Beating the Winter Blues

Suffering from those winter blues, when the nights are dark and the days short? Betty Sutherland Mobility Teacher at our York group has advice on getting fit and staying healthy for the rest of the year.

Betty’s Top Tips for Fitness and Wellbeing

1. To maintain a good immune system, keep the neck warm: wear a scarf
2. Meet up with people if possible, we all feel down during winter: working in a group cultivates positive energy
3. Keep mobile – at a pace that suits your current health and fitness level
4. Join an Action For Elders group near you
5. Exercise at home.

Here’s an exercise everyone can do at home. It will do wonders for the posture (you will never slump again) and make you feel fit and well in just SIX easy steps…

Part the Curtains and feel the Sun…

Start by facing a window in the morning and open the curtain to feel the sunlight…

1. Bring your hands around in front of your tummy button – palms up
2. Bring the hands up the centre of the body and gently – stretch up
3. Turn your palms out above your forehead – push hands to the side – as if parting the curtains to look up at the light
4. Imagine the bright positive energy from the light beaming down through your body
5. Push arms out to the side and gently lower arms to bring the hands back in front of the body to start again
6. Breath in gently, reach up and out as the arms are coming down, breathing in and out through the nose – paying attention to the breath

After these six easy steps oxygen circulates around you – slightly heating up the body – and stretches the muscles gently. The light and movement will make you feel positive and ready for the day ahead.

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