Happy Winter Solstice, yoga mamas! Even though this time of year is cold and dark, it always feels like a celebration to me because it means the days are slowly going to get longer and lighter from here until Summer Solstice. (Of course, this is in the Northern Hemisphere, so you can reverse that thought if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere. Send us some light and warmth from there!).
Winter Solstice, in combination with the holiday season, offers us a celebration of fullness: basking in the fullness and festivities of our lives. This year, as if to amplify that fullness, we had a full moon a couple of days ago. Sometimes this fullness can translate into a too-full schedule. It becomes too much, too stressful, too high of expectations for how things should turn out.
In light of that, I wanted to share a yoga practice that helps us embody this fullness in a way that feels calm, simple, and grounding: deergha swasam, or 3-part-breath. I’ll leave it up to Swami Asokananda of Integral Yoga to guide you through it in this video. I was going to make a video, but then, well, my day got too full!
Mamas, when your day feels too full and hectic, slow down with me and fill yourself up with the fullness of breath. I hope you take a moment for at least a few deep, 3-part breaths. Jai Ma!
Every Tuesday I’ll share a micropractice that helps busy moms (and dads and kids, and really anyone) to incorporate brief yoga practices into their day. Every Friday I’ll post ideas and inspiration for practicing yoga with kids. Here’s the post to kick off this biweekly series that will last until the end of the year!