Our last fitness challenge of 2018 is drawing to a close. Did you manage to keep up with your yoga practice during the holiday chaos?

How’s the yoga challenge going? Are you getting the hang of a home practice, or maybe dropping in on classes at the gym or yoga studio? We can only do so much in the course of a month, and you can really dedicate years to reaching some of the more ambitious asanas. So at this time of year, it’s great to turn an eye toward the future.

This year we challenged ourselves to blaze new trails in lifting, cardio, yoga and more. Along the way we upgraded just about every aspect of our fitness, from achieving near-transcendence on a running path to working around that one arsehole at the gym.

Here are our best fitness posts of 2018.

Just as ballet dancers need to learn a few words of French, and runners need to be able to hear and speak the Swedish word fartlek without giggling too much, people who practice yoga will do best if they can understand the Sanskrit and other terms that are common in yoga classes and yoga videos.

I'm a casual yoga-er, but when I meet people who are serious about yoga, they're always talking about their "practice." Basically, if you're really into it, you don't need to wait for a convenient class or a new episode from your favourite YouTube yoga channel. You work on what you want, where you want, on your own terms. If you're joining our December yoga challenge, now might be a good time to build your own home practice.

December can be a stressful time of the year, so we’ve saved our most relaxing, grounded, honour-yourself challenge for last.

I like working, but I don't like work clothes. If I can't wear my standard uniform - sweatpants that the Salvation Army threw in their dumpster; a ratty Eagles t-shirt; half a shoe - I can't concentrate. This is largely why I work at home.

Summer is a great time to get in shape — you can enjoy the non-freezing weather, the longer days and, depending on your line of work, you might have more free time. But then a holiday happens, and your fitness goals take a back seat for a little while. Here’s how to minimise the damage.

Handstands are hard, but I’m making progress. Since our focus this month is just getting upside-down in whatever manner you like, I thought I should try some yoga inversions, too. I did my first headstand today!

Practising yoga offers many benefits to your health and general wellbeing - but who has time to join a class? Between work, family and social engagements, there's simply no room for stretchy exercises down the park. Fortunately, it's possible to pack the mental benefits of yoga into just 10 minutes - without leaving your home or office. Read on for step-by-step instructions.

Dear Lifehacker, I've never been very flexible. I can't touch my toes and most yoga poses are a struggle. What are the least stretches needed, and most effective, to improve flexibility throughout my whole body?

Now that we're almost two weeks into our plank challenge, you've probably figured out that some kinds of planks feel harder than others. Tiny changes in your body's position can make a big difference.

Our past two challenges were all about getting stronger, but this month we're going to do something a little different. We're getting stretchy.

Facial yoga has been around for decades, although there's been a bit more buzz since a study published last month claimed to find that people who got lessons in face yoga ended up looking slightly younger. But there's plenty of reason to be sceptical.

Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers, including: inside Chefchaouen’s Old City - where everything is painted blue, another bitcoin "explosion" is coming, nude yoga gallery, a wish-list for future Star Wars movies.

Whether or not you're familiar with yoga, the idea of doing yoga in the air can seem ... odd. But not to worry: "Aerial yoga" doesn't mean you're going to be doing downward dog on a trapeze. Instead, you'll be supported by a soft hammock, which allows your body to let gravity do some of the work.

If you've never done yoga, it looks intimidating. People are flexible, fit, trendily dressed -- wait, I might be thinking of gym ads rather than actual yoga classes. It turns out you can have a great experience at a yoga class even when you're brand new and we asked yoga instructors how.

Infertility is rough enough without headlines implying your yoga practice is to blame. A recent study found that certain flame-retardant chemicals may make it harder for you to have a baby, but despite the downward-dog stock photos, yoga mats weren't involved in the research.

You don't have to be flexible to do yoga, although it certainly helps for some poses. But there are plenty of moves you can do even if you have the world's tightest hamstrings.