Day 8: Yoga for the Festive Season

On the 8th Day of Christmas, Ruth gave to us… A Simple Christmas Yoga Flow! The lovely Ruth at Yogaru has developed this home yoga sequence for us, to help us survive the festive season with our sanity intact. All the details are in today’s post.

Christmas mayhem

Christmas can be hectic and overwhelming for even the most avid yoga fan at this festive time of year. We place enormous pressure on ourselves to be everything to everyone – leaving us feeling pulled in all directions with family, friends and work commitments. On top of that there is high expectation that everything will be perfect on this one day out of the 365 days of the year! Life isn’t always as predictable as we want it to be. Your home yoga practice can be your best friend and support you over the festive period. Taking some time for self care every day will help you to take on all that comes with this busy time of year, and enjoy your time with friends and family. Breath, slow down and recentre.

Self support

This sequence will give you a little bit of everything that you will need for all eventualities. It has plenty of twists and standing poses to keep you warmer on those chilly days – twists stimulate the organs of the body which generate natural body heat from the inside and give you a bonus glow to your complexion. There are also backbends and twists in this sequence for a happy and healthy gut and strong immune system – 80% of the immune system is produced in the gut, backbends stimulate the digestive system and help it work more efficiently. You’ll also find hip openers to relieve physical and emotional tension – we hold physical and emotional tension in our hips, spend some extra time in hip opening poses help release this built-up tension. And finally balancing standing poses to energise you – the big muscles of the legs help pump fresh oxygen around the whole body which gives you an extra jolt of energy.

Exploring the sequence

Keep it simple, practice what is familiar to you and don’t get too hung up on perfection in your practice. If you get lost, just come back to the top of your mat, take a forward fold and find your way into Downward Dog ready for the next pose. It is your personal practice and your time for yourself, if a pose is not for you on that particular day, or not at all, skip it and move onto the next pose. Remember getting on your mat for a simple 10 minute practice is better than not getting on your mat at all. Set an intention for each day and remind yourself of your intention throughout the day.

Alignment cues

Print out the tips below, along with the sequence, and find some grounding this Christmas:

• Start by deepening and slowing down your breath with your five rounds of cat/cow.
• The ½ Sury will be your starting point for the mini flows. Come to the top of your mat after each flow and take a ½ Sury before you move into the next mini flow.
• Take child’s pose at any stage during the practice if you need to take a break.
• Don’t be tempted to skip the Savasana. It is your pose on integration and will gently enter you back into the world again.

Thank you so much to Ruth for developing this home yoga sequence especially for our 12 Days Christmas Special. PS – If you’re looking for a lovely gift for yourself or another yogi in your life, check out Ruth’s beautiful home sequence yoga cards over on her site here.