rest of your day would feel if you made space to meet one of those needs?

Personally, I am going to meet two of my current needs – putting slippers on my chilly feet and making a cup of tea – as soon as I finish typing this.

Whether you are meeting one of those small needs, following this yoga practice, giving progressive muscle relaxation a try, or doing something else entirely, I hope you can make a little extra space for yourself today.

And, as always, I wish you ease and kindness.

Here’s our movement practice for today:

In the still image for this 10 Min Neck & Shoulders Stretch from Yoga with Kassandra, the instructor is pictured on the right hand side. They are wearing a white tank top and blue leggings and sitting crossed legged with their left arm behind their back while stretching the left side of their neck by tilting their head to the right. Their eyes are closed and they look peaceful. There are a lot of windows in the background and snow on the ground outside.

And here’s our mindfulness practice for today:

In the still image for this 6 Minute Progressive Muscle Relaxation Guided Meditation from Beam Therapy & Training there is a circle on the left side that encloses a photo of a person with long hair, wearing a green sweater and blue jeans sitting crossed-legged with their eyes closed and their face turned upwards. Text listing the name of the video and the url http://www.beamtraining.co.uk is on the right side. The background is dark green and there are polka dots and other green shapes along the bottom edge.