Winter is upon us and as the days get shorter and nights get colder, this is a great time to go inward.
To use this time to reflect on the year so far, to journal, to eat warm nourishing meals and to sleep more.
In yoga class we use this time of year to cultivate a more meditative focus to our yoga classes.
A normal class for us always starts and ends with a short meditative practice.
The first meditation grounds the body in the present moment and the last meditative practice consolidates the goodness of our practice.
But to add a more complex meditation, perhaps something more ancient, or from a different spiritual tradition, is perfect for a winter practice.
So, we’ve being cultivating our inner smile.
It’s a Tantric practice that is also used in Taoism and it focuses gratitude and joy on the internal organs.
As you take the inner smile through the body you feel a warmth and a blooming of your innate sense of joy.
In Yoga negative emotions – anger, sadness, depression, fear, and worry – are seen as low-grade energy that causes chronic disease and steals our major life force by creating energy blockages.
So just as a genuine outer smile transmits positive energy and has the power to warm and heal, an inner smile produces a sunny energy that promotes powerful internal healing, deep relaxation, happiness, and longevity.
So come and join us! It’s an easy, joyous meditation that can be done anywhere, anytime.
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