With the days getting darker faster, many people, including many summer active maniacs, tend to curl back to the comfort and coziness under a warm sheet and enjoy hot cocoa. It sounds like a universally approved winter routine, but if we take a second to rewind back to the previous winter that we did exactly that, we might realize how not ideal it felt at the end of the season when we were hitting some major slumps. Those times were there to remind us to be more skeptical of how fast we succumb to a chill routine, and to nudge us into exploring the joy that the winter can offer, through intentionally moving our bodies.
Being lazy in the winter: Been there done that
It is normal to feel discouraged and reluctant to engage in physical activities. To start with, it’s not all in your head! There are biological, environmental, and even social factors that together form a compelling obstacle course to pull us down to the couch and get warmly tucked in. With the lower temperature, our body delegates more energy to heat our body up. In addition, with the longer absence of sunlight, we not only suffer the decrease of vitamin D - our main source of energy; but also are more inclined to sleep, due to the increased production of the sleeping hormone: melatonin.
If it is not hard enough, how are we expected to put on so many layers of clothes to get outside, just to see the world covered in gray and white? Not to mention how busy we are already with the back-to-back gatherings throughout the holiday season, filled with delicious feasts.
But fortunately, we are not doomed to feel the same way
Let’s together indulge ourselves in that vision: practicing hibernation due to all of those aforementioned struggles, again and again, year after year, which inevitably consolidate the stagnant feelings that always come back in the weather, in the scenery, in the months, and in the anticipation of the winter.
If you do not want to manifest that future, then you are at the right place! The antidote to detach from our recurring gloomy blue era is to intentionally avoid strengthening the idle presence. Here are some other ways that you can consider incorporating into your winter activities to condition yourself for a different path.
- Indoor Workouts: Starting from the comfort of your own home, try to allocate a time in the day that you can join a virtual class, or get together with a friend, a family member, or your favorite fitness star. In order to keep it consistent, you can get yourself some comfortable but also nice-looking workout clothes and gear. If you want to start with a beginner’s friendly movement, yoga is a great place to find a new way to feel your own body, and explore new muscles that you don’t even know you have before!
- Joining an active community Competing in teams or joining a class usually encourages the consistency that lots of people need. Dancing, ice-skating, curling, bouldering, if you prefer to be shielded from the extreme weather. Skiing and snowboarding are the two most popular choices, which means you can meet lots of interesting people outside of your usual alright circle of friends. Let us know which changes you are incorporating this winter, and who knows, you might find a buddy right here!
