Winter

The daylight hours have been getting shorter and the temperature keeps dropping.

Welcome Winter!

This time of chilly darkness has been honored with feasts and celebration as far back as neolithic times. Long before modern religions co-opted the season, the winter solstice was recognized by ancient cultures for its significance: the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days that begins at the summer solstice.

In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs at that time at which the sun is at its southernmost point in the sky, causing the shortest day and longest night of the year. So naturally that means that every day after the winter solstice, the length of daylight is increasing once again.

Definitely a reason to rejoice!




1. Imagine you could breathe in through one nostril then exhale through the other. Picture your breath cycle as drawing the breath up from base of your spine and up the left side of your body as you inhale through your left nostril. Then picture the exhale leaving your right nostril and traveling down the right side of your body back down to the base of your spine, where is continues into the next inhale up the left side again. Use this visualization for 3 cycles of breath then reverse direction: inhale up the right side and exhale down the left.

2. Sitting up tall in your chair with the lower belly firm, inhale your arms straight out to the sides. Exhale and bring your fingertips to your shoulders. Continue this movement for 5 breath cycles, bending at the elbow with upper arms parallel to the floor.

3. Bring hands to rest hands in your lap, still sitting up tall, lift right foot off the floor as you straighten the knee. Ankle is flexed with toes pointing up, lift the thigh right off the chair just an inch or so, using the belly muscles and holding 3 breaths. Repeat with left leg.

4.  Camel: Slide a few inches forward away from the back of your chair, bring the palms of your hands to your lower back. Look up at the ceiling as you arch your back and come into a gentle, supported back bend, hands on lower back, letting your head and neck relax and drop back. Breathe for 3 breath cycles. Slowly use your hands to come back up, then shift hands to your knees, folding at the hips to rest your belly on your thighs in a forward fold. Take 3 breaths then use your hands to push to sitting,

5. Eagle: Cross your right thigh over your left thigh. If you can, wrap the right foot all the way around the left calf. Cross your left arm over the right one at the elbow. Bend the elbows and bring your palms to touch.  Lift the elbows while dropping the shoulders away from the ears. Hold three to five breaths. Repeat with left thigh over right thigh this time.

6. Repeat #1 for 3 cycles each side, then rest for a few minutes with your natural breathing.