Winter Yin

The wisdom of the Tao teaches us to observe winter as the most yin season. In contrast with summer’s brightness, warmth, and activity, winter is dark, cold, and inactive. Nature reveals winter as a time to slow down, conserve energy, release excess, and direct attention down and in to that which sustains and carries us into the next growth cycle. In the days surrounding solstice and New Year’s, there is an invitation to pause and reflect in the space between where we’ve been (the last year, the last growth cycle) and where we’re going (onward, as always, right?!). In other words, this time we’re in is a time for us to simply be.

For many of us who have just made it through the most hectic holiday season of the year, perhaps now, in these last days of the year, we can carve out some space to align our energies with the season and offer ourselves the rest and retreating we’ve long desired. This Winter Yin sequence is an invitation into stillness, quietude, rest, and surrender.

Meridian focus: Kidney and urinary bladder channels associated with winter, the water element, and qualities of silence, insight, wisdom, recovery, and flow. In Chinese Medicine, the Kidneys are considered to be the storehouse for Jing (your life force energy of which there is a finite amount) and linked to your overall sense of well-being, strength and vitality. Kidneys are paired with the urinary bladder, which is closely connected with your soul and emotional balance at the deepest level. The kidney line begins under the little toe, crosses the bottom of the foot, and runs along the inner legs up through the belly and chest; the urinary bladder line starts at the eyes and traces the back of the skull, spine and posterior side of the legs ending in the feet at the little toe. When energy flows freely through these channels, we may experience deep trust in who we are.

How to practice: Gather props (blankets, pillows, bolsters, blocks) and set up in a quiet space with dim lighting. As you settle into each shape, adjust your props to find support for your bones so your muscles can release their habitual holding on and you can experience opening through your deeper, denser connective tissue layers. Sensations should range from mild-moderate intensity (we are not looking for pain sensations!) and may feel dull, achy, compressive, or similar to a stretch. Once settled, resolve to be still for 3-5 minutes. Good anchors for the mind are sensation and breath. Between yin-holds you can add your own active rebounds (gentle movement that contrasts with the shape you just held) or minute-long savasanas on your back or prone (facing the ground). As you marinate in each shape, visualize the free flow of stagnant energies you’ve accumulated in the last year releasing back into the earth. We are not designed to hold everything at once and nothing for all time.

Supported Child’s Pose. Notice which way you habitually turn your head. At some point during your hold here turn your head the other way, even if just for a few breath cycles.

3-5 minutes

Butterfly legs and Kidney-1 acupressure point. Find this point in the divot between the base of your big toe and second toe mounds. Gently massage this point for 1-2 minutes. K-1 helps pull stagnant energies accumulated higher in the body (neck, shoulders, spine) down and out to restore flow throughout the body. You may find yourself taking an actual sigh of relief.

1-2 minutes

Supported Butterfly. Before you fold forward take a few rounds of breath sitting upright, lengthening your spine. As you fold forward consider going a little at a time, coaxing opening through your hips and spine rather than forcing.

3-5 minutes

Supported Dragonfly. Blanket rolls to fill the space under the knees offer wonderful support for tight hamstrings. If you feel very limited in your capacity to fold forward with both of your legs extended at once, try one leg at a time with the opposite leg folded in toward your pelvis (like a butterfly leg).

5-7 minutes or 4 minutes each side if you do one leg at a time

Supported Dragon. A firm bolster, pillow, or a thick blanket roll under the back leg provides wonderful support for the hips. You can start more upright with your arms extended, hands on blocks and gradually explore depth.

3 minutes each side

Urinary Bladder-23 acupressure point. Make fists with your hands and massage behind your low back for 1-2 minutes. UB-23 is one of the most effective meridian points for stimulating the kidneys, strengthening them in their ability to grasp qi (vital energy).

1-2 minutes

Supported bridge. Place one or two blocks or a firm bolster beneath your sacrum. If using two blocks, stack them at their lowest levels so you are resting your body over stable support. Let your arms rest comfortably at ease.

3-5 minutes

Pantoon. Legs can be extended one at a time or both at once. If compression in your low back is too intense, stay in bridge. Note: mild-moderate compression is beneficial to your tissues, stimulating biomechanical properties linked to their repair and resiliency.

3-5 minutes

Supported butterfly. This shape can take the place of savasana in your practice or you may shift from this shape into savasana. Invite a deeper quality of rest. Visualize the free flow of vital energy through your entire body. Let the outer layers soften in. Let your body melt into the floor. Embody winter, take rest.

5-10 minutes