A Little Yoga Goes a Long Way by Sara Elizabeth Ivanhoe-- calm down during this busy time of year!
Part of a real yoga practice is being connected to the ever-changing world around us. On Tuesday night, December 21st, we will celebrate the Winter Solstice; The first official day of the winter season and the longest night of the year. In glass “half empty” mode, it would be easy to call this the “shortest day,” but I have come to realize, that the winter solstice is an important time and to honor the great aspects of this, I call it the “longest night.” Night, as we know is a time of darkness. But darkness doesn’t need to be a Hollywood version of “good” or “evil”. Darkness represents our internal world, our inner journey and is also representative of the moon side, or yin aspects of ourselves. This is a time of year to connect with the receptive, reflective parts of ourselves, to go in and connect with what is really important to us, to check in with what we really want. Now is the time to start asking ourselves what has gone on in the last season, the last year, the last decade? What do we want to continue, what do we want to let go of and what new things do we want to cultivate? Most of us work very hard and spend out time serving others, being out in the world. The winter solstice encourages us to take some time for ourselves, to recharge so we will have energy when it is time once again to bloom in spring.
Try a nice long “Butterfly Pose.” From a seated position, bring the bottoms of the feet together with the knees bent and out to the sides. Reach your spine long and extend your body forward and down. It’s ok to allow the spine to round a tiny bit at the bottom where it is nice to drop the head and allow the neck to relax. You also might want to sit up on something to assist you in folding forward. There are many options for the hands. Some people grab a hold of the feet, some people reach the arms forward and some press the knees down, some even put their hands behind the hips and push from the back. They are all correct, whichever works the best for you as long as you are not “yanking” on yourself and just taking it easy. Alllow yourself to fold into the pose relax and breathe. Close your eyes and use the time to go in and receive…Remember, the goal isn’t to open your hips, the goal is to relax and feel the receptive power of winter…