Finally, 2024 is coming to an end
plus the usual mind–body science highlights
There’s a poem by Nikita Gill that I love to read in class (and to myself) and which very much encapsulates how I am trying to feel about this year.
True to form, I had really geeky debate with myself about which mental shortcut explains my desire for the year to be over, which of the many ‘irrational’ thought processes that us humans use to make functioning (and staying alive) easier is responsible for this need to make it 2025 already.
I concluded that it’s probably because of the human tendency to think that there is a relationship between two completely independent things (because they happened around the same time); if you are interested, this is called the illusory correlation bias). Like wanting 2024 to be over already because so many awful or difficult things happened this year that this must just be a bad, rotten year, and once it’s over good things will start happening again (yes, that does sound pretty irrational, doesn’t it?).
Or maybe I’m an optimist after all – believing that next year surely will be better.
Regardless, I can pull out some learnings and even some positives from 2024:
Nothing will and can prepare you for loss, no matter how much you think about it
I/you are more resilient that I/you actually think
Having a support network and ways to resource and support oneself is incredibly important – for me, writing has been invaluable as a way to cope with grief (which is part of the reason why, ever the student, I am now studying creative writing for therapeutic purposes at the Metanoia Institute), and yoga helped me release emotionally
🚨🚨🚨Some updates
I’ve been writing this newsletter for over 3 years (!), which I think you will agree is quite an impressive length of time to stick to a project. I’m ready and excited to start evolving it and, hopefully, making it a more financially sustainable venture so that I have more time to write for you, my current (and future) readers.
➡️ What’s changing
There will be more science of mind–body content, looking more deeply into topics that I (and, very importantly, YOU) find interesting; and yes, I will be taking requests. I’m going to start with content that I was working on for a book proposal that never saw the light of day on mind–body practices and the immune system, and take it from there.
I’ll be integrating my learnings on using writing as a creative and therapeutic practice, including prompts, recommended readings and writing ideas – see how I started this post with a poem today?
PLUS building in other extras as and when
I’ve decided that the most flexible solution is to combine Substack with Patreon, and give you the option of choosing what additional content you want, as Substack only lets you pick one paid option for everyone. If none of this makes sense, don’t worry, I will share the options once I have worked out the logistics.
➡️ What’s staying the same
This newsletter – if you are a free subscriber, you will still get this in your inbox or Substack app every month. The only difference is that you will have the option to show your support with a very small monthly donation via Patreon.
In other news – workshops
Join me an Melanie Cooper for the final instalment of your yoga and the immune system workshops for this year, where we’ll be talking about everyone’s favourite topic: ageing! Find out how the immune system and ageing are linked, learn more about the iAge inflammation ageing clock, and where yoga fits in.
Live on Saturday December 7th at 2pm OR watch the recording at your leisure.
Mind–body science highlights
Lot’s of cool stuff this month, with a big emphasis on depression.
🧘♀️ Exercise (including yoga) is an effective way to manage depression
Short and sweet review article that looks at exercise and its effects on depression. It’s interesting to look at the mechanisms that they think exercise (including yoga) supports those living with depression, which includes lowering inflammation in the brain. It is also interesting that the conclusion is that ‘lighter activity’ is probably better because it’s more sustainable than high activity, which might be the reason to go for gentle yoga practices.
This review also looks at the mechanisms by which yoga could drive improvements in depression, with a stronger focus on the psychoneuroimmunology link.
😴 A bedtime yoga routine may help with sleep
I don’t have children but I know from friends and family how challenging the bedtime routine is, so I thought I’d share this even though it’s only a pilot study (ie a small study that was done to decide whether to fund a larger study). Annoyingly the study is behind a paywall so I don’t know what the actual bedtime routine was, but apparently it was feasible, easy to stick to and found to be marginally more effective than story time.
🧘 Yoga nidra for cancer
Not a research article, but this editorial outlines the promise of yoga nidra in cancer care – specifically looking at how it could help to reduce stress, anxiety and potentially also fatigue. There seem to be some actual studies on this rather than pure speculation (which I was surprised by because I thought I had read all the yoga nidra literature). The editorial also argues that yoga nidra might have benefits over traditional yoga because it is more accessible to these patients (who may be experiencing lots of pain, fatigue etc).
🏥 Yoga could improve hospital stays
I was intrigued by this review, possibly because I have been binge-watching a hospital drama called ‘The Resident’ – if you haven’t watched it, I totally recommend it, it gives an admittedly exaggerated glimpse of healthcare in the USA, which I’ve found pretty horrifying. Anyway, back to the science – the authors conclude that yoga in a hospital setting is feasible and could provide benefits for tackling anxiety, depression and stress, which, let’s face it, are all very likely if you are stuck in a hospital. However, the usual caveats about yoga studies apply.
🧍♂️ Men need more male role models to join yoga classes
Following on from the research I shared last month – this might be an obvious conclusion, but it’s good to see that what we think is true does appear to be validated by some research. Other ways to encourage more men to the yoga mat are educating them about the benefits, focusing on the physical benefits and reinforcement through experiencing the benefits first-hand.
Until next time!