How I Celebrated the Winter Solstice

Today we celebrate the Winter Solstice which is considered to be the shortest day of the year. Yes, it's the time of year when the days are short and the nights are long. But, it also marks the beginning of the return of the sun. Each day from now on means a little more sunshine for us. Longer daylight hours mean an increase in positive energy. I sure hope so since we just recently had a snow storm here, lost power for a bit, and in general, everything looks pretty gray and funky out there! But, that being said, I decided to practice sun salutations this morning in an effort to get myself in a positive position!

Double Tree

In just about every yoga class I have taught - or attended - we practice some balance poses. The one you are probably most familiar with is the "tree" pose. In "tree", the standing leg is firmly rooted on the ground. Bending your other leg at the knee, slowly raise the foot so that it is pressing against the standing leg's inner thigh. Press the knee back to help open the hips. When you are ready, your hands come together in Namaste position. Then slowly raise your arms up and balance.

The fun begins with "double tree" pose...otherwise known as "partner tree". Paul has been practicing yoga with me pretty regularly now and is becoming quite limber and flexible. He doesn't think so...but he's really improved a lot! The picture above shows two "tree huggers" doing the partner tree pose. We've included this pose in our practice and find it's really helped with our balance. We sometimes end up wobbling a little, though, then laughing a lot!