Settling into Stillness: Taoist Winter Wisdom for Yin Yoga

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Hi Jenny’s and welcome back

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to a yin Yoga. Podcast

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if you’re new around here, welcome.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: welcome, welcome for those of you that are familiar welcome back.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So at the time of this recording, it feels weird to say this, because

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this episode will be going out as we approach winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But right now. It’s not even September. So it feels strange to be recording an episode on winter when I’m still wearing a tank top. But

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Nyk Danu Yoga: we plan ahead.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So today we will be talking about sort of the Taoist wisdom around wintertime. And anytime I’m saying Taoism, same wisdom for Chinese medicine, because Chinese medicine is based in Taoism.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So we’re going to talk a little bit about that in just a moment. But before we do.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: before we do

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Nyk Danu Yoga: just a reminder

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Nyk Danu Yoga: for those of you that are here all the time. Or if you’re new.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this podcast discusses adult subject matter and contains adult language. So although I have the soul of a mermaid. I also have the mouth of a sailor. So if you’ve got small people around, take a moment now

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to pause this and get yourself some headphones.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m going to share a podcast review with you before we dive in today’s topic. And this one is

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Nyk Danu Yoga: sweet and simple.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: awesome podcast for Yin Yoga teachers. This is by Erox. 12.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Nick is incredibly knowledgeable and lives and breathes the practice. Give her podcast a listen.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Thank you. Erox.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I like your handle. By the way.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so this will be the second to last

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Nyk Danu Yoga: episode of the 3rd season. I can’t believe that we’re already nearing the end of the 3rd season

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and then we’ll take a small break and we’ll be back in the New Year

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Nyk Danu Yoga: today. I wanted to talk more about

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Nyk Danu Yoga: winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and how winter

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Nyk Danu Yoga: is viewed sort of in Taoism and in Chinese medicine, which is quite different than how we deal with it in the West.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And any wisdom that we can gleam from that, and

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Nyk Danu Yoga: also for those of you that are teachers to start to take kind of some of this wisdom and energy into your classes and also into your own practice. So that’s what we’re going to talk about today.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, I have already done

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Nyk Danu Yoga: last year at the at this time I did an episode called. You are wintering where I talk about why.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: planning New Year’s resolutions at that time of year is not a smart idea. I will link that one in the episode notes which are always available on my website. So if you ever want to see the full show notes. Just click the link and go over there.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I will also include

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Nyk Danu Yoga: a link to the overview that I did, or sort of the 1 0 1 on the 5 elements. There is an episode earlier in this season on that. So I’ll also link to that one. If you wanna hear about the other ones, the other elements and the other seasons, or if you just kind of want to hear more about this, if this is fascinating to you, like it is to me

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Nyk Danu Yoga: also. If you are listening to this, live when it comes out, I will. I don’t have a date set yet, but I will also be doing a Mini workshop on this. A little yin yoga for winter Mini workshop again. Links will be in the episode notes if you want to join that. And if you’re listening to this like way after

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this goes live once I have a recording for that little free workshop that

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that’ll be a free workshop case. I didn’t mention that. I will put. I’ll just embed it in

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in the blog post once. Once I have

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to hot it and have the video, I’ll add it to the blog post or my show notes, so that those of you that missed it live can can join. So all of that. Now let’s get into today’s topic. So wintertime.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now, I’ve mentioned in previous episodes that the Gregorian calendar, which is the one that we follow in the West, is very different than the lunar calendar or the Chinese calendar, and so the seasons also start at different times. But I’m using our Western seasons as markers, because that’s what most of us are familiar with.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I realize that those of you that live in Australia and New Zealand. If you’re in the land down under that this is not winter for you. It is the opposite. So my apologies feel free to

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Nyk Danu Yoga: pause this episode and return to it when you are wintering.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay, let’s get into some talk about winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: shall we?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: For those of you that are watching this on Youtube as opposed to just listening. And did you know, dear listener, you can also watch these on Youtube. So if you are more of a visual person

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Nyk Danu Yoga: rather than a auditory person.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You’re always welcome to check out Youtube. The videos that I post on Youtube are far less edited than the audio format.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Simply because it’s just more of a kind of organic live. This is what this is what you get. Now, if there’s any real big, long delays, or, like, you know, huge screw ups, I take them out. But otherwise the videos are a little bit more live off the floor and the audio. I remove more of the ums and etc, etc.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So if you would prefer to watch, you can always do that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And while I’m there, let’s just mention this. If you are watching this on Youtube, if you have ideas for the next season, if you have yin Yoga questions. If you have topic ideas, let me know in the comments for those of you listening on spotify. There’s now a comments feature so you could add it

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Nyk Danu Yoga: on there. And if you’re listening to this on itunes, and you’re thinking, can’t I share my ideas, too? Oh, yes, you can. Please just find me on Instagram

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Nyk Danu Yoga: at Nick Danu, Yoga, or at Yin Yoga podcast and just send me a DM.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Let me know if there are questions or topics that you are really itching to to have covered. Because one of my biggest fears, I’ve mentioned it in other episodes. When I started this podcast was running out of topic ideas. So whenever you have a really niched top, podcast so in yoga, pretty niched, you run the risk of maybe running out of subject matter at some point. So please let me know if you have

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Nyk Danu Yoga: quandaries, questions, confusions, conundrums, ideas that you would like me to cover, and I’m happy to do so. If I already have an episode on that, I’ll share the link with you, and if I don’t, I’m happy to add it to the little list.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay, let us talk about winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: shall we? So for those of you that live in the norm northern hemisphere, when this goes live. We’re approaching wintertime.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and we may not have hit the actual 1st day of winter yet, but we’re getting there.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So thought I would talk a little bit about winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So winter, according to Taoism and Tcm. Is connected to the element of water.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The phase is full yin, so this is the yinest of the yenist of the yin times of year.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: summer being the polar opposite being the most young

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Nyk Danu Yoga: winter, and water element is the most yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The color is blue, black.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: which can be confusing, but it is often listed as both. But think of the color as

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest, deepest blue where you’re not really sure. Is that dark dark blue, or is that black? It’s that color

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Nyk Danu Yoga: sort of like. If you were going way down deep in the ocean to the point where the light was no longer visible. It’s that kind of a color.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I mentioned that water and winter are connected.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The climate or the climactic factor they sometimes call it in Chinese medicine is colds.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The internal organs are the kidneys and the bladder, and so that would also be the meridians and the sinew channels, which are actually more useful to us as

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Nyk Danu Yoga: yoga professionals than knowing about the meridians.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: kidney and the bladder

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Nyk Danu Yoga: kidney being the yin and bladder being the more young of the 2,

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 3 to 5 Pm. Is the time of the bladder

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and 5 Pm. To 7 Pm. Is the time of the kidneys.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The direction is north.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The emotion is fear.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The stage of development is storage.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and the energetic quality is conserving.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: We’re going to talk more about this conserving element in a little bit more. Here

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the sound is groaning.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the emotion

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Nyk Danu Yoga: again is fear, but the virtues are strength, courage, and wisdom.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So this will become a little bit more clear as we talk about sort of

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the principles of what we would do at this time of year if we were being wise, if we were following sort of nature and Taoist wisdom, what would we be like in the wintertime?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So here is a quote from the inner classic of the Yellow Emperor, which is sort of a

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Nyk Danu Yoga: key

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Nyk Danu Yoga: text, you could say in Chinese medicine.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and it talks about the teachings of winter and the relationship to the kidneys

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Nyk Danu Yoga: during the winter months all things in nature wither, hide, return home

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and enter a resting period.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: just as the lakes

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and rivers freeze and the snow falls.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is a time when yin dominance young dominates Yang.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is a time when Yin dominates Yang.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Therefore.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: one should refrain from overusing young energy.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: retire early.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: get up with the sunrise, which is later in winter

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Nyk Danu Yoga: desires and mental activities should be kept quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Stay warm, avoid the cold, and keep the skin covered.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Avoid sweating.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The theory of winter season is one of conservation and storage.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Without such practice the result will be injury to the kidney energy.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This will cause weakness, shrinking of muscles, and coldness

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Nyk Danu Yoga: when the body loses its ability

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to open and move about in spring.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: It is a concentrated internal force of winter that enables

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the burst forward of spring growth.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Okay?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the energy of

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Nyk Danu Yoga: water

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Nyk Danu Yoga: is rest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Now there is still work going on.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but it’s a more internal work.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and although it’s less visible, the time of work in the winter is still very deep and very poignant.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The energy is collected and held in reserve.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and this deeply nourishing yin time of year gives us the needed energy.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: going into our inner landscape, into our hearts and our minds, to discover our vision and our purpose.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and to learn about what is working in our lives what is not working in our lives? It is a time of deep reflection.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This deeply nourishing yin time of year gives us that vision and purpose and clarity

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Nyk Danu Yoga: which we emerge with in the spring, which is actually the season of growth.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and bringing on new things and renewal of spirit and fresh starts.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So in wintertime we get it backwards. In our Western culture, we start thinking about our New Year’s resolutions and all the things that we’re going to do, and all the habits we’re going to break, and all the new habits we’re going to bring in.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And this is why New Year’s resolutions are rarely successful for 2 reasons.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you haven’t embraced the fall which we’ve already talked about in this season.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and you haven’t gone through that process of letting go.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: then, if you haven’t let go.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you don’t even have space in your life

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Nyk Danu Yoga: for the new things, for the New Year’s resolutions, the new habits, all of the things, because most of us are busy.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And so there’s that fall element of letting go

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Nyk Danu Yoga: clearing out, letting go of what doesn’t serve you, whether that be stuff or energies, or habits, or

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Nyk Danu Yoga: other people in your life, whatever it is.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and then the energy of winter

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Nyk Danu Yoga: is time for that internal work.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is the time that we schedule in more time to discover yourself

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Nyk Danu Yoga: through reflection.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: meditation, Yoga, journaling, dream work.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: gentle breath work.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: These are all great winter activities, and those activities

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Nyk Danu Yoga: can help us to work through fear. And sometimes the depression that can happen in wintertime.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If we’re not careful.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: we can fall into the habit of seeking out things that bring us light and joy in the winter. Look at the whole holiday season right? It’s all about light and joy, and bright and loud, and being social, and, you know, entertaining and seeing people.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but rather what would be wiser is in this season

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to make a deeper connection to yourself

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and to those closest to you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: a deeper connection.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So not a sort of surface social obligation. I have to go to all these things kind of a connection.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is a deeper connection to those that are closest to you.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but we have to be really mindful that we’re not overextending ourselves, which I see so many people do in this time of year of the holidays. Right? So if you celebrate any kind of holidays, whether it be Hanukkah or Christmas, or Kwanzaa in this time of year, or solstice, or Yule whatever it is.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: You want to be really mindful

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that we’re finding that harmony

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Nyk Danu Yoga: of that fire energy which is that socializing going outward, you know, entertaining all that

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and the water, the yin, the stillness, the introspection.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So this is what we need in order to have a well Psyche and some well-being.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If in this yinest of the yin time of year we go way over with the Yang, and we do all the things.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Then we usually get sick. Have you ever noticed how many people get sick right after the

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Nyk Danu Yoga: winter holidays?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: It’s like the body holds on through the whole madness of the holiday season, and then, as soon as it’s over, bam, you get a cold or you get a flu.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is not

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Nyk Danu Yoga: accidental. There’s a reason this happens, and it’s because

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Nyk Danu Yoga: we didn’t have the wisdom during

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the fall

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to clear out and let go. And then the wisdom in the winter to rest and to go inward, and to have that deeper

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Nyk Danu Yoga: sense of going inward.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So in this most yin season.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: energetically.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the retraction of Chi flows more deeply inside of us.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So there’s a depth to the season. If you learn listening can invite you to connect with the core of your being.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: or any untouched emotions, or anything that you haven’t processed.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: And if you think about nature, and you look at the animals they’re doing this, I mean bears hibernate. There’s animals that actually hibernate all winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But somehow, of course, because we have electricity and also our human arrogance, we just continue on. We just keep

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Nyk Danu Yoga: keep on just like we have been

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Nyk Danu Yoga: all through the winter season without taking any of these

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Nyk Danu Yoga: things into account. Without coming to this wisdom of nature.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: There is like a death in nature in winter, and less activity.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: less excitement, less stimulation, stimulation. It’s darker.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: which automatically gives nature the cue to

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to sleep, more to rest more.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: We, of course, have all of our bright lights on, and so, you know, we just keep going. And I mentioned in the

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the other episode I did earlier in the season, about fall

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Nyk Danu Yoga: about some options for lighting, so can you switch to more candle lights?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Can you turn your devices off.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you know, at least 2 h before bed and do something more quiet? Maybe some yoga.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: maybe some reading, maybe some journal writing.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So for some of us the Chi of this season can contribute to depression. Sads is a real thing

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Nyk Danu Yoga: or loneliness, especially for those of you that are really extroverted.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and maybe that seasonal affective disorder. I know that I get a bit of that seasonal affective disorder simply because I live in Canada. And so at a certain point in the fall

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Nyk Danu Yoga: starts to get dark real early.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and yet others, those of us that are quite introverted will feel a relief actually for this opportunity to pause and do some internal work.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: reading, journaling, reflecting, and seeing what’s working for you, and what could change.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but not making those changes until springtime. Spring is the time of change.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So when we never take that pause

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and take that good amount of time a whole season to really do this. Reflecting, then we’re really tempted to come up with all these unrealistic New Year’s resolutions and start adding those in. And, to be honest, if you really question most of those resolutions. They may not even be things that you want. There’s a lot of noise around.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This time of year with the New Year in the Gregorian calendar about all the things we should do, all the changes we should make.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Don’t shit all over yourself.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Take this opportunity in this winter season to really reflect. Ask yourself questions. What do I want?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What do I not have enough of? What can I let go? Of?

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Nyk Danu Yoga: What are voices telling me that I should do this New Year’s resolution, I should change this about my life that aren’t even your own voice.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is what we want to do in winter.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So we don’t work on the changes. If we’re following the nature’s

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Nyk Danu Yoga: wisdom. If we’re following this Taoist point of view, if we’re listening to. Tcm, we’re not making big changes in our life until spring.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: That’s when the new things come in.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: For now in winter we’re resting.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is why rest is so crucial

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this time of year that overwork, lack of sleep really depletes the

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Nyk Danu Yoga: element, and the kidneys

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Nyk Danu Yoga: especially.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: We could focus on foods that share the quality of weather.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: We can choose to focus on foods that share the qualities of the water element.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: colors that are dark, salty tastes.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: content, that is hydrating and nourishing. So I gave some examples in the episode I did about fall.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: but there are

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Nyk Danu Yoga: others here, so nuts and seeds, legumes, shellfish for those of you that eat fish.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Saltwater, fish, seaweed.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: dark colored berries, root vegetables, stews, and soups.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and we’re also switching to eating warm or cooked foods and limiting raw foods to a bare minimum at this time of year.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and a great time to start introducing the warming, warming spices like

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Nyk Danu Yoga: ginger and cardamom.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So in this darkest part of the year, in this most yin time in the yinest of the yin.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: when the days are shortest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Nature asks you to slow down, pour yourself a cuppa.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: be with loved ones, or spend more time alone

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to listen to your heart

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Nyk Danu Yoga: rather than to speak.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: In this time of year. The earth silently is sleeping, the seeds are resting, waiting for spring, and the animals are hibernating. And we, my friend, are animals.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: However, we as humans, we’re not wise, rush out frantically to malls, dressing ourselves out with activities.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: When really.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: if we’re really listening, what we want is to rest, to dream, to gather strength in our bodies for the upcoming season

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and the activity of spring.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So nature teaches us that resting and drawing inward is a time that is present for all living things, not just for our animal friends.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and that this rest is so necessary

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that comes later in this season.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: We need this rest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: If you do not take the rest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: your body will take it for you. It will plant you on your ass with some sign of cold or flu that you have to deal with.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m gonna read you a poem.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: This is by Ruth Barrett, and I think it really summarizes quite well

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in the darkest part of the year, when the days are shortest, nature asks us to slow down and enjoy a cup of warm tea

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to be with loved ones.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: close loved ones.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’m going to share a poem with you that was written by Ruth

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Barrett.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: which summarizes this winter

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Nyk Danu Yoga: quite well

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in the darkest part of the year, when the days are shortest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: nature asks us to slow down and enjoy a cup of warm tea.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to be with loved ones, to listen rather than speak.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Under the ground. The earth silently sleeps.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: seeds rest in suspended animation, and the animals hibernate

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in contrast. We humans rush around frantically to malls, stressing ourselves out with activity when really we yearn to rest.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: dream.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: gather strength in our bodies for the upcoming season of renewal.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Nature teaches us that resting, drawing inward for a time is present in all living things.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: Rest is necessary for the growth

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that comes later in the season.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so I don’t think I could have said it better myself.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So just as an overview

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Nyk Danu Yoga: this episode on

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Nyk Danu Yoga: water.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the element of water

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Nyk Danu Yoga: in the season of winter

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Nyk Danu Yoga: a summary.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So the phase is full yin

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Nyk Danu Yoga: deepest, deepest yin, the most yin-like activities.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The color is blue, black.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the season is winter, the climate is cold, the organs are the kidney and the bladder.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: 3 pm. To 5 pm. Is for the bladder. 5 to 7 is for the kidneys.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The direction is north.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The emotion is fear, and the stage of development is storage.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the energy quality is conserving.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: the sound is groaning.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and the virtues are strength, courage, and wisdom.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So when we take this time to dive in to ourselves.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and to ask questions, and to journal, and to

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Nyk Danu Yoga: daydream and ponder about

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Nyk Danu Yoga: what it is in our life that we

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Nyk Danu Yoga: want to change or what’s working, what’s not working, what our heartfelt desires are when we do that, when we take that time

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that’s going to give us inner strength and fortitude, courage and wisdom.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so that when we get to the spring, which is the time of making the new things happen.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: that we are doing so from a place of

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Nyk Danu Yoga: deep reflection

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and springtime is the time that we are going to put plans into action that we may make changes. Now, if you haven’t done the clearing of fall, though, if you haven’t let some things go, and you think you’re just gonna add new habits in the spring

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and add new things to your life when you’re already really busy, not overly realistic.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So when we work with the cycles of nature, we have this wisdom.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and we make space in the fall, we reflect in the winter, so that we can envision and create in the spring.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So this is the time to be still

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to be quiet, to reflect, to rest more.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and I hope that you take this as an invitation, and I realize that this is difficult.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: When you have the holidays.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: you know, especially for those of you that are doing gifts and entertaining and baking and cooking, and all of that stuff.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I haven’t celebrated the holidays in that way for many years. Sort of the presence and the big gathered gatherings, and all of that.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: But I will give you a little tip to to plant for you for those of you that get overwhelmed at this time of year.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: One thing that I used to do when I did still do. All the holiday gift exchanges was, I would actually do that all year.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So anytime I was out and about, and I saw something that a loved one that I would probably need to buy a Christmas gift for would love. I bought it.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and then I just tucked it in my little tickle trunk.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So then, when birthdays and Christmas come up.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: I’ve already got stuff there.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: The other thing you can do is put a note in your agenda in like October or November.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: to start your holiday shopping.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: so that by the time that winter rolls around you can bake in advance for those of you that are bakers. You can bake stuff and free stuff, so do it slowly in bite size doses, so that when the winter rolls around you’re not completely overwhelmed, and you’re doing all the things, and then bam right after the holidays you get sick.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: So that’s my words of wisdom for you for this season of winter

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Nyk Danu Yoga: for the water element. I hope that you find some of this helpful I hope it’s given you some Ahas and some themes that you can work with.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: and until we meet again.

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Nyk Danu Yoga: bye, for now.