04 Jan Surviving January – Six top tips to beat the January blues
I’m not going out in that hoolie
I feel like a big lump of lard. This should not be happening. I am a fabulous Kinesiologist, Nutritionist and Yoga Teacher. Surely fit and healthy, spiritually evolved people (ahem) don’t feel like giant lumps? Well apparently they do when they completely let go over the Christmas holidays, ignore all their nutrition knowledge and eat double their body weight in cheese, biscuits and Cadburys Roses.
Sigh.
And here it is. January. The month sent to punish us for our chocolate sins. When the weather is blowing a hoolie, New Years resolutions are making us miserable, the detox has begun and we’re back at work. What a bummer.
Okay so how can we cheer ourselves up? Here are my six top tips for surviving January…
1. Everyone likes to detox in January and this is all well and good, giving up the booze, bad fats, wheat, dairy and sugar is certainly something I would recommend. However don’t jump straight into a juice fast. Its cold and damp, we do not want to be putting cold and damp foods into our body at this time of year, it simply makes us… well, cold and damp. Save your juice fast for summer and stick with warming seasonal foods like soups during these winter months.
2. More warmth a coming. This time warm up your plums, oooh err. Warm fruit makes them easier to digest this time of year and they taste better too. Make sure they are seasonal – plums, apples, nectarines, prunes, pears and rhubarb. Stick some spices such as cinnamon in there. Really tasty and not like dieting at all.
3. Support your body with a gentle detox. Most ‘off the shelf’ detoxes are hard work and make you feel like rubbish. This healthy starter pack gently cleanses the bowel, intestinal, urinary, liver and circulation all together making you feel rather lovely.
4. Do the exercise you love. I see so many people running miserably around a cold park. If you don’t love it you won’t stick with it. Plus your body releases chemicals depending on your emotional state. If your body is under stress, you will release adrenalin and cortisol which when circulating around the body can create fat storage, illness and sugar imbalances. Better to find something you love doing –rollerskating, trampolining on those mini trampettes or dancing like a loony in your kitchen to your favourite music. Joy is the best detoxifier there is.
5. We work with Bach Flower Remedies in our clinic which are a wonderful way to balance emotional problems. At this time of year I can recommend
- Mustard for gloom
- Gorse for hopelessness
- Gentian for despondency
Chose the one that suits your mood and it will help lift your spirits.
6. Every morning say this sentence ‘I am grateful for…’ and fill in the gap. Even if you are just grateful for a warm shower or finding two socks that match.
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