YOGA IN THE SNOW
It’s the end of January, seems like winter has been here forever and is still not going anywhere. So why not embrace it and enjoy the cold, the snow and winter altogether? Today, I wanted to share with you my love for real winter and the mountains. As a yoga student and teacher I am surrounded by people from the yoga „clique”, and there is one main question that is often asked in wintertime: can yogis enjoy skiing?
It is very often thought that yoga and skiing don’t go together, that you have to choose one or the other. I don’t agree, I think our bodies are made to do different activities and we should enjoy what life has to offer. I will start with the downsides of connecting these activities or lifestyles. First of all, it is a general opinion that winter sports are high risk and a big danger. This all depends on you and what you really do on that mountain, but of course there can always be an accident. Well, the truth is you can have an accident while crossing the street on the way to your yoga studio, so if we think this way then better not leave the house at all.
Secondly, the stiffness of your body after a day of skiing. Well, what can I say, there is just no getting away from this one. My morning practice on the second day of a skiing trip is usually the worst ever, I feel like I was given someone else’s body overnight. The stiffness and heaviness... but day after day it gets a little bit better and easier. Yoga is also supposed to teach us non-attachment, so I see this as the perfect opportunity. You have to face feeling so differently in the asanas that were already familiar. There’s no better way of trying not to get attached to how we feel during our practice, and what our bodies are able to do. Don’t worry too much though, it will all come back! After finally learning to stand up from drop-backs this suddenly became impossible for the whole week that I was on my skiing trip! But I just kept practicing and after a few days back home - all came back. Of course, if you perceive yoga most importantly as the asana practice and being able to bind in complicated asanas, this will be a struggle for you...
The asana practice done early in the morning, before you click on your skis, will help you really enjoy yourself on the mountain. Your body will be warmed up and stretched, ready to take on anything. You’ll feel so much better than if you hadn’t practiced. I remember what skiing felt like before I ever started yoga, I always felt stiff and tired once I finally managed to get to the top, my body not yet ready for the intense day. Yoga really changed the physical side of my skiing experience for the better.
Now, I wanted for us to consider yoga on a deeper level, not just the physical. What are we aiming to achieve by the asana practice, why do we step on the mat in first place? According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, we are trying to find stillness in our mind - yogash-chitta-vritti-nirodhah , stop the constant flow of thoughts and just be present in this moment. The very first yoga sutra: atha yoga-anushasanam - now begins the study of yoga, teaches us that yoga is all about the „ now”, this very moment. So, while practicing asanas we are letting go of thoughts, not thinking ahead of what will happen after, of what happened before, but just being on the mat in this moment. That is all that really matters, you and your breath, here and now. During my skiing trip I considered how we could take this meditation aspect from our asana practice and use it elsewhere. When I was skiing down the slope, feeling the cold fresh air brush my cheeks, the breathtaking view around me, experiencing true nature at its best, and for that time in the movement I found stillness - my thoughts just calmed. My body was moving on it’s own, the breath flowing, I felt more present at that moment then I often do on mat, so is this not yoga?
Early morning, in my hotel room, everyone is sleeping and I am doing my daily practice. My next position is kapotasana, the most intense asana for me. I remember my teacher’s words, imagine a tree or something beautiful and focus your thought on that picture in your head while going into kapotasana. I am facing the window, the snowy forest outside and the hotel buildings. In the windows are the most beautiful reflections of the mountains and the forest, like photos or paintings on the building. I did not have to imagine a tree, as I had this right in front of me. Today, when I am in the shala and once again facing kapotasana, I bring back that picture, that feeling of the mountains. I feel calm.
Photos by Milka & Pawel