The rise of neurowellness
As we start this half term week, I wanted to give you a quick catch up on what’s hot in the yoga and wellness space right now, along with a little more value around the practices we’ve been sharing in class. Lately in class we’ve been focusing on two specific techniques. Square breathing, and a hip strength practice I call 90-90-90. Let me explain why.
Your hips aren’t tight, your nervous system is cautious
Here’s something you might have heard me say in class. Your muscles do not permanently lengthen after a yoga practice. They don’t stretch like elastic and stay that way, and nobody walks away from a yoga class with longer arms and legs. So what is happening when you say, “My hips are tight,” or “I feel flexible I that muscle,” what are you actually feeling?
Most of the time, that tight sensation is your nervous system increasing muscle tone as a protective response. It is caution, not a structural problem. When your brain senses that you are moving toward the edge of a range it does not fully trust, it increases tension. That tension feels like resistance. Think about this. You bend forward and feel stiff. You move gently for a few minutes, repeat the motion, breathe steadily, and suddenly you can go further. The tissue did not change length in five minutes. Your nervous system changed its perception of safety.
It stopped sounding the alarm, and that is what we are really training. In the 90-90-90 hip work, the goal is not to force range. It is to build strength and control in the range. When you are strong in a position, your nervous system feels safer there. And when the system feels safe, it reduces protective tension. That is when the tight feeling softens. Below is a short video demo for one of our foundation practices, and if you want more space, strength, and ease in your body, then include this before you start classes this week.
I’ve been researching the top wellness trends for 2026
I like to keep an eye on where the wider wellness world is heading. Not to chase trends, but to understand what people are searching for and why.
Five themes keep coming up.
The rise of neurowellness. Regulating the nervous system is becoming central to health and longevity.
Sauna culture and detox conversations. Heat exposure and recovery are getting serious attention.
The backlash to over optimisation. People are questioning the pressure to track and perfect everything.
Strength training for disease prevention. Lifting weights is now being described as medicine.
Self development and lifelong learning. Courses and community are being linked to better cognitive health and purpose.
I’ll expand on these over the half term week. But today, let’s start with the one that connects directly to what we are practising this month.
Neurowellness, or what yoga has always known
For years wellness focused on what we do; eat this, lift that, stretch more, sleep better. Now the focus is shifting to how regulated your system is while you do those things. Because your nervous system influences how safe you feel, how well you recover, how easily you move, and how clearly you think. So if your system is constantly in threat mode, everything feels harder. If it feels steady and supported, everything works better.
That is neuro-wellness.
It is not a gadget and it is not a “hack.” It’s the skill of teaching your body that it can experience effort without going into alarm. When you strengthen your hips in 90-90-90 instead of just hanging in a stretch, you are building confidence in that range. When you use square breathing, four in, four hold, four out, four hold, you are practising steadiness on purpose. When you repeat a movement calmly, you are giving the nervous system evidence that it is safe. And evidence changes perception.
So while the wellness world calls it neurowellness, in yoga we have quietly been practising it all along - think intention, awareness and breath. If you are joining class this week, notice this shift. Less forcing. More earning trust. If you are practising at home, pick one hip position, move slowly, breathe steadily, and see what changes.
You are not just stretching. You are teaching your nervous system something new.
Enjoy today’s practice and I will see you for more of this tomorrow.
Stuart