This is a practice I’m sharing in my Mindful Movement classes this winter.

Winter is a time of year to go in… to hibernate a bit, to focus in. A time to evolve, cultivate and fuel your inner fire.

Your inner fire is your inner power, your unique essence, that part of you that burns bright and strong and makes you uniquely you. Taoists refer to it as your Tian Tien, a place just below and behind your navel.

The rest of the year, we more actively take that flame out into the world and share it. Winter, according to Ayurveda, is the time of year to focus on it, to fuel it with what you’ve learned from the past year and to clean and clear away everything you’re ready to let go of…. It’s time to brighten and polish your shining winter star.

1. Reflect

Start by reflecting on what you’ve learned this year that is helping your best self. And also on what you’ve evolved past and are ready to let go of. In short, what’s helping you burn bright and what’s blocking the light at bit.

2. Cultivate

Then sense, imagine or intend to bring those helpful lessons into your body as you inhale. Sense, imagine or intend to fuel your inner fire, deep down in your belly, with this chi or pranna that you’re inhaling. Inhale in and fill yourself with that knowledge, feeling or sensation. Fuel your fire to overflowing and fill your whole body with this knowledge, feeling or sensation.

3. Clean

Then as you exhale, sense, imagine or intend to let go of all of those things that you’re ready to let go of. Sense, imagine or intend that they flow down and out of your body and into the Earth, where she will recycle them.

Do this cycle of breath as many times as you like, inhaling the clean and clear fuel and exhaling (down) all that you don’t need anymore. When you feel complete, be still for a bit and settle into this feeling of being clean and clear, bright and shining – beautifully powered to be you.

Evolve

Now that you’re clear on what you’re currently wanting to cultivate and clean, you can easily do this practice anytime you want to power up your evolution this winter. Part of the evolution is that every time you do it, you take the time to reflect again, realizing that your knowledge and understanding will shift and grow. This will help bring to conscious awareness how you and your knowledge and understanding are transforming over time.

Doing this once a week is a nice amount of time to allow for personal change and to still be able to remember clearly where you were the week before. The evolution that I’m suggesting is less about noticing improvement and more about being aware of where you are this week (relative to last week), and cultivating where ever you are NOW by bringing it more clearly into conscious awareness.

It’s not so important that you think that you’re improving since last week (your conscious mind may not be aware of all that is happening inside of you nor judge accurately what real improvement is anyway), it’s more important that you bring to conscious awareness what powers you today. What helps you burn bright right now. And comparing that to last week is a nice way to notice how you’re changing (vs improving).

Cherish

We are incredibly bright and powerful beings and I notice that more clearly the more I do these kinds of practices that bring it to my attention!

So, take some time to go in this winter. Use the natural urges of the season to focus in, to fuel your fire, to burn brightly, to cherish your light.

Enjoy.