How meditation can help you through the winter

The winter season brings with it a sense of lethargy where the cold tends to shut down all our activities. The longer nights and shorter days of the winter season are a time of indulgence for many where we become tempted to take long cosy naps. However practicing meditation during the winter season will help us in many ways.

As the season changes and the temperature drops outside your body will internally adapt to the changing weather. While the body is continuously experiencing changes these changes during winter favour the Surya Nadi or the Sun channel in the body. During the winters we can activate the Surya nadi buy practicing Sun channel meditation.

Surya Bhedi Dhyan

The Surya Bhedi pranayama channelizes the energies of surya or the Sun within you. It is the piercing of the Surya nadi, or the channelizing of the surya nadi which helps you gain the power of the Sun. Your practice will trigger the Surya Nadi or sun channel within your body. The qualities of the sun-vigor, logic, the functionality of the body, strength and even your physicality, all gain power with this practice.

Surya Nadi Shodan

The Surya Nadi Shodan is an ancient yogic practice to trigger the Surya nerve channel that runs throughout our body. This practice revitalizes and reenergizes the entire sun channel that operates within our body. It involves breathing techniques that trigger the internal system and help cleanse and revitalize the Surya Nadi.

• Sit down in Dandasana, keep your back straight and breathe for some time.

• Fold your legs in Sukhasana and prepare your mind for the practice.

• Sit in any comfortable pose (such as Sukhasan, Vajrasana, Ardhapadmasan, Padmasana or Siddhasana) Ideal posture is Poorna Padmasana.

• Straighten your back and close your eyes.

• Place your palms on your knees facing up (in Prapthi Mudra).

• Use your thumb to close the left nostril

• Inhale from your right nostril

• Close right with index or middle finger, exhale from left

• Repeat by inhaling from right and exhaling from left

Surya Bhedi Pranayama

The Surya Bhedi Pranayama is the breathing technique that further enhances your Surya nadi or sun channel and helps invigorate all the parts of your body, mind and spirit that are controlled by the Surya Nadi. It clears out any blocks and enhances the functioning of the practitioner at all levels.

Formation

• Sit down in Dandasana, keep your back straight and breathe for some time.

• Fold your legs in Sukhasana and prepare your mind for the practice.

• Sit in any comfortable pose (such as Sukhasan, Vajrasana, Ardhapadmasan, Padmasana or Siddhasana) Ideal posture is Poorna Padmasana.

• Straighten your back and close your eyes.

• Place your palms on your knees facing up (in Prapthi Mudra).

• Use your left thumb to close the left nostril

• Inhale from right

• Allow the breath to go deep inside and you will feel the impact on the Pingala nadi. The pingala nadi runs down the right side of your body.

• Exhale from the right nostril

• Repeat by inhaling from right and exhaling from right

Direction & Duration- Face Eastwards. You may begin by practicing this meditation technique for 1-2 minutes a day and gradually increase it with time

Speed

When you are a beginner in this technique, it is most advisable to practice in Shaant gathi and slowly, build your practice level, move towards Madyam and then finally, Tivra Gami. By practicing in Tivra gami, you will gain expertise on that level but it does not mean that Shant gati is not for an advanced practitioner as all these three levels have a positive impact on the body and mind. Firstly meditating regularly will allow us to enjoy the winters more, and also to evolve as a human being. Time is life and if we spend this precious time in sleeping eating or lazing away we will not receive the opportunities again. This makes it very important that we include meditation in our daily routine.