Why Doing Yoga In Winter Is Awesome
While cold dark mornings and long winter nights feel not particularly conducive to getting to your regular yoga class or maintaining a practice, find out why this time of year is a fantastic time to be doing yoga, and the best poses to be taking over winter.
What is so good about practising yoga during winter?
For one thing the mugginess associated with warmer months, and especially over summer, is less prevalent in winter. Humidity would undoubtedly be at the top of most people’s list when it comes to unsavoury weather conditions for yoga practice. The heaviness in the air and the associated sweating that arises in this climate creates a lethargy that can be difficult to overcome during a physically active yoga practice. Unfortunately in our new era of climate crisis, this phenomenon is only increasing throughout the world.
Cool air holds less moisture than warm air, so in winter one can move briskly without necessarily breaking out into an instant sweat. Although some modalities exhort the benefits of sweating, Iyengar yoga views sweating as a sign of being overly muscular in approach. The heat generated in practice needs to be absorbed inwards, rather than sweated outwards, so the penetration of the stretch is taken deeper. This type of heat comes from intensity of focus and application in practice, and does not require a warm day or a heated room for it to be generated. The suryanamaskar cycle (see below) is an ideal way to begin your practice at this time of the year.
Practice comes better when you are well-rested. Shorter days and longer nights promote sleep. And just as winter is the time of hibernation, sleeping comes naturally during this time of year. Even though it may be more of a challenge to actually get out of bed early in the morning, and it may take your body longer to warm up and stretch when you are in class or doing your own practice, a good night’s sleep enables your body and mind to be in a more willing state. If your mind is fresh you will be able to engage and focus, and have a deeper experience in your practice.
During the colder months there are also less distractions. Winter is naturally a time of hibernation, so there tends to be fewer social events, and the lure of outside activities, such as an early morning or evening swim at the beach, becomes a lot less appealing! As such it is a great time to establish a routine to your yoga practice. Establishing a daily, or weekly, yoga routine is essential for it to be effective over the longer term. If you can establish a regular routine to your practice over winter there is a greater chance of it 'sticking’ at more challenging times. It is a good time to sow in order to reap later!
Winter is also a time when we become more insular and inward-focused. Yogic texts reference a similar process that occurs as our practice matures, when the senses become less externalised and attention turns inwards. Self-reflection is an important part of any serious practice, and is a quality that is cultivated more once the gross physical sensations that we initially have to deal with start to become more manageable and less intense. The mental space that the winter months naturally dispose us to can be beneficial in creating a deeper and richer experience in our yoga practice.
The flipside to this, and the state that can easily be succumbed to at this time of year, is low or fluctuating moods, lack of energy, and general lethargy. Our yoga practice can help counter this, not just because of the physical activity involved in practising postures. BKS Iyengar used to say that you cannot get depressed when your armpit chest is open, so the chest opening poses and backbends that are practised in Iyengar yoga help to counter this negative mental state. Other poses, especially inversions, have a stimulative effect on the pineal gland. This gland, situated in the skull behind the eyes, is responsible for producing and regulating our levels of melatonin and serotonin. It is the imbalance of these hormones that is a major cause of what is known as the winter blues.
On a more physical/physiological level one of the most important things yoga does is to take blood and bioenergy to all parts of the body. Blood, as is commonly known, plays an essential role in the body. It circulates essential nutrients and bioenergy, or prana, throughout the body. Inversions, especially those that are traditionally held for longer such as sirsasana (headstand) and sarvangasana (shoulder stand), have the added benefit of aiding venous blood (or deoxygenated blood) return. When you are upright gravity tends to draw blood towards your lower body. When you are upside down the pull of gravity draws blood towards your upper body, especially your heart and lungs, aiding the return and reoxygenation of venous blood. Improved circulation of blood and prana helps energy levels, increases physical and mental functioning, and boosts the immune system, therefore helping in warding off common winter conditions such as cold and flu.
Poses to practise over winter
While practising yoga per se is great in winter or any time of the year, the following asanas are ideal poses to be practising during the colder months of the year:
Suryanamaskar
Suryanamaskar (this cycle could be substituted for the 'adho mukha svanasana - uttanasana x 2’ beginning if using the self-practice sequence from a previous blog post) translates as 'salutation to the sun’ and consists of a linked cycle of postures that represents a reverential prostration to the sun god. Traditionally within the Iyengar system the movements are done sharply via the breath toward the beginning of a practice, creating a heating effect that is appropriate in cooler weather. Geeta Iyengar says the suryanamaskar cycle ‘gives mobility, alertness, speed, sharpness and freedom while developing willpower and physical strength.’
Even within the Iyengar system there are a number of different variations on this sequence, however it will often include urdhva hastasana, uttanasana, chaturanga dandasana, urdhva mukha svanasana and adho mukha svanasana.
Standing poses
All standing poses are invigorating. When done correctly they generate energy and heat, so having them make up a good chunk of your sequence during the winter months is a good idea. And just as winter is a time of consolidation, so also standing poses are consolidating. Virabhadrasana III, especially, epitomises these qualities, combining strength and dynanism with concentration and willpower to create firm balance. Virabhadrasana III can be likened to eating a bowl of hot, hearty soup. All forces, both physically and mentally, need to be harnessed for this pose to be executed successfully. Winter is a great time to work on this posture. This pose can be inserted after virabhadrasana II if using the self-practice sequence - perhaps also adding ardha chandrasana before virabhadrasana III.
Backbends
Just as with the standing poses, all backbends are good to practise over winter. Backbends boost blood circulation and have a heating effect on the body due to the effort required to create the shape of the asana. A level of tenacity, perserverence and forbearance is required to do these poses. However they are also rejuvenating. They yield energy, strengthen the nervous system, develop courage, and combat depression. If you are an experienced practitioner urdhva dhanurasana is especially an ideal pose to practise during the cooler months. Once this pose can be done comfortably the door opens to access the more advanced backbends. Do 3 - 5 rounds after ustrasana in the self-practice sequence.
Inversions
As mentioned above, inversions, and especially longer holdings of poses such as sirsasana (headstand) and sarvangasana (shoulder stand) improve blood circulation and bolster immunity, which can be a boon over the winter months. Sirsasana is known as the king of the asanas within the Iyengar system, and has a heating and invigorating effect on the body. It is always paired (although not always done one after the other) with sarvangasana, the queen of the asanas, as shoulder stand has a soothing effect, and counters any irritability which can occur if sirsasana is practised on its own. Sirsasana could be added after pinca mayurasana, and sarvangasana after supta padangusthasana I, if inserting into the self-practice sequence.
Take advantage of our Introductory Offers to attend some of our classes over winter, or anytime of the year - in-person, or from anywhere in the world online.
James Hasemer
James Hasemer is the Founder and Director of Central Yoga School and a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher, Assessor, and Moderator. He is also currently a Teacher Director on the Iyengar Yoga Australia Board
References
[1] Light On Yoga BKS Iyengar
[2] Yoga In Action: Preliminary Course Geeta Iyengar
[3] Yoga In Action: Intermediate Course Geeta Iyengar