Live Whole Health #203: Embrace the winter sun

We may feel like we get less time with the sun in winter than in the summer, but it’s actually a perfect time to practice sun salutations! This yoga movement may help improve your strength, balance and flexibility.

The sun salutation is a series of yoga postures that takes the body through various movements. Some variations of the sun salutation include moving from a standing position down to the floor and back up. There are also ways to do sun salutations seated in a chair or standing without moving down to the floor.

Follow along with St. Louis VA Medical Center’s yoga teacher, Katherine Hillgren, to learn and practice this valuable yoga pattern.

Yoga is a practice that often incorporates slow, gentle movements and held positions that engage the large muscles in our body. A focused attention on the movements and breathing practices encourage the mind-body connection that makes up part of the power of yoga for health and quality of life. This video may be a good introduction to the practice by learning just one movement pattern. Many VA facilities offer a variety of yoga classes, and you can inquire with your local Whole Health Facility Contact about local programs, services and more. If there is no Point of Contact listed for your state or region, please contact your local VA facility for more information.

Once you feel comfortable with this movement, you can practice sun salutations regularly at home. This is a great movement to use to start your day or as a quick break during the day. Just moving through the sun salutations a couple times may be enough to get your blood flowing.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be “exercise” to prevent and help manage dozens of ailments. Learn what type of movement works for your lifestyle and goals in this Introduction to Moving the Body. Or learn how an active lifestyle can decrease the risk of long-term health problems by decreasing inflammation in the body here.