Prepare for winter with vibrant colours and dream watching

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Keeping the body moving and munching root veggies make deep-freeze

survival easier.

Antifreeze for the soul

Prepare for winter with vibrant colours and dream watching

BY Elizabeth Bromstein

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2004-12-02/goods_health.php

NOW | DEC 2 - 9, 2004 | VOL. 24 NO. 14

 

The season of gloom is upon us. It's cold, dark and yucky. You go to

work in the dark. You come home in the dark. It's enough to drive some

of us into a deep funk. To make sure you don't stay there long, try some

proactive winterizing: rearrange your dwelling for maximum light

exposure, accent with exhilarating colours, switch your diet for

cold-weather eating and realize that your movement-loving body needs

loads of self-expression despite your hankering for hibernation.

 

Myself, I find that if I go more than a day or two without some form of

exercise I get seriously out of whack and can even start snarking at

people I care about for no apparent reason. And that is so bad. Best to

nip that sort of thing in the bud before it happens.

 

For some, late fall carries more than the risk of merely grousing about

the low cloud cover – it brings an actual identifiable syndrome, S.A.D.,

seasonal affective disorder. This difficult-to-diagnose affliction, a

form of the blues, can last winter-long, causing fatigue, irritability,

weight gain, anxiety, desperation and difficulty concentrating.

 

This is theoretically connected to seasonal light variations and shorter

days. Some experts advocate exposure to a special fluorescent light box.

Ordinary bulbs won't do the job. They're usually less than 500 lux,

while midday summer sunlight can reach 50,000 lux or higher. But seek

professional help in case your depression is more hardcore. If your

affliction is truly of the climate-controlled variety, you might make

use of all the indoor time and nesting behaviours to figure yourself out

and clear up more long-term emotional ailments.

 

What The Experts Say

 

" Eat/breathe/drink/wear a rainbow a day, specifically

red-orange-yellow-green-sky blue-indigo-violet . Incorporating a full

range of colours, whether in your clothes or the foods you eat or the

colour frequencies you absorb from the visible spectrum, is an important

component in a vibrant existence. Did you know it takes a mere eight and

a half minutes for a light photon to travel from the surface of the sun

to our skin? The DNA strands within our cells communicate with each

other through the colours of the spectrum. "

JULIANNE BIEN , colour light consultant, Toronto

 

" According to traditional Chinese medical theory, each seasonal change

challenges a different meridian. The change to fall, followed by winter,

is considered the hardest time on the lung and kidney meridians. As the

temperature drops outside, lung energy can be compromised by the dryness

of our indoor heating. This affects the yin, or moisture, of the lungs

as well as the defensive energy (immunity). We are also more exposed to

airborne pathogens as windows and doors are closed. The cold can

adversely affect the kidney meridian, too, which stores our vital force

.. Qigong can be helpful. Ginseng is also good. Tai chi (a form of

qigong), while conferring these benefits, also tends to warm you up. "

PAUL McCAUGHEY , traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, Toronto

 

" In cold weather we need comfort food, but we have to be cautious not to

go on the heavy side. Foods that give us grounding, satiation and

comfort are the root vegetables (turnips, beets, carrots, potatoes).

People are afraid of getting fat, but you need a little bit more fat -

otherwise, you catch cold easily. All plants and foods that contain

chlorophyll (are good) because they have already captured the sun's energy. "

VIVIAN LEE , registered holistic nutritionist

 

" Not to deny the existence of S.A.D., but there is more than likely some

predisposition to depression in individuals who suffer from it. When

they experience the absence of sunlight, depression comes to the fore.

This factor alone can contribute to a desire to sleep for longer

periods, which may result in a more active dream life. Dreams are one

way to get a more accurate read on issues. The dream will place you in

some landscape or situation that evokes very particular feelings. Those

feelings and emotions are what you need to pay attention to. Get the

essence of what you were feeling in the dream, then remove it from the

circumstances of the dream and just sit with it to see how it attaches

itself to something in your life. "

JAN OHM, psychotherapist, dream therapist

 

" Humans are built for physical activity, and in the cold this becomes

challenging. One study showed physically active people inactive for a

week became more depressed, anxious, lethargic and irritable and had

trouble concentrating. Recognizing that physical activity has an effect

on your mood and well-being as well as your heart and lungs can be a

motivator. "

KATE HAYS , PhD, registered sports and clinical psychologist, author of

Move Your Body, Tone Your Mood