Venus Rising

Yoga for LivingIssue: Aquarius 08

Stay Energized Through the Winter Months

We are over the hump of dark winter days and beginning to experience longer periods of sunlight. For some of us, this may be hard to recognize since the cold and dark can keep us inside and cooped up. In the midst of winter, it’s easy to forget that things are changing and to feel a little stuck in our lives. A lot of people take vacation this time of year as a way to change things up and experience more light. 

Yoga is a helpful tool to uplift our bodies and minds and to remind us that our feeling of bondage or liberation depends on our attitude. How we use our bodies and our minds effects our perception of the outside world. As Swami Satchidananda comments in his translation of the Yoga Sutras, Yoga is not concerned with addressing the external world because by addressing the internal world, our perception of what is outside changes. Master teacher Darma Mittra once told a group of us that “Once you find the sun inside it doesn’t matter what is happening outside.” Dark or light outside, the internal sun always shines. 

I recommend both a twist and a backbend as part of your yoga routine right now. Twists help to release any stale and stuck energy in the body. The cleansing effects of twists will encourage letting go of the past year. Backbends keep us connected with the internal sun. They open the heart, energize us, and uplift our mood. A practice that includes both can be deeply energizing. You may find afterwards that your attitude of the world has changed and things seem, well, brighter. I recommend warming up and doing some forward folds to stretch open the back, legs, and hips before moving into backbends.  Twists can be done along the way and as a wonderful counterpose to backbends. It's also worth developing a gratitude practice to appreciate the fact that each morning the sun rises. Remember that the darkness allows us to appreciate the light.

Low Lunge with Twist/Parvritta Parsvokanasana (variation)

Begin in a lunge position with your right foot forward and your back knee down. Bring your right knee just above your right ankle and lift your arms overhead. Take an inhale and lift your ribs away from your pelvis. On exhale twist towards your right knee. Bring your palms together in a prayer position and cross your left arm over your right knee. Stack the elbows. Lift your sternum toward your thumbs and gaze past your right elbow. (For those with more experience, you can do a bind as shown.) On each inhale lengthen the spine, and on each exhale deepen the twist by pressing your top palm into the bottom and twisting the navel center toward the sky. Hold for five breaths and then switch sides.