Make this season one of calm, joy and wellbeing…

One of my favourite winter walks and fresh snow!

Have a winter of calm, joy and wellbeing.  Emerge from the season in a position of strength, health and happiness…

Winter has always been one of my favourite times of the year: I love the frosty days and all of the seasonal rituals.  This year, although different, has so far been really creative with lovely seasonal lights on display throughout the community as well as creative ways to celebrate.  In many ways it is an opportunity to get off the treadmill of what we used to do on autopilot, and consider what the season means to us personally, and how we can make the very best of what we have.

During this time, we need to take responsibility for caring for ourselves, not only so we are happier, but also so that we can support those around us.  By having an active responsibility for our own wellness, we will be able to feel restored and renewed.  Actively tending to your own wellness is just like caring for a garden - look after it and in doing so you see the rewards very quickly.  Our bodies are highly responsive, and adaptable to positive changes we choose to make.

So, take time to make space for yourself.  Spend 15 minutes just clearing the decks, physical or virtual - if you are working from home this is really important that you make a division between work and rest.  Don’t procrastinate - put a timer on and then get it done!  So much can be achieved very quickly and can make a tremendous difference and make you feel more rested and calm.

Be aware that you are most likely feeling very tired and carve out some time, no matter how long for for yourself.  What would you like to do that is helpful and supportive to you?  It does not have to be something huge, but making a space in the day just for yourself gives you a support base from which you can then be in a position to help others.

Seasonal stress is real - and we can often be the victim of our own thinking or expectations.  We have 60,000 thoughts a day - just take a minute out of reading this to observe them, like you would observe something externally.  Wait for a thought to arrive and consider: is it a helpful, supportive thought? That’s not to say challenges don’t exist in life - they do, and they are real.  However we have a choice, we can either stay in a loop of thinking negative thoughts, or predicting the future, or choose words or thoughts that move us forwards.

Staying present is something that allows us to really enjoy what we do have, so take time to really appreciate and look for the goodness in the season, in others, in nature.  It is that small active noticing that brings us real joy as we take stock of what is going on around us.  Take a moment to notice your breathing, we do this 20,000 times a day, have you taken one minute to listen in and feel your breath?  Just spending time with that inner focus can reap benefits of calm and wellbeing.    Breathing well is crucial to any aspect of wellbeing and the place to start is just be noticing your breath - it’s our bodies measure of what is going on.  Don’t worry if other thoughts drift in, that is normal at first, but the more you practice it the better you will become!

Keeping the balance:  we all love seasonal food!  And that is part of this wonderful celebration, however overload can leave us feeling lethargic as the body just struggles to process everything we throw at it.  Keeping hydrated goes hand in hand with this!  Ensuring the body has the right level of hydration not related to excess caffeine, sugar or alcohol helps support our organs busy working to keep us in a balanced state.  This allows the organs space to rejuvenate and strengthen our immune system.  That allows our bodies to function brilliantly, as they have been designed to do.

Make room for movement - find something you enjoy doing and just move.  Our current lifestyle leads us to sitting, slumping and lying around a lot more.  This puts our whole system into a state of compression - you literally need to move to make space in your body, in the muscles, joints and organs and in doing so you improve your physical and mental health, immune system, and wellbeing.  Go for a walk.  Move around the house, put on some music and move! Waiting for the kettle to boil?  Move around!  In a Zoom?  Move around!  So many of my clients have homework to do where they are moving in-between their sessions at times of the day I call windows of opportunity.  So many of them have hectic lifestyles where they do not have whole spaces in their day they can set aside, so instead they use time where they are waiting for something or doing something else to move. Everyone has time to do something no matter how big or small.  By committing to moving is a key step in taking active care of yourself, and feeling better in the body and the mind.

So hopefully you have found some of these ideas useful, or even better, you are actively doing these things already, wellbeing is a process, not a one off event.  But, once you start taking an active care for yourself, many other parts of the jigsaw start to slot into place. 

And if you are interested in moving mindfully next year and beyond to look after your own health and wellbeing do join in with my classes currently running.  The Somatic Movement Studio has many more workshops and masterclasses planned so have a look at what is coming up and join my mailing list so you are the first to find out!

© Sarah Pritchard, 2020-2021. All Rights Reserved.

DISCLAIMER: as I do not know your individual circumstances, none of my blogs, my videos, my guidance in the Facebook group or any other materials available to you where I have not taken you on as a one to one client shall be construed as advice and I shall have no liability to you in any circumstances should you choose to rely on any of the materials I publish.