AUGUST THEME: STRENGTH IN STILLNESS
As summer continues, we’re turning our focus inward towards a kind of strength that’s often overlooked:
The strength to slow down. The courage to regulate. The power of nervous system balance. This August, in both our yoga classes and fitness sessions, we’re exploring how stability isn’t just a physical skill it’s a whole-body, whole-mind experience.
You don’t have to push harder to get stronger.
In fact, the most important kind of strength in 2025 isn’t the kind you can measure with reps or heart rate.
It’s the kind that shows up when life gets noisy and you can still hear yourself. It’s the kind that doesn’t collapse under pressure because it knows how to regulate.
The New Era of Strength Is Nervous System Strength
There’s a reason the wellness world is shifting. A major 2025 report from the Global Wellness Institute highlights a massive surge in yoga therapy not for flexibility or fitness, but for mental health and nervous system regulation.
Why? Because people are exhausted.
And they’re waking up to the fact that healing doesn’t always happen through “doing more.” It happens through specific breath-work exercises and creating safety in the body. If you have been in class with me this summer, you have heard these ideas on a weekly basis - use the body to signal safety response, and you feel rejuvenated. You probably don’t need me to say this as its everywhere you look from social media, to online articles and every coach worth their fee is proclaiming that the practice of slowing down isn’t optional anymore, it’s essential.
I’m going to confess, I have the slight ‘tin-foil-hat’ about me as regards to A.I and I stay clear of it as much as I can, however, I have started to use a research bot to find me the best and most robust clinical studies for wellness every month. Here’s what it sent me this week:
In Prevention’s 2025 Fitness Trends breakdown, the biggest shifts weren’t around new exercises or calorie burn. They were around:
Mindfulness as recovery
Breathwork to lower cortisol
Foam rolling, saunas, and nervous system resets
“Clients who prioritise recovery, breathwork, and stress regulation outperform and outlast those who only chase intensity.”
— Prevention, Fitness Trends 2025
The studies are making waves because they confirm something yoga’s known all along:
Strength doesn’t come from grind. It comes from integration.
Mind + body. Effort + ease. Tension + release.
What This Means for August at the Studio
I haven’t got the facility to offer you a hammock, sunshine and waterfalls but I can create practices that soothe just as well. Scroll down and take a look at my boy Ezras yoga practice for inspiration! I have to make comment on this - it’s an image from when we moved into our house and I was leading online classes for a group in the states. Both boys would watch me film, and after one class Ezra wanted to try the ‘sleep yoga,’ and this is what he busted out. No word of a lie, he stayed like this for about 5 minutes - the little zen master!
This month …
YOGA CLASSES: Less Hustle. More Healing.
This month in class, you’ll see a shift. We’re not just moving for the sake of sweat. We’re using Hatha Yoga to:
Reset the nervous system
Build genuine physical and emotional stability
Prepare for seasonal transition
Expect:
✔️ Alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana) to calm and balance
✔️ Longer-held floor based postures to build deep integrity
✔️ Slow, intelligent sequencing that teaches you to stay composed not just flexible
Because balance isn’t something you achieve. It’s something you train for my friends.
FITNESS SESSIONS: Train the Body and the Brain
In strength sessions, we’re focusing on stability through challenge - not speed.
That means integrating movements like the single-arm overhead squat, the beloved (by that I mean despised) kettle bell get-up & windmill, all of which demand balance, coordination, and focus.
These movements:
Engage the nervous system and stabilising muscles
Build strength that translates to everyday life
Teach the body how to find calm under pressure
Test your ability to be nice and polite in public classes, while swearing relentlessly at me in your mind.
So August here we come baby! It’s not about chasing fatigue, it’s about building the kind of strength that lasts inside and out.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Something New Is Coming...
Starting September 2025, I’m launching:
A new booking system to make reserving your space easier than ever. A full lineup of semi-private classes (max 6 students)with me so we can work with more depth and attention
Here’s what’s on the way:
1) Intro To Hatha Yoga (Think of this as getting your first belt in karate )
A welcoming space for those new to yoga. No judgment. No pressure. Just step-by-step support.
2) Meditation & Hypnosis for Deep Reset
Nervous system-focused classes using breath, meditation, and guided hypnosis for deep recovery.
3) Advanced Hatha Yoga
For those who want to go beyond the basics, refining technique, exploring breath & bandha, and deepening your practice. These small-group sessions allow for individual attention while keeping the atmosphere personal, grounded, and supportive.
Why This All Matters
When you’re calm, you think clearer. When you’re steady, you show up stronger. When your nervous system is regulated, everything else works better, your digestion, your sleep, your focus, your relationships. This isn’t just a “wellness trend.” It’s the direction modern health is going and it’s grounded in science, hatha yoga tradition, and real-life experience.
So, if you’ve been feeling scattered, tired, or just craving more meaning from your practice:
This is the month to return to centre.
Coming Online This Month:
Free tutorial on alternate nostril breathing
Walkthrough of the new booking system
Sneak peek at the September semi-private timetable
New workshop and retreat announcements
Im with you all the way, big love,
Stuart