When the Christmas lights are a distant dream, and the bleak, foggy drabness of a typical British winter lingers on, it can potentially be easy to lose focus and hope.
With winter light hours in the UK casting a gloomy average of between seven to eight hours, and January hosting the notorious ‘Blue Monday’ on the third Monday of the month, SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is thought to affect over 2 million people in the UK every year.
According to the National Health Service, SAD symptoms include feeling lethargic, sleeping for longer than normal, finding it hard to get up in the mornings, a persistent low mood and loss of interest in normal activities. So, if your body is longing for slowness, it might not necessarily be SAD, but it’s reminding you of the current season. ‘Wintering’ describes our experience of lower energy levels from less sunlight and slower circulation, making us feel chilly, sleepier and craving more rest.
We can look to nature, where everything slows down for the winter, to see a parallel.
A wintry British walk will offer sights such as mulched leaves and barren trees seemingly devoid of life, shrubs and bushes that appear impoverished and impotent. Yet, a whole lot of unseen work is taking place beneath their wasted exteriors. Trees are dormant for the winter – above ground. Below, sap migrates down to the roots, which extend to create a firmer base for the tree and to seek out water, in preparation for spring growth.
Let’s apply this analogy of quiet, wintry work to our dancing life.
When stimulating Nutcracker and pantomime seasons are over, the lack of routine and busyness can feel depressing. What can dancers do to see themselves positively through this time of wintering?
Firstly, hibernation and resting time is normal and natural, prior to preparation for spring growth.
#1. Focus on what you can control. And your reaction to what you can’t control – i.e. We can’t control the weather, but we can control our response to it.
#2. View the year ahead and each new day we are granted like gifts waiting to be unwrapped. Allow your imagination dreaming time and see where it takes you.
#3. Use resting time to recharge yourself in other ways; listen to music, read, doodle, create a mood board, make plans.
#4. Seek beauty in nature. Get outside in daylight – and any sunshine on offer – to boost your vitamin D production and serotonin levels.
#5. What are your other interests? Allow yourself time to indulge in them.
For days when it seems impossible:
Practice self-compassion. Care for and speak kindly to yourself as you would a loved one. A basic practice of meditation is Acceptance. With acceptance of our current feelings that are fluid – they can come and go – we can then give energy to moving forward.
When motivation and willpower have left the building, we need to work out how to fuel the body. Oxygen! Purposefully slow the breath, relax the jaw and repeat the word ‘love’ to yourself. Try placing your hand over your heart; close your eyes and feel its rhythm. Now get the window open and continue with this breathing exercise.
Roll the shoulders, slowly, several times.
Look at an object, something very close to you and hold your eyeline for a couple of minutes. Now look at something far away outside in the distance and hold your gaze again.
Tap lightly with your fingertips, across the cheeks, jawline, down the neck and across the collarbone to release feelings of stress and anxiety and promote energy. Repeat the process as you feel you can.
As a choreographer, I’ve always loved the ‘secret’ work behind the scenes. The preliminary rehearsals where no observers are permitted, where ideas are trialled and it’s a real thrill to think of the eventual reactions of the audience, once all the kinks have been ironed out, the use of a skirt, or prop have been added in and the work is finally ready to be unveiled and have its time in the spotlight, like a blossoming tree. We’ve glossed over stressful evenings when three people are missing and nothing looks as it does in your head, because there are always difficult elements in any work!
Change your view and change your life. Focus on the joy of planning and preparation. What fruits do you want to see in your life? Even if you don’t know, starting out on the pathway of movement and improvement will travel you forward.
#1. As a dancer, maybe this looks like building your warmth and motivation from the inside out each day by getting yourself moving in a luxurious port de bras. Use music that inspires you – a different favourite piece each day? – and makes you want to move. Get your new legwarmers or leotard on to help yourself to feel good – even if takes a little more effort.
#2. Winter’s an ideal time to work on your technique. Improve your tendus, or your upper body strength by adding in some weights — quiet work that will shine through every aspect of your dancing in the warmer months when performances and showcases tend to be plentiful!
#3. Engage in small activities that can be done in front of the TV on a cold dark evening. What corrections are your regulars in class – and what do you need to improve in these areas? Foot exercises with a theraband, or balances to improve pirouettes.
#4. A good time to get on the Pilates mat and build a little routine for yourself, attend an exercise class that is outside your usual range, or wrap up and exercise outdoors for an adrenalin rush?
#5. Research recipes that will nourish and fuel you, build your resistance to winter bugs and challenge yourself to try making something new once a week.
More mud on the ground than grass at this time of year often hides the peeping shoots of early spring. Looks messy but the beauty is there, waiting for the right time to peak. Sunlight and water, nutrients and, with time, warmth. Give yourself the same nourishment and once you start, perhaps your list and your energy will grow quite naturally kickstarting your preparation for blossoming into spring.
For days when you need encouragement to continue:
Get clean, get dressed, and get warm. Keep repeating those tasks to yourself until you’ve completed them. Now sit on the stairs or a dining chair and close your eyes. Sink and let your body slouch. Make conscious efforts to take deep breaths in and match them with slow breaths out. With every breath in, grow your body tall, like a tree, preparing to sprout leaves and blossom. Now sway a little, side to side as though being gently blown in the breeze. Breathe in as you sway one way and out as you sway the other. Allow fluidity through your spine and your neck. Bring your hands up and cup your face with them. Pause and enjoy the sensation of touch. And bring an affirmation to your breathing. Repeat ‘Yes I can’ as you breathe in, and again as you breathe out. Eyes still closed, or maybe opening now as we prepare for the day ahead. Stand and stretch up – really stretch and yawn. And repeat. Open your eyes and your jaw wide. Give yourself a smile in the mirror and go!
By Louise Ryrie of Dance Informa.
