I Love Being Warm

I was pondering recently on how much “I love being warm.” It’s winter where I live and I was appreciating the care and the detail I take in ensuring that I am warm wherever I go and no matter what I am doing.

I often received comments such as, “You must be a cold fish,” but that is not entirely true. What I do love is to feel warm and toasty in the cooler winter months. I love how my body feels when I am warm, whereas my body does not enjoy being cold at all. Many years ago I was camping in Europe in winter and it was not a pleasant experience – I was literally cold to my bones. I found that being cold is painful to the body and it does hurt.

I love going out for a walk either in the morning or in the evening all rugged up and with no tension in my body due to being cold, and then be able to walk at the pace that I feel to, rather than pushing my body to warm up because I am feeling cold. Because I support myself in this way, going out for a walk in the cold remains an enjoyment rather than something I need to do.

It really is a beautiful feeling walking in the cold, without an ounce of cold in your body.

I am very meticulous in what I am wearing from the material in the scarf that I want to wear, to how thick do my gloves need to be, to do I need to wear tights under my trousers today, does my beanie need to cover my ears today? The detail in what I wear is everything.

Then there is the joy of my car seat heating. As my car seat warms I feel like I am being held snugly within the warm car seat. As with when I am out walking, there is no tension at all in my body as I drive off to work in the cool morning. My lower back is gently warmed by the seat, which supports how I hold the steering wheel and how relaxed my legs are on the pedals.

My electric blanket, my heated lower back/kidney warmer and my sheepskin lined boots are just additional beautiful touches that support my body to be comfortable in the cold and to be able to rest very deeply.

Because of how I feel when I am warm, I am very aware of how this can also support patients in my care. When I used to work night duty for example, I would leave the heaters on overnight in the bathroom so that patients getting out of a warm bed in the middle of a cold night would have a warm bathroom to go to. If someone was particularly cold I would also get a warm blanket out of the blanket warmer for them. I have often received comments by patients about how warm my hands are when I am touching them… I know this helps them feel more settled.

Now it may sound like an obsession, but it’s not. It’s actually about being very caring and nurturing with my body, and my body really does love it. When I feel warm I can feel the love in the way that I care for myself and how this supports me to be able to feel the delicateness in how I move my body. I feel snug, I feel warm, I feel very nurtured and deeply cared for. I feel loved and I am choosing this way for myself. Although I am choosing this for myself, the quality of the way I now care for myself makes all the difference in how I am with others.

By Jennifer Smith – Woman, lover of being warm, a nurse with warm hands

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