Warm the Winter Blues
It’s the shortest day of the year. It’s Winter Soulstice and it's into the light from here my friends. However that doesn’t mean that we’re still not experiencing the blues that come with Winter. I mean, it’s cold, its freezing and it’s wet. It’s not the most attractive of weather right?
Winter really affects me. It’s a time of year where all I want to do is disconnect and run away to another place in the world with blue skies and sunshine. So I get it. We all want a little bit more sunshine in our lives right now.
Some of us experience the Winter blues a lot worse than others and there’s actually a name for it. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder happens when you experience depressive symptoms such as too much sleep, little energy, and you may also feel down from the change in weather. It’s ok. You’re not the only one. What’s better, you can change how it affects you.
Four ways to warm the Winter Blues:
1. Get accountable. Lost motivation in your goals? Find a friend to help keep you accountable and check in with each other every day. It might be nutrition related, training related, study related. Whatever it is, get real with one another about why you’re not meeting your goals and be the motivation you both need to help one another get there!
2. Connect with friends. Summer is about BBQ’s, party times and a whole lot of fun! Winter is about (snowboarding?)… Yeah… Winter we like to hibernate and we don’t often get out and see our friends. So why not change that? Host a Mid-Winter Christmas party or a pot luck dinner. Get your friends around for a night of good food, laughs and soul-full required conversation and catch-ups.
3. Try something new. A lot of the adventure that comes with Summer is that we’re out doing new things all the time. So why not try something new this Winter? Is there something that you’ve been wanting to try for a long time? Do it! Grab a friend and hit up a cooking class, a handstand class, or whatever it is that you’ve been wanting to do for a while now. There’s excitement in trying something new!
4. Get out and get moving. On days where the sun is shining make sure that you make the most of it and get outside. Go for an early morning run, or better yet, grab some friends and go for a hike in nature. We need all the extra sunlight we can get during Winter and moving our bodies gives us those feel good endorphin's that improve our mood.
You can thaw out the iciness of Winter and make it warm if you just keep moving. It’s about continuing to move forward, even when you don’t quite feel like it.
Remember - just keep moving.
With love.