Coping with extremes - It’s all about intention

Hello Women, 

A snowy January day here in Western Canada and the first day in almost a month, when we have some above zero temperatures coming our way! It’s has mostly been below -20 since before the holidays, and that level of cold, during a time of underlying stress (pandemic), gets a little difficult to deal with. While I love the pronounced seasons here and all of their individual glory, many weeks of being indoors, or wrapping up very warm for short periods of painful outdoor time, can be challenging. Especially when you crave the outdoors and nature, as I do! So today, as I reflect on the past cold snap, and others in previous years, I’m writing about the relationship we have with our surroundings and all it’s seasonal qualities. How to enjoy it, weather it’s storms and find the beauty, even when it’s driving us crazy! Wherever you are in the world, and whatever you are facing externally and internally, I hope you will join me for a short Sacred Pause today. Get cozy, or find some shade if you are joining me from the Southern Hemisphere, and take a few deeper breathes. Come into your body more fully and let’s sit together for a little while.  

Climate has quite the impact on us humans. We can try to ignore it, or say it doesn’t factor into our well-being, but honestly, I think it does. I also believe that we adapt really well to our surroundings, and that some of us just do better in certain climates. There is certainly a duality to it, as with so many things in life. 

I used to be a sun worshiper. Coming from an island where the skies were often a little more grey than I would have liked, I craved the sun. It’s golden rays warming my face and bringing that ever illusive ‘healthy tan’. Ahh.. being young in the eighties and early nineties! I worked for an airline and when we disembarked at a hot, sunny destination, I was the first one in the pool, or by the pool. Ready to receive all those rays that would cultivate the healthy glow that I craved so much. The wind swept beaches and of my homeland did not serve this kind of warmth. 

Then years later I moved to Australia. And the sun became almost like an enemy. It was harsh. The heat brutal and exhausting, and all I could think about in 42 degrees was how to not be under its scorching rays. I would seek air conditioning in shopping malls and felt fatigue like I’d never felt before. My feet would swell and my calves would throb by mid afternoon. 

And now I live in Canada, where it can get as cold as -40. Some days the icy wind can sear through a thick hat and two hoods, piercing (or so it seems) into the brain! The cold hurts here! So, how does the climate impact our well being, physically and mentally and how to cope with longer stretches of cold, heat, pouring rains, or whatever surrounds you. 

My best answer to this is intention. The intention to make friends (as best we can) with the climate that surrounds us. As with so many outside forces, how we respond to them is the key. Now that doesn’t mean that we suddenly love three weeks of pouring rain. Or a month below -20. Or months on end, sweating just doing our groceries, feeling our legs swelling by the hour. But, being in the present moment with what is and responding with an intention to embrace it as fully as we can, does go a long way to managing the extremes that our surroundings offer. 

Let’s go back to the recent cold snap here in Western Canada. It was long, extremely cold and snowy and lasted the entirety of the Holiday break, in a pandemic! How to embrace that? Well... with intention. The intention to really lean into the good things about winter. Lots of candles around the house. Lots of hot chocolate. A trip to the library to find a reading list for everyone. Hot baths. Finding creative pursuits that fit with the extreme weather, such as ice lanterns or outdoor tree decorations. Cooking warming, uplifting food. Projects like revamping a space in the house, or decluttering, or both. Lego building. Learning a new skills, such as crochet, or macrame. And yes...the craving for the outdoors is still there. So, putting on many, many layers and going out anyway! Short walks, a drive to the forest with a hot chocolate and getting out for even 15 minutes. 

In very hot weather, similar indoor activities are useful, but obviously the energy of the intention is different. Instead of the inward spirit of winter, the energy will feel more expansive and projects and activities reflect that. On scorching days in Australia I would take my then young kids to the beach very early in the morning and we would swim and play until it got too hot. Then library visits, preparing cooling foods and drinks, running a cool bath and having them play for a long time in there. Projects like tie dye or rock painting that would dry in the sun. Evening visits to the beach, park or playground, watching the sun set and hopefully enjoying a slightly cooling breeze. But having the intention to be with what is. Immersing the mind and body in the positive aspects of the conditions that surround us and making that the experience. 

Wherever you are in the world, this practice of intention with our surroundings can and will bring inner peace. If you are in the depths of winter right now and would like a short yoga practice to reflect this time, my Winter Solstice Savasana Meditation will inspire this energy for you. If you are hot and tired in an extreme summer climate, then my Yoga for Tiredness + Fatigue, Gentle Inversion Practice will bring cooling energy to the mind and body. Both are on the home page of this website and on my YouTube channel, to ground and nurture you wherever you are. 

As always, I would love to hear from you about this or any topic. Please leave a comment below or connect with me on this website. I love to hear about your world and your yoga and self care practices. 

Until next time....