Is it just me or do you feel exhausted throughout winter?
The key time for me is when the clocks go back in October. I hale from the North but now live on the South Coast so, at this time the big light goes on at 3.30 ish! 3.30 is the end of the day- surely not !!! Ever likely I feel tired - time to snuggle into a fluffy jumper and socks and hunker down to hibernate for the night. Time just seems to disappear into a cloud of lethargy and sleep. Then the real nadir encroaches when the shops start to remind us that Christmas is near – well a good 8 weeks away. Now, I’m not in the ‘Bah Humbug brigade’ but please let me ease my way into winter.
I know some poor souls suffer terribly at this time of the year. They undergo dreadful depression due to SAD (seasonal affective disorder).[1] I’m not convinced I suffer with that but I do feel underwhelmed by most things at the onset of winter. This is where Dru comes to my rescue!
We have the technology to pop over to visit Anouschka in Snowdonia to view that lush greenness in the glittering sunshine for Bhumi Flow (Wow a revelation for me!). Or you could nip down to Portugal to join Annie to ‘Call back your Power’ (Cor I don’t half need that in winter?!). We can even join them Down Under for a ‘Dynamic Sun Sequence Flow’ – I know in UK in winter we don’t get much sunshine but hey! We can imagine we’re there!
These sequences are complete tonics for my sagging winter soul. Maybe it’s me who is weird! Ok I can accept that. But when I’m following these sequences in winter instead of getting distracted by the dust on my mantelpiece and telly and how I should have run the vacuum cleaner over the carpet, I pretend I’m with Anouschka or Annie. I can feel the sun warm on my skin and I can smell the grass and taste sea salt air – OK maybe geographically I’m not quite right there but so what…. I feel peachy!
I feel as good when I visit my allotment (aka The Sanctuary) – even when the weather colours our land in a grim and grey shroud. I look closely at my plants. The onions are nestled snugly but some are already standing to attention throwing up their sprouting greenery. The weather is clearly not bothering them! I worry about my cherry tree and wonder if it will be too cold for it. But no! I can see the tiny buds forming ready to break through the woodiness when the time is right. A blackbird always seems to pop along to say hello whenever I visit The Sanctuary. I like to think he is saying hello. More likely it’s that he is warning the rest of the avian crew to watch out because there is a human oddity on their patch. But I stand still and just watch him, mesmerised by his song. Those few minutes bring me such peace and joy to be in this wonderful world of ours. Mother Nature looks after her own. And, don’t forget, she looks after us too. We are part of her bounty. We just have to trust her.[2]
When the weather is better I have promised myself to do my yoga sequences at The Sanctuary – I had a go last summer but only when I was sure no one was around. But 2022 is the year for adventure for me. My allotment pals and that blackbird may think I’m a bit weird but ooh it will be perfect for me!
So I hope that, if you’re like me and feel a bit droopy in winter, give it a go and imagine you’re doing your Dru yoga sequences in glorious sunshine and it will boost your soul.
I wish you all the best for a healthy and peaceful year ahead!
Ellen Gill
[1] About SAD | Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health problems