Beating the Winter Doldrums

Me saluting the sun at Kits beach. Photo credit: Pure Souls Photography

As a born and raised 2nd generation Vancouverite, you would think tolerance of wet weather would be ingrained in my DNA. You would think these windy, rainy, gray days that end at 4:30pm would feel like home to me. Nope.  No way. In fact, I think dealing with them becomes more challenging each year that goes by.

Today was one of those days. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I meandered through my day with a forced smile (like they say in show biz, “fake it ’till ya make it”), but really I was relieved to have some quality time with my couch at the end of the day. As I sat staring mindlessly at the TV, I felt drained and blue and all of a sudden I found myself way down in the dumps. Hmmm… maybe some home made guacamole will help…Nope. Perhaps a glass of wine… No again… I’ll just search the web for something to make me smile… No luck.

I realized it had come to what I knew all along. I needed to get my butt up off the couch and as Olivia Newton John said circa 1983, “ Get Physical”.

So after a last ditch attempt of retail therapy at Ikea, I dragged myself to my gym and pumped out 40 minutes of cardio. Within minutes, I felt a hundred times better. Gotta hand it to those endorphins, they know what they’re doing. I followed up my gym visit with a home practice of yin yoga full of hip openers, twists and mild inversions.

Amazingly, within a relatively short period of time, my mood did an about-face and here I am feeling energized, calm, focused and (drum roll, please) happy.

What got me off my couch in the first place was the memory of my experiences at the gym and with my yoga practice. Sometimes it seems like it takes all the effort in the world to get me to my mat, but ultimately, I know how I’m going to feel after-wards: healthy, energized, strong and… happy. It is that memory that brings me back again and again.

So it is time for bed now and I expect to have a restful sleep tonight. Not just because of my new pillows from Ikea, but because I took the time to be good to myself. My needs have been met. I will go to sleep and do it all over again tomorrow… and love every minute of it… or at the very least, I’ll love how I feel in the end.

Namaste,

Jacci