True North Yoga - From the Adirondacks

We're just days away from the winter solstice, the day when the sun begins to fight its way back to dominance after the longest night of the year. The ancients celebrated the solstice with fires, which burned through the long night to encourage the sun's return. In yoga we honor the sun by practicing Surya Namaskar, or sun salutations.

Sun salutations are vinyasa, a flowing sequence of asanas. Movement is coordinated with the breath. Surya Namaskar builds heat in the body by igniting our internal fires, creating our own internal solstice celebration.

After warming up, we'll move slowly through a the series of poses that make up the core of sun salutations for those who have never tried this before. Then we'll flow through some complete rounds of Surya Namaskar and put that power to work in Warrior I with Eagle arms. I'll leave you with a moving meditation to complete your celebration of the sun.

All you'll need is your yoga mat. Enjoy, and Happy Solstice!

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The hip joints are designed for motion. Healthy hips enable fluid movements, but for many of us the hips feel more like stone than water. In this practice, we'll get into those hips from every angle, slowly opening the hip muscles.

All you'll need is your yoga mat for this juicy practice.

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