Winter is a glorious time to enjoy nature, and to explore everyday activities in diverse ways.
My partner built me a 'sound stage' from which to create yoga videos embedded in our woods. It is a lovely place to practice, but I had only previously made use of it during the summer months. Somehow I missed the singular joy of practicing out doors in the winter months. There is an entirely different light, different ambiance that is created under the hush that befalls a thick carpet of snow.
The air is crisp and the birds punctuate that feeling of everything being pulled taut with their sweet, haunting songs. The bushes are filled with tiny buds, seemingly well ahead of spring, but their presence offers the hope and promise of warming weather and the fertility associated with spring. New life.
Winter is a liminal land of ice and snow, where we take our cues from the animal kingdom and hibernate. We consciously create cozy environments (Hygge) to support comfort.
I was surprised and delighted to learn that the cooler outdoor air isn't something to 'suffer', but rather wrapped me in a blanket of increased sensations of being alive and alert and attuned.
Try something different to shake you out the rut of winter. Embrace the shifts in light, energy and environment. Explore how you relate to space, time and weight differently. Take your mat outdoors (they are cleanable!) and try yoga out doors in the midst of winter. You never know, you may love it!
Photo Credit: Byron Foli, my beloved partner and yoga platform builder
