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5 Best Yoga Poses for Winter
It is important that we change our yoga practice and food choices. During the winter season, the energy of the Earth and its creatures are drawn inward. We can use this time for restoration and introspection, just as many plants and animals use it for hibernation. In preparation for the spring, it is important to slow down and rejuvenate. Here are some yoga winter poses that can help you to balance your doshas this season.
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Keep Warm With These Winter-Themed Yoga Poses
The winter is a month for colds and flu, so poses that open the chest, throat, and sinuses will aid in supporting your respiratory organs and improving congestion. The following yoga exercises are metabolically invigorating and help to warm the kidneys and clear phlegm.
- Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskara): This invigorating invocation help in your yoga building heat practice in the body. Do up to 12 rounds.
- Fish Pose (Matsyasana): This supine backbend/inversion opens the throat and chest. Do up to three sets.
- Bow Pose (Dhanurasana): Open your chest with this backbend. Do up to three sets.
- Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana): This supported inversion helps with the stagnation of lymph. Do one time and hold for a minimum of 12 breaths.
- Locust Pose (Salabhasana): This “baby backbend” opens the chest while strengthening the back. Do up to three sets.
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How to Winterize Your Yoga Routine and Get Heat Fast
On an exhalation, make fists with your hands and quickly draw your arms down, bending your elbows so they’re by your sides and back behind you. Immediately on your next inhalation, reach your arms up as high as you can toward the ceiling and spread your fingers. Continue these movements quickly to help in building heat fast.
Reduce Winter Blues with these Yoga Sequences
This winter, a combination of warming and cooling poses will keep you balanced and focused through the dark winter month. Set an intention to practice the following poses 3 to 5 times each week.
- 1. Kapalabhati Breath
- 2. Child’s Pose
- 3. Downward Dog
- 4. Plank
- 5. Cobra/Upward Facing Dog
- 6. Downward Dog
- 7. Lunge
- 8. Wide Leg Forward Fold
- 9. Supported Bridge Pose
- 10. Simple Spinal Twist
- 11. Savasana
The more your practice yoga in winter, the more deeply you will feel the effects, giving yourself a gift that will last long beyond the season.
