How Balancing Yoga Poses Boosts Your Mood: February Theme Reflection
- Sam Turner
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Hello there
February always passes in the blink of an eye for me. My birthday sits right at the start of the month, so it quickly becomes a blur of plans, catch-ups and celebrations. Before I know it, we’re halfway through.
But this year, alongside the busyness, there was that familiar February heaviness too — the grey skies, the lingering winter energy, the slight sense of dragging our feet. In class, I could feel that our energy (mine included) was lower. So rather than push against that, I knew we needed something that would lift us.
And for me, there’s nothing quite like balance for that.
So balance was going to become a vital part of Move with Ease, the name of our February theme, whilst holding space for everything we learned in January about transitions — a month where we could recap the familiar to welcome the new.
Why Balancing Yoga Poses Boost Your Mood
Standing on one leg really does take the seriousness out of yoga. Whether we’re staying upright with determination or falling all over the place, it tends to put a smile on your face one way or another.
The balancing pose we mostly focused on — which you all absolutely smashed, a hell of a lot better than I do — was Eagle Pose.
If you’re not overly familiar with Eagle Pose, it asks for a type of engagement that doesn’t always take the spotlight in yoga. Many poses create space and expansion; Eagle does the opposite. The legs wrap. The arms bind. Everything draws in towards the midline. It’s compact and concentrated.
And yes — it can be frustrating when you can’t quite hold the balance.
That’s where the wall became my best friend. I often encourage anyone who struggles with balance to start there straight away, using it as support if needed and then gradually shifting away when steadiness builds. There’s something powerful about being close to the wall, leaning in for reassurance, and easing away when you’re ready.
Testing your balance doesn’t mean you have to throw your arms up in irritation and sit it out. There’s always a workaround. If the leg wrap wasn’t happening, both feet stayed grounded with a brick between the thighs so we could practise the arm bind and midline engagement without the wobble taking over.
Here’s the thing: to improve balance, we have to wobble. We have to destabilise in order to stabilise. That’s where the playful energy enters the practice. When you let go of the idea that balance equals stillness or perfection, it becomes something much more interesting.
It turns out that wobbling is quite good for you in more ways than one.
Practising Yoga Transitions from January
Eagle Pose became the blueprint for the practice. There was plenty we could explore to develop inner thigh strength in different shapes, from lying down to standing. A yoga brick came in very handy during that phase.
At the same time, I wanted to make sure we continued to include the transitions we had mastered in January. At the beginning of the month, I continue to explain them in detail. Week by week, I slowly removed the commentary and stepped back, allowing you to move through them with more independence — whether that was seated to tabletop, tabletop to standing, or guiding yourself from tabletop to lying on your front (prone).
I am happy to die on this hill: most yoga teachers don’t realise how hard moving from shape to shape can be.
That’s exactly why I dedicated a whole month to transitions — and I’ll probably dedicate another month to them every so often. It refreshes the foundations for regulars and supports anyone new who hasn’t had the joy of seeing them broken down step by step.
Of course, anyone can figure it out along the way. But there’s something powerful about giving transitions the time and respect they deserve.
How Do You Teach Eagle Pose If You Struggle With It?
You laugh your way through it.
One of my favourite moments came in week one or two when we practised the arm aspect of Eagle Pose. Everyone in the room could do it perfectly — except me.
I’ve been teaching long enough that I don’t care about that sort of thing.
I’m not sure I’ll ever achieve full Eagle arms, but my leg wrap improved massively over the month. And that, in itself, felt like progress.
One of the joys (and challenges) of teaching yoga is that you can’t always demonstrate everything. Sometimes it’s because your body simply doesn’t move that way. Sometimes it’s because of injury. Either way, it’s a useful reminder: we can’t always do everything.
Certain movements feel more natural in each of our unique bodies. I love spinal twists and external rotation of the hip (think yogic squat, horse pose, Warrior 2). On the other hand, I struggle with internal rotation of the hip (think Eagle Pose, High Lunge, Staff Pose).
When you’re standing at the front of the room, you just have to own it.
Behind the Scenes: Growing My YouTube Channel in 2026
Alongside our in-person classes, I’ve been working hard in 2026 to build my YouTube channel — a space where you can practise for free and add additional yoga into your week.
Just today I created new thumbnails and uploaded them for my most recent video. I’ll be directing a lot of energy into this space throughout the year for two main reasons:
It gives me the opportunity to properly share the ideas constantly cooking in my mind that we don’t always have time to explore fully in class.
It allows me to create focused videos that break down specific movements or concepts in detail.
For example, I’d love to film a dedicated video on pelvic tilts soon.
If you have requests, head over to YouTube and leave a comment on any video telling me what you’d like to see next. I genuinely shape content around what you ask for.
Balance Is Better Without Perfection
February reminded me that balance doesn’t always mean stillness. Sometimes it means wobbling. Laughing. Trying, failing and trying again. What I loved most about this month wasn’t just the balancing — it was the energy shifting in the room with the practice.
If you’d like to join us for next month’s theme, you can book your space in class now. And if you want extra support between sessions, there’s a growing library waiting for you on YouTube.
See you next time
Sam
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