4 Yoga Poses to Practice This Winter

The exhausting summers and wet rains are coming to an end and it’s time to get ready for the chilly winters. As the sweaters and jackets start coming out, your body begins to stiffen up and you yourself start getting lazy. So, during this time, it is important that you keep working out and keep your body from cramping up. In order to help you in this process, we would like to suggest some yoga poses that you can easily do.

1. Crescent Lunge

Stand with your feet are hip-width apart, parallel. Exhale and step your right foot back, and on your breath in, reach your arms up high overhead. Root your feet firmly. Drive your back heel toward your mat so your back leg is long. Your front knee is stacked over your ankle with your entire core hugging in. Your shoulders are relaxed away from your ears. Hold steady and strong for 10 breaths on each side as you focus on feeling your feet grounding you down. Exhale, lean, and fly forward. Reach your belly toward your thighs as your arms stretch out behind you. Inhale and lift up tall with your shoulders over your hips.

2. Eagle Pose

From mountain pose, bend your knees and reach your butt back like you’re sitting in a chair. Lift your right foot and cross your right thigh over your left. Then work toward hooking the top of your right foot behind your lower left calf. At the same time, stretch your arms out wide and pull your shoulder blades away from each other so you have space in your mid back. Cross your right arm under your left arm so the back of your hands touch. Once you feel steady, lift your elbows to shoulder height and allow your shoulder blades to draw down your back, lengthening your spine.

3. Warrior Pose

From crescent lunge, spiral your back foot down so that the outer edge of your foot is pressing firmly into the ground. The front heel of your foot is in line with the back arch of your foot, and your front knee is over your ankle. Extend your arms long at shoulder height. Gaze over your fingertips. Hold for 10 to 15 breaths each side. Every time you breathe in, get longer through the sides of your waist. As you breathe out, focus on rooting your feet more firmly to the floor.

4. Side body stretching while sitting

Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position with your palms resting on your knees. Hug your low belly up and in so your lower back is supported. Relax your shoulders. Lengthen through both sides of your neck so you’re sitting up tall. Once you get set, close your eyes and welcome your attention toward the natural wavelike rhythm of your breath. Feel it flow in and out for one to two minutes.