Yoga to Help You Chill Out

The weather here in NY has gotten quite a bit chillier over the past few days. Brrrrr...winter seems to be here officially (can't complain really, as the mild weather hung on pretty long). The days are shorter. And then there's all of the busyness of the holidays. Not sure about you, but this is right around the time that I'm feeling the need to hibernate, slow down, become a little more introspective.

In this spirit of winter downtime, I'd like to offer up a few yoga goodies to help you chill out and restore yourself:

• I've been doing a short and sweet practice lately in which I've been holding the poses for quite some time to give myself a chance to go inward and relax. If I'm desiring a bit of a warm up, I'll do some low-impact Sun Salutations -- I start kneeling, inhale up onto my knees while raising my arms from the front, exhale down into child's pose, inhale up onto all fours, exhale to down dog, inhale into updog, exhale to down dog, inhale onto all fours, exhale into child's pose, inhale up onto knees while raising arms from the front, exhale back down to kneeling position. I'll do this 3-5 times, depending on how I'm feeling. Then I move into a short and simple -- but sweet -- practice that consists of child's pose, warrior, chakravakasana, downward dog, and lion pose. I'll linger in each pose as long as my body wants, focusing on my breath and the sensations in my body. Finally, I end in a heart-opening savasana in which I put a bolster horizontally under my shoulder blades. Sometimes I add in legs up the wall pose as well.
• One of my favorite people, Amy Weintraub, just released her new CD (also available in MP3 format) Lifeforce Yoga Chakra Clearing Meditation to Balance Your Mood. This CD offers an hour of audio, including a 10-minute chakra clearing meditation, short pranayama practices, and teachings from Amy (click here to listen to a preview of each track). The practices are a great way to help you relax, focus, and clear your mind -- and enter into yoga bliss!
• This final goody is for those of us who feel a bit sluggish during the winter and need a little energy injection without ingesting substances like caffeine. Ayurvedic guru John Douillard offers up a one-minute meditation that can be used multiple times throughout the day to keep your energy flowing while putting you into a calm and peaceful state. Click here for an explanation of the meditation and a short instructional video. 

I always say -- enjoy the season you're in. The above can help you do just that. At least I can speak for myself -- practices like these are what keep my from wanting to go into hibernation for the winter months and resurface in April.

I'll be taking my bliss on the road, as I'm heading back down to South Carolina to enjoy the remainder of the holiday season and 2009. I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging, as my focus will move more towards relaxation and spending time with family. May you enjoy peace, bliss, and an open heart this holiday!

Namaste!

Comments

[wholesale singing bowl]

Yes, Yoga is for everything. Thank you for sharing.

[Sanjay]

I will watch the video you have posted in this blog. Thanks for sharing.

[Tibetan Bowls]

I love Amy Weintraub too. Her CDs are very enlightening for me. I will be listening to it.

[Jessie]

Thanks for sharing so nice information on yoga I like that.......

[JonathanCline]

I've been doing more twists. I can only assume this is weather related, it's just something that I seem to want to do. Back in July, all I wanted to do was standing warrior variations.. Is this something you notice too? I normally focus a lot on the core, though twists have really taken over. Such as, revolved utkatasana.

[melita]

i have been hibernating a little more recently too. especially over yesterday and today since we have 8+ inches of snow. i love snow and am so happy that we got some. maybe we'll have a white christmas this year after all :)

congrats on being one of kimberly wilson's guest bloggers. i look forward to reading your posts.

have a safe trip to sc and happy holidays.

love & hugs!!

[melita]

i have been hibernating a little more recently too. especially over yesterday and today since we have 8+ inches of snow. i love snow and am so happy that we got some. maybe we'll have a white christmas this year after all :)

congrats on being one of kimberly wilson's guest bloggers. i look forward to reading your posts.

have a safe trip to sc and happy holidays.

love & hugs!!

[Claudia]

Thank you for this, I just went to the site and will be listening to it. I loved her Yoga for Depression book, it helped me quite a bit!