November 2025 Newsletter – Dorchester Yoga and Therapy Centre

We are now in the dark part of the Wheel of the Year. Samhain has been celebrated, a truly old festival where the worlds of the living and the dead were deemed closest, a festival of how we view death and how we honour our ancestors. In the UK, our clocks have been put back an hour, the nights are drawing in, and the dawn comes a little later each day. Nature is turning inwards – the world around us has turned into beautiful shades of yellows, oranges, reds, and browns, and the first storms of winter are with us. In the hedgerows, there are sloes, rowan and hawthorn berries, rosehips, and small animals rustle in the leaf litter. The trees are shedding their leaves and turning their energy inwards to survive the harshness of winter. They do so knowing that the wheel will keep turning and Spring will return. If you look carefully, on many trees you will see the buds tight, waiting for Spring to come.

There is a stillness in nature, an internal focus that is taking root to take us through the winter. We need to do the same, rather than feel the frustration of the bad weather and the short days. Enjoy the stillness and the tranquility that it brings, the insights from reflection that bring understanding and wisdom, and a renewed sense of purpose. Follow a natural path, live a more watchful existence, slow down, breathe, open your eyes, and look with wonder at the beauty of Autumn and prepare for Winter.

The third chapter of Patanjali’s yoga sutras starts with the internal limbs of yoga, the last of the 8 limbs: dharana, dhyanam, and samadhi (concentration, meditation, and complete absorption). The meditative process of these practices can be used over time with different objects of focus. It is a deep, profound enquiry to gain mastery over and deepen the connection to an object.

Sutra 111.5 Tad jayãt prajňā āloka
From its mastery, dawns the light of supreme knowledge.

Uncomfortable truths

In previous newsletters, we started looking at eight of the most uncomfortable but essential truths we all need to accept in life, written by Dr Kausthubha Desikachar.

The only one who can change you is You!
Only you can give yourself closure!
A no-risk policy is the biggest risk of all!
Quitting is for winners……sometimes!

This month is number 5.

5. Success requires making difficult choices! 

You only have a finite amount of time in a day, and anything you do is a choice about how to spend it. Will you catch up on emails or meet your friends for dinner? Will you spend an extra hour at the office, or will you go to watch a movie? Do you have times when you switch off the phone and the emails? You also have to be a person outside of work.

Navigating that balance requires an endless series of decisions. And without making such difficult decisions, you can be assured that success won’t come easily, both in work and in play. There is almost no situation in life where success will come to you easily. You won’t see the hard work successful people put into their lives. Life is a lot of hard work, but also, more importantly, difficult choices as well.

New workshops this month

We have all our usual workshops and a few new ones. We welcome back Magdalena Atkinson with a Kirtan on Friday, 7th November, and Dominique Preston with a Restorative Myofascial Release on Sunday, 23rd. A Conscious Relaxation workshop with new teacher Vicky Burke, and finally a Gong and Yoga Workshop – Chiron the Wounded Healer with Katie Pitney.

Biannual teacher’s meeting

We had our biannual teacher’s meeting last week. It’s always difficult to get everyone together, as there are 22 regular teachers and those who bring the occasional workshop. And that doesn’t include the wonderful folk who offer treatments in the therapy room. I like to think our teachers’ meetings are a little bit different than the usual; this year we had a sauna, a shared curry, and a fabulous pistachio and strawberry cake made by Toni Franklin. A time to thank all our wonderful teachers for their commitment, professionalism, and dedication to their students and the yoga centre.