attunement

It's Golden

This summer I feel unapologetically yellow - it’s something I started feeling when writing the last blog, approaching the summer solstice.

A sense of coming into my light, of finding my way back to something that has been a little dormant, or overshadowed for some time. This isn’t a bad thing; all things move in cycles, and what has overshadowed it is not something less or something bad, just different things, and a different stage of life. 

I truly love working seasonally; it helps me move more gracefully (most of the time!) and certainly find more acceptance when things feel slow, hard or just not flowing - a reminder that there is a right time for all things, to be patient and open for when the right time arrives!

The full light of peak summer also brings a sense of clarity, a time for seeing things more clearly. Whether metaphorically with the longer, lighter days or the ‘peak of summer’ being able to give us a more bird's-eye view, as it were - the bigger picture.

This has influenced how we practiced last term, exploring the theme of balance and how nothing is ever still or ‘balanced’. Seeing more clearly, the bigger picture is a series of adjustments that give us a ‘sense of balance’.

These small adjustments may feel insignificant at the time, but they can make a significant difference to the path/journey / course we are on, whether that journey is a 90 min class, or a 5-10 year life plan. 

Nevertheless, it’s not having fixed ideas that once the adjustment is made, we have to follow that trajectory blindly. Instead, continuing to be open to further adjustments as we go, and as we learn.

We are always changing, and not to do so is to be stuck. Whether that's in our routine, our work or our beliefs. We can remain true to certain core beliefs, but still be open to hearing other people's opinions and experiences. 

One of two adjustments may happen by being ‘open to change’:

#1 Hearing or considering a different option/belief might provide a slight adjustment to our perspective, without shifting course dramatically,

#2 It may give us more passion and confidence for the course we’re already on. 

Either way, by being open to other beliefs, ideas or learning something new, the small adjustments make a difference. 

An opportunity to adjust my internal thinking occurred recently. I met a fascinating individual, with a very different life experience to my own. Initially, I felt in awe of this person, having felt my own life experience to be small, or less significant somehow. If I had continued in that way, I may have made adjustments to my beliefs or the trajectory of my path that weren’t in alignment with who I am authentically; I would also have shifted my power to an-other.

Instead, I chose humility, listening to both their knowledge and my own, which became a quiet turning point: not because their path was one I needed to follow, but because it reminded me how essential it is to stay rooted in my own authenticity.

An adjustment to family life in my late teens significantly altered my trajectory. The trajectory itself has been a beautiful journey; nevertheless, the experience adjusted who I was for a long time, how I inhabited my internal life and how I behaved around others. That adjustment led to more self-doubt and more reliance on other people's opinions than was healthy.

Lots has happened and shifted over the last two years, and I feel those shifts have got me back on track, but this time with a stable foundation. What I lost in my teens, I have created for myself, and now I am finding that passionate, fun, imaginative and confident self that I thought I had lost -  and it feels unapologetically yellow!

With this shift and subtle attunement, I am more confidently moving into what I offer and how I do that. 

I have always found presenting myself as a yoga teacher a bit awkward, as I recognise I didn’t train in an Ashram in India; I have never even been to India. 

I am acutely aware of the awful colonial history between Britain and India and I’m conscious that  there is a huge amount of cultural appropriation within the western world of yoga. All in all I find it a tricky area to navigate. 

I love exploring Yoga philosophy and the Sanskrit language, nevertheless there are also aspects of traditional yoga that don’t align so well for me. I love the spiritual aspect woven into the physical practice, without it, it feels nothing more than an exercise class. However I don’t align with strict lineages and guru worship. I am uncomfortable with the word ‘God’, mainly because of how much power it wields in the wrong hands.  

My feelings on spirituality and religion have always been a curious, gentle, ‘pick and mix’ attitude. I am like a butterfly flitting between beautiful flowers drinking what nourishes me before moving on - it's no coincidence that my logo is a butterfly! 

Interestingly the individual I mentioned earlier, without knowing anything about my work as Paper Kite Yoga, observed my butterfly tendencies.

They shared a metaphor about how digging deeply in one spot for water was more fruitful than digging many shallow wells.

Whilst this may be sound and wise advice, I also believe that as we dig these wells, we may discover that the water isn’t pure or that it has an unpleasant flavour, and that if our intuition warns us to leave it and start again - that's ok.

Ancient Indian wisdom, such as its spiritual and philosophical traditions, to some degree has endured despite its history of colonisation, becoming a source of fascination for the West in the mid 20th century.

The deeper my connection to the earth becomes—through practices like Shinrin Yoku and seasonal awareness— the more aligned I feel with the rhythms of nature and the wisdom carried by these places. A sense of reconnecting to the traditions and philosophies rooted in the lands where my ancestors and I have lived.

Our own Indigenous wisdom of Europe was disrupted, suppressed, or erased—particularly during periods of forced Christianisation and the persecution of those perceived as “witches.” 

Not all of these old traditions resonate with me personally but I am certainly drawn to the seasonal wheel and a sense of acknowledging that rhythm.  The world we live in now has changed dramatically, nevertheless human nature is not so different, and nature’s

rhythms still guide us.

Lammas /  Lughnasadh is an ancient Gaelic/Celtic holiday on the Seasonal Wheel of life that marks the first harvest, a time to honour the abundance of Earth and express gratitude for the gifts of nature.

Celebrated on the 1st of August, marking the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox. 

Lammas is not just about physical harvest. It’s also a time to notice the inner harvest, the projects completed, the lessons learned, the shifts made quietly beneath the surface. - Rebecca Douglas

I have been feeling into a sense of inner harvest recently. A feeling of completion and ripening, whilst also learning some hard lessons; this is all gently adjusting my journey. To do this authentically, it has to be an inner shift from doing the self-work.

I have always tried to practice, teach and offer what I feel and know, through authentic experience rather than just regurgitating others' knowledge.

By not aligning with a  specific lineage or guru, it has allowed me to experience the beauty of a yoga practice with many different teachers as well as my own individual exploration of asana, pranayama and meditation

Whilst yoga is more than exercise, I don't believe it’s the only form of movement that is more than a physical workout; it all comes down to intention and attention. 

Without that, yoga may be experienced as just a physical workout, and conversely, a walk or a run, with the right intention and attention, can be a mental or spiritual practice. 

Other forms of exercise won’t play such an important role in the energetic body; that is where yoga reigns supreme. Specific asanas affect specific energy centres in the body and affect us mentally and emotionally in a much more expansive and nuanced way.

Yoga offers us a rich tapestry of experiences and benefits; nevertheless, in my experience, when combined with other forms of movement or healing modalities, its value is amplified.

This summer feels like all the different seeds I have planted over the years have established themselves and are now ready for harvest and to move into the next cycle.

During Lammas / Lughnasah, one of the rituals to celebrate this turning of the wheel is baking bread.

The newly harvested grains were used to bake special loaves of bread, often in the shape of the sun or harvested sheaves. These loaves symbolised the bounty of the harvest and were shared as communal feasts or given as offerings. 

With this sense of harvest, I’m bringing together all the strands of my work from the last decade — yoga, nature connection, writing, herbalism — and shaping them into a more expansive version of Paper Kite. It’s becoming not just a yoga space, but a seasonal circle, a place for earth‑based practice, creativity, and plant wisdom.

I may not manage to fully pull it all together for our start of term in September, but it will come together beautifully when the time is right. 

I look forward to stepping into this next phase together, in whatever way feels right for you. For now, I hope you lean into the energy of harvest — acknowledging what has fully ripened and what is quietly preparing to change. 

I’ll send an update next week with September plans, but for now,

Om shanti

Sophia

"With thanks and blessing we step towards the time of dreaming" 

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Content and photos by Sophia Howard, Paper Kite Yoga & Well-Being 2026