Embody This Winter Season with These 6 Inspired Practices
December is here, as is the snow here in Klamath Falls. With this shift in season, from fall to winter, brings the internal shift you’ve been subtly feeling as the winter months draw closer and closer.
Can you sense your body slowing down – even just a little?
Or maybe a yearning for your body and your schedule to slow down to match the season?
This internal shift is cyclical and necessary. We are naturally creatures who require times for rest, and reflection, and dormancy.
In Yoga and Ayurveda, this transition into winter can be made a little easier with a number of different practices, including one that will be guided for you this month at Sol Luna Yoga.
Embody this winter season and allow your body to guide you through as you practice ways to tune in and listen.
Feel the Shift: Winter Solstice
In nature, winter is a time where the world begins to slow down. Animals begin to store fat, grow a thicker coat of fur, and stock their food as they retreat to their warmer dens.
The plants and trees slow their growth cycle, allowing time for deep rest before the growth cycle begins again in Spring.
And humans – well… we struggle with this concept of slowing down sometimes.
But just like plants and animals have internal systems that automatically signal a shift in season and a need to slow down, so do humans… whether we consciously listen to it or not!
In ancient cultures, when humans were more aware of the natural world and consciously living within these natural cycles, traditions were cultivated to honor these cycles, and to allow the body the rest it needed.
In winter, as people witnessed the shift from daylight to darkness, the Pagan tradition of Yule to celebrate the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year) was created and passed down – and continues to be passed down today.
Yule is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.
Explore some Yule-inspired practices below and pick and choose how you’d like to embody and embrace this season of darkness, rest, and reflection.
6 Yule-Inspired Practices for this Winter
Unlike our holidays in modern times, holidays and celebrations in ancient times were simple and a means to allow our bodies to be in sync with the natural world around us.
As you consider how you want to embody Yule and the winter season, remember to keep it simple, and always follow your own internal guidance.
Here are just a few simple practices you can try:
Slow down spending money, increase spending time
This may feel completely opposite of this season in general. Oftentimes, the winter months mean holidays and spending more money than maybe you have all year! First, just notice how this statement and this suggestion sit with you. Do you feel a resistance? That’s okay if you do! Let’s face it, giving to others is definitely part of this season and sometimes that means you need to spend money!
Here’s the main point to drive home and consider – shift the priority from holiday spending, chaos, rush… to enjoying time with family, quiet nights at home, and shifting to shopping locally rather than commercial.
Take a walk in nature
While taking a walk outdoors with the cold and snow may not sound desirable to some… have you ever been outside after a snowfall?
The quiet. The peace. The stillness. Truly, there is something magical about this time of year and nature will constantly remind you of what’s most important simply by showing you in nature.
Curate your yoga practice
Seeing as Yule and Winter Solstice are during the longest night of the year, light plays a major factor in this tradition. In Paganism, Yule was about celebrating a return of light, while honoring the darkness and the gifts it brings.
Within the yogic practices, Winter Solstice is celebrated with 108 sun salutations.
Do you know the symbolism of 108 in yogic philosophy?
The significance of the number 108 varies from antiquated estimations of the ecliptic ways of the sun & moon to the distances & diameter of the earth, sun, & moon.
To recite a mantra 108 times is said to help bring in harmony with the vibrations of the universe.
Thus, there are 108 beads on a mala strand & is seen as spiritual completion.
Join us for this special Winter Solstice class, were you will practice this ancient tradition & use beads to keep track!
Enjoy an outdoor bonfire
Following the theme of light this winter, celebrate Winter Solstice and Yule with an outdoor bonfire. Feel the contrast between the cold winter air on your cheeks, with the warmth and light of the fire. If it’s during the evening hours, you can even enjoy some stargazing and notice the changes in the stars across the sky compared to the summer months.
Eat fresh, local, and in tune with the season
In many cultures food is a key indicator of the change in seasons. During the summer months, foods high in water content are abundant and therefore eaten more frequently. Whereas during the winter months, starchy and root vegetables and foods are more abundant.
With industrial food farming, this practice has been overridden as more and more varieties of foods have become more easily accessible – including the ones out of season.
However, that doesn’t mean you still can’t remain in tune with the seasons and eat with the seasons. To start, simply begin to incorporate more winter foods within your daily diet: potatoes, carrots, winter squash, and leafy greens, to name a few.
Give back to and embrace your community
Part of what makes ancient traditions so powerful is the aspect of community, and recognizing that everything around you is your community – the people, the plants, the animals, the earth.
With the busyness of the holiday season, the chaos of buying gifts and attending events, let’s also remember to give back to and support our very own community around us.
This season at Sol Luna Yoga, we wanted to specially curate a yoga practice, guided by candlelight, and dedicated to giving back to our community in Klamath Falls.
The candlelight and its flickering flame act as a reminder to flow with the seasons, to honor the light and the warmth, and to also find comfort and solace within the darkness.
And, to honor our community and show our support, during this class, we’re asking for donations for Klamath Advocacy Center. Donations can be monetary, or by donating new or gently used leggings of all sizes. Additionally, 50% of proceeds from our Candlelight Yoga class will go directly to Klamath Advocacy Center.
Save your spot in Candlelight Yoga today and show your support for the Klamath Advocacy Center.
Find out more about Klamath Advocacy Center below:
