Feeling the Winter Blues? Here’s How to Bring Back Your Light

Even though many of us are ending November without snow (a rare treat in Winnipeg!), the colder temperatures and shorter days still affect us. It’s common to feel the winter blues—lower energy, heaviness, boredom, or loneliness—as the light fades.

Rather than letting those feelings take the lead, winter can be a beautiful opportunity to nourish your body, mind, and spirit. Here are five grounding and uplifting practices to help you feel steadier, cozier, and more joyful this season.

1. Embrace Hygge: Create Comfort at Home

The Danish concept of hygge reminds us to slow down and savour simple pleasures: warm blankets, soft lighting, a favourite tea, gentle music, or a comforting meal. Creating a cozy environment helps winter feel more supportive and less draining.

Hygge isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence, warmth, and ease.

2. Keep Moving (Even If Motivation Is Low)

Movement is one of the best ways to lift your mood during the darker months. Yoga—whether practiced at home, online, or in a studio—energizes the body, reduces stress, and releases natural mood-boosting endorphins.

Practicing with like-minded yogis also creates connection, which is especially valuable in winter.

3. Connect with Nature—Yes, Even in November

Before winter arrives fully, the landscape has its own quiet beauty. Bundle up and step outside for a few minutes each day. Notice the bare branches, crisp air, and soft early-winter light.

A simple 10-minute walk in your neighbourhood can improve mental clarity, reduce stress, and help regulate your breath.

4. Prioritize Soul-Nourishing Self-Care

Winter naturally invites us inward. Use this time to give yourself what you truly need. Try reading for pleasure, taking a warm bath, enjoying a soothing drink, journaling, knitting, baking, or watching something uplifting. Choose activities that restore your energy rather than drain it.

Remember: what you watch, read, think, and surround yourself with all influence your internal world.

5. Practice Gratitude and Meditation

This season lends itself beautifully to reflection. Try writing down three small things you’re grateful for each day.

Even a few minutes of meditation can help anchor the mind, ease anxiety, and reconnect you with inner steadiness. With this approach, winter becomes something you move with, not something you “get through.”

Reframing Winter

Winter doesn’t have to feel bleak. With intention, it can become a season of renewal, rest, and deep self-connection. By embracing coziness, movement, nature, self-care, and gratitude, you create your own inner warmth—no matter what the weather brings.

Stay warm, stay mindful, and keep practicing yoga. Surround yourself with positivity and remember: spring always comes.

Upcoming Yoga Opportunities

Yoga can help you stay grounded this winter and beat the winter blues.

Click here for my Winter 2026 yoga and meditation offerings.

With warmth, love, joy, and gratitude,

Jeannine

P.S. If your winter blues deepen into persistent sadness, sleep changes, hopelessness, or feelings of worthlessness, please reach out to a mental health professional. You’re not alone—support is available.

Honouring Remembrance Day through Presence & Peace

Dear Yoga Friends / Studio 71 Community,

As we move deeper into November, nature reminds us to slow down, turn inward, and reflect. And on Remembrance Day, we are called into an even deeper pause—one of memory, reverence, and gratitude.

Each year on November 11th, in Canada and other Commonwealth countries, we honour those who have served and sacrificed in times of war, conflict, and peacekeeping. At 11 a.m., many of us observe a two-minute silence—not only to remember the lives lost, but also to reflect on the values that veterans upheld: courage, resilience, and the hope for a more peaceful world.

In the practice of yoga, we often speak about presence, non-harming (ahimsa), and interconnectedness. These values mirror the spirit of Remembrance Day. While yoga may not change the past, it helps us meet the present—with an open heart, a clear mind, and a grounded body.

This week, I invite you to take a few extra moments—in your practice or daily life—to sit in stillness. Perhaps light a candle. Breathe deeply. Reflect. Or dedicate your practice to those who’ve come before us, and to the peace we wish to cultivate in ourselves and the world around us.

A Moment of Mindful Remembrance

Here is a simple practice you can do on or around November 11th:

• Find a comfortable seated position or lie down.

• Close your eyes and take a few slow, conscious breaths.

• Bring to mind the intention of remembrance — of honouring those who have served, and of holding space for peace.

• In silence or gently whispered words, you might say:
  “May there be peace. May we remember. May we never forget.”

Please hold this space for one to two minutes, or longer if you prefer.

Yoga as We Remember

Our regular classes continue as usual, except for the morning meditation class on Tuesday, November 11th (no scheduled class).

All are welcome—whether you come seeking movement, stillness, or simply the presence of community.

Let your practice be an offering—of breath, of awareness, of peace.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Jeannine

Joy in Every Season: Reflections from the Circle

Dear Community/Yogis/Friends,

As the leaves turn and the air crisps, we find ourselves surrounded by the unmistakable presence of fall.

Earlier this week, at the conclusion of an iRest Yoga Nidra meditation practice on Zoom, we gathered in our usual sharing circle—a space of honesty, presence, and connection. Our theme was joy, and what unfolded was a beautiful tapestry of perspectives.

Some shared how fall is their favourite season—the colours, the scent of the earth, the sense of quieting down. Indeed, there can be joy in the coziness of sweaters, warm drinks, and the rhythms of nature slowing.

Others spoke just as truthfully about the struggle to feel joyful at this time of year—the pulling up of gardens, the cooler temperatures, the dimming light. For some, fall marks the beginning of a long winter, and with it, a sense of contraction or melancholy.

And yet, woven through the dichotomy of these experiences was a shared thread: the anticipated return of spring—a reminder that change is inevitable and renewal always comes.

This contrast is a powerful illustration of a more profound teaching within the iRest protocol: that joy is not merely a reaction to pleasant circumstances, but a quality that exists beneath our ever-changing experiences. In iRest, joy is recognized as one of the essential qualities of Being—not something we have to chase or earn, but something innate, always accessible, even in moments of sorrow or uncertainty.

Sometimes, joy is radiant—laughter, awe, delight. Other times, it is quiet and spacious—a soft okayness, a tender presence, a simple exhale. It may arise as a gentle acceptance of change or the inner stillness that comes when we stop striving to fix or improve the moment.

So, as we move through this season—whether you’re savouring the crisp air or yearning for the light of spring—I invite you to explore where joy might already be present, not as something to force or fabricate, but as something you can sense, however subtly, when you soften into being just as you are.

You may wish to journal, reflect, or sit quietly with one or more of the following invitations:

• What do I associate with joy? Are these associations always tied to specific conditions or seasons?

• How does joy feel in my body—when it’s clear and when it’s subtle?

• Is it possible that joy is here, even now, alongside discomfort or uncertainty?

To further support your personal exploration of this theme, I’ve recorded a short guided iRest meditation on connecting with your inner joy—not as a feeling to generate, but as a quiet, abiding presence within. Click here to listen to or download the recording (mp4 format) or here for a Zoom audio file.

May your journaling or meditation practice reveal the joy that has always been quietly waiting beneath the surface—in every season, in every breath.

With joy and gratitude,

Jeannine

Last Chance: Sleep Recovery Starts Thursday

Sleeping perfectly every night is rare, and it’s not just you.

Sleep disturbances happen to everyone. Sleep aids and sleep trackers are NOT the answer—they can harm your sleep and overall health. And while important, sleep hygiene practices are just one part of a better sleep solution.

Luckily, there’s good news. We can all learn to sleep better without making significant changes or sacrifices to our daily routines.

If you have tried everything and are tired of feeling tired, join me for a six-week interactive online course on improving the quality and quantity of your sleep without relying on pills, potions, or gadgets.

“This has been the most beneficial self-care program I have ever taken! By the end of the last class, it was astonishing how everyone’s sleep had dramatically improved. Anyone who has issues with their sleep should take this course!” Lynn R.

Don’t let another restless night go by.

Wishing you peaceful slumber,

Jeannine

Sleep Recovery Begins September 18th!

Are you tired of waking up feeling exhausted and frustrated after restless nights?

If you’re ready to put an end to nighttime tossing and turning and finally enjoy restful, rejuvenating sleep, then keep reading.

---

Imagine waking up each morning feeling revitalized, energized, and ready to embrace the day ahead.

Introducing “No More Sleepless Nights,” a 6-week online livestream program that I only offer once a year. It’s designed to help you achieve better sleep—blending yoga teachings and practices with the latest insights from sleep science.

This customizable journey goes beyond simple relaxation techniques; it is your path to unlocking the profound benefits of restorative sleep for your body, mind, and spirit.

“No More Sleepless Nights” incorporates Sleep Recovery™ methodology, which will help you:

• Reclaim your lost energy

• Boost your physical and emotional wellbeing

• Improve your mental clarity

This is more than another self-help “better sleep” program. It’s a transformative sleep recovery experience that empowers you to turn sleepless nights into serene slumber.

“I enjoyed finding reasons behind why falling asleep and staying asleep can be difficult, and ways to combat those reasons! I found the sleep sequence extremely helpful! My quality of sleep has increased a lot. I have found I am much more active during the day now, I have more energy throughout the day and go to sleep at an earlier time. The sleep recovery experience is wonderful knowledge to gain that will help you identify tools to regain positive sleep experiences!”

Rebecca M., Feb 2021

---

Join our yoga community on a transformative journey to achieve better sleep and experience the restful nights you’ve been longing for. This is your chance to say farewell to sleepless nights without relying on pills, potions, or gadgets.

Click here for course details.

The 6-week program starts on Thursday, September 18th—and there are still a few spots left! Don’t spend another night tossing and turning.

If you’re ready to register for the program, act now and click on the button below.

To register for the refresher, email jeannine@studio71yoga.com.

Wishing you peaceful slumber,

Jeannine