Gentle yoga & meditation for winter.
Here in Tasmania at the winter solstice, the sun rises at 7:41am and sets at 4:48pm. After the solstice, the days will gradually get longer again, but the weather actually gets colder for a while yet!
I know that a lot of people are have a hard time heating their homes these days, and being on a cold floor to practice yoga isn’t an option.
Here’s a warming practice that you don’t have to get down on the floor to do. It’s designed to leave you feeling centred, confident, open and warmed:
The winter season is a perfect time to enjoy more meditation and introspective practices, while also bringing balance with practices that evoke warmth, and light.
Here’s a 20 minute guided deep relaxation (yoga nidra) that you can enjoy sitting in an armchair if it’s too cold to get down on the floor. This practice is an opportunity to connect with your innate stability and radiance, focusing on the belly centre and heart centre. It makes a beautiful Winter Solstice practice.
This 9 minute breath meditation is one I like to do in winter. I call it my “eating the sun for breakfast” meditation!
In winter I like to add Ujjayi to my exhalations when practising mindful movement or sitting meditation.
Sit with the base of your skull floating tall above the base of your neck
Notice your natural breath quietly moving your belly and ribs and keep your breath as effortless as possible, through the nose.
During your exhalations, soften your throat, relaxing the inner layers of your throat so that your breath makes a whispered “haaaaaaa” sound as it moves over the back of your throat. Notice the sound, and the sense of warmth it brings to your throat & chest as you continue
Continue with quiet, normal inhalations, and Ujjayi, “haaaaaaaa” sounding exhalations. Imagine the warmth of your exhalations seeping down into your belly and through your body.
Practice the Ujjayi exhalations just sitting, or try some simple, mindful movements along to your breath.
I hope you found this useful.
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