Winter is a time of year to nurture, rejuvenate and reflect on the year so far. Unlike Summer where we feel happy, inspired and motivated to socialise and work on our goals, winter can often bring about SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

This is common amongst people when the sun starts to hide behind the clouds as we are no longer are receiving our inspiration from the warmth of the sun. The truth is our body needs all four seasons, as each encourages its own therapeutic affect on the body.

Its essential to use this time to re-connect with loved ones, read positive and inspirational books, while incorporating meditation. These activities will ground you and set you up for an uplifting Spring.

If you are challenged with personal obstacles, it can be even more difficult as there are less distractions around you. This may require you to address the elephant in the room and identify what you can perhaps change or do in order to push forward and overcome your obstacles.

What resources do you have available to you? People, knowledge, experience? Sometimes we feel helpless but in reality if we stop and take a breath the answers are right there, we have just been ignoring them and focusing on the pain of it all.

This is where meditation and mindfulness brings you to the present moment and allows your brain to problem solve. This may be difficult to centre your thoughts at first, however push through as the lessons in each obstacle awaits you on the other side when you are able to resolve your challenge 

Below are some tips you can use during winter to help nurture, rejuvenate and inspire your body and soul.

Mediate & Socialise:

It’s the time of year to feed your body as well as your soul. So with the colder weather many of us will hibernate and minimise socialising which can have a negative impact on our mind and body. Be sure to keep your social circles active during this time, perhaps choosing more indoor activities such as the movies, dinner parties and good old fashion chats around a warm fire.

Make time for Exercise:

Exercise regularly as the colder months can often result in an exacerbation of joint aches and pains. By keeping up a regular exercise regimen you are promoting blood circulation and consistent endorphin release to keep you positive and healthy.

Go to bed early:

Sleeping early will promote the healing process of your skin and body. Getting to sleep early means you can minimise exposure to heating (which dries your skin), while simultaneously promoting the healing process.

Get Cooking:

Stews are a great idea as they fill you up and warm you all over, while providing intense nutritional content.

As I mentioned earlier, the food typically many of us crave in the colder months are warm foods such as stews, soups and baked foods. This is the reason I absolutely love winter; as these foods can easily be prepared in bulk and frozen for those times you haven’t had time to prepare dinner.

And add these foods to your winter diet:

• Vegetables: asparagus, alfalfa, cabbage, carrots, celery, endives, lettuce, parsnips, spinach, turnips, watercress
• Fruits: apples and pears
• Meats: lamb, chicken, turkey
• Fish: Atlantic mackerel, bluefish, monkfish, Pacific salmon, red snapper

Try Acupuncture:

Acupuncture is a great way to promote circulation, specifically if you are feeling flat and unmotivated. Typically, we describe this as liver qi stagnation, which acupuncture is absolutely amazing to help move and getting you jumping out of the bed.

If you have never had acupuncture before, I’m sure you will love it.

• Needles are made from surgical stainless steel and used only once then discarded in a sharps container.
• Points on the body are typically located on the arms and legs.
• It is common to feel very relaxed after a 25 min acupuncture session, with many falling asleep during this time.
• Acupuncture is NOT painful. If you have experienced painful acupuncture I would encourage you to give it another go. Traditionally, acupuncture was administered by aggressively gathering qi, but researchers have shown that simply inserting the needle along the line of the meridian will instigate the effect we are looking to achieve.

For all new patients, we are offering a free box of our Organic Herbal Tea, Sereni-tea, to get you feeling great in no time. Simply let us know when booking your appointment, you have read this article and would like to enjoy some Sereni-tea in your life.

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Yours in Great Health,

Irene