The power of liminal spaces
6 months!!
Yes, that’s how long a break I took from writing this year. Humble apologies!
I just ran out of writing ‘steam’. Not because there was nothing to write about, but I could not evoke the ’helpful’ emotions to write. I can’t explain it any other way. I wrote weekly for 4 years, slowed it down to 2 articles per month in 2024 and only 6 in 2025.
From a neuroscience point of view, I put this down to losing the habit of writing weekly. We are creatures of habit, and one reason, a good one, is that I lost my habit of writing. I will ‘feel’ my ‘call’ to write in 2026. I will carry on writing; it’s a question of how often, especially on topics like liminal spaces and more.
But first, let me quickly recap my year with you.
It was a bit of a rollercoaster.
The snakes in my home took up quite a bit of energy (emotions) in the time that they ‘resided’ with us. Then my throat infection took a while to heal amidst client deliveries I took a quick summer holiday to Austria. This, as always, was wonderful.
In Autumn, I started a new project with a client that is interesting and different. Just as I was settling into the project, I broke my toe! That took 6 weeks out of my fitness calendar and slowed my overall efficiency and effectiveness. I had just regained my cycling fitness, post my summer break, only to stop again.
Last week was the first time I went mountain biking after 10 weeks. To say that my lungs and heart protested would be an understatement! But I shall keep at it.
Here I am, on Wednesday, 31 December, writing this article, determined to publish it before the new year!
I have never made a fanfare of New Year. Nothing much changes besides the year. Life still rolls on as usual.
Before I sound like a wet blanket, BUT THIS YEAR END FEELS DIFFERENT. 😉
And it’s not just me who feels like this. Having caught up with friends over the last few days, many are using the last 2 weeks of the year to regroup, recuperate, or retreat, unlike other years. Quietly wishing 2025 a speedy goodbye and optimistically anticipating 2026.
So, what’s changed my perspective this year?
To be honest, I am not sure, but I attribute it to being in a liminal space.
Liminal space: A liminal space is a transitional, in-between state where one phase, identity, role, or way of being has ended, but the next has not yet fully formed. The word liminal comes from the Latin limen, meaning threshold.
Key characteristics of a liminal space
ambiguity and uncertainty
loosened structure or identity
a sense of pause, suspension, or waiting
emotional sensitivity or heightened awareness
discomfort paired with quiet potential
the feeling of “I don’t belong where I was, but I don’t know where I’m going yet”
For me, the second half of 2025 felt like a liminal space, and I finally find myself emerging from it now. Liminal spaces are part of life, but many people misread them, making it even harder to navigate this ‘space’.
It’s when you feel out of sorts, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. You struggle to be fully present, feel disoriented, and know that something is changing, but not sure what. It’s a necessary phase of growth and an uncomfortable one because of the uncertainty and sense of lack of continuity it causes.
If you felt like that in 2025 or feel like this NOW, you are not alone. Here are some tips (what I did) to help you navigate your liminal space:
1. Name it: acknowledge you are in a liminal space (“I am in a liminal space”).
Naming it (like emotions) reduces its grip on us. Mitigates anxiety and uncertainty that come with being in a liminal space.
2. Slow down: resist the urge to solutioning
This may be the hardest to navigate. Because the brain likes certainty, our default is to overthink, make quicker decisions to bring back a sense of control.
What we need is the opposite – patience to be with uncertainty. This is not easy.
The best way I describe this uncertainty is, you show up (to wherever you need to be) but are not fully present. It feels like someone else has the ‘remote control’ for you. You need courage and patience here.
3. Ground your nervous system
Go back to basics – sleep, good food, exercise, simple routines.
This helps the body create capacity for uncertainty. The brain is the control centre of the body, maintaining body balance (homeostasis). But we can use the body to control the brain in times of uncertainty.
4. Create daily rituals – start slow, start small
A daily walk, regular daily check-ins at the same time, and journaling.
This ‘structure’ helps bring ‘stability’ while meaning reorganises.
5. Pay attention to what ‘pulls’ you
Liminal spaces feel like ‘dead zones’. Nothing (much) feels exciting, but there are subtle signals. Notice:
What you are curious about
What conversations energise you
What ideas keep returning
What you read without forcing
6. Talk to a trusted friend
Talking with someone you trust to hold space without judgment is key. Talking brings clarity, not solutions.
7. Trust the process (pause)
Historically liminal phases:
precede breakthroughs
bring wisdom
clarify purpose
reorganise identity
8. Limit major life decisions (if you can)
Irreversible commitments
Identity-defining choices
Liminal spaces are fertile but unstable. Your insights need time to settle.
Remember, this is not a void; it is a transition! You are between versions NOT lost. It is a time when we let go of parts of ourselves that no longer serve us and await the new. A time of endings and beginnings. Ending, including grieving the old, leaving behind what no longer serves us, taking with us what feels aligned and ‘evolving’ anew.
The completion of the transition is marked by readiness (not certainty) and fundamentally through a shift in the way of being. There is calm clarity even through uncertainty, grounded choices, and less existential, more applied decision-making.
There you have it, my last article for 2025!
I am glad I wrote this article, and I hope you find it helpful. You or someone you know may be experiencing a liminal space. It is a form of growth and one that can feel unproductive because the work is internal and invisible, YET so powerful!
I wish you the best for 2026 and catch you on the other side!
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com
Ps. A slightly longer article as we close off 2025. 😉