How Meditation Can Help You Survive the Winter

During the cold, dark days of winter, many of us wake up later, leave the house less often, and may struggle to stay motivated. This time of year tends to feel longer and more stressful than the sunnier months. Meditation is one mind-body practice that has a powerful effect on boosting your mood. Meditation can be a useful tool to combat the winter blues experienced during the cold, darker times of the year.

Some experts suggest that mindfulness-based practices (such as meditation and yoga) may also help people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of mood disorder that people may experience during the fall and winter months.

“Meditation offers us an island of sanity in our chaotic and noisy reality,” says Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, co-founder and chief learning officer of the Academy for Happiness Research.

Practice Mindfulness Meditation

There are many techniques worth trying, but mindfulness meditation is highly recommended for reducing anxious thoughts, improving mood and managing stress. Best of all, you can use this technique any time of the day.

Dr. Ben-Shahar will explain the four main guidelines of mindfulness meditation and how they can be useful in your daily practice.

Finding focus

Focus your mind on one object: it can be a body posture, a physical sensation, a word, a visual cue, a sound, or even another person.

Back in focus

Mindfulness doesn’t require continuous concentration. Our minds will inevitably wander, but when we notice this, we need to bring our focus back to whatever the object of our meditation is.

Breathe slowly, gently and deeply

This is true of most meditation practices, but not all, and breathing is often the foundation of the practice: breathing deeply, slowly, and gently creates positive change.

Practice acceptance without judgment

The key when meditating is to let go of expectations. You don’t expect to be calm or to have joy or focus. When you meditate, give yourself permission to be human. When you embrace the light, gentle quality of breathing calmly, life becomes easier.

Meditate often for more benefits

Like writing, running, or cooking, meditation is a skill that should be practiced. The more you practice, the better you will get at it. But be careful, too much practice can lead to burnout.

Meditation is meant to help you ground yourself in where you are, bring you back to the present, and become aware of all the sensations that surround you. If you are new to meditation, start slowly and know that a short meditation session can provide just as much benefit as a longer one.

Chris Remig, CHT, a contributor to Choosing Therapy, recommends starting with five minutes each morning and meditating in short, manageable sessions over an extended period of time. As it becomes more of a habit, you can increase the time and number of daily sessions.

Building sustainable practices

Meditation can be practiced anywhere, anytime, but everyone practices differently. What works for one person may not work for you. If you’re new to meditation, listen to your body and be patient with yourself.

If you’d like to start a meditation practice or improve your current practice, you might find these suggestions helpful.

Listen with Intention

Because meditation is about present-moment awareness, Dr Ben-Shahar says we can simply focus on the sounds around us – not perceiving them as a distraction, but as the object of our meditation itself.

Sit quietly

Dr. Paul Green, director of the Manhattan Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, recommends meditating when you won’t be interrupted. While it’s natural to want to de-stress when things are chaotic at home, he doesn’t think that’s the right time to meditate.

Focus on your breath

The key to meditating and lowering stress levels is breathing, and Dr Ben-Shahar recommends breathing in and out slowly, gently and quietly, ideally from the nose to the abdomen.

Avoid excessive meditation

While meditation is beneficial, too much of anything can be problematic, and Dr Ben-Shahar says that just 10 minutes of meditation a day can change the structure of your brain, ultimately supporting your overall health.

Try a guided meditation

If you’re new to meditation, it can be helpful to have someone to guide you. There are plenty of free meditation videos and recordings available online, and you can also download apps like Headspace, Calm or Sattva. Dr Green says these can help you get started, but meditating alone is more effective.

Meditation is restorative

While meditation can help lower stress levels, Dr. Ben-Shahar says it’s important to realise that stress itself isn’t the problem. Stress can help us become stronger, more resilient and healthier – we just need to incorporate recovery time.

“Think about working your muscles hard at the gym,” says Dr. Ben-Shahar. It makes them stronger, but without recovery, you’ll get injured. Recovery is necessary to reap the benefits, and meditation provides the recovery you need, he explains.

Things to keep in mind

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to meditation, it is most effective with consistent practice, so you can still reap the benefits of meditation even when your mind wanders or you run out of time.

This winter, take note of how you’re feeling. If you have a healthy meditation practice but are still experiencing elevated stress or anxiety, consider additional methods of self-care like individual or group therapy. While meditation should be used as a mental health tool, understand that it’s not the only thing you can use.