Spring Practices for Energy & Vitality
Dear Lead with Love Friends,
MARCH CHECK-IN
This is the time of year when we begin to emerge from hibernation. No matter where you live, the first signs of Spring are a welcome reprieve from a long winter. For me, the slightly warmer and longer days coupled with sunnier skies is a mental salve from the coldest months where I live in Colorado. It is far from over here (we often see snowstorms in May), but even a glimpse of Spring’s renewal brings waves of gratitude.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is very real and its effects are certainly amplified by the forced solitude of the pandemic. So, please know that you are not alone if you are feeling tired, unmotivated and even a little beat down by this season. We humans crave sunshine and fresh air so the easing of Winter weather is going to bring all of us needed rejuvenation and energy! I’ve got some fun ways to lean into the opportunities for getting your energy flowing outlined below.
I’m also thrilled that this newsletter is arriving in your inbox on International Women’s Day. Lead With Love has always been a women-founded and led organization. We do count some amazing and conscious men among our respected advisors and advocates but the company itself is run by women from the smallest, daily task to the highest level strategy. We work collaboratively with one another to craft thoughtful programming and engage with our beloved community. On that note, thank you all for supporting this female-centric group all of these years!
So, let’s get to it. Read on for some pearls of wellbeing and as always, I am here to support you on your own path to whole health so reach out anytime.
Turmeric Tea to help you transition to Spring with ease
Ayurvedic wisdom says that the transition from winter to spring is the most profound as we end one annual cycle and begin another.
According to Ayurveda, Kapha dosha (the energy of Earth & Water) accumulates throughout the winter as we slow down and conserve energy. With the arrival of Spring, the sun helps to burn off the excess Kapha dosha. Congestion clears, the winter pounds shed and our bodies require a little less sleep. Springtime is perfect for cleansing, for starting to awaken a bit earlier and for moving your body to shake out stagnant energy.
Some people find this transitional time of year can disrupt and slow their digestion. Creating herbal tonics in the form of natural teas is a simple and effective way to ease your body from one season to the next.
Root vegetables such as turmeric are among the first to be ready for harvest in early Spring. Turmeric is said to increase your natural immunity and to aid in purifying the intestinal tract from any accumulated waste due to eating heavier foods in the winter.
You can take turmeric in capsule form as a supplement but drinking it as a tea enables the powerful plant to be better absorbed by your body. You can purchase turmeric teas at your local healthy grocery store or you can make your own from scratch. Another popular way to drink turmeric is as a golden milk beverage. There are numerous companies that sell this formulation.
Below is a simple tea recipe. A note: Turmeric does have a distinct flavor and texture and it can stain your skin and clothing so be careful while preparing and a touch of honey is usually perfect for making it palatable.
Turmeric: 2 tsp Ground turmeric or grate about 1 1/2 tsp of fresh turmeric root.
Lemon Juice: 1 freshly squeezed lemon
Honey: Just a small amount for sweetness (1 tsp or less)
Black Pepper: A pinch of black pepper helps your body absorb the curcumin from the turmeric
Add 8 oz water, turmeric, lemon juice, honey, and black pepper to a small pot, then whisk together.
Heat on high just until the tea starts to boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Let the tea cool for a minute or two. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy.
Choose to step into your power.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver
You will find Mary Oliver’s poem, The Journey, in a collection called Ten Poems To Change Your Life. Her inclusion in that book is to be expected.
Mary Oliver’s works will resonate in your bones and reading her poems is like looking into a mirror of your soul’s deepest held desires.
She was often described as a mystic and she lived a quiet, authentic life while her words spoke loudly to women and men alike.
Mary rarely gave interviews so this one from On Being is truly a gem.
Exercise? Nah, let’s talk about simply moving with freedom and joy!
Forget workouts. If you’ve learned anything this past year, it is to prioritize your time so it is spent doing what you LOVE.
This month, it seems appropriate to focus on a wellbeing practice that can sometimes be daunting but that I promise you can be absolutely fun and joyful beyond imagination if approached with the right attitude. I am talking about physical movement — sometimes referred to by the dreaded word “exercise”. Before you quit reading further, let me assure you that I personally find the concept of exercise off-putting and unappealing. So, let’s leave that word in the rearview and try a different approach altogether. There are tons of ways to start moving your body and receiving all of the myriad benefits without any of the mental trauma associated with working out.
I purchased a Peloton about 3 1/2 years ago. My home is situated at high altitude (9,000ft) with tons of Winter snow and a long drive from a fitness studio or gym. I actually taught group yoga classes in Aspen for many years so I would trek to town a couple times a week to teach and I loved it. But when it came to my own practice, I found the 2+ hour roundtrip commute to the studio too overwhelming to undertake on my days off. So, I wanted to get moving at home. Thus, the Peloton. And in the winter especially, it was a lifesaver! I still have it and I still ride it often, but like most people, I do find variety to be crucial to motivate me to actually get up and start moving my body.
First, I abandoned the idea of movement as a regimented way to achieve some ideal body tone or shape a long time ago. It was just not a fun enough reason to even get started. I was never a gym rat. I have worked in gyms on and off over the years as an instructor but found the treadmills, ellipticals and other equipment to be deathly boring. I did find many group classes that I enjoyed like yoga, circuit training and spinning. A great instructor can change your life and propel you through an hour of movement that feels like only minutes. I learned a few things about myself as I tried out different ways of moving. I am sharing these insights as I hope they might help you find your favorite ways to move.
Music is a powerful tool. I love music in general. A live concert is one of my favorite ways to pass the time and my dating (& marriage) history shows a clear affinity for musicians. So, one of my requirements for moving my body in a class or even alone is to have a kickass playlist. Sometimes I get on my Peloton and I don’t even turn on a streaming class. I just put in my ear buds and crank a fast paced song as I turn up the resistance and climb a hill for a few minutes, then I switch to a more chill tune and sit in the saddle and pedal for speed. I do this for about 13 songs and am happy to see that I’ve ridden about 15 miles and enjoyed every minute because I was listening to the music I love.
Variety is the spice of life. Not only does changing up your movement practices have the benefit of challenging new muscle groups and firing neurons in new patterns, it also keeps you interested and engaged. An hour will pass a whole lot faster if you aren’t doing the same old thing that you’ve done a thousand times before. Now, I do have some staple practices like yoga because I want to maintain my flexibility but even my yoga sequences get shaken up regularly to keep me on my toes. My friend, Jayne, launched a new platform last year called The Body Practice. There are 6 different styles of practice and within those styles, a ton of different sequences. It is all based in yoga but infused with her background in dance and I have yet to take the same class twice.
Fun is a requirement. I am not a sadist and I am moving my body because I care about myself and my family and I want to be healthy and energized to live a full life. I am not exercising to fit into a pair of jeans or to post before and after pics on social media. I don’t actually use social media because I’m really devoted to being happy but that’s a conversation for another day. If I’m enjoying myself, I can move and challenge my body in the name of having fun.
Sometimes solitude is just the ticket and other days, friends are welcome. Due to COVID, most of my movement is done alone or with my husband and daughter. But, thanks to the warming weather, there are opportunities to get outside with friends. Again, if you are bringing variety to your body practices, then there are days you will crave alone time and days when the accountability of hanging out with your friends will help you stay motivated. The running theme here is that rigidity will not serve most of us. Tune into your mind and body and truly ask what you NEED before you decide to commit to how you will get moving.
So, what does a week in my life of daily movement look like? Yes, I said DAILY. My ONLY goal is that I move my body for an hour each day. There aren’t any rules although the guidelines above ensure that I will actually reach my goal. Here is a breakdown of my past week:
Monday - I took a 4 mile walk with my daughter through the neighborhood where my remote office is located. I work online and she goes to school online. We usually finish up at 3:30pm and then take a walk. We’ve got a 2 mile loop that we love and we do it twice. It’s a great time for us to reconnect after being immersed in our screens all day. The walk is briskly paced and takes just under an hour. When we get back home, I do about 15-20 minutes of strength training with light weights and some crunches all while blasting Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Tuesday - I have a ton of meetings on Tuesdays but Zoe and I still squeeze in one 2 mile loop walk on our lunch break. It starts snowing pretty heavily so we know we won’t make it on our long walk later in the day. When I get home, I hop on my Peloton with a new playlist and alternate standing up and sitting down song by song until the list ends. I use Shazam to grab songs from movies and tv shows. I had just binge watched a tv show with a great 90s soundtrack so my new playlist was a walk down memory lane.
Wednesday - Zoe doesn’t have classes on Wednesday so I can get to the office a bit later. I decided to move in the morning by streaming one of Jayne’s classes. It’s a BODYalive class so I get pretty sweaty and I’m actually very happy to do this one alone because I’m not the most rhythmic girl you’ve ever met. I flail around in my living room and sweat as much from laughing as from dancing and moving.
Thursday - I grab the short walk with Zoe at lunch (2 miles) but we want to spend time outside with the dogs when we get home later that day. We’ve got a pretty decent little hill in our backyard where we’ve been sledding a bunch this winter. We layer on the snow clothes and boots and repack the sled trail. The 3 dogs running circles around us make for great obstacles. The top layer of snow is crunchy this time of year and the under layers are softer so we sink up to our knees as we pack down the trail. Then we start sledding to the bottom and hiking up to the top for another go — over and over and over again. I have no idea how many calories this burns and I don’t care. We have a blast and we are out there for about an hour. Me, my kid, and the dogs all fall asleep very easily that night.
Friday - There is a hiking trail near our house. The snow is still way too deep to hike but thankfully, we have snowshoes. My husband gets home early and the 3 of us set out for the trailhead. It’s pretty magical to spend time in the woods when they are covered in snow. It is super quiet except for the sound of our snowshoes crunching. If you haven’t tried using snowshoes before, it’s definitely different than just walking. You really have to kind of lift your heel and stomp forward and it works muscles you didn’t know you had. For us though, the whole point is to be together in the woods and to see our favorite trail in a new light. We just hike up as far as we can for about 40 minutes and then turn around and head down. Seeing the colorful stellar jays agains the snow covered forest occupies our attention and the time passes without notice.
Saturday - There is a retreat center a few miles from my house called Beyul. Some friends opened it last year and it has gorgeous trails weaving through their large wilderness property. I drive up there to meet my friends, Skippy and Jamie. We strap on our Nordic skis and head out on a cross country adventure. The trail is narrow so we are lined up like a Choo Choo train with our canine friend, Baxter, in the lead. We ski out a few miles and then loop back to the retreat center. We don’t fall as much as predicted. We do laugh copiously. We are out there for about an hour and a half. The sun is out, the sky is blue and the conversation is flowing. Baxter is bonus entertainment.
Sunday - Since it is Spring, the snow is melting lower down in the valley so my husband, daughter and I load up our bicycles and drive into downtown Basalt. We park in town and unload the bikes for a 5 mile ride into Willits. We get lunch to go and dine al fresco at a picnic table in the park. It is 54 degrees and sunny outside. After lunch, we loop back to Basalt by taking the Rio Grande trail through a scenic ranch property. The whole trip is about 10 miles and our cheeks are rosy from the sunshine. It felt so good to be back on our bikes for the first time in 5 months!
There you have it. A full week’s worth of activity and physical movement and no emotional trauma. If you aspire to have more energy and to treat your body with care so that it lasts a long time, I do recommend simply moving it every day. It doesn’t have to be intense and it doesn’t have to be painful (mentally or physically). Think of ways to enjoy your magnificent human form and maybe to include others whose company you love.
Recommended - Love In Action Support Our Women
It is through caring for our selves that we find the courage, strength and motivation to meet each day with purpose. Our program, Love In Action, is all about showing up to do what needs to be done on behalf of humanity. So, please, do fill your cup -- and then advocate for those who may not be so fortunate.
in gratitude and service,
Jess
Jess Ewart has been teaching yoga and meditation for 15 years. She completed her 500AWC at Kerala Ayurveda Academy in 2011 and she's been a proud member of the Lead With Love family for almost 6 years.
This pioneer turns 87 this month. Thank you, Gloria.
“Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke . . . She will need her sisterhood.”
― Gloria Steinem
Happy International Women’s Day to all who identify as such. We see you, we celebrate you, we encourage you. We rise together.