How to Cultivate Active Rest and Renewal in the Winter Months
Winter is the perfect time of the year to actively cultivate a rest and renewal program. For many of us, me included, Winter is a difficult time of the year where we feel heavier, sleepier and generally get a little bummed about the colder days and less sunshine. If this is how you feel as we approach winter, why not engage in active rest, work with the natural rhythms of nature and honour what your body is craving?
What if with a few tweaks to your home, your activities and your outlook you could begin to embrace winter, and possibly even learn to love it? Yes, I’m scoffing in shock horror as I say this too.
But there is plenty to learn from our Northern Hemisphere friends. In particular the Danes who consistently rank at the top of the happiness scale.
Dial up your cosiness
One of the reasons is hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”) has recently become a buzz word for all things cozy and comforting. The word is hard to translate literally, but it speaks of coziness, contentment and well-being. A sense that life is good, and meant to be enjoyed. The Danes have learned how to celebrate winter and make it a lovely time of warmth, comfort and enjoyment.
We could take a page from their book and learn to do the same. Try sitting on the couch of an afternoon with a good book and blanket together with your favourite cup of tea. Arrange afternoon tea with some friends or family and enjoy a hot slice of apple crumble or carrot cake with a warm cuppa of your favourite brew.
Niksen Is the Dutch Lifestyle Concept of Doing Nothing. The Dutch concept is truly as simple as, well, doing nothing. Niksen “literally means to do nothing, to be idle or doing something without any use,” says Carolien Hamming, managing director of CSR Centrum, a coaching center in the Netherlands that helps clients manage stress.
Niksen, the art of doing nothing
Where mindfulness is about being present and in the moment, niksen is more about carving out time to just be. Letting the mind wander rather than focusing on the details of an action – think lying down and watching the clouds float past or staring at the wind blowing some autumn leaves around.
Doing nothing may seem lazy but for some of us, it is harder than we think. The mere thought of sitting still for 30 mins can send the best of us into a flurry of productivity to feel as though we’ve earnt that rest.
If you’re someone that finds it difficult to embrace the concept of niksen, then you may want to sit quietly with some knitting, a puzzle or a gentle yoga practice such as yin or restorative yoga. The important thing is to try and cultivate time each week where you actively do nothing much at all.
Since we live increasingly busy lives, these concepts are growing in popularity to combat the busy and constantly connected lives we lead, for stress management and general wellbeing.
Create a lovely nest
If you are someone like me, who suffers the “winter blues” then exposing yourself to more light such as creating a space in your home where you get more sunshine or creating a tropical oasis with indoor plants might be beneficial. I like to add a few extra lamps and candles to my space in the winter, in particular a salt lamp which creates a warm, pink glow adding some summer to any room. If you have a fireplace, fill a basket with wood and pinecones and enjoy the art of building a fire as part of your mindfulness practice.
You may even wish to rearrange your lounge room furniture or add a few new cushions or new plush rug to your space to make it more inviting and encourage conversation amongst your guests.
Creating a space and practice you can enjoy the quieter, cooler months will encourage you to embrace the winter and maybe even come to love it.
For more yoga tips and insights, stay up to date with the Yoga For Good Foundation Blog.
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22nd January 2025 - 12:00 to 1:00pm
Reetu Verma – Transformative Yoga Community Class
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Meeting ID: 859 1833 4994
Passcode: 171949
Join Reetu for an immersive meditation session into the depths of our energy centres. Nourish the systems of your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, ready for the year ahead. Be guided by her inspiring voice to relax into meditation and reconnect with and balance the subtle energies within.
Reetu Verma has 25 years of experience as an academic, teacher and coach, providing support, help and guidance to thousands of people from all walks of life from all over the globe.
During a traumatic near-death experience, she experienced pure light and pure love and embarked on a transformational, personal healing journey. Inspired and totally committed to making a positive difference in the lives of others, helping them on their healing journey to live a healthier, happier life.
She founded Healing, Health and Happiness to expanded her teachings of personal development, into finding life purpose and spiritual growth. Reetu has developed a systematic, practical approach to bring more harmony and a sense of joy into life.
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3rd February 2025 - 12:00 to 1:00pm Sydney Time (9am WA time)
Nicky Smith – Dynamic Relaxation Yoga Community Class
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Meeting ID: 834 8185 1566
Passcode: 326861
Join Nicky to experience the Dru Yoga difference, finding the stillness within. Dru Yoga is a fresh approach to nurture your entire being, balance the nervous system and leave you feeling deeply connected and calm.
Stay cool and calm this Summer with Energy Block Release 7 or Dynamic Relaxation. This sequence is perfect for those hot days when you want to practice some slow yoga. Dynamic Relaxation is well suited for those with a busy mind and who have trouble settling into the stillness of relaxation. The focus is on the coordination of breath and movement in slow, subtle mindfulness, leaving you refreshed.
Nicky is a Dru Yoga Teacher, Dru Meditation Teacher, Dru Breath Coach and Mental Health Aware Yoga Teacher. Her business is True Equanimity Yoga, and her practice focuses on mental health and wellbeing or “innercise”. Nicky lives in Dalyellup, Western Australia and loves to spend her time walking in nature and fostering rescue kittens.
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13th March 2025 - 11:30am to 12:30nn
Melina Murphy – Loving Kindness Restorative Yoga Community Class
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Meeting ID: 838 7373 9503
Passcode: 767969
This loving-kindness yoga class is an extended version of Melina’s insight timer class, held weekly at 7 a.m. at the weekend and sponsored by YFG. The asana sequences are based on traditional yoga and guide our awareness to be super kind and loving to ourselves as we move through this restorative yoga practice.
We fall into Self-love as we move and stretch to open the body, mind and spirit to flow and dive into the deep well of happiness within.
Melina presented at our Annual Retreat 2024, where her joy brought us joy and laughter. She is a healer with thirty years of experience helping people create joyful wellbeing through counselling, herbal medicine, nutrition and yoga.
Melina fell in love with yoga as a teenager, and her passion is going strong. She has been teaching yoga since 2005 and has taught at festivals, in halls and rooms, at her local gym, online, and in her Natural Health Clinic on Djangadi Country.
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