Winter Self-Care: Mind and Body
SOLO
Winter comes and so do the blues. For years I tried to pretend that this didn’t happen to me but it really does affect us all if we want to believe it or not. Think about it, the summer brings long days, warm sun, and outdoor play almost naked. Winter brings long dark periods, heavy layers to truck around, and no greenery in sight. For years I would continue to take care of mySelf the exact same way all year but that makes no sense when you think about it. In the summer I am receiving hours of direct vitamin D contact, have access to juicy fresh in-season fruit and the energy around summer is exciting and fun. Those rituals and routines help support me through that season but as the weather shifts so should our self-care ESPECIALLY moving into the darkest season of the year. Not to mention the added layer of the holiday season and from experience, there are two types of people out there … the ones that love the holidays and the ones that dread them. Let’s decide to take care of our mind and body differently as our needs shift in the season and that is exactly what we’ll dive into next!
Our mind is a funny thing … the state of our mind shifts as we transition from thing to thing and it is definitely affected when we shift from long light days to short dark days. When I began to study Ayurveda an eastern form of medicine, I began to shift my view on winter and sustaining through the colder months and it felt just so right. Winter is known as the inward season. Winter signifies a quieter time of year where we have this beautiful opportunity and are actually called to rest and reflect. It’s kind of like a bear hibernating, we need that time to slow down, gather and reset for the long sparkly days to come in summer. This is where our mind plays tricks on us. It tells us we have to continue to move at the same pace we did during summer even though we don’t have as much energy. This creates a feeling of anxiety in us, increased feelings of depression, and real winter blues. But what if we began to shift our self-care rituals and loosen expectations on ourSelves for the winter months? What if we began to allow ourSelves to slow down, take more naps, spend more time with family … wouldn’t it feel wonderful? All these little mindset shifts begin to help you find more joy. When we begin to see that each season has a purpose for our growth, we are able to honor the natural cycles in our body in healthier ways. We, like the seasons, move in cycles. So I would invite you as we move into the darker months to begin to observe yours, no judgment as you do so that you can start to sync up with nature, leaving you feeling way freer.
Now, the mind and body come as a packaged deal. The body too needs more support to stay healthy and feel whole moving into winter. In Ayurveda, they teach us how to nourish our bodies through food and spices. If you’re anything like me, in the summer you gravitate towards salads, watermelon, and cooler foods like cucumber and greens. Well, you guessed it, moving into winter it’s the opposite. You want to nourish your body with heavier, warmer foods in vibrant colors like red, orange, and yellow. Think root vegetables, soups, stews, and spicier foods. Making these shifts provides comfort for your body. Ayurveda also teaches us that the digestive system is considered to be our inner flame and it’s extra important to keep that system operating well all year round. Because with winter, comes cold weather we need to keep our digestive fire up through what we eat and one of our personal faves, breath work and how we move our bodies. Personally, I love to lean into resting my body in the winter. After a summer of fast-paced movement, biking, and running around, my body craves slower movement, more yin yoga, and outdoor activities that are lower impact. In the winter it is a great time to do more meditation and journaling to allow yourSelf to take inventory from your year. Even just giving yourSelf permission to shift your exercise routine may bring new levels of joy into the longer months of the year. Think about it, our body has less energy because the sun is farther away, we need vitamin D and fresh air and receive less in the winter, it makes no sense to expect the same productivity levels in our minds and bodies. So how do we start to put this into action …
It’s really great that we now know that we move and shift like the seasons but how do we actualllllly start to see what feels good … we begin to create rituals. Rituals are a wonderful way to create magic in everyday experiences. This could look like knowing your body runs cold in the winter and deciding to add a bath at the end of your day before bed. Maybe you don’t normally take baths and feel like it’s a hassle but you really know this will help you feel better mind and body. So you create an experience around it; you light candles, grab your fav Netflix show put it on, and hop in the bath for some you time. This alone will nourish you. After the experience ask yourSelf if you feel better, worse, or neither, and see if it’s something you’d like to continue. If it’s your first time shifting your routines in the winter, give yourSelf some time to feel it out. It may take a couple of tries to change your food or your habits so imagine you were trying on different outfits, leaving lots of space for change. Here are some self-care suggestions moving into the winter months that may feel right to you. You could create rituals around them or they may feel awesome just as they are -
Begin your day with a mug of warm almond milk, saffron, cardamom
Add Kalabti breath at any point in your day - this helps ignite your digestive fire
Shifting to more full meals - stews, casseroles, soups, oatmeal, warm quinoa bowls
Weekly journal sessions to reflect and allow some space for you to just be
Naps - LOTS of naps
Richer fruits and veggies - think root vegetables like butternut squash, sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, pomegranate, dates, figs
Sipping warming teas throughout your day
Lathering your skin with sesame oil or body butter to keep your skin moisturized
Hair and face masks with rich, nourishing ingredients
Cover skin going outside
Read more
Add vitamin d as a supplement
You get my drift. Think about what dry, cold winter weather does to your body + mind, and begin to put a plan into action to nourish your body in the right ways to counteract the cold weather. Changing my routine in the winter really did help me stay feeling fresh all winter long.
This was one of the biggest lessons in my self-care routine. When I tuned into the fact that we are part of nature and in each season different things happen, it became way more simple to understand my needs too. Our mind and body are always shifting, evolving, and moving and so should how we take care of ourSelves. This is not a one size fits all but we all have a human body and we all move through winter so we are ALL feeling it, it may just look different in each of us. Have fun playing with new recipes, new ways to rest, maybe you hibernate all winter like a bear and organize your house. But just know, you do not need to be all that you are all year long and with winter comes an opportunity to slow down, so how will YOU use that time?
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