The month of February can be a rough time of year. The colder temperatures of winter, combined with less light and time spent outdoors, brings a sense of heaviness, low energy or lethargy to many of us. Some suffer from SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, a depression that occurs during the darker months of the year. It is a time when self care is more important then ever. This particular winter it's even more essential. We are facing changes within our government that are frightening and deeply saddening, all depending on the day. 

There are many ways to care for oneself, including (of course) making it to your weekly yoga classes. Try spending time outside during day time hours whenever you have the opportunity. Enjoy the beauty of nature, friends and family, art and music. Take time for breathing and meditation, on or off the mat, move your body in any way you enjoy. Read, nap or take a hot bath. Cook a delicious meal and share it with loved ones. Whatever it is that you feel nurtured by, please take time for it on a regular basis. It is incredibly important for your health, and right now so many in our communities are sick with either respiratory or intestinal viruses. I have never had as many students out due to illness as I have this winter season. I am convinced it is due to the increased stress that we are all under due to the highly unusual political circumstances in our country.

So, even if you have managed to stay healthy so far, do not take it for granted.  Let's all carve out the time, away from the news feed, caring for ourselves. It pays back many-fold. This I dare to promise.

And while you are at it, make sure you turn towards all the beautiful in this world on a daily basis. Make it a habit to see, enjoy and be in awe of something beautiful. This way you are less likely to get stuck in the darkness, in which you can't make a difference for neither yourself or anyone else. We need to come back into the light, over and over again.

 

 "Beauty will save the world."

Dostoevsky