Oh, winter.

 

As the cold seeps into our bones and the world turns white, there are so many of us who find hibernation preferable to heading outside. If you are not one of these people, you are lucky. If you are, you understand me—and how much I need motivation in these winter months. When the sun disappears for weeks at a time or only comes out in short bursts, our bodies instinctively want to shut down. It becomes so much easier to sit on the couch and do nothing when instead we should be moving even more, getting rid of the cold from the inside out.

 

Something that I have to tell myself when the temperature dips below freezing is that there is still hope. Winter won’t last forever. And just as yoga teaches us, we should be able to live within the present moment even when it gets hard. That when we bring ourselves out of our heads and into our bodies, it becomes more feasible to enjoy the moment—even when it’s dark outside and there is a noticeable lack of heat and energy in the air.

 

To help all of us with the winter months, and to lead us into the New Year, join my 15-day yoga challenge! We at Yoga Innovations wish to give you the ultimate gift of presence. Shown below are all of the challenge poses we will be working towards. Take a peek and get ready, because we begin the day after Christmas! Every time you post a photo, tag Yoga Innovations and a friend. Stay tuned for a special prize—but only if you post a photo every day!

 

Here are the challenge poses, with variations attached—because we believe that every body can be challenged, even within modifications of the same pose. Happy yoga-ing!

 

Crow Pose/variation

Gorilla Pose

Full Pidgeon/Firelog

Dancer’s Pose

Hanumanasana

Boat Pose

Down Dog

Running Man’s Pose/variation

Twisting Chair

Bound Side Angle/Half-Bound

Revolved Half-Moon

Horse Pose

Headstand

Warrior 2

Frog Pose