How to get motivated to exercise: beat the winter blues

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You guys, I can’t tell you what this weather does to me.

No, wait. I can.

It makes me NOT want to get out of bed, it makes me NOT want to do yoga, (partly because doing yoga means changing clothes which involves a few extra seconds of air+skin contact), it makes me want to eat ALL the things. And to clarify by “all the things”,  I’m not talking “kale and broccoli and all the spinach” I’m talking “huge pile of pasta, followed by a half  pound of curry, washed down with three mugs of hot chocolate and a few packets of biscuits”. This of course makes ‘doing yoga’ rather more tricky (Have you ever tried doing yoga after three mugs of hot chocolate and a few packets of biscuits? I have. And I definitely wouldn’t recommend it). This weather for sure tricks me into thinking I’m HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. And it also tricks me into thinking that it’s too cold to go outside for a run (or any other such activity), it makes me want to succumb to the magical powers of our couch, with a blanket and a pillow and NOT MOVE UNTIL SPRING.

AND, you guys, IT’S NOT EVEN WINTER YET.

So anyway, I thought I’d put it out there to the universe (instagram) if anyone had any fantastic tips for beating the winter blues – so that I can try save myself from three months of hibernating in the sofa with all the old pennies.

 

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The first tip comes from Michelle, the Travel Bug yogi, who suggests a little concoction of green stuff. Spirulina, wheatgrass, red maca and chlorella – whacked in a jar and blended up with some coconut milk in the mornings to give yourself a bit of a wake-up zing! I’m willing to give this a go – since as far as I can see it, it will either be the greatest thing ever to give me an winter energy boost – or I will start photosynthesising. I’ll keep you posted.

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Kristy has mentioned that the only way to keep yourself motivated to get moving in the morning is to wear your gym clothes to bed the night before. Actually there is some logic in this. I know my mother usually keeps her gym clothes RIGHT next to her bed, so that there is as little fuss (and excuses) as possible in the morning. This also minimises the ‘skin-to-air-contact’ problem I was talking about earlier.
Possibly will not work out too well if you are planning a morning swim-session, because I am not sure how cosy it would be to sleep in a wetsuit. It’s definitely not very romantic, unless you’re into latex.
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Jos of Yoga with Jos has recommended picking a really good wake up tune. I’m fully on board with this! I am a huge stickler for a good tune and sometimes hearing a specific song can turn my mood around almost instantly. I spend a lot of time making cool playlists for my yoga classes because I really think it affects the pace, tone and flow of a class so much. I used to have Florence and the Machine, Never let me go to wake me up to – which was the song I walked down the aisle to and it always gives me goosebumps. But since I upgraded my phone I took most of my music off and have ended up back with the iPhone Alarm symphony. I’ve just changed it over to Snow Patrol, Just say Yes (also part of our wedding music). I guess, the “YES” factor, just seems fitting. Will see how it goes!
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HA. HA.

When I first read this comment from yogi Jessica I was like, “WAHA. SNOOZE BUTTON. STORY OF MY LIFE.” This is by far my biggest downfall in the duel against the darkness. My alarm goes off and sometimes I’ve hit snooze and shut my eyes before I’ve even realised that my alarm has gone off. Sometimes I will literally push snooze several times before actually even waking up. Husband is a alarm-goes-off-wake-up kinda person (don’t you just hate that kind of go-getter?!) and I just don’t get HOW he does it. I can’t say that this particular method is going to be very successful for me, but I’ll give it a go. Maybe.
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Another great suggestion from Elspeth, is to sleep with the curtains open. So far this is working a tiny bit, but the mornings are getting that much darker (and colder) these days that soon if I wait for the sun to wake me up, I’ll be getting up at 11am (which, might I add, is totally fine by me). Husband is a naturally early riser – and I often ask him to put the bedside lights on so that at least it feels like it’s light and “wake-up time”. Perhaps I should also get him to play some tropical beach tunes.

Then combine that with sleeping in my swimming suit, he could throw some salt on me and I may as well be on a beach!

I’m definitely going to try my hardest in the next little while to get into a proper ‘routine’ before it’s too dark and miserable to talk myself out of it. Perhaps I’ll have to start with a few rewards like hot chocolate or tea (as Kate mentioned)! Or maybe some kind of “penny-reward” system where every day I complete ‘the morning routine’ drop a 50p into a jar. Hopefully soon then I’d have enough £ to buy myself a snazzy new pair of yoga pants?! One of the books I’ve read recently, The Miracle Morning is really good and has some really practical ideas for setting a morning routine. He believes that you will be tired in the mornings if you think you are going to be tired in the morning. But if you go to bed thinking, “I am going to wake up feeling refreshed and alive!” then you will. I’m a little dubious about this, but it’s kind of one of those things that only really works if you fully believe it.

 

One thing that has been a LOT excited about for winter is our weekend yoga retreat happening at the end of November! Holly and I have SUCH awesome things lined up and I cannot WAIT to share them all! We still have some spots left for anyone who is keen to get in on the awesomeness! (In fact, right now, this is one of the only things that is breaking up my winter blues! haha!) Next year I will have to do a summer sunshine one – somewhere tropical I’m thinking!!

So anyway, those are a few of my tips (and one little excitement) for the winter months ahead… does anyone else have any other great tips they’d like to help me out with?! I’m happy to try anything! And

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Happy frost-bite-Thursday!

xo

5 Comments

  1. Keri on September 17, 2015 at 8:12 am

    I’ve really been battling to get up since moving to CT – and I’m a morning person! Think the sunlight is an issue for me. For now, I’ve just kinda succumbed to the lie-ins…. 😉

    • Ché Dyer on September 18, 2015 at 7:10 am

      ugh it’s the DAKRNESS!!! and if it’s already affecting you – the MORNING person -then I am doomed!! xx

  2. Jos on September 17, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    Hey thanks for referring to my genius idea for a yoga tune alarm 😉 Can I just report it totally did not work this morning, or the open curtain thing, so I surrendered to a longer lie-in!

    • Ché Dyer on September 18, 2015 at 7:10 am

      haha Mine is helping… although I’m pretty sure that as soon as it starts getting a teeny bit darker and colder.. my selective hearing is going to kick in!

  3. […] ? getting out of bed when the world feels groggy / 5 tips to beat the winter blues […]

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