If you happen to love the cold, you may easily embrace the winter with yoga. Yet, many people find winter to be a pain. Literally.
When we’re cold we tense up. As a result, many people find themselves struggling with tight, aching muscles and stiff, sore joints. Even the idea of doing yoga seems impossible.
Yet, yoga can be a true rescue remedy during the winter – for mind, soul, and body.
Why You Should Embrace the Winter with Yoga
Yoga uses gradual and low-impact movement to warm your muscles and joints. This helps to release that tightness you may be holding onto when it’s cold. Yoga also teaches you to recognize where you’re holding tension in your body so that you can relax into those spaces and avoid further tightening.
With a regular yoga practice, you can even dodge some of the pains, aches, and stiffness before they occur. When you move joints through their full range of motion, you’re keeping that nutrient-rich fluid (yum!) flowing to the cartilage to keep it supple. Yoga also encourages practitioners to focus on alignment of the spine to improve posture. With a more upright position for the spine, you can avoid the achy tension that results from slouching and slumping.
Maintaining a yoga practice during the winter months does the following:
1. Boosts Your Energy
You know when it’s really cold and grey and snowy and you just want to burrow under a blanket? Getting yourself through the day can be tough.
As uninspired as you may be to get off the couch, tuning into your body and moving during a yoga class will stimulate blood flow and circulation. These will naturally reduce fatigue and increase energy. In addition, the breathing exercises in yoga bring more oxygen into the blood to further invigorate your body AND your mind. You’ll feel awake and renewed.
You might even be able to skip the coffee. Well, maybe.
2. Keeps You Healthy
You can reduce your risk of getting sick this winter by practicing yoga just a few days each week. Yoga goes the distance in strengthening your lymphatic system, which is key in ridding your body of toxins.
And while it’s not considered aerobic exercise, yoga does provide many of the same benefits. Multiple studies as well as anecdotal evidence show that yoga can lower blood pressure and blood sugar, reduce LDL and raise HDL cholesterol, improve balance, increase digestion, help with sleep, and regulate the adrenal glands which control the release of stress hormones such as cortisol. Speaking of which…
3. Helps Keep You Mentally Healthy Too…
If all of the above-mentioned benefits don’t have you heading to your mat yet, then consider how yoga’s combination of movement, breath, and mindfulness can help you physiologically and psychologically. Yoga can promote the release of endorphins and serotonin, the “feel-good” hormones and chemicals, which can have a positive impact on mood.
This can lead to a reduction in anxiety and depression and improve overall mental well-being. In other words, embracing yoga this winter could help you shake those winter blues.
Bring Some Heat to Your Postures!
If you’re not quite ready to rush off to a class, you could try some variations of a few simple poses to stir up the heat in your body a little.
For example, come into a downward dog for about ten slow breaths and just pedal your feet to stretch your hamstrings. Be sure your knees and elbows are soft and not locked.
From there, you might come into a chair pose for another ten slow breaths. As your legs begin to tire, imagine sending your breath there. Actively press the palms together to see how it changes the pose.
Move down to a plank pose, being very mindful that your shoulders are stacked over your wrists and that your neck is in line with your spine. Shift and move in a way that feels beneficial. Keep focusing on your breath to stay in the pose as long as possible.
Finally, settle into your final pose – sivasana, or corpse pose. You want to maintain the heat you created in your body so throw on a sweatshirt, some cozy socks, and get comfortable under a blanket. Then allow yourself to rest and luxuriate in the warmth you created. You’ll feel it all over your body.
Make Self-Care a Priority This Winter
When you embrace the winter with yoga, you’re engaged in self-care.
Yoga allows you to connect with your body, mind, and soul in a unique way that enables you to prioritize self-reflection and self-compassion. It’s the perfect way to nurture yourself during these cold winter months.
So if you’re ready to bring yoga to your winter, contact us today. Our onsite and online yoga offerings are the perfect way to ease into the practice while bringing yoga to you. Stay warm! And we look forward to hearing from you.
