Rainy Weather Blues: Do Yoga

Jun 6, 2016 | Rainy Weather | 2 comments

In rainy weather, an Image of flood water over pasture land

Flood waters on our property and our neighbours’

Rainy Weather? We Need Yoga!

The rainy weather here on Mitchells Island has been extreme. There’s been widespread flooding, including our neighbours’ paddocks. The overflow has spilled on to our property and filled part of our paperbark wetland. We’ve come to expect these occasional wet events. We live on an island, and it’s less than a kilometer from a river channel.

I’ve discovered that these are the times when yoga is a particularly welcome companion.

Yet when I woke up this morning, I really didn’t feel like doing a yoga practice. I woke up with my body stiff and my mind feeling clouded and heavy. But I know from decades of regular practice that movement and focus are what’s needed. They are the things that will help break through any lack of enthusiasm.

Still, I couldn’t bear the thought of going out to the yoga room in the lashing rain. So, I carved out a quiet, warm space indoors and forewent the use of my nice soft yoga props. What I needed to do was a strong, heating practice to dispel damp, clouds and create lightness.

While I might not become a lover of heavy rain, it’s great to know I have the following practice in my repertoire.

Text defines pluvophile...a lover of rain.

A sequence for The Rainy Weather Blues

image of a woman doing a standing yoga pose in pouring rain

This practice has a backbend emphasis. These are the poses that lift your spirits when you’re feeling flat. They also will dispel some of the dampness that settles in the internal organs of the body. And finally, they help your joints open up to eliminate stiffness and enhance flexibility. The twisting postures will counterpose and neutralise any residual tension.

The following warm-up poses allow you to start slowly and methodically, easing you into the more challenging poses.

Lying down, block pose

Image of Eve lying in a yoga pose over a foam block with her head supported on a blanket and bolster

Block pose–a pose for all weather

 

 

 

 

Lying down, urdhva hastasana (overhead arm stretch)

Pelvic lifts

Standing, urdhva hastasana

Garudasana (eagle pose)

Dynamic:

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog pose

Step-back lunges x 6, then integrate the following standing poses:

Parsvakonasana (side stretch)

Virabhadrasana 1 (warrior)

Trikonasana (triangle

Ardha Chandrasana (half moon)

Virabhadrasana 3 (warrior)

Prasarita Padottanasana (wide-leg forward bend)

Preparation for Pincha Mayurasana (forearm balance)

Salabhasana (locust)

Bhujangasana (cobra)

Dhanurasana (bow)

Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel)

Cool-down and Counterpose

Parsva Uttanasana (standing forward bend with twist)

Marichyasana 3 (seated twist)

Pasadena (squat with twist)

Janu Sirsasana (head to knee pose)

Setubandhasana, with block (supported bridge)

Cross-leg forward stretch

Savasana/Sitting (relaxation and meditation)

You might like an even more holistic approach to your health when the weather is extreme. Here’s a bonus article that suggests some tips for rainy weather blues that emphasise an ayurvedic approach. Ayurveda is yoga’s sister science.

2 Comments

  1. Thank you fofor this sequence. Tropical storms are blanketing the Southeastern US and it has been muggy and rainy for several days and this will help us all feel lighter!

    Reply
    • Over here in Australia at the moment, we’re travelling through the dry dusty far north of Queensland. It won’t rain here till November!
      Kind regards, E

      Reply

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