The Winter Blahs |
| Feeling the heaviness of winter? Got those down-in-the-dumps, where's-the-sunshine blues? Time to get back on your yoga mat and get moving. |
| Start by going to a yoga class. Being part of a community helps you show up---the collective is much stronger than your own willpower--and practicing with friends and family gives you the love support, and challenge you need to rise of out of the doldrums. Incorporate a wide range of poses into your practice, focusing on lifting up and expanding out. |
Standing poses help ground you, literally and figuratively. The act of finding your feet and experiencing your connection to the earth helps get you out of your head. Holding standing poses for several breaths gives you energy and confidence and keeps you focused in the present moment. Simply lifting your arms overhead will change your mood. |
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Befriend the backbend. Just lifting your chest and breathing more deeply into your lungs can make you feel happier and more alive. |
Add twists to your sequence. They squeeze out toxins and flood the body with freshly oxygenated blood. |
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Turn everything upside down. Inversions--even putting your legs up the wall while resting your sacrum on a cushion or bolster--can even out your emotions and help you feel unstuck. |
Breathe, breathe, breathe. Postures done with conscious breathing integrate body, mind and heart. Breathing while you move opens parts of your body that you may have long neglected. |
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~ Patricia Walden |
excerpted from "2010 Yoga Planner" |
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The Winter Blahs |