There's likely been a moment in your yoga studies (or meditation, or energy work, or poetry, or...) when you realize, "WOW, I now know how much I don't know." (The Dunning-Kruger effect.)
In my 16 years of yoga studies I've had many of these moments, and one distinctly happened a few years ago when I began to dive deeper into Yin Yoga --
-- specifically the intersections between Taoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the ways these wisdom traditions influence our practice of Yin Yoga on our mats and throughout the Wheel of the Year.
(Yin Yoga Sequence for Winter at the bottom of this post)
Yin Yoga poses can create harmony & balance on all levels of your being by awakening your meridians as understood in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Your meridians, like the nadis, are channels of life-force energy.
In TCM, throughout the year each season corresponds to different meridians, themes, and therefore Yin Yoga poses, too.
Winter corresponds to the following emotional, energetic, & physical elements:
Organ/Meridians: Kidneys & Urinary Bladder
Direction: North
Emotions: Fear & Trust
Color: Blue Black
"The kidneys are the mansion of fire and water, the residence of yin and yang...the channel of life and death. They link the past and the future." - Francesca Diebschlag
In the depths of Winter, we can tune into the blue black imagery of water, we can turn to face the North, we can consider the anatomical function of the kidneys to help us cleanse our blood and release what's unneeded.
The depths of Winter are also delicious opportunities to dive inward with Shadow Work.
YIN YOGA SEQUENCE FOR WINTER:
KIDNEY & URINARY BLADDER MERIDIANS
