Depletion, Energy & the Question of “Enough”

This reflection didn’t arise in isolation.

It came from a conversation with a very close friend — a medical doctor — who described the human body in very simple terms: we are like a tank.

We draw from it every day: through work, stress, food, movement, emotion, responsibility, and the care (and worry) we invest in others.

Life uses the tank. That part is inevitable.

If the pancreas becomes depleted, we manage diabetes with medication. When joints wear down, we replace hips and knees. When discs collapse, we intervene. Medicine is extraordinary — but much of what it treats is the end result of long-term depletion.

So the real question is not whether we use the tank, but how quickly we drain it — and whether we ever give ourselves the conditions to refill it, even a little.

The Yogic View: Your Energy Is Precious, Not Infinite

Yoga has been speaking about this for centuries, often using symbolic language that can sound mystical but is, in fact, deeply practical.

Classical yogic texts speak of prāṇa — life force — and sometimes use the metaphor of a finite number of breaths across a lifetime.

This was never meant to frighten people.

It was meant to educate behaviour.

The message is ethical, not fatalistic:

Live in a way that conserves, refines, and circulates energy rather than constantly burning it.

Yoga never promoted excess:

• not excess food

• not excess effort

• not excess stimulation

• not even excess asceticism

The middle way has always been central.

The Medical View: Same Truth, Different Language

Modern medicine doesn’t speak of “finite breaths”.

But it does speak — very clearly — about depletion.

It uses terms like:

• Allostatic load: the cumulative burden of chronic stress on the body

• Wear and tear on joints, cartilage, discs, and connective tissue

• Sympathetic overactivation: being permanently “on”, fuelled by adrenaline and cortisol

• Chronic inflammation as a long-term driver of disease

In other words: even if lifespan doesn’t change dramatically, healthspan does.

Many modern lifestyles accelerate this depletion through things we are often told are “good for us”:

• Excess calories with low nutritional value

• High-impact or repetitive exercise without adequate recovery

• Constant stimulation: loud music, shouting, competition, comparison

• Training for aesthetics — vanity muscles — rather than function or longevity

Medicine may not say “you are running out of breaths”, but it does say:

Chronic excess shortens quality of life, even if life itself continues.

A Word on “Hyper-Inflated” Bodies (With Love)

This is not an argument against strength.

But it is a caution against strength without balance.

Muscle hypertrophy for appearance alone:

• increases joint load

• often reduces mobility

• may worsen blood pressure when combined with breath-holding

• serves image more than function

And yes — we all love a strong body. Confidence rises, desire rises, clothes fit better, mirrors feel kinder. The temptation is then to eat more, supplement more, and add protein to everything — even yoghurt and milk (which, by the way, already contain protein).

No magic powders required. Please stop being fooled.

Yoga has always insisted on integration, not domination.

(complement your sports with yoga)

Do I need the gym later in life? - if you do not do anything else, yes!

I was asked this recently by a student who told me they were thinking of joining a gym. I asked, quite genuinely: Why? You already have a strong, intelligent yoga practice. You are mobile, coordinated, and resilient.

To be clear — some light resistance work can be helpful. But, quietly, we already do a great deal of this in yoga, especially in more advanced practices. In my view, for most people, there is rarely a real need for much more.

Another friend arrived in days with pain everywhere: shoulders, hips, neck. I gently said, “I think (I know!) you might be doing too much.” His reply a month later? “My physio thinks it’s probably the gym.”

He had been pushing his body — his tank — not to care for it, but to prove something: that he still ‘had it’ - has he put it.

My wonderful friend… you do have it.

You have mobility. Coordination. Strength that works. A kind heart. A body that moves well in real life. I'm so (healthily) envious of your body and inner and outer strength!

The gym will not necessarily make us better. Sometimes, quite the opposite — it can pull us toward vanity, comparison, and seeking acceptance through muscles that look impressive but add little to long-term wellbeing.

Yoga, instead, keeps asking a quieter question:

What supports my body — not my image — over time? 

So Where Does Yoga Fit?

Yoga is almost unique in that it can scale:

• from very gentle to very strong

• from restorative to dynamic

without changing its philosophy.

Physiologically, yoga:

• supports bone density through safe, intelligent load

• builds muscular endurance rather than short-lived bulk

• preserves joint range and connective tissue health

• trains respiratory muscles and breathing efficiency

• regulates the nervous system, favouring parasympathetic balance

Psychologically and socially, yoga:

• encourages restraint, supporting sustainable weight regulation

• reduces stress-driven eating and overtraining

• builds community, directly countering isolation and low mood

• reframes movement as care, not punishment

This is not depletion.

This is circulation, repair, and maintenance.

The Preventative Question

Yoga does not ask:

How hard can you push?

It asks:

What is enough — today?

That question alone is profoundly preventative.

You don’t need to burn yourself out to be healthy. You don’t need to punish your body to respect it. You don’t need excess to feel alive.

Yoga offers a quieter, braver path.

Not to be impressive.

But for your own sake.

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A Gentle Word on Pricing, Priorities, and Value

This is the part I share with care — and a little honesty.

It does hurt when someone tells me, “Yoga is expensive”, and in the very next breath says, “But I’m off on holiday abroad.” 

There’s no judgement there — just an invitation to reflect on priorities.

For many of us, one or two weeks away, full of excess and recovery-from-the-holiday exhaustion, can cost the same as a whole year of caring for the body, mind, and nervous system. I

n fact, for many of our students, a month of yoga costs less than a single meal out — and offers benefits that last far longer than dessert.

At LoveYour.Studio, we work hard to keep yoga accessible, while also being honest about what it takes to sustain a space like this.

Wellbeing is not free to provide:

• we honour our commitments in tax, rent, and rates

• we invest in a beautiful, safe, compliant studio

• we pay and train qualified teachers

• we contribute to the regeneration of Farnborough town centre

Yoga is not an unsupervised low-cost gym.

It is an invitation to be guided by trained professionals — people who understand bodies, breath, nervous systems, and groups — toward a better self. Sometimes quietly.

Sometimes gently. Always with care.

That’s why we offer clear, accessible options, including:

• £30 for 30 days of unlimited yoga as a Welcome Offer

• £55 off-peak membership, including weekends

• £75 unlimited off-peak plus one peak class per week

• £100 unlimited classes, with additional perks for those who want full access

We keep our pricing thoughtful because we believe yoga should be reachable — but also respected.

Like the NHS, which was created through collective care and is now under immense strain, spaces dedicated to prevention and wellbeing only survive when we recognise their value.

So perhaps the question isn’t “Is yoga expensive?”

Perhaps it’s:

What am I choosing to invest in — and why?