Embrace Winter - Tips from a Yogini

Winter can be a challenging time. The shorter days bring shorter fuses, and our patience for ourselves and our loved ones can diminish with the diminishing light. I try to embrace these seemingly endless months and have actually come to love them, through a kind of beautiful surrender — despite eczema flare-ups and slushy streets. Here are three tips inspired by my yoga practice that help me feel less frosty towards myself and others during these colder times.

Slow Down

The practice of Yin yoga asks us to slow down and contemplate the deeper elements of our life. This practice helps us live in harmony with the seasons and transition with grace through the inevitable changes that challenge us as human beings.  Winter is a wonderful time to take our cue from nature and travel inward, a hibernation of sorts. We simply can’t rush around the city the way we do when there’s no snow on the ground. Why fight it? I tend to schedule myself less in the winter, take advantage of sleeping more and I’m a big fan of naps.

Yoga Nidra, a powerful guided relaxation exercise, has been a game changer for me and I try to practice it a few times a week. Here’s one of my favourites by local yoga teacher, Felicia Pavlovic. Yoga Nidra helps you tap into the parasympathetic nervous system — the deep healing, rest and digest system. If you have twenty minutes at some point in your day, find a quiet spot to lie down. I’ve even done the practice in my car between meetings. Bonus if you have a furry creature to cuddle up with, like my best bud, my rescue pup Esther Williams. 

Get Outside

Don’t hate me, but I truly love getting outside in winter. Growing up in Ottawa, one of the coldest capitals in the world, we simply had no choice. I was on skis at the age of 3, and try to get to the hills as much as possible. I’ve discovered some great cross-country ski trails in the area around The Ferg, where I can bring my dog who pulls me like a mini husky. There’s nothing more zen than gliding through snow-covered trees in the silence of the woods. If balance and coordination aren’t your thing, just go for snow-shoeing, and then you don’t even need a trail. Check out Mountain Equipment Co-op for rentals. Explore the trails in Sandbanks Provincial Park, either on foot, snowshoes or skis. 

Love Yourself

Self-love is a buzz word these days, but for good reason. Self-compassion allows us to be more compassionate and present with the people around us. Most of us in North America are very good at criticizing ourselves and not so great at truly loving ourselves. The practice of compassion has shown to create happiness and wellbeing, according to The Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research founded by The Dalai Lama at the Stanford School of Medicine. Some of my favourite resources for the practice of compassion are the books and meditations by Tara Brach and Kristin Neff. 

What does self-love mean to you? For me, it’s my meditation and journaling practice, watching my mind and catching it when I’m cruel to myself, and doing actions for myself that make me feel good. I love taking hot baths with essential oils and salts, like this Wild Skin Care Magnesium Body Bath Soak. The claw foot tubs at The Ferg make it all the more delightful. I throw on a relaxing playlist and light a beeswax candle. I love the ones made locally at Honeypie Herbals.  

This season brings the added pressure of the holidays, which can be an emotional time. Instead of placing expectations on myself and my family, I revel in the traditions that make me feel connected to a deeper spirituality. In Northern cultures, during Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, lighting candles is a ritual, ushering in the return of lighter days. I love tapping into this ancient practice, while soothing my heart. 

Winter can indeed be wonderful. The fresh snow lightens up the rooms at The Ferg, and the added time for reflection gears me up for the more vibrant and productive months ahead. What are some of your tricks for getting through the winter months?

— by Anna Hardwick, co-owner of The Ferg, actress and yogini. Find out more here: www.annahardwick.com