![]() Lie down and rest in Savasana for 1 minute. This feeling is intense! Once you are finished, come forward to all fours and lightly tap the tops of your feet on the floor to release the energy. This posture is a beautiful way to open the fascia of the feet, all while stimulating the Kidney meridian, which begins it's journey in the feet. Curl your toes under and walk your hands back until you are sitting on your heels. Slowly come out of the posture and transition into child’s pose with the knees mat width and big toes connected. If after 10 breaths you want to deepen, feel free to fold forwards, but keep the spine long! Stay for another 10 deep breaths. See if you can draw your belly towards your spine to restrict the flow of air into the front body and push it into the low back to stimulate the kidneys. Close your eyes and take 10 deep breaths. If you feel you are rounding the low back, or struggling to sit up tall, take your fingertips behind you and push down to lengthen the spine. For most of us, just sitting with the legs separated allows for a deep stretch across the inner hips where the kidney meridian runs. ![]() This time turn laterally on your mat and sit up on your pillow or folded blanket. Once finished, lie down in Savasana for 1 minute to allow the tissue to rebound. Take your hands to your feet and use your thumbs to begin gently massaging Kidney 1. Lengthen your spine, lifting the crown of the head up towards the ceiling. Allow the knees to drop open to either side. Now, slide the pillow or the folded blanket beneath your sitting bones again and draw the soles of your feet together. It is commonly referred to as the "Yin point" and it helps to ground and to add this slow, inward Yin energy to the body. Before moving into this shape, take a moment to point your toes and find the spot that depresses to the medial edge of the ball of your big toe. Once finished, lie in Savasana for 1 minute to allow the tissue to rebound. ![]() Stay here for 15 deep breaths and then repeat on the second side. Left leg can stay bent, or can extend out, pressing firmly out through the heel. Hands stay on the back of the thigh, or your right hand can reach up for your ankle or your foot. Take your hands to the back of your thigh and extend the sole of the foot to the ceiling, stacking the heel directly above the knee. Hug your right knee into your chest and then draw the knee towards the right armpit. Check in to make sure that your sacrum (the flat bone at the end of your spine) is pressing into the mat until you feel a slight lift to your low back. Bend your legs and plant the soles of your feet beneath your knees. Stay here for at least 10 breaths to prepare for your practice. Each time you exhale, feel the energy traveling downwards, as your body becomes heavier. ![]() Begin to follow your breath as it travels in and out of your body. Prop yourself up on a pillow, or a folded blanket, and find a comfortable cross-legged position. With that in mind, here is a Yin sequence designed to clear out blockages along the kidney meridian line and give yourself the time to rest and replenish those kidneys properly.” Yin Sequence for the Winter 1. So instead of bemoaning this long winter, let's look at it as an opportunity to detach from the excitement of the ski hill and take the time to truly slow down and turn inward. The endless opportunities for mountain adventures, apres-ski beers, and other Yang-inducing activities can be all too appealing. In the Canadian Kootenays, it can be difficult to take the rest that our bodies require during wintertime. Winter is the time for us to slow down, to turn inward, and to partake in activities which enrich Yin, temper Yang, and allow the kidneys time to replenish. Kidneys require rest to be revitalized and conserve this important energy. Our kidneys are vitally important organs, storing our body's most fundamental energy, our qi, and directing it to places in the body that are running low. The Yin organ associated with winter is the kidney. Yin is the cold, slow, inward energy in comparison to Yang, which is light, fast, outward, and hot. In Chinese Medicine, winter represents the most Yin time of year. While walking, the cold air biting at my ears, I began to reflect on what this long, drawn-out winter was trying to tell us. Was I really this out of touch with the natural world? I put my notebooks away and decided to take a walk. As I was writing, I looked out the window at the snow that was falling, and it struck me that I was on auto-pilot, programmed to believe a change in season was occurring simply due to the date on a calendar. ![]() “This weekend, I began to write my class plans for the upcoming week, designing sequences for welcoming spring. ![]()
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