Yoga and the Winter Solstice

For thousands of years, humans have been celebrating the return of the light at the winter solstice, when the days get longer and spring is on its way. This ancient ritual signifies rebirth, new beginnings, and invigorating our minds and bodies by feasting, dancing, singing, praising, and communion with loved ones.
The flip side of the winter solstice is that it is indeed the longest and darkest night of the entire year. This time of the year can literally shed LIGHT on the dark aspects of our lives, something that is not always looked upon with joy. But wait. This is a visionary time! Winter solstice represents not only this darker part of our life and psyche, but also the possibility of something growing, sprouting, and unfolding in the coming year. This is a time to celebrate that you can always count on the light to come back, even on the darkest night.

The posture I have chosen for this auspicious time is Trikonasana, or Triangle pose. This is a posture that extends our energy into mother earth and then sends it back up and out through our radiating heart, hands, legs, and into the world. Legs are wide open, powerful, and grounded. Breath and blood circulates through all the organs, tight spots, and spins the heart up towards the light. Arms expand out, fingers spread like rays of the sun, and the gaze is up towards the infinite possibilities that exist for us if we have faith and believe in the light that is in us, around us and through us. Try this posture up against a wall, on your sticky mat, or next time you are in class, and imagine yourself as a luminous expression of this pivotal time of year!

Happy Winter Solstice!

This weekend we celebrated the solstice with a party on Friday night, Acro Yoga on Saturday, and a Yoga Mala (108 sun salutations) on Sunday.  It was wonderful to get the teachers, local students, a few brand new people to the studio, and several part time residents come in for these events. The party Friday night was an intimate group, and began with the teachers gathering for a re-gifting exchange. It was wonderful to see the way they brought such wonderful gifts to share from their hearts, and to have our community of teachers gather to laugh, eat, and get to know each other. The Acro Yoga with Tess and Joan was so much fun! Learning partner postures and getting to “fly” was inspirational and we are hoping to do that workshop once a month because everyone loved it so much! The Yoga Mala was a beautiful ritual to invoke all the 9 directions to inspire and illuminate us on the official earths New Year on Monday. I felt cleansed and inspired for the year up ahead. What’s nice about celebrating the solstice is that it comes before Christmas and New Years, and during Hanukah, so it gives us the opportunity to get clear and present without becoming overwhelmed with the holiday flurry. It is easy to get caught up in it all, but I feel all of us that celebrated together will have a little more presence and peace of mind to offer all those we come in contact with. 
I offer you all the magic and light of the solstice to fill you with all the divine illumination to know your path and stick to it, to clean out old habits, unnecessary worries, doubts, and fears, and to uncover and release dark areas and let the light transform and fill you with the radiance of all your wildest dreams for the new year. In these next weeks of holidays, may you step into the vibration of your answered prayers, and spread your gifts and love in selfless service to your loved ones, community, and global family! 
Om Happy Holidays!