Yoga at the Mill

02/12/2025

With the rush of December comes the possibility of allowing permission a few moments of stillness and rest. 🙏

Advent of Words to live by… ✨

Every day in December I will be posting an advent-calendar-style message you need to hear.

I love a good advent calendar and these days we have chocolate advent calendars, cosmetics coffee, you name it.

I will be bringing you little parcels of comfort, hope, or just a perspective shift to move you out of overwhelmed and back into calm and peaceful.
Or at the very least, grateful: Because the state of gratitude is a powerful thing.

I will also be suggesting a journalling prompt you can carry out to help yourself or a small act of kindness to add to the ripple effect that keeps the whole world facing the light.

(This may seem like a task (and you have more than enough of those) but this will return the energy to you ten-fold in power 🤩.)

It is not easy, this life, even when it is wonderful. We need one another. And we need reminders of the fact that we are not alone, never, ever alone.

This community is a kind one.

What a thing.

Today… give yourself a treat of some kind - be that space from guilt and criticism in your thoughts or an hour of you-time doing whatever fuels your soul.

You are worthy.

(All of the words on my advent windows will be from ‘Joy Chose You’ or my journal ‘Words To Live By’)

Donna

30/11/2025

Happy Sunday! Bookings for our Morocco New Year retreat close midnight tonight. More at:
https://satvada-retreats.co.uk/morocco/atlas-mountains-yoga-walking-new-year-retreat

25/11/2025

🙏Relaxation and Sound Bath Mini Retreat. All welcome.🙏
🙏Sunday November 30; 2-5pm; Highwood Hall 🙏
Winter's rest. Join Lucia and Lisa for an afternoon of blissful deep relaxation, ending with a beautifully calming sound bath, led by Lisa Hands on the amazing gongs. We'll end with tea and vegan chocolate brownies. Last spaces; more here:
www.yogaatthemill.co.uk/in-person-retreat-afternoon-sound-bath-relaxation

22/11/2025

The cut-off to booking our New Year Morocco retreat is in eight days' time. More below!

🌞😎Morocco for New Year? Eight days left to book! 😎🌞

Bookings close Sunday November 30. Just eight days left to grab your spot on our New Year Yoga & Walking retreat in Morocco, where brilliant sunshine & 20 degrees plus are almost guaranteed! Full info at:
https://satvada-retreats.co.uk/morocco/atlas-mountains-yoga-walking-new-year-retreat

18/11/2025

November 14 - 17, 2025: memories of our luxury Mindfulness for Wellbeing retreat in beautiful rural Norfolk, shared with just nine guests and hosted by an incredible new venue and by our brilliant trusted caterers.😍

11/11/2025

** New yoga gently class **
Evening everyone.🙂 Our current Saturday yoga gently class has been fully booked for a while, so from January 2026 we are looking to launch a second Saturday yoga gently class running at The Mill from 11am - 12 noon. Max just 9 places. Who's in? Please comment below or email hello@yogaatthemill.co.uk if you are interested. 🙏

05/11/2025

🙏Relaxation & Sound Bath mini retreat (near Chelmsford)
🙏Sunday November 30 from 2-5pm

Join Lucia and Lisa for a nurturing afternoon of balance-restoring relaxation practices, including an hour's beautiful sound bath (with gongs). Tea and vegan chocolate brownies to end! All welcome 😊 Last places - more at:
www.yogaatthemill.co.uk/in-person-retreat-afternoon-sound-bath-relaxation

24/10/2025

'My Brain And Heart Divorced': one of the poems, a true favourite, read out during our silent mindfulness day on Sunday -

'my brain and
heart divorced

a decade ago

over who was

to blame about
how big of a mess
I have become

eventually,

they couldn’t be
in the same room
with each other

now my head and heart
share custody of me

stay with my brain
during the week

and my heart
gets me on weekends
they never speak to one another

– instead, they give me
the same note to pass
to each other every week

and their notes they
send to one another always
says the same thing:

“This is all your fault’

on Sundays

my heart complains
about how my

head has let me down
in the past

and on Wednesday
my head lists all
of the times my
heart has screwed
things up for me
in the future

they blame each
other for the

state of my life

there’s been a lot
of yelling – and crying

SO,
lately, I’ve been
spending a lot of

time with my gut

who serves as my
unofficial therapist

most nights, sneak out of the
window in my ribcage

and slide down my spine
and collapse on my

gut’s plush leather chair
that’s always open for me

~ and just sit sit sit sit
until the sun comes up

last evening,

my gut asked me

if was having a hard
time being caught
between my heart
and my head

nodded

said didn’t know
if could live with
either of them anymore
“my heart is always sad about

something that happened yesterday

while my head is always worried

about something that may happen tomorrow,
lamented

my gut squeezed my hand

‘just can’t live with

my mistakes of the past

or my anxiety about the future,’
sighed

my gut smiled and said:
‘in that case,

you should

go stay with your

lungs for a while,’

was confused
– the look on my face gave it away

“if you are exhausted about

your heart’s obsession with

the fixed past and your mind’s focus
on the uncertain future

your lungs are the perfect place for you

there is no yesterday in your lungs
there is no tomorrow there either

there is only now

there is only inhale

there is only exhale

there is only this moment

there is only breath
and in that breath

you can rest while your
heart and head work
their relationship out.’

this morning,
while my brain
was busy reading
tea leaves

and while my
heart was staring
at old photographs

packed a little
bag and walked
to the door of
my lungs

before could even knock
she opened the door

with a smile and as

a gust of air embraced me
she said
“what took you so long?’'

- John Roedel

21/10/2025

Can we tempt you to join us on retreat in rural Norfolk or Morocco this winter? Full summary of what's on below. ☺🙏

14/10/2025

🙏From Saturday October 18 - Yoga for Complete Beginners: a four-week foundation course. For newcomers and returners. See:
www.yogaatthemill.co.uk/yoga/yoga-for-complete-beginners

08/10/2025

🙏Silent mindfulness retreat day, Little Baddow, 🙏
🙏Sun Oct 19 from 10.30-4.30; £85pp; last spaces (max 10)🙏

A day to let go of technology, demands, pressures. Instead, retreat & rest with us at this wonderful boutique studio nestling in peaceful countryside. Practices are taught in an accessible, nourishing, secular way and are guided, with the group largely in gentle silence. Mindfulness beginners welcome. More at:
www.yogaatthemill.co.uk/in-person-silent-mindfulness-day-retreat-essex