5 (Yogic) Ways to Shake off the Winter Blues

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Updated 2/25

Are the fluctuations in the weather this winter making you feel out-of-sorts? The effects of climate change are real, and you’re probably noticing them not just in the weather, but in your body: mood swings, shifting energy levels, anxiety, depression and lowered immunity. Instead of looking to food, alcohol, Netflix and social media to get you through, I’ve got 5 ways you can shake off the ‘winter blues’ on your yoga mat and start thinking Spring.

 

1. Flush Out Cold Season Germs

We’ve all certainly learned a lot about viruses and germs over the past handful of years. And while I believe that vaccines should be everyone’s go-to solution during a global pandemic, it’s good to remind ourselves that we can also help our body expel less potent invaders naturally. A yoga practice that includes dynamic poses, inversions, backbends and breathwork will stimulate your lymphatic system and condition your lungs and respiratory tract to flush out germs and viruses more efficiently.

2. Detox Your Internal Organs

If you feel like you could use a good detox right about now, you’re not alone. Spring cleaning comes intuitively at this time of year. Yoga postures such as inversions that that increase circulation, twists that stimulate your internal organs, and restorative poses that activate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system all aid in the detoxification process.

3. Stoke Your Digestive Fire

If you want to focus more specifically on your digestive system and metabolism, start by stoking that fire in the belly through some strong 3rd chakra postures like twists and abdominal strengtheners, and then add in some flowing, releasing 2nd chakra poses that can help with elimination.

4. Balance Your Kapha Dosha

According to Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, the main qualities of Kapha are heavy, slow, dense, and dull. Late winter to early spring is the Kapha season, which means this is the time of year when your Kapha dosha can get excessively out of balance and you may lack motivation, feel lethargic, and gain weight. To bring Kapha back into balance through your yoga practice, focus on backbends (the chest and lungs are the ’seat’ of Kapha in our body), dynamic poses that keep you moving, and strong standing poses that help you feel powerful and invigorated. (You might enjoy the Ayurvedic Yoga Sequence for Seasonal Affective Disorder that is part of my Yoga for Mental Health Series on my Audio Downloads page.)

5. Settle Your Mind

While I spent a lot of time above focusing on how to alleviate the physical symptoms of the winter blues, your mind can also benefit from a late winter/early spring cleanse. To help settle your mind and decrease anxiety, you might add breathwork like Ujayi pranayam to your practice. I personally like to think of this ocean-sounding breath as ‘washing away’ my thoughts. Another favorite is 4-7-8 Breathing. (You can find even more breathing techniques to experiment with here.) A meditative Yin yoga practice can also be very helpful for clearing your mind. And of course, doing any kind of yoga practice will be beneficial to your overall mental health.

 

If you want to learn specific yoga sequences to shake off the winter blues and do your own spring cleanse, join me for my upcoming 8-week ‘Spring Yoga’ Detox Online Course where I will guide you through yoga practices like the ones mentioned above. We start March 10, 2025. Enroll now!