NEXT AVENUE - SPECIAL SECTION
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How to Embrace the Joys of Winter This Year By Wendy Helfenbaum
Move over, hygge. After many months cooped up at home since the pandemic started, many of us may be totally over the Danish concept of cozy cocooning indoors. Instead, more people are embracing the joys of friluftsliv – Norwegian for "open air living." As snowbirds wonder whether heading south is too risky due to the pandemic and gathering indoors still isn't safe, many might worry about a long winter with not much to do. However, making a commitment to celebrate time outdoors can help make colder months bearable by boosting both our physical and mental well-being, experts at Marian University in Indianapolis say. Just two hours a week spent in a natural environment has a positive effect, according to a recent study in the journal, “Nature.” "There's no one-size-fits-all to have a good wintertime mindset; it's meant to be flexible, where you think about the possibilities you might have been closed off to before," says Kari Leibowitz, a Stanford University research fellow who recently spent a year in Norway's Arctic city of Tromsø.
John LaPlante, 57, fell in love with snowboarding in 2003 when he moved from Chicago to St. Paul. He had recently started skiing, but found the local venue, Buck Hill – where Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn learned to ski – wasn't challenging enough. "I saw a kid on a snowboard who looked like he was having a great time, so I thought I'd try it," recalls LaPlante. When he couldn't find information about the sport geared towards older adults, he started a blog called GraysOnTrays.com that became a digital community for snowboarders. The site offers fitness and safety tips, snowboard resort information, and guidance about choosing gear. "Snowboarding is great for your mind and your spirit, and there's a social aspect to it as well," says LaPlante, who has met boarders in their 60s and 70s. Read the full story How to Embrace the Joys of Winter This Year at NextAvenue.org
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