Posts

, ,

Winter Pranayama: Yogic Breathing Practices for Energy, Immunity, and Calm

Winter Pranayama: Yogic Breathing Practices for Energy, Immunity, and Calm

Winter invites us to slow down and turn inward. Shorter days, colder weather, and dry air can affect both our body and mind. This is the perfect season to focus on yogic breathing practices, or pranayama, which support energy, immunity, and can create a sense calm. By aligning our breath with the season, we can stay warm, balanced, and resilient throughout winter.You may be familiar with the Ice Man Wim Hof, who utilises the breath for managing extremes of temperature. However, we do not have to go to extremes to benefit from deepening our breathing practices in the winter season. There are several practices from the simple to the more complex, that can suport your body and mind in the cold winter months.

Why Breathing Practices Matter More in Winter

During winter, many of us experience low energy, stiffness, and mental restlessness. From a yogic perspective, the season often increases Vata and Kapha tendencies, which manifest as dryness, heaviness, or congestion. Winter wellness yoga encourages gentle, mindful breathing practices to counteract these effects. Conscious breathing improves circulation, warms the body, and helps regulate the nervous system, keeping us grounded even on the coldest days.

How Winter Affects the Breath and Nervous System

Cold weather can lead to shallow breathing, tight muscles, and mental fatigue. Our lungs may feel constricted, and stress or anxiety can rise as daylight decreases. Seasonal yoga for cold weather practices, particularly pranayama, help release tension, increase oxygen flow, and restore a sense of calm. Regular practice supports not only physical health but also emotional balance, making the mind as resilient as the body during winter.

Winter sunset

Winter sunset

Best Yogic Breathing Practices for Winter

Here are three effective winter pranayama practices to incorporate into your daily routine:

Dirga Pranayama (Three-Part Breath)

Also called the three-part breath, Dirga Pranayama gently expands the belly, ribs, and chest with each inhale, and empties completely on the exhale. Try inhaling for four counts and then exhaling for four counts; if you find this comfortable you can extend the exhalations to calm your nervous system. Practicing this for five to ten minutes daily enhances lung capacity, promotes relaxation, and generates internal warmth. This gentle technique is perfect for beginners or anyone seeking calming breathing techniques for winter.

Ujjayi Breath for Inner Warmth

Ujjayi, or “victorious breath,” slightly constricts the back of the throat, creating a slow, audible breath, a little bit like you are about to snore, or if you were trying to mist up a bathroom mirror with your breath and then closed your lips. This practice increases circulation, raises body temperature, and strengthens focus. It’s especially useful during winter yoga practices or as a calming ritual during times of stress.

Nadi Shodhana for Balance and Calm

Alternate nostril breathing, or Nadi Shodhana, balances the left and right sides of the nervous system. It reduces anxiety, improves focus, and supports immune function. Practicing this in the evening helps transition the body into deep rest, making it an excellent pranayama for stress and anxiety in winter. Here is a popular video that shows you more about the pranayama practice.

Making Winter Pranayama Part of Your Daily Routine

The key to winter breathing practices is consistency and mindfulness. Even five to ten minutes a day can improve energy, immunity, and mental clarity. Begin your morning with warming breaths, or practice calming techniques like Nadi Shodhana in the evening to ease tension and prepare for restful sleep. By tuning in to the breath, we honour the slower pace of winter and allow the body to restore itself naturally.

 

Wishing you the best with your yoga practice!

With love,

Genny

 

 

/by
,

Unveiling Serenity: The Transformative Power of Body Scan Meditation

The Body Scan meditation is a wonderful way to relax, de-stress and unwind.

In the hustle and bustle of our fast-paced lives, finding a moment of calm can feel like an elusive dream. Enter body scan meditation – a powerful practice that holds the key to unlocking a treasure trove of physical and mental well-being. If you’ve ever found yourself yearning for a simple yet profound way to de-stress, unwind, and reconnect with your inner self, the body scan meditation might just be the answer you’ve been searching for.

What is Body Scan Meditation?

At its core, body scan meditation is a mindfulness technique that involves directing your attention to different parts of your body, systematically and progressively. This practice invites you to explore sensations, tensions, and feelings within each region, fostering a deep connection between your mind and body.

The beauty of body scan meditation lies in its simplicity. You don’t need any special equipment, a dedicated space, or a guru on a mountaintop. All that’s required is a few minutes of your time, an open mind, and the willingness to embark on a journey within yourself.

Read more

/by

Winter Mountain Restorative Yoga Retreat

Start the New Year with Winter Mountain Restorative Yoga Retreat, Online, Saturday 2nd January

This restorative yoga retreat has the theme Winter Mountain, for feeling grounded and stable. Many of us a facing new lockdowns and restrictions on our lives. This retreat will focus on our inner strength, resilience and stability to see us through these winter months, – just like the snow covered mountain awaiting the spring!

Read more

/by

Yoga is for Every Body: Introduction to Chair Yoga

Yoga is for every body.

I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard people tell me they “can’t do yoga because they are not flexible enough”. Well, duh, that’s the point (sorry) !

Over the years I have taught yoga to people of all ages and abilities, from people with prosthetic limbs and wheelchair users, to those with  developmental disabilities or even long term illness such as MS and Parkinson’s Disease. Every body is able to do yoga, should the person so wish. Sometimes I have to physically assist a client to allow them to benefit from simple movements that are so very effective.

When I undertook yoga therapy training my tutor’s mantra was “The yoga is always the same”, by which she meant that the purpose was to focus on the breath, to relax the body and mind and to encourage the full range of motion for the joints of the body.

It is not about fancy postures but instead allowing the body to move as freely and as comfortably as it can.

In that spirit, I have put together a series of Chair yoga exercises that can be practiced at home. This introductory video lasts about 10 minutes and focuses on simple range-of-movement exercises for the whole body.

I hope you enjoy!

Read more

/by

Stop Should-ing On Yourself

A good friend once told me to “Stop Should-ing on myself”.

It was brilliant advice and I thought I would share it with you today, World mental Health Day.

 

I had been feeling glum and complaining: “Oh I should do this, I shouldn’t have done that”, to which my friend replied, in her own laconic way:

“Stop Should-ing on yourself”.

It made so much sense. So much of suffering is caused by beliefs such as:

 

I should be this…

I should be that…

I should do this…

I should do that…

I should be more…

I should be less…

I should have…

I should feel…

I should, I should, I should…

Plus an equal list of “I shouldn’ts” to match.

 

‘Should’ is defined as: used to indicate obligation, duty or correctness, typically when criticizing someone’s actions.

 

So what we are doing when we ‘Should’ on ourselves is piling on self-criticism; probably with a good old dollop of guilt as well. ‘Should’ is not so much a call to action but a means of berating oneself. ‘Should’ can make a person feel rotten, especially in terms mental health and well-being

An example being: “I should feel happy but I don’t” Where we have both criticism and guilt in one simple sentence.

So what could we use instead of ‘should’?

The first challenge is being aware of the times when you are ‘Should-ing’ on yourself and dwelling on self-criticism. (I like to recall my friend’s voice when I find myself falling into that trap).

The second is acknowledging the present situation for what it is, warts and all. View it as dispassionately as possible, like an impartial witness (this is a practice in mindfulness). Remove ‘should’ from that thought along with its associated guilt and shame. So, in the example of “I should feel happy but I don’t” can be replaced with: “I am not happy at the moment but that’s OK, this feeling will pass”

The third is to replace ‘Should’ with ‘I Can…’ Transform thoughts away from negative self-criticism towards what is achievable and positive. This is a way of opening up possibilities rather than shutting down in the shame of “I should”.

 

I hope that you find this useful. Wishing you all a good World Mental Health Day and remember:

“Stop Should-ing on yourself” .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/by

Wind Down with a Yoga Moon Salutation

This Yoga Moon Salutation can be used as a gentle warm up or wind down for an evening’s yoga practice.

 

 

How to practice a Moon Salutation:

  1. Start in Table position on the hands and knees, knees about hip width apart and hands below the shoulders.
  2. Come up onto the finger tips and step the left foot forward between the hands into a lunge (if you are newer to yoga you may have to lift your hand or assist your foot into position).
  3. Come into a ‘square lunge’ and get your balance.
  4. Inhale, raise your arms up overhead, hands in prayer position.
  5. Exhale, lean back gently (avoid this move if you have any back injuries)
  6. Inhale, release the backbend.
  7. Exhale, lower arms to shoulder level.
  8. Inhale, lengthen spine,
  9. Exhale, twist to the left.
  10. Inhale back to centre,
  11. Exhale, twist to the right.
  12. Inhale back to the centre.
  13. Exhale lower the right hand to the floor and raise the left arm.
  14. Inhale back to the centre.
  15. Exhale lower the left hand to the floor and raise the right arm.
  16. Inhale back to centre.
  17. Exhale return to Table position.
  18. Inhaling sit back to heels
  19. Exhaling reach arms forward and rest in Hare posture.
  20. Return to Table posture and practice the same, this time with the left foot forward in the lunge position.

Read more

/by

Need to Relax? Try this Short Relaxation for Busy People

Here is a short guided relaxation for busy people; known as ‘Yoga Nidra’, or yoga-sleep.

 

It is mental health awareness week so I decided to share this yoga nidra. I hope that you find it relaxing.

The purpose of this yoga nidra is to let your body fall into a deep state of relaxation but for your mind to remain awake. It aids a deeper state of relaxation than just sleep alone.

I have been giving guided yoga nidra relaxations and meditations for well over a decade now. This recording is from the early days, however, many people have enjoyed it, so I hope you will too! I will add different relaxations and meditations to my You Tube channel from now on, so please subscribe if you want to access more yoga tips and stress-relieving techniques.

Happy relaxing!

Read more

/by

Finding Strength in Weakness

How can you find strength in weakness?

‏I am learning that it is OK to have weaknesses, to be perfectly imperfect. Sometimes, being weak and asking for help takes more courage than being brave or ‘just getting on with it’.

 

“I am willing to be wrong. I am willing to be passionate about something that isn’t perceived as cool. I am willing to express a theory. I am willing to admit I am afraid. I am willing to contradict something I’ve said before. I am willing to have a knee-jerk reaction, even a wrong one. I’m willing to apologize. I’m perfectly willing to be be perfectly human”

 – Donald Millar

Read more

/by

Cancer support

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH: CANCER SUPPORT

People who know me will know how deeply my family has been affected by different types of cancer, breast cancer included.

It is difficult to know how to help when first involved with someone affected by cancer, be they a cancer patient or carer. So, here is a list of Dos and Don’ts I have compiled, from my humble experience:

Read more

/by

Untie the Knots that Bind Us Using Yoga

How do we untie the knots that bind us using yoga?

Many yoga postures look like you are tying yourself up in knots, making yourself smaller. How can that be comfortable? It seems like it is the opposite of untying the knots that bind us.

For me, such yoga postures are actually about untying the knots. The yoga tradition refers to several knots in the subtle body (the Sanskrit word is Granthi, meaning ‘knot’ or ‘doubt’) that block our path to development. Such knots are described in three forms:

Read more

/by