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Winter Yoga for Longevity: The Ancient Chinese Wisdom of "Conserving Energy"
Discover the Ancient Chinese Wisdom of Bi Zang (Conservation) and how to adjust your winter yoga practice for true longevity and energy deposits. Learn the 20-minute daily secret.
TCM & Yoga: Aligned with Nature's Rhythm
My path of yoga has always been intertwined with the wisdom of Chinese Longevity.
Growing up, I was deeply inspired by my uncle, a Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) doctor, who used the Ancient Chinese Wisdom of aligning ourselves with nature's rhythm to heal many.
That simple truth is what drew me to find so many beautiful similarities in the practice of yoga, especially as we approach winter.
If you are concerned about your long-term health and wellness, about longevity, then winter is arguably the most crucial season for self-care. It's not the time to "push" but to "preserve.
Winter's Secret to Longevity: The Wisdom of "Bi Zang":
the seasons are linked directly to human health.
In ancient Chinese wisdom, as documented in the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Classic), the seasons are linked directly to human health.
Winter is the season of "Bi Zang" (閉藏), which translates concisely to "to close and to conserve".
Think of your entire year as an "Energy Bank Account":
Spring is for planning.
Summer is for executing.
Autumn is for harvesting.
Winter is the dedicated time for making your most important "deposits": conserving the energy that will power you through the year ahead.
This is the key to building the inner resilience necessary for true longevity.
Golden Rules for Winter Longevity
The Huangdi Neijing offers two direct principles for how to make these vital energy deposits:
1. Adjust Your Daily Rhythm: Sleep is Your Savings Account
When the days are short, your body needs to prioritize rest to enter its deepest repair mode.
“Go to bed early, rise late.”
The goal of "rise late" is to wait for the sunlight before you get active.
The Main Caution: Avoid early morning activity in the cold and dark. Doing so forces your body to expend precious energy (Yang Qi) just fighting the cold, like making an immediate withdrawal from your savings.
2. Adjust Your Practice: Conserve, Don't Consume
This principle is embodied by the concept of "Wu Xie Pi Fu" (無泄皮膚).
In simple terms: heavy sweating depletes your energy reserves. Intense, hot, or strenuous exercise is seen as a "withdrawal," not a "deposit". For a longevity-focused practice, the goal is to nourish, not consume.
Applying This Wisdom to Your Winter Yoga Practice
This shift in perspective is easy to apply to your yoga routine:
1. Before Your Practice: Seek the Warmth
Cozy Up Your Space: Create a cozy, warm environment for your practice.
Cover Up: Wear socks, long sleeves, and avoid shorts or tank tops to prevent your body from getting cold. This allows your body to practice in its most comfortable and natural state.
2. During Your Practice: Nourish, Don't Challenge
This is the ideal time to focus on Restorative Yoga or Gentle Yoga.
Shift your intention from challenge or intensity to conserving and nourishing.
Consistency over Length: Remember that 20 minutes of daily practice is far more beneficial than an occasional 60-120 minute session.
3. After Your Practice: Seal in the Warmth
Stay Warm: Keep yourself covered and warm immediately after your session.
Nourish Inside: Consider a warm drink, like ginger and date tea, to nourish your body from the inside out.
Keep yourself warm immediately during and after your session.
Your Winter Practice: 20 Minutes Daily
Practice isn't about length, but consistency.
Based on the wisdom of longevity, commit to a 20-minute daily practice. Prioritize either nourishing gentle yoga or body meditation.
Find these two 20-minute nourish practices from our yoga library below:
20-Min Body Scan Meditation for Recharging
Gentle movement for de-stressing the body and mind.20-Min De-Stress Gentle Stretch
Deep relaxation to recharge your vital energy reserves.
Deepen Your Practice in Two Steps
1️⃣ Join the Newsletter: Monthly Newsletters & class updates.
2️⃣ Subscribe to YouTube: Weekly Yoga and Meditation Video Updates.
Do You want To Practice Yoga in Winter? 4 Tips and Advice for Cold Days
Winter is likely the least favourite season for many of us to practice yoga. As temperatures drop, I often receive messages from students asking how to practice yoga more comfortably during winter.
Practicing yoga during winter can help us cultivate self-love and alleviate winter depression. Here are my five pieces of advice for you. I hope it helps. Let's dive in.
Winter Yoga is the Best Time for Nourishing our Mind, Body and Soul.
Winter is the least favourite season for many of us to practice yoga. As temperatures drop, I often receive messages from students asking how to practice yoga more comfortably during winter.
For many of us, practising yoga during winter can be challenging, especially when warming the body seems almost impossible. Recognizing that we are part of nature, winter indeed offers us a perfect opportunity to nurture and care for our body and mind after your year round of hard work.
Practicing yoga during winter can help us cultivate self-love and alleviate winter depression. Here are my four pieces of advice for you. I hope it helps. Let's dive in.
4 Tips and Advice to Get the Best out of Yoga During Winter.
Tip 1: Refine Your Winter Practice Intentions - Take Time to Slow Down.
As the seasons change, we also experience changes within ourselves. During the summer, the weather is warm, our energy levels are high, and we are more inclined to engage in intense, sweat-inducing practices. In contrast, winter brings chilly weather and often lowers our energy levels. According to Eastern philosophies such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda, this season is a period for maintenance and self-healing. It's an ideal time to focus on nurturing our minds and bodies, allowing us to build a strong foundation for the vibrant seasons that lie ahead.
Reset your intention to slow down and engage in practices that nourish your mind, body, and soul. Begin with lower-intensity movements that help generate body heat from within. Start by practising 6 to 12 rounds of Classical Sun Salutations, then focus on the Standing Hatha Yoga Sequence. Awakening your mind and body through conscious breathing and movement can enhance blood circulation throughout your body. Make nourishment the priority of your practice.
Tip 2: Take a warm shower, apply oils, and wear warm clothing to enhance warmth and mobility.
Many yogis find it helpful to take a warm bath or shower before practising yoga. This warms up the body from the outside in and softens the muscles, helping to prepare them for better performance in strength and mobility practice.
Another personal tip of mine is to apply body oil to the joints after a warm shower. I find it very nourishing to loosen the joints with the oil penetrating into those areas, aided by the heat from the shower.
After a warm shower and an oil massage, make sure to wear clothing that keeps you warm. Many of my students are accustomed to practising yoga in tank tops and shorts, but since it's winter, let's opt for something comfortable and warm instead. This way, we can get the most out of our practice.
Tip 3: Set Up Your Practice Space for Success - Warm It Up
If you have a heater in your house, I recommend turning it on 30 minutes before practice. After a warm shower, you can practice in a comfortable warm room right away. This helps you retain the heat you've generated from your shower or bath. For fresh air, keep the window open a little bit. If your space is too cold to leave the window open, keep it closed and consider getting some indoor plants to create a pleasant, oxygen-rich environment. My personal favourites are Peace Lilies and Snake Plants!
Tip 4. Sequence Your Practice Smartly - Listen to Your Body
If you regularly practice soothing and calming disciplines like Yin Yoga or Restorative Yoga, you may find it challenging to hold poses for an extended time during the cold winter months. There's nothing wrong with sticking to your regular practice, but you can adjust your sequence to better accommodate the conditions. Ensure that your body is activated enough to maintain longer-held poses, and make sure your environment allows you to stay in static postures comfortably without getting cold.
In my personal practice, in addition to Hatha Yoga, I also regularly practice Ashtanga Yoga. The Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga is my all-time favourite, especially in winter, because it energizes and elevates my mood. If you have never practised Ashtanga Yoga before, make sure to learn from an experienced teacher who can guide you through the physical and spiritual aspects of the practice. Of course, you can also learn with me; please fill in the Class Inquiry form so we can practise together.