The challenge of the ZZZs

So if you're like me and go into energy save during the winter... well you can avoid total hibernation!
Here's a few good tricks to keep your energy up and help you stay on track:

Join challenges
No matter what your practise is it's always good to join a challenge and motivate yourself by keeping the day count and just sticking to it. I'm currently doing the Yoga Camp challenge with yoga with Adriene. A Hatha yoga experience, and this one has a bit more elements of mental wellness than her previous "30 days of yoga" challenge (which I also highly recommend!)

Get by with a little help from your friends

When it gets tough it might feel like a failure (IT IS NEVER) to ask your friends for help. Actually it is a very strong thing to do and when your friends know where you're at and what's going on it will be much easier for them to help you. We don't have to be so goddamned independent all the time! So ask for advice, ask for support, ask for a bit of cheerleading or gentle reminders. Or better yet... why not join a challenge together?

Seize the day

Carpe diem might sound like a massive cliché, yet as the days become shorter it becomes all the more important to get outside and gather as much sun as you can. Even when it's cloudy it's still brighter outside than indoors. Also the fresh air will do you good. In our family the outdoor minimum limit is at least 30 minutes per day, something I am grateful for today.

Recharge

During the wintertime it's easy to be *yawn* a chronic sleepy head. So one way to go about it is of course to sleep more. This however does not work for me, in fact it makes me more sleepy. A bunch of other options might be

Cold showers. Yep you heard me. A brilliant way to wake the body up and although it might not feel too inviting on cold days it actually gets your circulation up and you will be less cold afterwards. I've written a little more about hydrotherapy in a previous post.

Power naps. If you're feeling sleepy, set your alarm and give yourself a good powernap. I usually feel better and more alert if I'm surrendering to a couple of zzz rather than forcing myself to stay awake.

Keep doing what energises you! When winter comes (and it will, as Snow so eagerly points out) it might be tempting to cancel everything and stay under a blanket. I advice you not to. By keep going you will let your body (and brain) know who's the boss. And by doing what you set out to do you will get a kick of "YES I DID IT" and coming home afterwards to a cup of tea and the blanket will be all the more rewarding.

Play. Ok, I'm sure some of you are feeling a bit of resistance with thoughts of playing being just for kids but I assure you that getting your sillies and giggles up will boost you in so many ways. So invest time and energy in having fun, because it will give so much back.

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When it's evening, weekend or you just feel like watching something there's a brilliant korean film I saw yesterday. It was both visually and emotionally beautiful as well as fun and the right kind of weird (for me atleast.) 

Kimssi Pyoryugi (2009)

in english known as The castaway on the moon.

That's all I had for now, but I'm sure you will find your way to power up during the winter. 

Get out there. 

Do good. 

Reward yourself. 

And see you later!

Bad at nothing?

So there's not been a word from me in a while. It's not because I'm doing nothing. Frankly I'm quite bad at doing nothing. They don't call me a project horder for nothing. Even on days off there's often a to do list. Despite this the yoga pracise is now on hold apart from a bit of stretching and occasional restorative asanas. Not because I wanted to stop, but because I had to. I've had an awful cold for almost three weeks now and it's been going up and down like a rollercoaster and I fear the fact that I wasn't accepting the changed physical limits and pushed myself like I was invincible is what kept me under the weather. Now is the last stage of this cold, I can feel it. The final hill. Finally.

Now is also the last of the summer. You know when you're so close to reaching your goal and something gets in the way, something which is not an obstacle you can overcome... the disappointment can be great. I wasn't too far from that head stand I said I would do before the end of summer... when I caught this cold. I know I will be able to do sirsasana, but before summer is over? No certainty. I want to curse this stubborn cold, but what's the use...

Looking at sickess from a positive angle it is actually helpful to us. It can help us slow down and realize the importance of rest and recovery. Help us realize that we should be happy for each day that we and the ones around us are in good health, never taking it for granted. Also for you multi-taskers, doers and project horders like me... learn how to do nothing! This skill is easy to forget in the world we live in today. I'm not advising apathetically staring at walls here, what I'm talking about is actively chosing to not engage in any activity. To put things at hold to put yourself first. To recharge. To simply be and find your positive way of mind. Stop yourself if you hear yourself saying or even thinking I AM SICK. The sickness is NOT a part of you. Your immune system is not a rare mythical creature hiding far away (although the pharmacies would like you to believe otherwise). You got the ability to heal yourself always. Believe in it.

Another good thing about these passed weeks is that I've had a lot of time to plan for my new life as a student. So this term I'm happy to announce I will start my education in Digital Media in a little town near Göteborg!

That's about all I can give today. I don't know when I'll see you again, might be tomorrow, might be two more weeks... in any case I wish you luck on your journey.
Peace be with you.