Winter Wellness: Tips for Staying Healthy in Winter
Do you find the following things show up more during winter? Congestion, sinus infections, coughing, asthma, sluggishness, excessive sleep, weight gain, high cholesterol, fluid retention in tissues (edema), aching joints, poor circulation, migraines, sadness, and even depression.
If you know you’re prone to suffering from some of these symptoms, keep reading, because by making just a few changes to your diet and lifestyle can help you find greater wellness as we enter the cooler months.
Avoid cold, heavy and uncooked foods
These types of foods include cold meats, cheese, ice-cream, and yoghurt. They are the typical "bad comfort food" we reach for when we get colder. Instead, go for light, cooked and warm meals with plenty of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Try to include pungent tastes such as chilli, pepper, cumin seeds, garlic and onions as they help to stimulate your digestion and absorption, reduce fat, clean tissue and sharpen those senses. These will warm you up in a different way to the not-so-great comfort foods so you'll still get that pleasure you crave from eating them. Similarly, include bitter tastes such as olives, spinach, eggplant, and turmeric. They are light, anti-inflammatory and super cleansing.
Do not sleep after you have just eaten!
As tempting as it is, this is a huge cause for weight gain, especially in the evening.
Drink warm water or herbal water
Drinking hot water is something to get used to all year round to naturally aid digestion and flush toxins out of the body. It’s not about quantity, but more about frequency and ideally every 15 minutes you should take a sip. You can also add ginger and lemon to assist. Ice-cold drinks (and foods) will put out the digestive fire and constrict the body channels.
Protect from cold and wind
Especially if you live and work out in the open or by the beach where the winds are higher. Wind can really damage skin and lips especially can get sore from wind exposure. Dermeze Treatment Ointment (available at most chemists) is great for treating dry skin, including lips.
Massage your body daily
Massage strengthens the nervous system, detoxifies the body, stimulates the immune system and improves lymphatic flow. It's important to use a heating oil such as organic black sesame seed oil, especially in winter to warm up the body. Don't forget our SMR techniques and tools too.
Steam it up
Try steam inhalation with eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil or special medicated oil. Pop boiling water into a bucket, add a few drops and start breathing it in. This helps clear the head of congestion and any other blockages. We sell DoTerra premium essential oils in the studio.
Exercise everyday
If you feel you are prone to gaining weight in winter then you need to start doing some stimulating and vigorous types of exercises to create heat in the body and work up a sweat. This will assist in clearing natural sluggishness and burn up all that stored energy so that it doesn’t turn to bulk. Don't ditch Pilates class because it is too cold to get out of bed! You'll regret it later.
Check out our class prices and book in your next session.
Practice deep breathing
Try to take 10-15 deep, slow breaths at least three times a day, even more, if you can. This is a great way to calm the nervous system when feeling emotional, stressed or anxious, and help to create awareness in all areas of your life, particularly eating.
