Yoga Nature Sheffield

02/02/2026

The elements were important to yogic and tantrik thought, as they were to many traditions around the world. In this new Substack article we take a look at how these elements provided an intricate framework with which to understand reality and experience:

whatonyogaearth.substack.com/p/earth-water-fire-air-space

**rastudies

How Cultures Learned to Think With the Elements

18/01/2026

"You were never meant to walk a straight line. You were born into a forest of spirals, of breath, bone, branch, and becoming.

From forest roots to starlit arms, life moves in spirals, not straight lines. From the spiralled galaxies above to the curl of a fern, from the double helix of your DNA to the unfurling of a baby’s fingers, life moves in curves. And so do you. The spiral is not just structure. It’s a movement of energy, a cosmic gesture.

In postural yoga, we follow these curves. Twists and rotations awaken deep core muscles, cleanse inner organs, and align the spine with breath, not to control the body, but to participate in its natural intelligence. Yoga, at its essence, is not a practice of achieving fixed shapes, it is a remembering. A returning. A participation in the pulse beneath all form, the spanda, the sacred tremor of aliveness.

We don’t practice to master the pose. We practice to remember the pattern. The ancient pattern that dances through galaxies, seeds, synapses and silence."

Read more in our latest Substack article: "You Are the Spiral Remembering Itself: A meditation on yoga, earth-based wisdom, and the living intelligence of form"

whatonyogaearth.substack.com/p/you-are-the-spiral-remembering-itself

05/01/2026

This year prepare to embark upon a Yogic Quest 🕉️

Do you love yoga? Do you or your family and friends enjoy board and card games? Then allow us to introduce you to Yogic Quest...

Welcome to Loka, where the Yoga Beings live in freedom, happiness, and peace.

Or at least, they did! The dark force of Avidya is now shrouding the land in ignorance. Climate change, illness, and war are looming. The only remaining hope is a group of peace superheroes calling themselves the Shanti Squad who can reunite sun and moon and bring peace, light, and harmony back to Loka!

In this deck-building card game for up to 4 players you will choose one of these superheroes as your avatar as you strive to create the best practise deck and generate the most Shakti points to save Loka.

Or will you go for an Ahimsa victory? The game is built around the foundational yogic principle of Ahimsa (non-harming) and as such can be played co-operatively, with players aiming to work together to generate enough Shakti points to beat Avidya and save the day, or it can be played more competitively if desired.

All artwork is hand-drawn by artist Emilia Cornwell, no AI used.

So, prepare to awaken your inner peace superhero and discover Yogic Quest, the deck-building adventure into the heart of yoga..

Follow and subscribe to keep updated about the project and the coming crowdfunding campaign 🙏🏼

Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/yogicquestgame

Mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/d5b065a734e9/yogic-quest

02/01/2026

✨ Happy New Year, dear friends! Here’s to a year of slowing down, remembering who we are, and being fully present. ✨

“Start the journey to becoming your best self.”

We hear it everywhere.
But what if it’s… wrong?

What if the endless striving, the New Year resolutions, the self-improvement culture… are actually keeping us from who we already are?

In this essay, we explore:
💫 Why yoga is not about becoming, but remembering
💫 How our essence nature is already whole and perfect
💫 How culture, upbringing, and society quietly teach us to forget

No hustle. No polishing. No myth of “better.”

Just presence. Just recognition. Just you - already enough.

Wishing you a year of softening, remembering, and being fully here. 💛

Read the full essay on Substack 👉 whatonyogaearth.substack.com/p/the-myth-of-becoming-your-best-self

21/12/2025

Artwork: Angie Livingstone https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheGlitteringFox

That’s all for now, Yoga Nature Family.

🕯️As the light turns and the land draws inward, we too are hunkering down. Entering a season of hibernation and deep rest. Part of this tending is stepping back from social media, so there’ll be no more posts from us until the New Year.

May the Solstices cradle you gently. May the festive season meet you with warmth, nourishment, and just enough magic. And may 2026 arrive softly, carrying what truly matters.

All good things to you and those you love. See you on the other side of the turning wheel.

With abundant gratitude, love, and long-held hugs,
Jo, Ben & Saraswati (the cat) x 🤍

18/12/2025

Seasonal Rest as Practice

Why we close for two weeks over the festive and easter period, and for August.

18/12/2025

Spiral into a Yuletide landscape to meet your essence beneath the glowing Kalpavṛkṣa or wish-fulfilling tree. A candlelit gratitude ritual grounds the journey, leaving you restored, guided, and held by winter’s magic.

A midwinter nidra for those craving rest, magic, and the quiet wisdom of the long night. Follow the link below:

https://whatonyogaearth.substack.com/p/yuletide-spiral-yoga-nidra

Spiral into a Yuletide landscape to meet your essence beneath the glowing Kalpavṛkṣa or wish-fulfilling tree.

10/12/2025

As the waning moon draws us toward Yuletide’s deep quiet, we’re gathering for two special evenings of rest and renewal:

Sunday 14 December, 6–7:30pm
Thursday 18 December, 6:45–8:15pm

@ the Sharrow Performing Arts Space

£13. Booking essential. Contact jo@yoganaturesheffield.org.uk

Come close the year in good company, warm, held, and gently returned to centre.

10/12/2025

As the waning moon draws us toward Yuletide’s deep quiet, we’re gathering for two special evenings of rest and renewal:

Sunday 14 December, 6–7:30pm
Thursday 18 December, 6:45–8:15pm

@ the Sharrow Performing Arts Space

£13. Booking essential. Contact jo@yoganaturesheffield.org.uk

Come close the year in good company, warm, held, and gently returned to centre.

09/12/2025

The third and final (for now) article in our Misunderstood Traditions series.

When many people hear the word Ashtanga, two very different traditions are often blurred together. On one side, we have Patañjali’s Aṣṭāṅga Yoga - the “eight limbs” - described in his Yoga Sūtras (c. 4th–5th century CE). On the other, there is the modern practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, taught by K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore during the 20th century.

Though they share a name, they are not the same. Both have depth, both have value, but one is a contemplative map of meditation, and the other is a flowing physical discipline.

Read more in this article: https://whatonyogaearth.substack.com/p/the-misunderstood-traditions-series-336

07/12/2025

https://whatonyogaearth.substack.com/

07/12/2025

The second entry in our 'Misunderstood Traditions' series.

In this article, we trace the contemplative, subtle tradition of Tantrik kuṇḍalinī, and then contrast it with the postural‑energetic system brought West by Yogi Bhajan, situating both historically, philosophically, and experientially.

https://whatonyogaearth.substack.com/p/the-misunderstood-traditions-series-bc4

**ra