Hurray! Snow and cold are finally gone, Spring is in!

I wrote this a few days ago, with the intention to encourage you for taking your exercise outdoors. Yoga, Qi gong, Tai Qi, just simple gymnastics or running, whatever works for you after the winter spent in closed spaces.

But, to my surprise, the snow returned with a vengeance!

I saw blizzard through my window, first thing this morning! Wow! I liked the look of it!

Contrary to being terrified before, on the rare occasions when we had snow in London in the past twenty years I’ve been living here! Having swapped my native Bulgaria for London, and not having visited there during the winter, I had started thinking of myself as of somebody who could no longer cope with the under zero temperatures. But,  as it happened, this winter and the previous one, I spent a few months in snowy Bulgaria. Apparently, I have re-adapted a bit to the cold weather, I not only survived the snow and cold in London two weeks ago, but I also functioned in full capacity!

So now, I am giving you some tips for coping in the cold, snowy weather.

Firstly, the positive attitude helps. Instead of getting terrified or depressed by the “never-ending” cold, think about the goodies. Snow clears the air from the city pollution. The bugs causing the flu cannot function in under zero temperatures. Snow supplies plenty of water.

When it gets suddenly that cold, our first desire is to hibernate. But the truth is that we are better off when moving more in order to keep ourselves warm. Of course, the suitable clothing helps. A few thin layers would be better than one thick pullover as the air between them keeps our own temperature. Scars, hats and gloves will keep the body warmth inside. Shoes and boots should be such that keep your feet warm and dry.

Keeping yourself warm from inside is the best answer to cold.

Ginger tea helps very much. I make my own tea by peeling and chopping a piece of ginger root into boiling water. It is delicious on its own or with a few drops of lemon. Sometimes I boil the gingers pieces in the kettle, so the tea is enough for all day long. Usually I top up the water and boil it again and this way some more tea is made using the same ginger. The cost could be about 30p. One lemon in Sainsbury’s is 40 p. chose the ones with thinner skin, they would surprise you with the amount of juice you would squeeze out of them. If get a lemon with thicker skin, you can chop it into the tea in order to use the essential oil from the peel. The taste could be a bit bitter. And, remember to wash the lemon before use!

Warming soups are also very recommendable in the cold weather. The carbohydrates are used for energy and warmth, so the potatoes would be the main ingredient.

Potatoes soup – simple and easy. Chop or throw in 1 litre of water:

1 large potato, or 2 medium potatoes

1 large carrot

¼  small onion

2 garlic cloves

1 piece of ginger

Half chilly pepper without the seeds (optional)

Bring to boil and leave to simmer for 15-20 min. Switch off the stove and add the salt to your taste. Add a pinch of thyme. You may want to liquidize this soup.  Add oil when serving. Black pepper is also optional, but adds to warming effect. Will be enough for two.

If you want to add some protein to your potatoes soup, you can make it

chicken soup:

Place 1 whole chicken leg with removed skin in the water and add the carrot, onion, garlic and ginger from the above recipe. Start peeling the potatoes and when ready, chop them and add them to the boiling soup.

Proceed further following the recipe above.  If you want to make more soup, double the products you use.

Note: the picture above is Vegetable soup with pasta, ingredients are obvious.

Expel the chill in case it happened that you have already caught some of it.Here is the best recipe to expel it. Hot bath with some sea salt in it ! Actually, for a bath tube you need a kilo of sea salt, sold in health food shops. The price used to be £5 long ago, I have been back to my showers for ages now.  In case we can’t have a bath, just a foot bath with hot water and sea salt with do the job. You make it with a handful of salt in a bowl large enough to accommodate your feet. Make the water bearable for yourself and keep the kettle with boiled water next to you, so you can warm your foot-bath when it cools down. Soaking your feet for 15-20 min in this hot bath would be enough. Apart from expelling the cold form your body, there are additional benefits from such a bath. Your feet skin and your nails get softened u can carry on some hygiene procedures on them.  You can apply some warming cream or gel which can be easily absorbed. Salty water bath helps with fungal infections. Only make sure you dry your feet well afterwards. Some people use talcum powder for proper drying and for adding nice aroma.

I have always preferred aromatherapy.

Tea tree and lavender essence, 1 drop of each in 1 table spoon of almond oil makes good massage oil for body and feet. I would use it in the evening as Lavender also helps for good sleep. Only, I would rinse my feet from the salty water and dry them before applying the aroma oil.

And, if cold weather makes you very uncomfortable or left you with some aches, don’t hesitate, call and book a treatment with me, I am sure I can help.