Yoga for Winter Solstice

Come December 21, we shall have the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, technically called the Winter Solstice, marking the official onset of winter. The term “solstice” comes from Latin, and it means “sun standing still,” as the sun’s path appears to pause before reversing direction. Solstices occur twice a year, around June 21 and December 21, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky.

The winter solstice coincides with a time when we reflect on the year gone by, goals achieved, dreams fulfilled, and ones we are yet to achieve. It is time to take lessons and inspiration from the past year and take a mindful pause before setting our sights on the next year. This is a good time to get with the flow of time, set our intentions for the next year, and embrace the stillness in nature!

Winter Solstice and Its Deep Spiritual and Cultural Significance

The Winter Solstice has held deep historical and religious significance across cultures since time immemorial. Ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival of light and renewal honoring the Roman God of agriculture, while the Norse marked Yule with feasts and fires honoring the return of the sun. In ancient Egypt, the solstice aligned with celebrations of the sun god Ra. Indigenous cultures, like the Hopi, performed ceremonies like Soyal, focusing on purification and the sun’s rebirth. These traditions symbolize hope, renewal, and the cyclical nature of life.

Winter Solstice: A time for spiritual renewal

At The Art of Living International Retreat Center, you’d find thousands of seekers using this time to dive deep into themselves, with Silence Programs, as a way to make a fresh start for the year ahead. These programs, including yoga, specific guided meditations, and mindful silence, are a great way to clear the mind and heart of all the negative impressions we have been carrying within us for the last year, heal and balance our emotions, and renew our energy. These programs then culminate into a celebration of both inner joy and outer beauty with Christmas and New Years around the corner.

Why Yoga for the Winter Solstice?

One might ask why yoga of all things honors the winter solstice. One simple reason is that yoga helps you align with the change in the external environment effortlessly. However, there are many more reasons than that alone:

Reflect, Reset and Realign
As the Winter Solstice marks the longest night of the year, symbolizing a turning point in nature, Yoga helps your body and mind prepare for the changes in the atmosphere, provides a chance to pause, reflect on the past year, and accept life in its totality.

Align with Seasonal Energy
Practicing grounding and restorative yoga helps align with the introspective and calming energy of the season, which encourages you to become still and connect with the higher energy.

Boost Energy and Warmth
Dynamic yoga poses increase circulation and generate warmth, countering the sluggishness and cold of winter, while invigorating both body and mind.

Support Emotional Well-being
The darker days of winter can impact mood. Yoga, with its focus on breath and movement, helps reduce stress, enhance present-moment awareness, and uplift the spirit.

Celebrate Connection to Nature
Yoga during the Solstice honors nature’s cycles, helping practitioners reconnect with the earth’s rhythms and fostering gratitude for seasonal changes.

The Perfect Yoga Sequence for Winter Solstice

Winter can make it harder to get on the mat as the seasonal laziness kicks in. So here we have the perfect yoga sequence that is grounding, reflective, and accommodating of the shift in seasons and your moods this season.

Start with a Centering Breath Practice

1. Sit comfortably.
2. Close your eyes and focus on deep inhalations and exhalations for 3-5 minutes.
3. Visualize the cycle of nature and embrace the stillness of the moment.

Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

1. Begin on hands and knees in a tabletop position.
2. Inhale, arch your back, lifting your head and tailbone (Cow Pose).
3. Exhale, round your spine, tucking your chin and pelvis (Cat Pose).
4. Repeat for 5-7 breaths to warm up the spine.

Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

1. From a tabletop or other elevated surface, step one foot forward between your hands, aligning your knee over your ankle.
2. Lower your back knee to the ground, keeping your torso upright.
3. Stretch your arms overhead and hold for 5 breaths. Repeat on the other side.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

1. Kneel on the floor, bringing your big toes together and sitting back on your heels.
2. Stretch your arms forward or let them rest by your sides.
3. Hold for 5 breaths, focusing on grounding energy.

Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)

1. Stand and step your feet wide apart.
2. Turn one foot out, bend that knee, and stretch your arms parallel to the floor.
3. Look over the front hand and hold for 5-7 breaths. Switch sides.

Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

• Stand tall, place the sole of one foot on the inner thigh or calf of the other leg.
• Bring your palms together at your heart or stretch them overhead.
• Balance for 5 breaths on each side, embodying the resilience of trees in winter.

Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)

1. Sit with your legs extended.
2. Inhale, lengthen your spine, then exhale as you fold forward.
3. Hold for 5 breaths, connecting with a sense of introspection.

Corpse Pose (Savasana)

1. Lie on your back with arms relaxed by your sides.
2. Close your eyes and rest for 5-10 minutes, embracing the stillness of the solstice.

Along with yoga and meditation, you are also likely to indulge in some good ol’ singing, baking, and having a good time with your loved ones to celebrate this time of the year. But also use this time to reflect and set the tone for the next year.

Four Reflective Practices to Celebrate the Winter Solstice and Prepare for the Year Ahead

1. Set Intentions for the Coming Year

Reflect on what you want to achieve or experience in the new year. Write these intentions down. They can be personal, professional, or even social, but they should be important to you. Bind them in time and intentionality as to when you want to achieve them.

2. Practice a Guided Meditation
Dedicate time to a quiet, reflective meditation. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and maybe gently follow through the instructions in this guided meditation.

All you need to do is sit in a calm place and listen in!

Meditation is one of the most impactful ways of emptying the mind of its excesses in no time. You cannot scribble in a diary that is already full!

3. What is on your Vision Board?

Use images, words, and symbols to visually represent your goals and dreams for the coming year. This practice helps you give shape and form to what you desire. The more realistic they seem to you the more faster they manifest. Write down, talk about them in the present tense, feel, and express how you’d feel if you already had your dreams fulfilled.

4. Journal Your Reflections

You could have plenty of opportunities but you are unlikely to grow and learn from them if you do not have the habit of reflection. During the holidays, take time to reflect and write about the lessons you learned this year, what you’re grateful for, and what you wish to let go of. This brings you clarity of thought, resets your intentions, and takes you on a path forward. You can write how you want to grow next year, and how you want to achieve this growth. Conclude with a vision for your ideal life in the upcoming year.