What does October mean for you? For me it's spooky season! Halloween is one of my favourite times of year. I get the impression trick-or-treating is quite a new thing in England, but I grew up in Scotland. Whatever Americans might like to imply, we invented trick-or-treating, or guising as it's known North of the border. We dressed up in terrible home-made costumes made of sheets, bin bags and old clothes to roam the streets. Guising involved doing some kind of 'turn' like singing a song or telling a joke in return for an orange, a biscuit or some nuts - sweets were a rare treat. Now as an adult I can see that Halloween is an opportunity to explore our fears in a safe and playful way. Being out after dark, ghosts and spiders, jump scares and skeletons.

So what has all this got to do with yoga? Well, I'm willing to bet that there is something about yoga that scares you - or that used to scare you. For me it's arm balances. A couple of weeks ago one of my students proudly showed me his crow pose and I had to admit that I never practice that move because I'm scared of falling flat on my face. For you it might be a posture that is difficult or painful. It might be the quiet times in class when you are alone with your thoughts. It might be a fear of doing something 'wrong' and everyone judging you. You might even be scared of simply crossing the threshold and coming to a yoga class in the first place. Even if yoga feels like a safe space now, perhaps there was a time when you felt some or all of these feelings.

Being scared sometimes is just a normal part of life. And if we live our lives trying to avoid anything scary then there's a good chance that we are not living at all. Facing our fears builds resilience, confidence and a sense of accomplishment. As with Halloween, I think that yoga can provide a space to get curious about our fears, even if it just a specific yoga-related fear. Facing and overcoming fear in one part of our lives can spill over and help us face our fears in other parts of our lives. It also helps to normalise fear as just a part of the human experience.

Yoga also provides some really valuable tools for calming the nervous system in the face of fear. Breathing exercises, affirmations, meditation and movement can help to settle the body and mind. They can help get us out of that fight or flight mode into a calmer state where we can be more rational and deliberate. If you need some TLC right now then try some clearing breaths (sighing deeply and relaxing on the exhale), self-massage on your face and hands, or saying 'I can do hard things' quietly to yourself (because you can!).

And if you want to see a load of kids high on sugar facing their fears with joyful exhilaration then do come for a walk along Lish Avenue (where I live) and the surrounding streets on Halloween. I think it's the best Halloween street party in the world!