Restorative Yoga- Cultivate Stillness this Winter

Feeling a bit more tired or run-down this time of year?

Listen...That's your body trying to get in-synch with Mother Nature. Look around...winter is a time of hibernation, introspection and slowing down. While we are coming into cooler days and longer periods of darkness, this is also a signal to naturally shift toward and nurture your glowing, internal, guiding light.

A great way to practice this is through restorative yoga - a complementary ritual for the winter months! A restorative yoga practice allows us to slow down and stay in presence despite any compulsion that may arise to change what we are feeling, thinking or experiencing. This generates emotional flexibility and resilience. In cultivating stillness, we are able to breathe more space into the body which allows both physical and emotional tension to unravel naturally, rather than trying to create a particular result through force or control.

I often suggest restorative yoga, not only this time of year, but also to patients who struggle with stress, anxiety or sleep disorders in any season. This is because incorporating gentle movement regularly like restorative yoga helps calm an overactive nervous system while teaching us to open up to the present with tenderness, empathy and curiosity.

This season, make time for relaxation and deeper introspection, releasing your physical, mental or emotional tensions layer by layer. It is the right time to reflect on the last year, to process what you learned and in which areas you grew, so that you may integrate these changes in the coming New Year.

My favorite sources for restorative yoga:

In person: Britt Fohrman at Yoga Tree Valencia

At home: YogaGlo