The chilli winters of the north keep you craving for warmth and sunlight. There is no better feeling than getting into a cozy blanket with a cup of hot chocolate. Where wearing multiple layers and going out for work is the only option that some of us are left with you would be surprised to know that yoga can come to your rescue this season. Where many of us are aware about the health benefits of yoga and uses of different asanas to assist the treatment of various conditions, you would be surprised to know that some of these asanas can actually help to keep you warm in this extremely cold climate so that you wouldn’t shiver a lot. Here we have curated the list of 5 yoga asanas that you can practice this winter season to keep yourself warm without throwing on multiple layers.
Yoga asanas to keep you warm
Yoga is an ancient practice that comes along with myriad health benefits and is known to have a cure for almost every condition. With that being said, it comes as a surprise that practicing these asanas can actually help you to keep warm for a long time. Where yoga is a form of exercise that makes your heart work a bit and provides warmth to your body. Here is a list of 5 simple yet effective yoga asanas that will help you to keep you warm during this winter season.
#1. Navasana
Also known as the boat pose, navasana is a yoga posture that helps you in stimulating the body and maintaining a good balance along with providing strength to the abdominal region. A strengthening yoga posture that can be practiced at the ease of your home without the use of any kind of extra equipment. Where this yoga posture helps you in relaxing the body, practicing it in the morning can help you to keep your body warm for the entire day.
Follow the given steps to keep your body warm and reap other benefits of navasana or the boat pose.
- Take a yoga mat and sit onto it with your legs spreaded out straight in front of you.
- Position your hand a few inches behind your hips and exert a little pressure onto them.
- Fold your legs from the knees in such a manner that there is an adequate distance between your ankle and butt.
- Lean back a little in a way that your back isn’t rounded while placing your hands under the knees.
- Take a deep breath and lift your thigh a bit so that they are at an angle of 45 degrees.
- While balancing up yourself, slowly straighten your knees so that your toes are slightly above your eye level.
- By keeping your spine straight, draw your shoulders back so that both your arms are extended along your legs and are positioned parallel to the floor.
- Point your toes outwards, flex in your heels, keep your lower belly firm and hold this position for 10 to 20 seconds.
#2. Virabhadrasana
Virabhadrasana is a yoga posture that is known to be very beneficial when it comes to strengthening the shoulders, improving balance and stability, providing stretch to various body parts, encouraging good circulation and providing energy to the entire body. As this yoga posture is known to energize the entire body, it helps to keep you warm during winters. Here’s how you can stay warm and prevent shivering this winter season while providing a nice stretch to your body by practicing virabhadrasana.
- Take a yoga mat and stand upright onto it while keeping your back and neck straight.
- Raise your hands up in the air and bend down forward so that your butt is pointing up and your hands and feet are flat onto the mat.
- Bring your right foot forward in such a way that it is aligned with your hands.
- Keep your right leg in such a way that your thigh is parallel to the ground and the knee is at an angle of 90 degrees right above the ankle.
- Turn your left feet outwards so that an angle of 45 degrees is formed with the mat.
- Ensure that your left knee is straight and exert a little pressure onto the thigh.
- Lift your torso up as you lift your arms in a manner that they are pointing sideways at the same height as your shoulders.
- Tilt your head and look at the right side while bending down a bit and exerting pressure onto your pelvis.
- Hold onto this position for about 10 to 15 minutes while taking deep breaths.
#3. Kumbhakasana
One posture that we all have performed at some or the other point of time in our life even if not for the sake of yoga and ygic practices. A posture that is performed on all fours, plank posture or kumbhakasana is known for its myriad benefits. From improving balance to providing strength and from building to improving flexibility, plank pose can do it all. We all are well aware of this posture and the effort it takes mainly due to the social media trends and challenges but nobody ever told us that performing this posture on a chilly winter morning can help us in keeping our body warm and can save us from freezing.
Follow the given steps to reap the maximum benefits out of the plank pose and to perform it properly.
- Take a yoga mat and kneel down on it.
- Place your hands right in front of you at a shoulder distance so that your palms are facing the floor.
- Take a step back and try to balance yourself in order to get onto your toes.
- Make sure that your body is aligned into a straight line and is neither curving upwards or slouching downwards.
- Take slow and deep breaths and stay in this posture for about 5 breaths and then release slowly.
#4. Garudasana
Garud is a sanskrit word that literally translates to eagle where asana means posture and hence the term garudasana can be understood as the eagle pose. As the name suggests this posture is pretty similar to the shape of an eagle and can provide various benefits to your body and help you to lead a healthy life. This posture is said to help a person to relax and calm the mind while improving the body balance. When it comes to providing warmth to the body especially in the winter season, this asana can be really beneficial and come in handy as it can be performed without the use of any equipment. Follow the given steps to perform garudasana or eagle pose effectively.
- Stand straight into the mountain pose or tadasana by keeping both your feet slightly apart from each other.
- Place your hands onto your hips and press the pelvis down in order to ground yourself .
- Slightly bend both your knees and start off by lifting your right foot.
- Now wrap your right leg around the left one so that your left foot ends up being right behind the right calf.
- Similarly bring your arms in front of you and wrap the right arm around the left one.
- Raise your elbows up to the height of your shoulders while taking deep breaths.
- Hold onto this position for about 5 breaths and then release.
#5. Matsyasana
Supported fish pose or matsyasana is a yoga posture that is known to relax and open up the upper body parts such as the neck, shoulders and your back. This posture is beneficial for providing warmth and increasing the temperature of your body along with calming down the central nervous system.
Here is how you can practice this posture to reap the maximum benefits out of it.
- Sit straight onto a yoga mat with your legs crossed in front of you.
- Slowly recline backwards while supporting your body with the help of your elbows and palms.
- Lie flat on your back while clasping the opposite elbows and making your hands rest under your head.
- Take deep breaths and maintain this position for about a minute and then release.
Not just keeping you warm during the winter season but yoga comes along with various other health benefits as well. Practicing these poses early in the morning can be really beneficial for your overall health and can be helpful in providing relief from various conditions. Practice these yoga asanas early morning on a regular basis to get the most out of it.
