Prior to a recent yin yoga class I led, I had not prepared any meditation or points to ponder for my students.
I usually have some prompts, if you will, on which they can choose to meditate, or I simply direct them to focus on their breath, noticing how slow it is. When I took a hot yin class back in May with the wonderful Eric Rossi, owner of The Yoga Room studio in Honolulu and the GOAT (my opinion) of breath work in the islands, he told us we should only have six full breath cycles per minute while in a yin posture.
But I digress…
I LIKE giving my students points to ponder, and I try to link them from one asana (pose) to another.
And like magic, literally minutes prior to my first student’s arrival, I came up with the following. In this cold and dark winter, you may wish to try them with your own students (if you are a teacher) or in your own practice.
Caterpillar With or Without Strap on Soles of Feet: As students softened into this fold, I mentioned how winter is a beautiful time in which to lean in to the soul’s call for internal reflection and the inside work that needs to be done. Like bears who hibernate, WE can hibernate, too, and take a long account of our lives and what needs changing, refining, and releasing.
Softening and leaning into it…
Reclined Bound Angle: As students placed their soles together and allowed their thighs to surrender to gravity, i spoke of being open to whatever is calling to you. We often resist those “calls” that continue to pull at us, but in the moments of lying in this very open posture, we can listen to our hearts and our Higher Powers and just allow ourselves to absorb whatever comes our way.
Be open…
Supported Bridge: Taking time to reflect in the cold and stillness of winter helps us build a “bridge” from one year to another, from one season to another, and from one version of us to another. Think of this asana as creating that bridge from your leaning into to your soul’s calling (as in caterpillar) and being open to receiving it (as in reclined bound angle).
Build a strong bridge…
Banana Asana, Left/Right: As we lean into the quiet reflection of caterpillar and winter, as we remain open to what our soul is telling us in reclined bound angle, and as we build that strong bridge from one form of us to another, we curve our bodies into banana asana, believing that the fruits of our efforts, of our internal work, will produce great fruit in our lives as spring arrives.
And at the end of all these moments of stillness and slow breathing and quiet reflection–and at the end of our winter hibernation– something truly beautiful and transformed will emerge.
Amy Walton is leaning into this cold winter and some forced stillness. She plans to emerge in the spring as a gentle but powerful force. Connect with her at amywaltoncoaching@gmail.com.