Growing up in Michigan, I have spent my fair share of time complaining about the cold and the snow. Routinely I would walk outside, experience a sense of grumbling in my spirit, and carry this with me wherever I went… in the bitter cold… fighting the snow and ice and slush… Until, I decided that this crotchety attitude really wasn’t working for me. In fact, it was keeping me from fully living life 6 months out of the year! I made a clean break with ‘the winter blues’ and haven’t looked back. Instead, I decided to embrace winter for all she offers. Along the way I have learned that many ancient healing traditions also encourage me to attune myself to the rhythms of each season and to embrace the gifts that winter has to offer.
Now… I can honestly say that I love winter. After I have played and created all summer and fall I look forward to the slowed, stilled nature of winter. I long for nights to darken early so I, too, can turn in early and sleep longer, resting deeply. Winter invites us to slow down… to refrain from the ‘go go go’… to say ‘no’ to over-commitment. The energy of winter is an inward turning energy. Plant life force and vitality go under ground. Animals burrow in and sleep deeply. And so, we, too, are invited to turn inward…. To take time for self-reflection and self-exploration. We are invited to sit still with ourselves and feel into our very being. Winter gives us permission to slow down, to get very still and quiet, and to care for and nurture Self. Winter affords us the opportunity to rest deeply and replenish our energy reservoirs so that when spring comes we are ready for the upward and outward nature of the spring season.
This slowed, stilled, quiet-spirited, going inward nature of winter… I love it! I embrace it. I drink up every last drop of it. I fully use it so that when spring comes I am rested and ready for the new potential that awaits.
Here are some of the rhythms that I look forward to in winter to not only ‘beat the winter blues’, but settle into a time of deep nourishment:
- Warming foods. Winter beckons us to nourish ourselves with warming foods. Work to heat yourself from the inside out by eating cooked foods and foods with a warming thermal nature. You spent the summer cleansing with raw fruits and vegetables and now want to build your body with nourishing soups and bone broths. Enjoy lightly steaming vegetables and eating them alongside a warming grain, like millet. Freely partake of ginger – in all forms. Use spices like cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon freely in your cooking. Eat abundantly of root vegetables, grateful for their dense, satisfying nature. Drink tea and warm water with honey and fresh lemon juice.
- Quiet Self-Reflection. Use winter as a time to meditate, sit in stillness, journal, and explore the deeper places of your being. I like to do this in the evening when it’s dark outside. I bundle up in many layers of clothing and blankets, sit next to the fire, and feel the quiet. Spend time reflecting and journaling. Focus on your breath and the feelings in your body. Quiet your mind and just be. These quiet moments without agenda have proven to be sacred ones for me.
- Sleep and Rest. In winter I go to bed… early. It’s okay. Winter gave me permission. Don’t resist the pull to tuck yourself into the warmth of your bed and turn the lights off early. Lovingly surrender to this rest knowing that just around the corner will be the time for staying up late and playing into the night.
- Creating Shared Experience. Another gift to delight in during the winter months is the partaking of the quiet and introspective nature of the season with others. One of my favorite ways to do this is to share a meal with cherished friends and family. To gather around a table (perhaps lit by candlelight), eating and drinking with full and grateful hearts, and share enriching conversation is a heart-expanding experience. It offers warmth on a deep soul and spirit level.
- Healing Baths. When my body feels chilled to the bone from winter’s relentless cold I love the gift of a warm bath. Use baths as self-care and hydrotherapy, treating yourself to one multiple times a week. First, offer yourself an Ayurvedic Oil Massage – which is a powerful recharger and rejuvenator for the body and mind. Then, fill the bathtub with hot water and a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Lastly, settle in. Use the time to breathe, think, or read something inspiring. This bath is an act of kindness to yourself.
- Instructions for Ayurvedic Oil Massage: Warm 1/8 cup of oil (I use sesame oil) to just above body temperature. Sit comfortably on a toweled surface. Massage oil over your entire body, including your head and your feet. Use the flat of your hands to massage the oil into the skin with motions that follow the curves of the body—up and down movements over the long bones, and circular motions over the joints and abdomen. Spend extra time on the head, feet, and hands for maximum benefit. Traditionally, this oil massage is performed before you bathe to soften and mobilize toxins, which are then cleared from the tissues during a hot shower, or better yet, a luxurious, warm bath.
I love to follow the rhythm of the seasons. I like the variety each season offers and looking forward to fresh opportunity and intention with the change of each season. I work to align my own internal and life rhythms with those of nature and enjoy looking to the energy of the season around me for guidance as to how to live.
Author: Erica McLaughlin is a Therapeutic Bodywork Practitioner specializing in Embodiment. She strongly believes in the healing power that comes when we provide ourselves a quiet space to connect the body and mind. In this space our true essence has a chance to emerge, offering the greatest gift of healing: self-acceptance.