Get your headphones on or blast it out loud (neighbours and family permitting of course!), get yourself moving to whatever floats your boat.
My default? A burst of Baggy Trousers and rekindling a bit of my 80s youth! This is just one of a plethora of ways that I help myself get moving in these cold and dark winter months.
Classically recognised as being a time when we become demotivated, lose our energy, and generally want to join our pet tortoise for 6 months, the long dark days can prove mentally and physically challenging for many.
Covid times have led many of us to find and explore new ways to stay active, fit and healthy as more of us are now adapting to new working environments that are generally seeing us move a lot less. In the summertime, this was easier. A stroll in the garden or a walk was much more appealing than it may seem now.
However, now is the time to reframe and enjoy taking control. Find things that make you feel good and get you moving. Remember there is no right and wrong…our bodies just love to move.
Lose excuses gain rewards
This is a phrase I have often heard and one that I apply to myself. The pivotal question is of course ‘how?’.
Spend a few moments to tap into your inner self and think about what you really enjoy. It’s not all about going for lung-busting runs, pumping iron in a hot sweaty gym or collapsing in a heap after you’ve realised your 4-year-old is better equipped for Joe Wicks than you are!!!
No, it’s about simply moving. However, if that is what really spurs you on then go for that too.
I love dancing around with my headphones on taking myself mentally off somewhere and really honing in and perfecting my now refined dad dancing skills. A few tracks, a healthy glow and a solid dose of the feel-good factor.
Playing with your children is another fantastic way to move and keep active. Be silly with them and shake off those shackles that generally consume us while on our daily dose of the treadmill of life. Seeing your children laugh and the energy that gives is priceless.
Make the commitment
Of course, simply wrapping up and getting out for a 20-minute daily stroll, getting fresh air and sunlight if you can during also works. This can ignite those happy and warm feelings within us as well as getting the blood pumping and the joints moving. Finding a friend to socially distance with and join you is also a great way of making a commitment and you’ll soon find 20 minutes becomes much longer when you’re having fun.
Formal or informal ways to exercise, wacky or silly things that make you move and feel good, quite simply anything that you resonate with is the way to help squash those winter blues. When we make our own decisions, change our mindset and lose the excuses, then suddenly a world of simple movement opens up.
Even in adversity and through tough times there is always a way to do something and the power of positivity, a well-documented topic, really can make a huge difference, and of course, there is always time for a cuppa or something stronger whilst cosying up in these winter months too.