Waking from a deep sleep

{ Our former Police Headquarters—Google the current one if you want to cry  |  1 April 2013 }

This winter seems to be dragging on a bit, despite the sporadic bouts of warmth, and with it, I've definitely been dragging a bit, too. My hibernation mode means I'm not feeling as sleek (cold air and high heaters wreck havoc on the skin!), strong (have been quite the lazybones when it comes to weights and things), or flexible (ditto on yoga) as I did just a few months ago.

The only thing that has been somewhat countering this yucky situation I find myself in are the loooooong walks I've been taking—and even those I had to stop for a while because they were too painful. Watery eyes from blustery winds + freezing temperatures = Frozen face. You may think this doesn't bode well for any future move to Sweden, but at least there I'll be expecting it and will be prepared. Here I'm still in denial about the meteorologic state of things.

Clearly I need a little seasonal freshening up, so recently I've been:


+ Drinking stovetop-heated water with liberal squeezes of juice from Meyer lemons first thing in the morning to boost my immune system, balance pH levels, gently push toxins out, keep my lymph system happy and get my digestive juices flowing (sometimes I add a capful of Apple Cider Vinegar to my potion if I've had a particularly heavy or spicy meal the night before).

+ Dry brushing my whole body before a shower and my face in the morning and evenings to get rid of dead skin, promote elasticity, cell renewal and blood flow, continue to keep my lymph system happy, get toxins on their way, and help with digestion. I found a natural, long-handled brush from the drugstore for my body and this wee, horsehair brush for my face from MUJI. In the mornings I use the face brush dry on my skin and in the evening I smear my winter oil concoction on my face first to take off makeup/dirt and then swirl the brush over my face and neck.

+ Reinvigorating how I exercise. I think one of the reasons I haven't made an effort lately to get up and move in the morning is because I was bored (and / or cold!). So last week I looked up some new ideas for strength / body-weight moves (Pinterest is great for this!), updated my routines (I put together Google Drive slideshows targeting different muscle groups or grouped by style of workout and then I just access them on my phone when I'm ready to go—they're easy enough to see while my phone is perched in its armband). I also downloaded some new Yoga Podcasts because I want to get back into it after a bit of a break. I liked how I felt and how my body aligned itself when I was practicing regularly. You could say that I'm a little unaligned at the moment.

Hopefully a little of this and a little of that will give me a little spring-appropriate rebirth / rejuvenation of sorts. So far I've noticed the most benefit from face brushing—my skin looked much brighter after just one day. And! Even though I didn't have the best luck with Pure Synergy (although I've been thinking of trying them again since I didn't take the full dosage the first time around and they're still the cleanest product I've seen), I HAVE had some luck with the Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega D3 capsules that I started taking a month ago. Given how hard it is to buy fish I feel good about, I wanted to get my Omega 3's from a supplement and I figured that while I was at it, a little Vitamin D was in order. While I haven't had the elusive burst of energy I'm looking for, I did at least notice a slight uptick in my energy level and way less of the endless yawning I usually do, so maybe there's something to it?

I've also been looking into a few other vitamins and supplements to augment things, but it'll be a while before I can share since I'm still awaiting my Amazon box of goodies to arrive and I want to incorporate them one at a time so I can pinpoint which ones actually have an effect.

And, I hope I don't sound like one of those slightly neurotic, pill-popping fanatics—the wacky type that makes everyone around them feel slightly uncomfortable (the odd thing is I don't really talk about this at all except for here). I've just become interested in these things over the last few months because even after eating and living fairly cleanly for a few years, I've never felt as good as I think I should feel by living that way. Plus, reading about how our produce today has less vitamins and minerals than a generation ago (thanks to soil depletion and pollution), I figured it might not hurt to give my system a little help...right?