Time to clear out the winter baggage

Phew. We can finally see the tail end of this long, cold tunnel that was winter.

Each March, we get this dawning of a sudden lightness of being. It’s innate in us, given that for most of human history, winter wasn’t just cold and inconvenient; it was a threat to our survival. Food supplies ran low, illnesses spread more easily, animals died and people themselves didn’t always make it through. When spring arrived, there was nothing poetic about it; no one sat down with a harp in hand, whimsically chanting: “Roses are red, violets are blue…” No, it was more a matter of fist bumping whoever you, well, bumped into: “We actually made it through winter!” (One exclamation almost seems too little.)

After months of huddling in a cave/wood hut / Roman domus, the first signs of spring were reassuring. Finally, we can sow seeds! The livestock will give birth! We can see each other’s faces properly in the light (for better or for worse)! To this very day, every March feels pretty akin to coming out of the cave of hibernation, blinkered by the sun, and feeling the corners of our mouth crack into a slow-motion smile. This is why, in fact, March is the proper time for health-related New Year’s resolutions. And this very flight, this rare pocket of undisturbed attention, is where you are going to reflect and plan your healthy way forward. The best way to start is with a top-to-toe ‘spring clean’.

Start at the top: While you’re travelling, consciously or subconsciously, you’re a little (or a lot) frayed around the edges. It’s been pack-pack-pack, rush-rush-rush, check-in-check-in-check-in. Now, as you’re sitting down, reading this, it’s time to clear your headspace.

If you’re in Malta, that’s the perfect opportunity: the island’s spring light is generous, and you can revel in the clear blue mornings and soft orangey evenings. Ideally, you chuck your phone away, out of sight and out of sound, and simply bask in natural light. How does one ‘bask’ you might ask? I’d sum it up as taking a moment to breathe. Look at the sky and simply make an effort to hear yourself breathing… in… and out. And repeat it for a couple of minutes. Of course, your brain will go berserk and start chattering away on overdrive. No matter, just gently bring yourself back to listening to your breathing.That is what I call ‘basking’. Some might call it ‘meditation’; you can call it cloud-gazing or whatever takes your fancy – but the point is there is a lot of scientific evidence to show that pausing and breathing is the best way to ‘spring clean’ our minds. We go through life with our body in one place and the head somewhere else; so being conscious of our breathing for a few minutes every day, while looking at the vast expanse of Maltese sky, will make us whole again.

End at the toes We underestimate our poor feet. Most of the time, we’re shod, wearing tight, narrow and weirdly stacked shoes, constantly imprisoning our toes, and leaving a painful ripple effect on our knees and our backs (which oddly, we never trace back to the fact that we’re never in our natural state: barefoot). This spring, please set them free. Go to Għajn Tuffieħa or to Imġiebaħ Bay, so pristine and so pretty in March take off your shoes, and feel the sand between your toes, the texture, the temperature. Let your feet connect you with the place and your pace.

This is called ‘grounding’, something that, until the recent past, we used to snub as woo-woo and New Agey. But ultimately, science has proved us wrong: walking barefoot in nature has amazing benefits for our health.

If you must keep your shoes on, no problem; the feet and the rest of the body can still benefit. March is for… marching. The muscles and joints, stiff from winter and compressed by travel, need to thaw, and exploring some of Malta’s off-the-beaten-track areas are the best way to do that.

Here are some favourites:

• Wied Babu, a lush, narrow valley near Żurrieq, with views down toward the famous Blue Grotto
• The Fomm ir-Riħ trail, surrounded by cliffs and blue water; and that rugged coastal trail through wildflower meadows, cliffs and hidden coves called Il-Majjistral Nature and History Park.

Fuel the in-between I have not mentioned any resolutions about food. We first need to clear our headspace and give ourselves a few minutes of inner calm to listen to our body, then we can make food-related decisions. However, a good way to recalibrate your nutritional compass while you’re in Malta is to look for local produce. There’s no better place to do that than at the Farmers’ Market in Ta’ Qali. Go there on Tuesdays and Saturdays, chat with the local, knowledgeable farmers, test-nibble some of their seasonal products before buying and then go back to make a fresh, tasty carpaccio of everything.