We are at that place on the timeline again, moving deeper into the darkness, the unknown, and it can feel like sinking to the bottom of a deep, dark lake. For these next few weeks our bodies will know a darkness more complete and enveloping than at any other point of the year. Can we allow that sinking to take us and trust it?

Once our toes touch the soft lake floor, in just ten more days, we begin our ascent, but we will still be in the mysterious depths. Can we cultivate some faith or shradha, that we will, indeed, find our way back to the surface and breathe sweet spring air one day?

Are there treasures we would miss if we kept up our usual frenzy of "holiday cheer"? What about surrendering to sleep and some restful time away from all that typically pulls at us? I found inspiration in this poem, to begin backing away from my own expectations and the anticipointments that often fog my thoughts at this time of year. 

Perhaps
for a moment
the typewriters will stop clicking,
the wheels stop rolling
the computers desist from computing,
and a hush will fall over the city.
For an instant, in the stillness,
the chiming of the celestial spheres will be heard
as earth hangs poised
in the crystalline darkness, and then
gracefully
tilts.

Let there be a season
when holiness is heard, and
the splendor of living is revealed.
Stunned to stillness by beauty
we remember who we are and why we are here.
There are inexplicable mysteries.
We are not alone.
In the universe there moves a Wild One
whose gestures alter earth’s axis
toward love.

In the immense darkness
everything spins with joy.
The cosmos enfolds us.
We are caught in a web of stars,
cradled in a swaying embrace,
rocked by the holy night,
babes of the universe.
Let this be the time
we wake to life,
like spring wakes, in the moment
of winter solstice.

                             - Rebecca Parker

Yoga sutra 1.10 speaks of the fifth state possible for our minds (Remember our study? So long ago?). It's called Nidra or sleep. This mind state includes the actual sleep, deep and dreamless, that is the foundation of all aspects of health. Please sleep as much as you can, taking your cues from the bears and woodchucks, and these mid-afternoon sunsets. If you want to go to bed right now, do it!

Another option is Yoga Nidra. This is a practice that imitates the body's state of sleep, but while you're still conscious. According to Paige Jarvie Brettingen, "Yoga nidra is the answer to burnout, stress, anxiety, and our body’s need for rest...it will take you to a blissful state of relaxation and allow you to feel as though you’ve had hours of deep sleep.".

Click here to check out a yoga nidra practice I recorded on Insight Timer, along with a few other free meditations.
https://insighttimer.com/catenright