Benefits of Walking after a Meal

After the busy holiday season of shopping, decorating, traveling, and other high-energy activity, we can be left feeling ill, anxious, or depressed. The reason, according to traditional Chinese medicine, is that the action-packed schedules we keep at this time of year fall out of sync with the earth’s natural cycles. “We naturally have less energy to burn during the winter,” explains acupuncturist Carolyn Cohen, L.Ac.,. “So when we engage in behaviors more appropriate for summer—staying up late and dashing around town—it’s no wonder that the forced cheer of the holiday season can wear a bit thin.” Winter is a time for storing and conserving energy in the way a bear retains fat by hibernating, or a farmer stores food for the cold months ahead. In traditional cultures, people spend these shortest, darkest days indoors by the fire, eating warm, slow-cooked, nourishing food and sharing stories with their families. The imbalance between winter’s restful, introspective nature and the frenetic way many of us spend our winter months can contribute to seasonal affective disorder, depression, exhaustion, and other illnesses. During the darkest months of the year, instead of turning inward, many of us have hectic schedules with excess activity. This artificiality creates stress, and many people dread the season as a result. To stay balanced during winter, conserve your energy. Restorative yoga, stretching, chi gong, and walking are best suited for the winter season, as they safeguard your energy reserves. “Think of these practices as an investment of your ‘energy paycheck,'” says Cohen. “Don’t use up what little winter energy you have with overactivity and added stress.” Eating cooked, spicy foods provides another good way to replenish energy. Prepare soups, slow-simmered stews, beans, roasted root vegetables, and warm drinks. Examples of root vegetables are pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, butternut squash, other hard winter squashes, fennel, radishes, onions, and sweet potatoes. Add spices such as garlic, ginger, black pepper, cloves, turmeric, and basil to increase the warming effect. Minimize your intake of cooling foods such as raw vegetables, salad greens, and cold drinks. Be sure to nourish your mind and spirit, too. Winter nourishment is not only about food and physical health. It is a time to “go inside” and spend some quieter time resting, restoring, meditating, journaling, and creating. It’s also a time to nourish relationships, spending time with people who matter in our lives. If you purposely add more quiet, peaceful activities and warming foods during winter, you’ll stay in tune with the season and feel less need to release tension by overeating or overspending. You’ll also have more time and energy to connect with close friends and family and more in step with the quiet, nurturing nature of winter. Inspired by "Staying Healthy During Winter" Yoga Journal, January 20, 2025

Earthing, or grounding, is an ancient practice of making direct contact with the earth (mainly by walking barefoot). The idea behind earthing as a health practice is that by having the skin meet the earth, we can help neutralize the electric charge that runs through our bodies.

Guess what? Your stomach doesn't have teeth. Digestion starts in our mouths. You may have heard, "We are what we eat." But I believe it's actually, "We are what we digest and assimilate." Don't assume our bodies get the all the nutrition in the foods we eat.