“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.”
– Anton Chekhov
Hello My Saucy Souls!
It’s already been a long winter and spring still seems too long away. The relentless cold, the sun fickle with its affections, and all the colourful vibrancy of the summer a very distant memory…even the hardiest of us can find winter kicking our lethargic butt.
Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of people wishing winter a way and I say it’s a damn shame to have any time of this precious life wished away. So instead, how about we find ways to savour and energize the winter we have left? Here are a few little tips sure to rouse you from your winter cave…
7 WAYS TO BEAT THE WINTER BLAHS
1. Vibrant Foods – We tend to dive into the heavy carbs at the first sign of cold weather…further beaching us in our Winter Blahs. Instead try choosing foods that are colourful (AKA vitamin-rich), fresh, or spicy! Enliven your taste buds, enliven your mood.
2. Unpredictable Day – Shake yourself out of a hibernation rut by embarking on a “Day O’ Unpredictability”. If you usually dress in dark colours, go for red or hot pink. If you always use humour as your fallback, try having some really serious interactions. Take a different route to work, eat something completely different for lunch, or try a little something new sexually and sizzle away the blahs.
3. Heat Up Your Exercise – The treadmill and stationary bike don’t have a chance against the pull of hibernation, yet physical activity is imperative for energy boosting in this season. Try supercharging your body and soul with more exotic and pleasurable exercise pursuits like salsa lessons, swimming, belly dancing, or hot yoga. Not only will this wipe out the Winter Blahs, but it could also help you bypass the need for the scramble to lose 10 pounds before bikini/Speedo season.
4. Laughter Injections – Never mind Vitamin B shots…inject yourself with an awesome Will Ferrell movie, youtube video hijinks, or a good tickle! Laughter has been proven to increase energy, reduce food cravings, bust stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, fight illness, and provides the benefits of a light workout.
“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”
– Victor Hugo
5. Take it Outside – If you hide indoors from November to April, you’ll miss tapping into the energy of nature that is powerful in any season. Sure, it’s hard to compete with summer’s symphony of colours, smells, and tastes, but there is a beautiful stillness to be found in this season… One that invites you to catch snowflakes on your tongue, crack ice under your feet, and breathe the crispest of air in to wake up your system.
6. Margarita Therapy – If you don’t have the privilege of going away for a winter vacation (or yours is already long gone), head to the nearest festive Mexican resto and let the margaritas and mariachi music massage and ignite your sense of celebration, freedom, and fun.
7. Doses of Hibernation – This is the season when all of nature goes into hibernation and being part of nature ourselves, we need to honour this inner change in rhythm. Choose a morning or afternoon once a week when you don’t schedule a thing and just allow yourself to curl up in your big fluffy robe and read, meditate, drink tea, cuddle, or nap at will. Be ferocious in guarding your lair of downtime.
I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show. – Andrew Wyeth
So, my Winter Wonders – get that big cozy sweater on, breathe deeply into that crisp air, and remember to BE HERE NOW.
