YogaGorey.com

Wtih the cold snap set to continue and night time temperatures set to reach minus 7 to 9 degrees centigrade, we all need to think about how to stay warm over the next weeks and months.

While buying winer woolies is essential for everyone, we all know people who naturally feel the cold more and those who feel the cold less. Circulation is key! Those who exercise regularly will tend to feel the cold less as warm, oxegen rich blood will travel more easily to the extremities, keeping fingers and toes pink and warm inside your gloves and winter socks.

Does yoga have any special role to play in keeping us warm in the winter? Why would it? After all it comes from India where temperatures regular get into the 40s and beyond with humidity to match. What would the ancient yogis have known about the kind of winters we get here in Ireland?

Well, quite alot as it happens! India is a big country with extremes of weather conditions. In low lying and southern areas of course it is tropical most of the time. In the north, towards the foothills of the Himalayas and in the hills themselves you will find some of the coldest temperatures on the planet.

Indian fakirs (ascetics) are known to live in the most frugal manner possible also in these areas. Some wear nothing but loin clothes (even today) and are to be seen sitting on the freezing cold earth in perfect serene meditation. Personally I haven’t travelled this far north in India but close Indian friends have recounted first hand stories of ascetics they have encountered on trips to the Himalayas who are impervious to the cold using only yogic breathing techniques. Likewise, in Tibet, stories of monks sitting meditation in the snow for hours were commonplace.

Ashtanga yoga in particular, with its emphasis on purifying toxins through warmth can help to warm the body through breath. In an Ashtanga yoga class you are guided to focus and maintain ujjayi breath through a narrowing of the glottis and a light contraction in the abdomen. This kind of breath quickly warms the body and allows for greater and safer flexibilty during the yoga session. Needless to say, regular practice of yoga, hatha or ashtanga will improve overall circulation and help you to avoid the chills this winter.

To learn more about yoga, yoga breath, to book a class or a yoga personal training session, just send a quick email with your question to info@yogagorey.com or call 086 408 2428 and we will be happy to discuss with you.

Stay warm and see you soon on the yoga mat!

Namaste,

Liam Byrne
Yoga Teacher and Director at the Gorey Yoga Studio, John St. Gorey, Co. Wexford
T: 086 408 2428
E: info@yogagorey.com
www.yogagorey.com