Are you Wintering? Slowing Down and Sinking in this Season
Winter is the time to go inward. Sink in. Deep into ourselves.
We hear it everywhere in the yoga and healing communities, but most importantly, we hear it from inside ourselves. The call to come home to ourselves through our practices. Although Ayurveda is predominantly aimed at the health side of our experiences, it can still help us facilitate depth and and inward gaze this time of year.
How can Ayurveda support the practice of turning inward?
We start with following Ayurveda’s most basic suggestion- follow the seasonal rhythm. When practicing ayurveda, we recognize that we are just a microcosm of the macrocosm. Said another way- as outside, so within. So as nature slows down, some animals hibernate, and everything gets a little more cozy, we aim to follow suit. This looks like:
Getting more sleep: 8-10 hours in winter is just fine! Just be sure to follow the circadian rhythm, getting to bed early and waking early. So if you’re shooting for 10 hrs, maybe this looks like 8pm-6am or 9pm-7am
Take more time for quiet: just like the serene snow outside on the ground, still, silent, take in less stimuli. This is pratyahara, one of the 8 limbs of yoga- withdrawal of the sense organs. Can you be intentional about less music/podcasts/videos/screen time/conversing in general?
Slow down and nest: Even the animals that don’t hibernate this time of year are resting on the bounty from summer and the harvest of fall and taking it easy. Can you intentionally leave more space open in your schedule? Can you spend more time at home or be home earlier in the evening? What sort of quiet projects make home feel cozy and welcoming? Finally putting those dried flowers into an art project? Eating some canned veggies from summer? Making sauerkraut or sourdough?
Throughout the year, not just during winter, Ayurveda places a huge emphasis on daily and seasonal routines. Dr. Vasant Lad points out- it is not enough to merely do the right thing, you must do the right thing at the right time. Ayurveda just attunes us to nature’s rhythms within ourselves. Reminds us of what may have long been dormant. When we live from this more connected, aware place, our health flourishes. As mentioned above, more sleep can be great this time of year, with the caveat that we still wake up early.
Brahma Muhurta
“Who gets up early to discover the moment that light begins?” -Rumi
Waking before the sunrise means that we don’t carry the heavy energy of tamas and kapha into our day, which start to peak around 6am. Instead, start the day with sattvic qualities (purity, knowledge, and peace). Furthermore, waking about an hour and a half before sunrise allows us to experience the “time of Brahma” or “creator’s time” or “time of the divine”. If you have ever experienced this time of day with intention (not just a 4am airport run!) you may have felt the pull towards the divine. Starting your day early with your practices sets your day up for connection, presence, and a stronger awareness of your tools of yoga. I know it may sound excruciating to purposefully get up before the sun- but counterintuitively you can actually experience more energy through the day as a result! Note, the ancient texts discourage eating or difficult mental effort during this time.
Learn more about Brahma Muhurta
Cleansing and Supporting the Mind
As we turn inward, we rely on various parts of ourselves to access and mine our own depths. If you’ve taken the 300 hr YTT at VBY, you are familiar with the model of the koshas- this can include the physical body, the breath body, the mental body, and the intuitive body. Although Ayurveda has recommendations to support each of these aspects of us, let’s focus on the mental aspect for now (manomaya kosha).
Nasya- oiling the nasal passages can promote mental clarity and calmness. It can ease anxiety, promote healthy sleep patterns and help rid the mind of ama- emotional and energetic toxins. Purifying the mind can help us see clearly, and thus more effectively turn towards and attenuate the discoveries our yoga practice brings to the surface.
Cleansing Pranayama- Join me Monday February 19th and Monday March 18th at 7:30PM EST for a free online community yoga class focused on pranayamas that can help cleanse and clear the mental channel.
Ayurvedic herbs such as ashwagandha and brahmi help support a calm, balanced nervous system. Work with an Ayurvedic practitioner before beginning any herbal supplement program.
As outside, so within. Relish in this time of introspection and self-discovery. I wish you well on your journey to cultivate a close and intimate relationship with yourself, even if it isn’t easy, it is most certainly valuable, and know that the VBY community is full of practitioners on the path with you.