A Warm Winter Hygge
Hygge is a term that I have been hearing for quite a while now. Hygge is the Danish concept of coziness, comfort, and well being. Sounds amazing right?
In about the past month, I started cold plunging into Lake Michigan with a group of friends. We call ourselves the Ice Ice Ladies, and others call us batshit crazy. One of the gals in the group, Johanna, had recently been to a Scandinavian country and was commenting on the practice of hygge living and made it sound as dreamy as can be. Picture darkness falling early, crisp snow outside, and the only lights on in the house are from the fireplace and/or candles scattered around. Cuddled up on the couch, wrapped in cozy fabrics, and if you're anything like me, probably a glass of red wine in hand while watching a murder documentary. So cozy!
We decided we were going to start having hygge nights, where we do things such as make candles, take a yoga class, get matching tattoos on our asses etc. But it all started with cold plunging in Lake Michigan.
By the way, if you haven't tried cold plunging, I highly recommend it. We wrap ourselves in cozy robes worn over our swimsuits, and walk to the water's edge in our Neoprene socks. Then we suspend every ounce of sanity that we have and saunter into the water while we pray we don't bump into an icy body that's made its way north from the city. The goal is to stay in for three minutes, so I'll usually try to find a song to sing along to that lasts about that long. Or just cursing at your friends when they try to distract you with meaningless chatter can sometimes make the time go quicker.
When you exit, you feel a charge of euphoria and a feeling of "I can do anything!" I'd recommend riding with a friend or two so you can be giddy together. You think the feeling will last all day, until you enter the household and discover the dog has peed on the Christmas rug, your kid broke your favorite mug, and that's that. POOF, euphoria is gone.
I used to absolutely dread January and February here in Chicago, but now with hygge living as my guide, I think it will be the coziest of seasons! I put together a few items that I think would be great if you are thinking about it as well.