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With the nights  longer & days shorter it’s really common to experience bouts of low mood, heightened Anxiety and even SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Winter is the perfect time to slow down and upgrade your self-care schedule on & off the mat…

There is a growing body of research highlighting the amazing effects Yoga can have on our holistic health – not just our bodies but our mental & spiritual wellbeing too. Yoga is so much more than the postures we see plastered all over social media. Yoga is a philosophy, a lifestyle – an ancient holistic approach to living your life well. 

In this Article our Head of Wellness & Yoga Therapist, Liz, shares the top 5 ways to harness the teachings & benefits of Yoga to help you practise more Self-Care this Winter Season : 


Give yourself permission to slow down

Throughout history human beings have observed the Winter season as a time to slow down and regenerate after the Spring & Summer months. As the days become shorter and nights become longer you may notice your energy levels are naturally starting to wane too. If you’re feeling slower and sluggish in the colder month it’s actually a very natural reaction to this shift in seasons. 

This is a great time to listen to what you need to replenish your energy levels – perhaps try a new practice or indulge in some slower sessions like Yin & Restorative Yoga, get cosy with a Yoga Nidra or surrender with Sound Healing. 


Breathe & Rebalance: Show your nervous system some love

If you’re experiencing Anxiety or feeling Burnt out you can always rely on your breath to help support you. It sounds simple but breathwork can be a really powerful way to rebalance your nervous system and help you feel calmer and grounded. Just 5 minutes of breathwork each day helps to build mental resilience, improve cardiovascular functioning and reduces stress. 

Try sitting upright and closing your eyes – bring your awareness to the back of your body and imagine you’re breathing up along your spine from the tailbone to the crown of the head as you inhale and back down along the spine as you exhale. Take a few more deep breaths like this. 

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh


Move & Reconnect with your body 

Exercise is one of the most underutilised tools to support your mental health and boost your mood.  Movement is quite possibly the most untapped resource for our mental health.

 If you’re  feeling anxious, low or lethargic – the remedy might just be getting on my yoga mat & moving in any way that feels good – that might be stretching, shaking, dancing, or taking a trusty child’s pose! 

Try putting on your favourite song and for the duration of the track move your body in any way you want to!  If you can, try to get out in nature, go for a walk and spend some time reconnecting to your body and what you need. 


Be kind to your mind & practice Ahimsa 

In Yogic Philosophy, the first of the 8 Limbs of Yoga are the Yama’s – the moral disciplines associated with living a Yogic lifestyle. Patanjali teaches that these guidelines for life are to be practised on all levels – through the way we behave, the way we think and the way we speak. 

Ahimsa means Nonviolence and this Yama teaches us not to cause harm to others, to the world around us or to ourselves. You might find it a lot easier to be kinder to other people than you are to yourself? Most of us are really hard on ourselves and speak to ourselves incredibly harshly. 

Research even suggests that a whopping 76% of us are kinder to other people than we are to ourselves. Three quarters of us have a pretty nasty inner critical voice and it can make tough times of life even more challenging. 

To practise Ahimsa off the mat, see if you can begin to notice when you’re speaking to yourself harshly or unkindly and to think about how you’d talk to your best friend or a loved one. See if you can begin to transform a critical inner narrative into a more comparison, kinder inner voice. It takes practice  but the first step is to simply begin by noticing. 


Curb comparison through Santosha

We live in a society that teaches us to consistently compare ourselves and constantly strive for ‘better’ (whatever that means!). We glorify being busy to such an extent that it can feel uncomfortable to slow down but It doesn’t mean you’re unproductive or lazy at all, it likely means you really  need a break. 

The 2nd of the 8 Limbs of Yoga in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are the 5 Niyamas which can be interpreted as inward looking, internal practices. Santosha in practice is finding contentment & joy in where we are & gratitude for what we already have. 


Take a few moments to reflect on the things, people & places you’re grateful for and the small things that bring you the most joy. 

“Winter is the time of sacred balance and rejuvenation of life in preparation for the coming spring. It represents abundance, teaching and gratitude.”
— Noelle Vignola

 

About Liz Joy Hardie

Liz is Head of Wellness at MoreYoga, a trained Holistic Wellbeing Coach and Senior Yoga Teacher specialising in Yoga Therapy for Stress & Anxiety. Liz came to teach Yoga after being signed off from work with a blood pressure condition brought on by stress & generalised anxiety disorder. She is an advocate for Mental Health Awareness and co-founded the MoreMind Programme to promote positive mental health and help fight the stigma that still exists around mental illness. Her writing and commentary has been featured in Stylist, Time Out, The Times, Women’s Health, The Telegraph, Huffpost and more.