Yoga and the Christmas Spirit: Joy

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

Although the holiday season is in full swing, you may not be feeling the joy of the Christmas spirit to its fullest extent if you are contending with negative emotions, such as fear, grief or sorrow. The holidays can be quite challenging for many people, especially if they have lost somebody they love during this time of year. Many people also become quite stressed by the financial strain of the holiday season. However, many of the joyous feelings that the holidays evoke can be kindled from within your own heart.  Nurturing the uplifting feelings of joy, peace and love is truly the essence of the Christmas spirit. 

When you feel joyous, peaceful and full, it is much easier to be generous and loving with the people in your life.  However, it can be difficult to feel these feelings if you are struggling with negative emotional states, such as fear, despair or loss. If this is the case for you, by practicing Yoga regularly you will be able to more easily shift out of these negative emotional states. As Yogis and Yoginis, by engaging in a balanced and comprehensive practice of Yoga postures, pranayama exercises, chanting, and meditation, you will be able to truly nourish the light within your own being. 

Back bending Yoga asanas are some of the best postures for releasing constriction throughout the front of the body, including the heart chakra area, throat, upper shoulders, and quadriceps. These are areas that often become constricted when we are experiencing loss, grief and sadness. According to the Bible, the opposite of joy is fear.  When we feel empty and sad, we often feel that things will never get better. This sense of fear prevents us from experiencing the divinity within our own hearts. In order to feel the fullness of your own being and offset this pervasive sense of fear, practicing back bending Yoga postures will help to facilitate the release of negative emotions that may be preventing you from experiencing the full joy of the Christmas spirit. 

* Bow pose or Dhanurasana

Bow Pose is one of the most profoundly effective back bending Yoga postures for releasing tension and stress throughout the front of the torso. It is particularly effective for opening up the entire heart chakra area, throat and upper shoulders. Additionally, practicing Bow Pose will release tension and muscular contraction throughout the quadriceps, which will free up the flow of your life force energy throughout your entire body. Bow Pose is usually practiced towards the latter portion of a Yoga class, after the body is fully warmed up with a series of Sun Salutations, standing Yoga poses and balancing postures. 

When your body is fully warmed up and you're ready to practice Dhanurasna, lie down on your Yoga mat and rest for a moment by turning your head and laying your right cheek on your mat. Take a moment to ground and feel the earth beneath you. With your next inhale, bend your legs and grasp your ankles with your hands. Place the palms of your hands on the inside of your ankles. If your torso and quadriceps are very tight today, it may be enough for you to just apply gentle pressure against your hands with your ankles, without actually raising your legs off the floor. If you would like to enter more deeply into Bow Pose, with an inhale expand your upper body by applying more pressure against your hands with your ankles, as you lift your heart off the Yoga mat.

You will feel a pronounced elongation throughout your heart area, throat, shoulders, and quadriceps. With each inhale; expand your body a little more fully. With each exhale, release the posture slightly, so that you can expand more fully with your inhale. Hold Bow Pose for three to five complete breaths, and then release the posture and rest with your left cheek on the Yoga mat. Repeat Bow Pose two more times, and then move slowly back into Extended Child's Pose, in order to release any tension that may have accumulated in the lower back. Practicing this Yoga posture will generate a feeling of ebullient fullness, which will help you to truly embody the joy of the Christmas spirit.