The winter months can be a challenging time both physically and mentally with your health. Self-Care strategies are needed to get through the colder months to boost immunity and support your mental health. Here are 10 Winter Self-Care Tips to get you through the colder months:

1. Get some Sunlight Everyday. The lack of sunlight can negatively affect our health and mood. Try to get some time outside during the daylight hours everyday. It will help to boost your mood and sunlight directly on the skin is important for vitamin D production.

2. Stick to Regular Eating Patterns. It is common for people to gain weight over the winter as they eat heavier food. Irregular or unhealthy eating can contribute to negative moods and poor immunity. Aim to keep to a regular eating pattern with meals with the focus on eating lots of vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, and silverbeet.

3. Enjoy a Hot Bath. Great way to warm up and relax tense muscles. A warm bath make the blood flow easier and allow you to destress . Taking a hot bath or spa can improve immunity and relieve the symptoms of cold and flu.

4. Exercise. Going to the gym, a walk, or a yoga class can help boost circulation and lymphatic flow to remove toxins from the body. Exercise can be challenging in the winter as we can be tempted to isolate and hibernate. Set a goal to move your body daily.

5. Meditate. Winter is a good time to establish a daily mindfulness or meditation practice. Create a daily habit by starting a meditation practice at home for 5-10 minutes.

6. Breathe. Long deep breathing is so simple and so good to oxygenate the body. The lungs clear waste from the body. When we slow the breath down and breath from the diaphragm it calms the Nervous System to relax the body and mind.

7. Make a Cup of Tea. Herbal tea is a great way to therapeutically heal the body and create warmth within. My favourite is Yogi Tea with ginger, cardamon, peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon: https://goldenyogi.co.nz/blog/yogi-tea-recipe. This tea creates a lot of internal warmth and supports cleansing the body.

8. Listen to Your Body. If you feel like you are getting sick stay at home and take care of yourself. Make a big pot of vegetable or chicken soup and get some good quality rest. When you feel like you are getting sick start taking some more vitamin C to help clear the infection and boost immunity. Vitamin C in megadoses (1000mg / 3 x per day) relieves and helps with reducing the duration of cold and flu symptoms.

9. Read. Curl up with a good book in bed or on the couch. Quite often we get tempted to be on the phone or watching TV but reading books can be great way to relax. Simply opening a book and reading can change your mind and stress levels for the better.

10. Take a cold shower. While it may seem counterintuitive to hop in a cold shower when you are feeling cold but hydrotherapy has been used for hundreds of years to rejuvenate and boost circulation. Having a cold shower every day can improve skin problems, boost circulation, strengthen immunity, and allow you to feel more energised.

Written By: Erin O’Hara. Erin O’Hara is the owner of Golden Yogi. She has a BSc in Physiology and BNatMed in Naturopathy. She has spent over a decade gathering knowledge and qualifications in health and wellness through; study, scientific research, personal illness, racing as a professional athlete, and an intrinsic passion for health naturally.

https://goldenyogi.co.nz/erin-ohara-naturopath