Celebrating the Solstice with Witch Yoga
Witch Yoga and the Winter Solstice
Finding warmth requires a willingness to face the cold.
It has been cold and dark. It only gets darker and colder from here on out, and yet as we near the darkest day of the year—the Winter Solstice—we can begin to celebrate the return to light and find the fire within.
Sounds idealistic and appetizing. Personally, this light and fire takes the shape of a warm space to practice and teach yoga asana, dance, play, and discover. This place is, of course, my body and the spaces it returns to. Soulage is one of those spaces. The open floor, the verdant window to a busy Franklin Street (my cat’s name is also Franklin), the smell of incense and tea—a perfect retreat for the cold and frigid days of winter.
This warmth within requires a bit of willingness to face the cold: the ice and sharp discomfort the body experiences, and the urge to retreat and look inward. For me, getting to Soulage is a bike ride or short walk made a bit more dramatic on cold, gusty mornings. The sun is softer when it shines, and the architecture seems more somber and dramatic. By the time I enter Soulage, I’ve already acclimated to the cold and welcome the watery eyes and chaotic sinuses. If you haven't experienced the pleasure of blowing your nose after an icy walk, run, bike ride, or broomstick session, do yourself a favor and indulge. Your pranayama practice will feel electric and powerful. Something to note: if you find yourself congested in the sinuses, ending your practice sitting upright instead of savasana might make it easier to breathe, as lying flat on your back can make all the mucus drain into your throat—cough cough cough.
Mucus liberation aside, the light and fire we find in the winter months urges us to look inward and take action. We can lean into the dark and isolating magic of a sunless, “joyless” realm with a yogic practice and emerge transformed, humbled, and maybe a bit more at peace with the fact that just as the dark and cold times consume us, so too can our hope and trust in our own lives that seek the warmer months and blossom of spring. If you can hope for spring, you can invite the truth that—even if begrudgingly and snot-filled—you have enough light to see through and transform the darkest, more mysterious parts of the self.
I don't want to get too far into Winter Solstice rituals here, but I encourage you to come to my Winter Solstice Witch Yoga. We start with a little history of magic in yoga, tantra, and our own lives and move into some writing prompts that consider this dark-to-light fire within. From this, we create our own charms, prayers, mantras, spells, statements of intent, and turn those into symbols called sigils. When we practice asana, we wear blindfolds and visualize the sigil throughout the practice. The practice itself is gentle and accessible to all levels. Every asana will be offered with modifications and variations. I’ve led several of these practices at Soulage, learning a bit more and refining the practice every time. This Winter Solstice practice will truly ignite a fire from within!
Written By: Alex D’Agostino