This article I wrote for Top Sante magazine celebrates getting outside and working with the power of the wind to boost your health and wellbeing – and ease stress!
Proving that there’s no such thing as bad weather – just a bad attitude to it that can make it feel lousy to you – I looked at the Dutch people’s hardy attitude to wind.
Rather than shutting themselves away from windy weather, they embrace it, deliberately using it as a means of blasting away stress in a practice known as ‘uitwaaien’.
There’s no English equivalent of the word, but – roughly translated – it means ‘out blow’ and it involves getting out into blustery conditions to exercise; whether taking a walk, going on a run or cycling.
More refreshing and exhilarating than indoor exercise, pushing against the wind and letting it take your breath away as you exert yourself helps clear the mind, they say; it blows out the ‘bad air’, replacing it with ‘good air.’ And anxiety levels drop as a result.
There’s no doubt that being active outside can have positive effects. One study published in Environmental Science & Technology found that exercising outdoors (as opposed to indoors) was associated with greater vitality, fulfilment and enjoyment.
“It’s far more exhilarating than being in a stuffy gym,” says Kezia Luckett, Positive Psychologist (kezialuckett.com). “Even just 10 minutes of outdoor exercise has been proven to act as a kind of natural medicine, helping to restore mental fatigue, improve our moods and reduce stress. Being out in nature – and specifically in the wind – can make you feel expansive and free; the total opposite to how you might feel in a gym surrounded by other people and standing in line for your turn to go onto a machine.”
So don’t let windy weather keep you indoors – you out and enjoy it! Let a breeze spur you on to move and feel energetic. Let it change your mood. Use it on a run or walk to help spur you on
And don’t forget to have fun! Next time you’re looking for a way to shed your stress, remember that the answer just might be blowing in the wind!
Photo by Top Sante and Frank Vessia on Unsplash