Phew! That's January over with, my least favourite month of the year! I always start February feeling uplifted that it's a short month, followed by March which brings the start of Spring. I'm all about the Spring and the Summer and will freely admit to struggling in the Winter months. If you are too, here are some of the things that help me:
- being outside in nature, wrapping up warm and walking always helps. If there's sun out there, it's a huge pick me up!
- eating well and healthily. Winter is not the time to skip meals, but I feel so much better when I incorporate more fruit and vegetables into my diet. I'm currently all about the smoothie again - frozen berries, pineapple, ginger give me an instant pickup
- physical exercise, even just dancing around my kitchen makes me feel good. MOVE that body and don't forget to STRETCH
- candles, there's something magical about candlelight
- an oil burner with gorgeous uplifting aromatherapy oils always makes me feel good. Scented candles can be just as good, but as a trained aromatherapist I like to choose oils to burn that match what my mood needs.
- decluttering. During the Winter months, we spend a lot more time indoors. It's a great idea to take advantage of that time by really getting rid of stuff that's unnecessary. Whenever, I actually employ enough discipline to declutter I find it very therapeutic.
- Daffodils and yellow jumpers! Every wondered why hospital walls are often yellow? Yellow is the colour of happiness and hope. Just being near something of that colour can make you feel more cheerful. There are lots of theories as to why this might be, one of the more popular being, that its the same colour as the sun! It works for me!
- Early nights and less alcohol. I've never done dry January since I started drinking, but there's no doubt that it messes with my sleep and that in turn has a direct consequence on my general well-being.
- Meditation and breath work. I love starting the day this way and taking some time to meditate and stretch makes a difference to my mood and how I start the day.
- Only socialising when I truly want to - for me this means mostly during the day. I'm all about the lunch or early evening date until around April, when I'm far more excited about leaving a warm, cozy home! Its taken me a lot of years (and a couple of lockdowns!) to realise that I don't enjoy nights out in the Winter enough to make the effort! Sorry friends, see you in the Spring! xxx
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