YogMantra | You Don’t Need Winter-Specific Yoga. Here’s A ‘Good-Enough’ Routine That Works

Last Updated:December 27, 2025, 09:50 IST

Read to know about common-sense advice from Ayurveda and Yoga that’ll help you beat not just winter woes, but stay healthy all year

Winter is finally here, and in every city I recently visited, people around me were coughing persistently. Curious, I asked an Ayurveda doctor for advice, and what she told me was eye-opening: “It’s actually acid reflux manifesting as cough. People’s eating habits are not allowing pitta (the element that controls the body’s heat and digestion) to settle. You’ll find some people even experiencing vomiting and fever.” She was right.

Winter foods tend to be heavy, and we often end up eating them after sunset, late in the evening. The result is hyperacidity and acid reflux. Combine this with reduced physical activity and lower water intake, and you have a perfect recipe for dyspepsia and GERD cough.

The solution is simple. Explains Delhi-based doctor Vaidya Purnima Midha: “In any season, the rules are the same.” She lists them out as:

1. Eat with the sun: Your last meal should be around 7:00-7:30pm. If you’re hungry later, have milk or soup.

2. Eat seasonal foods: Kapha dosha — associated with the Earth element — provides strength and grounding when foods are taken in the right quantities, without overloading the system.

3. Lunch should be your heavier meal: As they say, ‘eat like a pauper at night’.

4. Eat only when hungry, not to please anyone: Especially at celebrations and parties.

Following these rules keeps most diseases at bay — in winter and throughout the year. However, once a disease develops, these rules must be adjusted to a patient-specific, illness-specific diet.

THE YOGA PARALLEL & THE UNIVERSAL RULES THAT APPLY

My own experience with Yoga over the decades has been similar. Contrary to popular opinion, winters do not need a sudden introduction of “Winter Asanas”. Your regular set of Asanas, practised daily, is sufficient to tackle common complaints like stiffness, back and knee pain, circulation issues or constipation.

The Yoga routine can largely remain the same across seasons — provided it covers certain basic requirements. If illness has already set in, however, the routine should be adjusted accordingly.

One such ‘good enough’ Yoga sequence that has stood the test of time was devised by renowned Yoga guru and founder of The Yoga Institute, Shri Yogendra. To be ‘good enough’, it takes into account the following:

1. Every part of the body needs exercise, so the ideal Yoga course should cover the arms, legs, neck, chest, abdomen, waist, spine, and internal organs.

2. Daily activities give some exercise to various muscles, so the main need of physical education is to exercise muscles that are rarely used or not used at all. Yoga practices are designed carefully to provide adequate exercise to these muscles.

3. The daily exercise routine should have an equal amount of exercise for all muscle groups.

4. The training system should not be complicated or strenuous so as to make daily practice prohibitive, especially if the exercises require skill to master.

5. Exercises should be simple and coordinated with breathing.

6. Start slow but steady — even twice a week is good initially.

7. For static poses, start with five seconds and then increase duration up to three minutes.

THE ‘GOOD-ENOUGH’ ASANA ROUTINE

Sukhasana (Easy pose): First, establish inner composure and eliminate muscular and nervous agitation.

Talasana (Palm Tree pose, four variations): Helps full stretching of the body that allows internal organs to have enough space. This increases elasticity, capacity and blood circulation to the thorax region and lungs.

• Variation 1: One arm upward while raising heels and inhaling, hold breath at tiptoe, exhale lowering arms and heels.

• Variation 2: Both arms raised from front.

• Variation 3: Arms lifted from the sides, palms joined above head.

• Variation 4: Hands crossed at wrists, raised from front.

Konasana (Angle pose): Follows vertical stretching, to stretch the spine laterally, through alternate-side stretching and contraction. Its three variations stretch the less-used muscles of the sides and also massage internal organs on the sides.

Utkatasana (Chair pose or semi-standing on tiptoe): Involves a squatting action that helps strengthen legs and pelvis.

Bhadrasana (Throne pose): Exercises the less-used muscles of thighs and pelvis, also stimulates reproductive organs.

Yogamudra (Yogic Seal pose): Provides maximum spinal stretch and circulation, exercises the neck muscles, and creates deep intra-abdominal compression in the colon that aids elimination.

Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend): Dynamic and static versions stimulate abdominal organs, thus relieving constipation. It also stretches ankles, legs, shoulders and back, and relieves stiffness.

Dhanurvakrasana (Bow pose): Counter-pose to Paschimottanasana, it places additional pressure on the umbilical region and provides a deep stretch to abdominal and pelvic muscles. Improves blood circulation in lower abdomen.

Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes pose): Right and left twists of the spinal column improve the spine’s curvature, flexibility, and circulation in the abdomen.

Pavanmuktasana (Wind-relieving pose): Exercises the urogenital, anal, sacral, umbilical and central abdominal regions.

Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand): Exercises head and neck, improves blood circulation to the chest, head and brain. The gravity-pressure helps all organs above the waist including the endocrine glands.

Savasana (Corpse pose): Conscious rest and relaxation to all muscles. Combined with deep breathing, it removes all muscular and nervous fatigue.

In essence, seasonal gimmicks are not required. A ‘good-enough’ Yoga practice, coupled with common-sense eating habits, can keep a person healthy all year round.

(Note to readers: 1. The prone (lying on the floor) Asanas must be practised slowly and gradually to work up strength, especially for those who do not exercise regularly. 2. Attempt Sarvangasana very gradually, and in parts, over weeks. Avoid doing this after rigorous exercise as the rush of blood to the brain can cause harm. 3. Check with your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise regimen. Always learn Yoga from an experienced teacher or an established Yoga school.)

(The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com)