Yoga in Winter
Posted by Jennifer Popper on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 @ 07:47 AM
Snow. It's only mid-January, with many more Winter days left until the sun shines and we can put those parkas back into the closet. Personally, I've lost patience with it, with icy and slick roads; with snow sneaking in between pants legs and boots, making for some chilly feet; and with the worry that I'll have to reach out to clients to let them know that classes are canceled.
Yes, the snow is beautiful as it comes down, at first a few white spots standing out on the hood of your car, and then the sidewalks are blanketed by whiteness. But I hate to be cold. When I'm cold, I just want to curl up on the couch under a blanket; any motivation to exercise is lost.
However, I recently came across an inspiring list. It's called 10 Things to Love About Yoga in the Winter, which is posted on the Florian Yoga blog. Take a look.
- Not having to wake up quite so early to do your practice while the sun is rising.
- More
time to attend workshops on the weekends when it's not competing with
yard work (understandably, gardening IS yoga for many of us...but not
so much for me)
- How well our twisting postures prepare us for shoveling.
- A warm toasty studio or meditation spot on an icy cold day.
- That
yoga allows us to practice impermanence. That all sensations (in this
case, cold ones) pass (unless you live on the North Pole).
- Snow cancellations give us "extra" time that we can use to practice, read, meditate.
- A meditation walking through a snow storm and listening to the sounds (a kind of buffered quiet I've never heard elsewhere)
- Bundling up in blankets for savasana.
- Heating up your body all on your own through a vigorous practice.
- More opportunities to stay indoors and develop a home practice.
To which of these points can you most relate? What inspires you to emerge from that flannel PJ cocoon we tend to wrap ourselves in when Winter rears its blustery head? Motivate others with your secrets to fitness sucess by leaving a comment below.