More Winter Self-care

The Body as an Electrical Battery Pack

As well as considering our chemistry and biology, what if we were also electrical?

Some schools of thought suggest this and that, like batteries, if we don’t have the right polarity and are not sufficiently charged this can lead to cancer and chronic inflammatory conditions.

Are there some days when you just feel totally exhausted and depleted? What contributes to this? Over work, lack of sleep, demanding or negative people, too much screen time, worry about money, the state of the world and any number of things etc. etc.

What are the things that restore your energy? It’s well known that being in nature, especially by the sea or walking in a forest (the Japanese call it forest bathing) is helpful, having bare feet on the beach and being close to our fur friends and human friends and whanau generally provides us with good feelings and positive energy. Then there are other more specific things that differ for all of us depending on what our interests are. You know what helps you feel good. How much time in any given day is spent helping you feel better and recharging you?

Stress and the Nervous System

If we’re chronically stressed and unable to relax this also impacts our wellbeing. If we’re re-living difficult experiences in the past or worrying about the future we don’t have a lot of energy for today! The present moment truly is a gift we need to appreciate and attend to as it is the only time we have the power of choice to change any given situation. Our thoughts affect our feelings and behaviour. How many of us beat ourselves up after making a mistake or cruelly criticise ourselves for any number of things? If self-criticism became self-compassion and we treated ourselves as we would a valued best forever friend we’d feel a whole lot better!

Cycles of Nature

In an ideal world we’d be able to slow down and rest more during the winter months when the days are shorter and colder. Bears hibernate and whilst we don’t need to do that we can possibly work from home some days and choose to do less at this time of year. Some cultures are also very aware of the cycle of the moon and having a more productive time when it’s full and lighter in the sky and being more reflective and doing less when it’s smaller and darker in the sky. Women’s monthly cycles can be a reminder of this need to slow down at certain times of the month and if we can be more in tune with our body’s needs we can prevent many health issues.

Setting Limits and saying “No”

As part of this self-care it’s helpful to recognise how we feel in different situations. To notice when we genuinely want to do something and to also be aware when we feel put upon or resentful about being expected to do something. Having the ability to calmly and assertively say “No” is a necessary skill to manage our time and value our wellbeing.