Get out of your head, into your body through yoga
Dec 23, 2020
Are you already longing for spring and fed up with cold, lack of energy and a grey carousel of thoughts? Then you're not alone. In winter, many of us struggle to find enough energy to get through the day. If you're longing for a hibernation like it's a wellness retreat, then the winter blues have got you.
It makes winter seem endless and dreary. Almost as if we have used up our life energy, our prana. The warm spring sun seems to be the only source of energy that can recharge us. But did you know that yoga can do that just as well?
We show you how you can free yourself from grey thoughts in a yogic way and use the quiet winter days to do something good for your body and soul.
Why does winter make us tired in the first place?
The first reason is obvious: the cold temperatures. To maintain body temperature, we use more energy and are exhausted faster.
This is compounded by a lack of sunlight, i.e. vitamin D. Most people don't get enough sun during the summer months because they often stay indoors or cover their skin with clothing. This can lead to your vitamin D supply being insufficient for the duration of winter. A deficiency of the sunshine vitamin manifests itself in listlessness and fatigue.
The shortened duration of daylight also affects our energy balance. Prolonged darkness and dimmed light can lead to a melatonin deficiency. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the body that regulates the balance between the waking and sleeping cycles.
A deficiency of this hormone manifests itself in low mood, fatigue that is not alleviated by rest, and a significantly increased appetite. But the winter effects on your body also have their good sides.
Energetic hibernation is healthy
While an active lifestyle builds your strength, resilience, and confidence, a crucial component of physical resilience is easily forgotten in our hyper-productive culture: recovery time.
Only through rest and relaxation can you fully recover from all the stresses of life. When you rest, your muscles relax, your heart rate drops and your nervous system switches into regeneration mode.
Winter gives us the opportunity to switch to economy mode and prepare for the reawakening in spring. We tend to fight this natural process and get annoyed that we are less productive than usual.
Giving yourself permission to step back and listen to your need for relaxation will not only have a positive effect on your immune system, but will also give you more drive and stamina for the rest of the year.
Just like you plug your cell phone into a charging station when the battery is almost empty, you can plug into your inner energy source to regenerate yourself. Yoga supports you in this process.
How can yoga help recharge your energy in winter?
Yoga can give you more energy on different levels and bring body and mind in line with the cold season. Mindfulness, pranayama as well as yin yoga and asanas that warm you from the inside work wonders when you want to hide under the covers again.
Mindfulness for warm thoughts
The yogic principle of mindfulness teaches you to experience each moment with curiosity and impartiality. When you focus on living more mindfully, you free your mind from the gray veil and experience a colorful and vibrant everyday life.
For more on mindfulness and tips for a mindful daily routine, check out our post "Fighting the Winter Blues with Mindfulness."
Natural regeneration in the evening with Yin Yoga
Darkness and cold naturally activate your yin energy - a force that stands for calm, relaxation and deceleration. That's why Yin Yoga is especially recommended in the evening. Your Yin energy gives you space for reflection and self-care. It is the counterpart to the active Yang energy.
When it's stormy and bitterly cold outside, you can create a cozy atmosphere in your home with candles and incense and let your body slip into a few relaxing yin poses. This way you support the natural regeneration of your cells and bring yourself into harmony with the yin season.
Asanas that heat you up in the morning
Of course, it doesn't always have to be yin yoga. For those days when your schedule challenges you with a tight daily schedule and you need an extra boost of energy to start the day, there are asanas that will ignite your inner fire. Find out which poses really fire you up after waking up in our post for more positive energy in everyday life.
In addition, the morning sun salutation is a wonderful way to activate your inner heat center. The constant alternation between upright posture and inverted position stimulates your circulation and warms you up. Breathing exercises can also bring you up to speed energetically.
Breathing exercises for a strong immune system
The constant alternation between cold humidity and dry heating air stresses your sinuses and makes you more susceptible to colds. Right now it is important to strengthen your immune system so that your system can regenerate.
Your breathing is a powerful tool to stimulate your metabolism and convert energy into heat. While in summer we can use sitali, the cooling breath, to reduce body heat, winter weather requires the opposite. Here are two breathing exercises to help you build internal heat and clear your airways regularly:
1. kapalabhati pranayama (Breath of Fire) The so-called fire breathing emphasizes powerful exhalation with passive inhalation. Kapalabhati opens the sinuses, which is why it is also considered one of the shatkarma or purification practices of yoga. Besides, this breathing technique stimulates your digestion, stimulates energy conversion and thus warms you from the inside.
For step-by-step instructions on how to do the Breath of Fire, check out our post on using positive energy through yoga in your everyday life.
Bhastrika Pranayama: Unlike the fire breathing Kapalabhati, where only the exhalations are powerful, in Bhastrika Pranayama both the inhalation and exhalation are powerful. Because Bhastrika is such a dynamic practice, it builds up a lot of internal heat.
This is how you practice Bhastrika Pranayama:
Assume a comfortable and upright sitting posture and place your hands on your lap. Relax your shoulders. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths.
Inhale deeply, almost exaggeratedly through the nose and fill your belly. Immediately afterwards exhale deeply and forcefully through the nose and draw the navel towards the spine. Keep the spine straight and the breath rhythmic during this exercise. Repeat this breathing ten times.
Return to your natural breathing after the last round. Breathe deeply a few times. You can repeat this up to 5 times if you are new to Pranayama. Afterwards you can rest for a few minutes lying on your back in Savasana.
A clear head through a tidy home
Winter yin energy, by the way, helps you clean up inside and let go of what you no longer need - the perfect time to clean up and create more space in your home, too.
A tidy and inviting home also creates a clear head and in this way promotes your relaxation. Space also sharpens your focus and allows you to be more present in your yoga and meditation practice.
Another thing that helps to clear your head is journaling. Write down what you've experienced this year, what's on your mind, and where you are in life right now. Putting things on paper creates space for new things and helps you let go of the old. By also becoming aware of what's positive about your life and writing it down in your gratitude journal, you'll recharge your batteries and steer your thoughts in an optimistic direction.
Get out of your head, get into your body
With yoga, winter becomes your energy charging station. You just have to give yourself permission to make room for rest and regeneration. For the days when you still want to perform at full power, try to ignite your inner fire with a breathing exercise or get your circulation going with a sun salutation...
... and don't forget your LUVIYO.