We can all notice it. The moment the air has that autumn cool feel and the change in colours in nature. The equinox will arrive on September 22, 2020, at 13:31. That’s when the sun will be exactly above Earth’s equator, moving from north to south. This is the moment when the length of day and night will be equal. This fact makes the day of an equinox a good day for finding due east and due west from your yard or other favorite site for watching the sky. Just go outside around sunset or sunrise and notice the location of the sun on the horizon with respect to familiar landmarks.
I know many can feel uneasy at the drawing in of winter, and we are in turbulent times, and I know many are stressed and uneasy with talk of a second covid wave. Meanwhile I have been asked by The Rossendale Wellbeing event to share my 3 health tips for winter. Traditionally Winter was supposed to be a time of rest and hibernation but we are still in need to balance a cultural imbalance with the connection to day and night cycles never mind the seasons and equinox. So these were my thoughts on how to rebalance our cycles, keep us healthy and happy.
Sunrise.
Winter mornings and getting up in the dark, with a lack of enough daylight, I would highly recommend a Sunrise alarm clock. There are simple ones you can get as a APP for your smart phone or even better, the real sunrise alarm clock (eg Lumie) which gradually get brighter and brighter over a 10/30 min period. These can make so much difference to elevating your mood. Many of these also have a sunset function too, so a great way to encourage sleep. They help to balance your serotonin and melatonin levels. I have recommended these for many years and are so effective. They have really helped me in times when I have been low and struggling.
2. Vitamin D
You may have been hearing a lot about vitamin D. Well I am going to back that up. I hear nutritionists saying that most of us, here in the UK, are low in our Vitamin D levels. If you want to be really on the ball, get a blood test for you Vitamin D levels. Vitamin is key for your immune health. Tests report that insufficient Vitamin D is linked with increased inflammatory response, this puts us more at risk to virus, covid, cancer and depression. Therefore increasing your Vitamin D has a positive effect on reducing this inflamation.
Please watch the video for more information.
3. Laugh ( a lot )
The power and profound effect of laughing I discovered many years ago when I went on a week long 'Sacred Clown' workhop with an amazing lady called Doris Eagle Feather Duster. One of places Doris worked was in prisons, I remember being in awe of her work, while experiencing sniggers, belly laughs, tears and lots of snot.
Laughing increases oxygen, endorphins, lowers blood pressure, increases T-cells, improves cardiac health, reduces cortisol, tones your abdominals, increases oxygen to the brain and brings connection to people and a feeling of bonding. Watchyour favorite comedian, or laugh with friends for no reason all. Finding laughter in the darkest of times is a real gift.
Jo Davidson, our ENERGYBODi Yoga teacher completed here laughing Yoga teacher certificate while in lockdown... we look forwards to her laughing classes coming really soon.
Many of our classes feel like play and encourage laughter and never to take yourself to seriously. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5047248/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16319105/