WHY SELF CARE & WELLNESS IS SO IMPORTANT THROUGHOUT WINTER / AD

There’s a lot of things I’ve learnt about my health and habits through the colder months, and I’ve come to realise why self care and wellness is so important throughout winter.

It’s winter, it’s cold, it’s hibernation season. These are always my thoughts as the cold weather & dark evenings approach. I often find myself wanting to hide away to avoid any sort of social events and stay inside where it’s warm. Why though? I’ve found myself feeling this way more often in the past two years, and I’m still yet to determine if it’s actually caused by the weather forecast or if it’s underlying issues with my anxiety. I do not want this to continue with me anymore though, which is why this year I’ve decided to actively battle against the hermit inside of me, in hope to boost my mind and body.

Why self care and wellness is so important throughout winter…

Back in December I had the pleasure of joining and Ricola and BALANCE at a Winter Wellness retreat. The evening itself consisted of multiple activities which helped me engage with my body, and taught me how I can embrace & control my winter blues. Thanks to the event, I have now learnt three very important things about myself:

1. Deep breathing is fantastic for reconnecting my body & mind.

During the Winter Wellness event we were lucky enough to enjoy a deep breathing exercise class with holistic therapist, Rebecca Dennis. It was at this moment I realised how much tension I hold in my shoulder and chest.

I’ll be quite honest with you and say that the breathing exercises made me feel quite dizzy and lethargic. Oddly though, it felt quite nice! In a short space of 20 minutes, I felt like I had released so much unwanted tension and exhaled away all of my stress and worries. Going forward, I have been practising these exercises during times I feel overwhelmed or uneasy. I’m already feeling the benefits of re-training my body how to properly breathe.

2. Switch off my ‘work’ button, and treat myself to a class/workshop. Or, even just make time for self-care.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in in work and forget about your wellbeing. Being self employed, I’ve always found it very difficult to learn when to switch off the ‘work’ button and peel myself away from my home office. This is often an excuse I use during winter as a reason not to go out, and I want to change this. Everyone deserves some down-time, and it’s actually very unhealthy not giving yourself some much needed time off.

We enjoyed a 1 hour long workshop with the wonderful Botanical Boys during the wellness event hosted by Balance and Ricola. The workshop taught us all how to make a terrarium, and I LOVED it.

terrarium workshop. wellness and self care

I’m a complete lover of plants, so the terrarium workshop was something that I was really looking forward to. It was so refreshing taking my mind off ‘life’ and focus my attention on something that was solely for me and my hobbies. It was nice not to be thinking about work, and I felt so clear-minded afterwards.

I’ve learnt that I work far more productively if I give my work brain some time to switch off. Instead of working late in to the evening now, I’ve made a point of closing my office door and doing something just for me. Whether that be a class/workshop or just simply some time to relax, it’s made a huge improvement on my work productivity.

3. Engage and socialise with other like-minded people.

why wellness is so important in the winter

Following the wellness event, I’ve also learnt that it’s so important to engage with other like-minded people in order to communicate how you are feeling. Often when I’ve opened up to people about my concerns they’ve been nothing but understanding, and can sometimes even relate to how you feel. People are so quick to offer advice and well-wishes. When I talk, I offload, and when I offload I feel far less stressed.

I learnt a lot from the people around me that evening, and I’m far more confident now about being open about how I feel.

How to make a terrarium

I thought you may be just as interested as me about the terrarium class, so here’s some pointers on how to create one!

Thank you Ricola!

Ricola was kind enough to invite me along to the wellness evening. And I was quite honestly very interested to learn a little bit more about them as I’ve always been a huge fan of their sugar free herbal sweets.

winter wellness and self care with ricola

Ricola has been a family run company for 90 years, making Swiss herbal sweets and lozenges to support wellbeing. Their sugar free sweets are great for a calming moment of refreshment through the day and their Soothe & Clear lozenges give scratchy, irritated throats some TLC. Find out more here.

What wellness & self -care actions do you take?

I’d really love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this topic. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt the most, is that the wellness community is so supportive and caring towards others. How do you action self-care in your life? Are there any routines you have in your daily schedule that helps you de-stress? Please feel free to comment below or email me.