rewild your winter

Simple suggestions to connect to nature in the colder months, to boost your energy levels and your health the natural way, without spending any money or taking a huge amount of time.

making footprints in the snow

Head out as soon as you can. Look for other walkers' footprints. Gauge the foot turnout, length and width between each step. Then make your own. Get your whole family to join in. Compare shape and alignment. 

climbing a tree

Find a lovely solid tree like an oak. Connect to it by feeling the bark with your fingers, smelling the leaves. See if you can climb to a low branch. Make sure you are sitting on your ischial tuberosities (sitting bones). Enjoy the view for a while. Shift your attention between the beauty of the outside world and your breath. 

cold exposure

Expose your feet to cold temperatures for just 20 seconds, to start with.
​Keep them mobile.
Hope you find this invigorating!
​Expose more of your body if you feel brave!

playing with shadows

Go out as soon as you see the sun, even if just for 5 minutes, to get a boost of melatonin and vitamin D.
Have fun looking at your shadow, noticing how it changes as you move.

Working outdoors

You might be lucky enough to be working outdoors but if not, consider taking your work outside.
If you wear enough layers, you should be okay outside for 30-45 minutes if it's dry enough. If it's close to zero, there is the option of having a hot water bottle on your lap and a thermos of herbal or fruit tea to sip. I like to take some work to do on paper at my son's football training. I bring a stool to sit low on and use it as a desk too while I squat, swapping between the two.

​relaxing and resting more

Carving some time to do... nothing is beneficial. There is only so much rushing around we can do.
As soon as it gets dark, dimming the lights signals to the body that it is time to wind down.
How about setting a time by which you hide your screens so you're not tempted?
​Having early nights does wonder for our energy levels and ability to deal with the ups and down of daily living.

Practising nature gratitude

Let a clear, blue sky or a beautiful sunrise ravish you. See if noticing beauty comes easily to you. If so, how about expressing your delight and gratitude? If not, look out for it actively until it comes easily to you.

These simple ideas will help soothe your nervous system (taking your busy mind out of the equation) and boost your immune system (especially if you focus on movement round the groin, armpits and neck, where lymph nodes are concentrated - think walking with hip extension and a relaxed arm swing while looking all around you - up, down and all around. Climbing trees and swinging are also great).
I invite you to give the above ideas out a try and see how they work for you. Feel free to share your experience.