Vision Yoga for alleviating Winter Blues
Around this time of the year, I usually start to feel low and lethargic. It’s natural to slow down in the Winter, but seasonal depression can become a problem.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that is linked to the changing seasons and affects people during the winter months, especially in colder countries.
SAD symptoms include low mood, anxiety, and sleep disturbance. It’s thought to be caused by reduced sunlight upsetting the brain's body clock and hormones like serotonin and melatonin.
The good news is that Vision Yoga can help alleviate these unwelcome symptoms through relaxation and bringing balance to how much light and darkness we receive.
Here’s six simple tips to manage winter blues:
1. Sunning or Sunbathing
Sunning is one of the fundamental Bates techniques that’s easy and enjoyable.
Here’s how to do it:
Facing the sun, simply close your eyes and move your head gently from side to side for 3-5minutes.
It’s best to do Sunning in the morning and in the late afternoon when the sun is less strong. It’s lovely to have warm sun in your face in the Winter.
Sunbathing is a similar yogic technique that’s typically practiced during the golden hour, at sunrise and sunset, when the sun ray has a golden glow. It’s a great way for topping up your Vitamin D. You can also do breathing or meditation practice at the same time.
If you suffer from light sensitivity, start by practicing on overcast day. You’ll still get beneficial light rays coming through the clouds and it’s still better than using SAD lamp. Sun has full spectrum light and it’s natural!
2. SAD Lamp and Light Therapy
When the weather is terrible and you simply can’t find the sun, you can use SAD lamp or light therapy as an alternative to Sunning or Sunbathing.
During the winter, I use a red-light lamp at the end of my yoga practice. It’s a nice warm way to end the session. I also sometime use a SAD lamp when I’m working on my laptop.
3. Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness can help you to cope with depressive thoughts by acknowledging how you’re feeling. It’ll help you be more compassionate towards yourself.
I do daily meditation practice which helps me stay relaxed and grounded.
4. Exercise
Exercise is great for releasing feel good hormones like dopamine and endorphins to reduce stress.
If you’re not really into exercising, you might want to try walking. It’s an effective way to get gentle exercise, sunlight and spend time outdoors. The NHS recommends that you do at least 10 minutes brisk walking every day. It’s a simple and free way to stay fit and healthy.
Yoga asana (posture and movement) practice is also highly recommended as it’ll keep you flexible and strong. It helps me to feel less achy and more connected to myself.
5. Palming
In Natural Vision Therapy, Sunning and Palming go hand in hand and it’s recommended to do Palming after Sunning.
Palming helps to relax your eyes and mind and limits artificial light exposure. It also helps to bring eyes, mind and body together.
During the colder months, we tend to spend more time indoors watching TV and being on digital devices. Our eyes and mind get overly stimulated, but our body becomes disengaged.
Too much blue light exposure disturbs your sleeping cycle and make you feel even more tired.
Palming is a great way to relax and reconnect your eyes, mind and body. I recommend doing breathing practice or meditation while you Palm. Read more about the benefit and how to do Palming in my earlier blog.
6. Hot drinks and Baths
I recommend drinking nice hot drinks and having lovely baths to keep you warm and cozy. I’m currently into drinking Matcha during the day and having herbal tea before going to sleep.
I also love Epsom salts in my bath as it’s a lovely way to ease aches and stiffness. It also helps you get a better night sleep.
These are some of the holistic ways to reduce the impact of SAD. Natural Vision therapy techniques such as sunning and gentle exercise can really make a difference to how we feel.