You know the feeling. You went to Costco in August and yup… there it was… a Christmas tree.

You think to yourself “already?”

Next you notice the Halloween decor, then your mind starts thinking of all the gifts you “need” to buy or perhaps if you're like me, you remember a sad time or event in your life.

This can be true of any holiday right? Not everyone is in love on Valentine's Day.

Over decades, I have watched as the marketing teams start to promote and prepare to sell earlier every single year. Heck, I was directed to do that back in my marketing days.

While some people really enjoy the holidays, the truth is, they aren’t always a pleasant season for all.

For me, the holiday season used to be pleasant and then 5 years ago I lost my best friend the day after Chsristmas. This season has forever been changed and I know I’m not the only one who has a story that brings up difficult emotions.

Whether it be the mass amounts of over marketing, money to be spent, that feeling of rushing around or personal reasons, like I have, it’s important to be mindful that everyone is different.

Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays. It’s not that I don’t like dressing up my dogs (or eating chocolate).

I feel like it is the start of the cold season. I also feel like with any holiday, it’s really hard to get a break from it. The holiday outfits, foods and songs (ps I love Christmas music) are literally everywhere!

I remember one year specifically, it was Halloween and I really felt like I needed to get away from all of the Haloween-ness. Now for me, yoga isn’t a work out, it’s a work in.

Let me explain. When I first started yoga my intention was to stay flexible. Many classes later I started to realize that the benefits I was receiving by moving my body opened up my mind and helped me tap into my awareness.

This far outweighed anything a physical benefit ever could.

That being said, I took an afternoon class on Halloween day, and to my surprise (or horror really) while I closed my eyes in Childs Pose the instructor said “I can’t wait to share my Halloween playlist with you…. Every song is a Halloween song!”

I felt like it was past the point of being able to roll up my mat and run… so I stayed.

Even though it was a traditional 60 minute class, it felt like the longest class of my life. Not only was every song a “halloween song”, the poses were also halloween themed.

I have been guiding yoga now for more than a decade and one of the things I am most proud of is creating a space for people to feel comfortable and use the physical asana (yoga poses) as an outlet for whatever they may be going through.

I have never and will never theme my classes around holidays because yoga is my sacred space.

I teach that yoga is the place you can come to be with yourself, to let go of the distractions in life and to find clarity when you need it most.

I always teach a class I would want to take and I personally find theming around a holiday counter productive. I’m definitely never going to play halloween or holiday tunes in my classes because I am here to provide an outlet and hold space for you.

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