Here we are almost at the end of January already and the snow has finally started falling in recent weeks here in the northeast. The coldness of January has truly set in and I don’t know about you but I’ve definitely been snuggling with more blankets and sipping some hot tea lately!
With January being the darkest of the months it’s often one of the hardest month’s for many. It can seem like winter will never end and the more often than not gray skies can really deplete your levels of joy. I often refer to it as the month of gloom as many of my clients tend to request some extra support around the emotion of sadness at this time. Even my daughter has noticed the grays getting to her a bit so I wanted to put out 4 of my favorite tips for making it through these times that can be so harsh for many of us.
Tip #1: Soak in some rays
The first and my favorite is to simply soak up the sun. Yes I know it doesn’t carry the same meaning as it would in summer time, but it really does extend the same reason as why you may tend to feel so much more vibrant in the warmer months. That big radiating beam of light in the sky fuels us to our core with it’s light and the lack of it is what can make living in the northern climates a lot harder in the winter months. So how can we soak up some rays when it seems the sun is never out?
- Start by taking advantage of any moments of sunlight as much as you can. Go for a walk outside if you notice the sun happen to break through the gray skies and let the rays hit your face and whatever part of you may be exposed. You can be amazed how even in winter the rays can penetrate through you and fill your being up with warmth. Seeing our solar plexus chakra, which is located right above your belly button, is the chakra that represents your passion, your joy, and your energy levels, it’s a nice bonus to imagine that light going right to your belly filling it up with the light of the sun. Call it corny, or woo woo, but it works and works pretty quickly especially if you do it consistently.
- If it’s too cold outside or you work indoors during the day stand in front of a window or glass door when the sun is shining. You can almost feel your heart melt a little with the warmth. Allow the sun to radiate its warmth all over your body melting everything it embraces.
- If you have a space in your home where the sun hits in the late morning to afternoon hours when it’s brightest try making that a spot to meditate in or snuggle up and read a book.
- Open up any curtains or blinds you might have during daylight hours and let in the sun to your home. My daughter being a teenager went through a typical phase of wanting darkness to surround her as much as possible. Dark clothes and a dark room with the curtains constantly shut. I warned her but of course as a typical teenager she didn’t listen 🙂 Well she noticed after a few months she started feeling a bit gloomier than usual once winter hit and really didn’t like it. Without me telling her to she started opening her curtains every morning and within a week she started feeling immensely better.
We need the sun in order to make certain hormones in our body that help with mood so when we’re deprived of light it doesn’t take long to take a toll on our emotional well being. Luckily we don’t need a lot to get back to a better place.
Tip #2: Vitamin D
If you live in the northern climates it’s a pretty safe bet you have low vitamin D levels. Sun is needed in order for your body to produce vitamin D in the body and when you live north of the equator it’s just not possible to make enough due to the low angle of the sun in the sky in the winter. Then add in the extra clothing of winter and the additional indoor time and it’s almost a guarantee your levels are low. Vitamin D is also very important for multiple processes in the body from making sure you have a properly working immune system to having good digestive health. Most doctors nowadays understand the importance of Vitamin D so they will usually test your levels without hesitation.
If you find your levels are low it’s good to supplement with Vitamin D from around November to March when the suns rays are really limited. I usually tell clients to aim for 2,000 IU per day if levels are in the normal range and 5,000 IU per day if they are low. Finding good quality supplements can be tricky but the key is to make sure it’s Vitamin D3. I prefer liquid Vitamin D as the body can assimilate it very easily and really like this brand here as you only need 1-3 drops a day and it tastes good making it a lot easier to be compliant and take it daily. It’s best to take Vitamin D with a meal as it’s a fat soluble vitamin so it needs fat to be retained in the body.
Tip #3: Support your sleep
When you’re low in vitality and suffering from mild to moderate forms of depression fatigue can show up and it’s often assumed the tiredness is a symptom of the emotional state. Often however the emotion stems from the lack of sleep and a majority of people tend to not get enough sleep with our busy culture of constantly going and going until burnout happens. In fact, winter is a really important time to sleep and the lack of sun makes it easier as you naturally tend to have lower energy reserves. That’s because winter is a time to focus more on resting and less on doing. Winter is the season to help build up your reserves so you have the energy to have a busy vibrant summer filled with actives doing all the fun summer things like going on vacations, having picnics, or staying up to watch the stars while having a bonfire.
Winter is the season of recuperation and a time to focus on rest as much as you can. It’s ideal to sleep 8-10 hours a night but the goal is to try and get as much as you can sneak in. I fully admit I’m not the best at doing this myself either. I suffer from the but I have too much to do I can’t go to sleep now or I don’t want to miss out on X dilemmas. I know it’s a struggle but instead of staying up late try to go to bed a little earlier and let yourself sleep in a little later. Give yourself permission to allow yourself the rest it needs and skip the blame and guilt if you tend to oversleep. Spend a few extra moments in bed before getting up letting your mind wander… stare outside at the sun in the distance, the birds that occasionally make an appearance, or any snow that may be falling.
The key is to be gentle with yourself and try to listen to what your body needs. It’s telling it needs something and most of the time we know what it is we’re not giving it… we just don’t always want to listen 😉
Tip #4: Know spring is coming!
When you’re in the middle of January and everything is cold and icy it can feel like winter will never end! I used to struggle with this so much as a child and I hated winter because of it. As I followed the seasons though more and more each year, each year also got easier and easier. I realized that by this time of year daylight has already increased over 30 mins and increases by about 2 minutes per day!
Many people look to the Spring Equinox as being the first day of spring. While that is true with the Gregorian calendar, when you follow the seasons you notice that spring really begins on Imbolc, which is a holiday celebrated by pagan cultures worldwide far longer than the Gregorian calendar which is the solar calendar most often used today. Imbolc occurs on February 1st… only a few days away and at that time you often notice the first changes of spring begin to occur. Birds start returning along with other wildlife begins to become more active as they intuitively know that spring has sprung. Within a few weeks from now the first flowers can begin blooming… the Snowdrops and then shortly after the Crocuses. See if you can begin to pay attention to the little changes that slowly are already under works starting to happen. Allow that energy of knowing winter is almost over to help fuel your joy again. Know that no matter how much more snow shall come in the days forward it will melt as the beginning of winters end is here.
If you want to learn more about Imbolc you can check out another blog post I did here: Ways To Celebrate Imbolc & Winter’s End
Do you struggle with the blues of winter? I would love to hear from you and hear what practices you like to do to make winter more bearable for yourself. In the meantime I wish you many blessings of joy over the rest of the days of winter and Blessed Imbolc in a few days! Make sure to subscribe to our newsletters to stay updated on new postings and receive more herbal goodness and self love inspiration.
