I’ve always loved the seasons!

I have always had a strong connection with nature and the seasons as a child. And always felt strongly influenced by light and dark, and what I now know to be the principles of Yin and Yang.

My home as a child didn’t have electricity. It was one of a row of four cottages surrounded by woods and at the foot of hanger. You could feel in and around the cottage that it held remnants of past lives spent there during harder times.

The four adjoined ‘Hop-pickers’ cottages were at the bottom of a dead end track that led on to endless woodlands, but at the time of my parents full-time arrival there were no other permanent residents living there. This meant that when my Dad was away with his new glass painting business, my Mum was left with two small children, no landline, or nearby neighbour to call on and a darkness I remember so well during the Winter. That was until the candles and oil lamps were lit creating a comforting glow and the cosiest of atmospheres as we played by the fire or watched our small TV running quietly in corner by car battery!

Winter could be harsh, yet beautiful as the frost and snow came.

As a child I delighted in Spring and the new growth. I was in my element during the fiery days of Summer and felt a sadness in Autumn, yet was in awe of the golden colours it brought!

It was during these early years I began my relationship with nature and with candlelight that I still hold to today.

I was scared of the dark and would avoid journeys through the house at night at all cost. We usually had one candle by our bed to read by, and I often held to the flame like a moth. Even though it was the early 80’s, our lives can’t have been dissimilar to those of the children that had lived there generations before.

Summer was so bright in contrast and maybe being an August baby I always felt safer at this time of year and that somehow during these sunny days everything was safer.

I was in awe as a child of stories that connected me to the Seasons.

Alison Uttleys ‘The life of a country child’ and the beautifully illustrated Brambley Hedge stories exploring the lives of mice in the hedgerow through each season by Jill Barkley. As I grew older, I learnt how the Pagans celebrated the seasons and then to my joy discovered Seasonal Yoga!

My teacher Sue Wood developed a practice inspired by ancient Chinese and Indian health systems; a gentle practice specifically designed to send energy flowing through the meridian lines (energy pathways of the body).

From a physical view point, the practice re-vitalises our systems and organs which have energies corresponding to different seasons of the year - putting the mind and body where it is supposed to be - in harmony with nature. I was hooked straight away!

During Spring we explored the meridians of the Liver and gallbladder while looking ahead a s we set our intentions.

In Summer we connect with the heart and find space, connection and expansion in our practice.

Autumn takes us to the lungs, breathwork and teaches us to let go.

While in Winter we key into the bladder and kidneys and move deeper into our mediation and into hibernation in our relaxation.

Each season has always held its own unique magic to me, and I feel lucky to live in a country where we can experience the changes of these seasons so dramatically!