Magazine: Using the Spring as a Springboard to Wellness

Spring is one of my favourite times due to its freshness. Early flowers are out providing colour, buds are everywhere, but there can still be a cold sting – “lambing storms” as they are often called.

It’s the promise of the new that starts to get people outdoors and smiling. I often think it is a better time to start thinking about what I want going forward. New Year is still dark with spring seeming a long way off. It is difficult to be motivated with shorter days. However, each morning now the sun rises a little earlier and sets later.

I often work holistically with my clients – to create energy in our bodies, we need to move and also to sleep well. Spring can be a good time to reset sleep – getting outdoors with that early cup of tea – even if only a few minutes – can gradually reset our natural rhythms. Deep breathing in the fresh air helps us wake our brains, feel more alert and ready for the day ahead. We can also focus on a distant horizon which relaxes our eyes and produces a feeling of calm. The birds are getting louder as they prepare for finding territories to nest and mate. Hearing their songs is a trigger for our own brains for good things to come. Research has shown that birdsong is a powerful sound for our wellbeing. We were hunter gatherers after all! Gently encouraging our clients to think about their sleep, morning and evening routines, can help them re-energise and feel more motivated.

With a longer day, it is easier to schedule in some exercise – an early evening walk in the light is a real treat after a long winter. Again, it allows us to slow our breathing, get some oxygen into our bodies and shift our metabolism after we have been desk bound. With better weather it is also easier to have lunch outdoors, even wrapped up against the chill. Using nature to gently encourage us to look forwards and notice small changes is hugely important. If we or our clients are making changes, they rarely happen quickly. Often, we don’t notice until someone else points it out to us, so noticing the little things helps us recognise that progress is being made, but that it takes time, which is OK. As a coach, positivity makes a huge difference here, most movement counts as exercise.

It is a great time to get things into the diary. Something to look forward to – some fun! We all need downtime, whatever that looks like for us. We naturally feel more inclined to socialise in the spring and summer as it gets warmer. In the winter we snuggle down, but spring, we also want to emerge and be joyous. Try something new; book a concert; a weekend away; a picnic. A little something each week helps us feel engaged with others. Work on creating new, more energising habits as they are easier to create when it is light and we have more time, so we are then more likely to stick to them through the following winter months. In coaching I have seen clients who believe they cannot make decisions, that they procrastinate continually, they don't know what they want to do. I find returning them to their childhood – what did they used to do? What did they and their friends do for fun? In most cases this creates a smile that leads to an action of some description. Once we do something, we create an energy to try something else, a virtuous cycle.

Another way of using this energising time and extra light, is to arrange to meet people for a walk. Who said meetings had to take place in the office? Coffee can be drunk outside too, even with cake! I encourage clients to park further from their office so they get a short walk. Again, a small action begins to create the energy for bigger ones further down the line.

All or any of the above creates a sense of wellness. Natural light makes us smile – use it.

Mandy Dennison