Yoga gives us the message to bring our inner and outer lives into better balance, and it gives us the methods, or tools, with which to accomplish this. What each of us needs for balance at any given time, however, can vary significantly. One factor to consider is the season. As yoga helps us connect with our true nature, it encourages us to connect more deeply with the larger Nature (of which we are part). As I once heard the Ayurveda teacher Robert Svoboda say, if you don't visit and pay attention to (i.e., respect) nature, then nature will come visit you. The difference is that it is a much happier relationship if you go willingly.

Does it make sense for our winter practice to look exactly like our summer practice, or should it acknowledge and help to balance the different effects of the seasons?  What are the qualities of winter?  Winter is associated with the energy, or qualities, of the moon. Summer, on the other hand, is associated with the energy of the sun.  There is a balance of sun and moon energies throughout the year, but the emphasis changes through the seasons.  The word "hatha," as in "hatha yoga," means sun and moon. It tells us to balance polarities, or complements, to find better balance.  A balanced yoga practice typically includes a combination of alertness and calming, heating and cooling, extroversion and introversion.

Winter is cold, heavy, immobile, contracted, and introspective. Nature encourages conservation of energy during this season. While we can't hibernate, we can invite this moon energy more fully into our lives and practice. At the same time, if we acknowledge that everything needs something to balance it, then we must also retain some of the sun, or summer, energy in our practice. The sun energy won't be dominant, though. While it is good for your practice to be internally warming, it should not be overheating. If we are attached to a particular way of practicing, then our practice may not support us well. The two pillars of yoga are abhyasa (practice) and vairagyam (non-attachment). Non-attachment includes not being attached to the form of our practice. Practice, or work, is connected to the sun, while non-attachment, or surrender, is connected to the moon.   

Bringing more surrender into our practice in the winter is an important way to stay in tune with the season. This may mean a greater emphasis on forward-bending poses and more restorative practice. Be sure to stay warm during the more cooling part of your practice. Longer holds in poses can help to address the contracting nature of the cold. Emphasizing breath work in pranayama is a good way to work with the more inward focus of winter. It is also a great time to start or strengthen a meditation practice.

Winter is also a natural time to engage in svadyaya (self-study). This includes studying yoga philosophy, which will inform and deepen your yoga practice, as well as self-observation, which is an essential aspect of yoga. The introspective nature of the season encourages this. Self-study can also help you understand your unique constitution and condition, which affect your specific needs during any given season.

Balancing this with sun energy can include doing supported backbends. Movement in your practice can also balance the tendency to be too sedentary in the winter.  Practicing early in the day, especially the part of your practice more connected to the sun (movement and more stimulating practice) can help to counter the sluggishness that we sometimes feel during winter.

Every pose has its qualities, which we can associate with a season (e.g., savasana, or corpse pose, is perhaps the penultimate winter pose-still, cool, reflective, introspective). We could say that the qualities inherent to a given pose are the gifts that the pose offers. What we do to balance those qualities through our expression of the pose is, in a sense, what we give back.  This is how we can find balance within a single pose, in addition to seeking balance within a practice.

Each day also has its seasons. The winter, or moon, times of the day are 6-10 am and 6-10pm. Too much stimulation in the evening disturbs this natural rhythm.  The summer, or sun, times of the day are 10am-2pm (the best time to digest food, when your digestive fire is the hottest) and 10pm-2am.

From a larger perspective, our lives have seasons.  Just as our practice in the winter can reflect the realities of that season, we can expect our practice to be very different at age 30 than it will be at age 75. Ideally we are always adapting our practice to meet our changing needs.

The seasons give us a powerful opportunity to experience different qualities and explore how to best experience and balance those qualities. They remind us that our needs are not static and that our practice need not be static either. Yoga doesn't give us rigid formulas for creating balance, but rather encourages us to explore with curiosity and awareness. This open attitude can help us stay more balanced in any season.

-Paul Busch, Saint Paul Yoga Center Instructor