There are easy ways to make your body more cozy no matter where you are, and I’m sharing my top 5 with you.
So without further ado, let’s dive in.
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My first cozy hack is to wear a heat-preserving tank top or T under your clothes
Basically, the only time I’m not in a wool tank top between November 15th and April 1st is either an unseasonably warm day or I am in the shower. Wool, silk, Uniqlo’s heat-tech fabrics all help keep your body heat from dissipating while also resisting odors. They all keep your core warm without making you feel bulky, like the kid in the movie A Christmas Story. I just discovered the company Woolly, who is not a sponsor of this podcast although I would love it they were!!. They’re based in Seattle and they make a wide array of clothes made out of merino wool that’s pretty affordable–I have two of their tanks and they are excellent.
My second cozy hack is to wear a scarf basically at all times
It can be fleece, wool, cashmere (just scored a great one recently at Savers for $3–true story), or silk. Heck, I have a friend who basically wears a throw blanket as a scarf. Just be careful to take it off before you cook anything if you go their route, please! You do NOT have to be headed outdoors to enjoy a scarf. Keeping your throat and neck warm helps prevent sickness–according to Traditional Chinese Medicine you really want to keep your neck and throat protected from wind, it can carry germs and also infiltrate and throw off your body’s energy which runs close the surface through your neck and throat. The only peril with this is that once you get acclimated to having a nice warm neck and throat, you can start to feel naked without a scarf. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
My third cozy hack is to drink hot beverages all day–not just in the morning
It could be hot water with lemon, your fave herbal tea, a golden milk or matcha latte for an afternoon snack/pick-me-up, a cup of broth, or maybe even a hot toddy to help you wind down at night. These hot drinks deliver nutritious benefits from their ingredients, and the warmth keeps your throat, neck, and digestive system, and even your hands happy.
Two more cozy hacks! My personal favorite is to take a bath.
Bonus points for using epsom salts, which are magnesium chloride and magnesium is a relaxant that a large proportion of Americans are deficient in. If you don’t have a bathtub, a nice warm shower is great too. Just make sure you’ve got a robe or sweats and slippers or thick socks to get right into so that you keep the heat you just enjoyed. This is about more than getting clean – it’s about cleansing.
And finally, my favorite cozy hack is to to keep your feet warm
The heart has to work pretty hard to get blood to and from your feet and if they are cold it will cue your heart to work harder. But, poof, throw on some socks or some slippers (I absolutely love my LL Bean shearling slippers that look like elf boots, I really take them off when I’m home) and your feet are toasty and your physiology can relax a bit. If you haven’t yet developed a slipper habit now is the time!! Cozy toes, cozy life!!
Daily Tiny Assignment
And your tiny assignment is to choose one or two of these ways to keep your body in a cozy way and implement them tonight. Remember, getting cozy is about more than just comfort–it’s about cueing your nervous system that you are safe so that it can relax, and about self-soothing in a way that doesn’t come with negative side effects in the way that drinking or using other substances can. Your body deserves to feel good, so give it what it needs to feel cozy and content.
And come back tomorrow when I’m exploring the question, if I get too cozy, isn’t that a bad thing?
