Winter is nearly here, a time of shorter days and focusing inward. According to Traditional Chinese medicine, it is the season of the element water, and the corresponding organs, the kidneys.  Taoist master Bruce Frantzis recently offered this advice:

 "December is coming, do anything you can to build up your kidneys during the winter season and get a lot of rest. The winter is the time of the regeneration of your body for the rest of the year. And I hope the forces of universe bring this opportunity into your life."

We can use Longevity Breathing Yoga to relax and open our breathing so that each breath provides a gentle massage to the kidneys.  Taking  even a few a few minutes daily to practice the following simple warm-ups and posture can provide significant benefit.

The following blog was written by guest blogger Claire Lorman, a college student at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. She practices Longevity Breathing yoga with Ellen Pucciarelli in Washington, DC during college breaks.

There are some people in this world who seem to be made of rubber bands, not skin and bones. They can make themselves into pretzel shapes without a second thought, making people like me – who cannot claim flexibility as a skill – look at them in wonder.

 The following excerpts are of Taoist Lineage Master, Bruce Frantzis recently speaking about Longevity Breathing yoga on September 5, 2009.

Taoist Lineage holder Bruce Frantzis recently taught a weeklong retreat "Longevity Breathing Yoga:  Meditation From the Inside Out" in the San Francisco Bay Area.  There were a few Hatha yoga instructors who participated in learning these ancient teachings from China, and as I've been discussing in recent blogs, Longevity Breathing Yoga allows the practitioner to work from the "inside out", utilizing a different approach than most forms of Hatha yoga. I had the opportunity to interview one of the yoga instructors in attendance about her experiences and overall impression of the practice.