Winter Wisdom: Honoring your body’s wants & needs beyond society’s expectations
Why is it that when everything in nature comes to stillness during the winter, us humans are still rushing, doing, buying, partying? Simple never catching our breaths and hitting the pedal to the metal as soon as the clock strikes midnight on the 31st? Why is it that we’ve created so much collective shame and guilt around resting and taking time to ourselves?
We’ve forgotten that every season on this Earth has its unique purpose. The wisdom of winter is that of resting, of pausing, slowing down. The medicine of going inwards and restoring from the inside out. When we understand how the seasons resemble the cycles in life, we can also understand how to transition each phase in a more harmonious way. Winter is both a literal and a metaphorical death. Look into the flowers and trees, many of them go through a process of death and shedding, knowing deep within that a rebirth will come during spring season.
Winter is a time when we are invited to shed our old skin, to let certain parts of ourselves die so we can be reborn anew with time and patience. This metaphorical death is the only way that we can truly make room for the new. By making room we allow new, fresh and vibrant energy back inside our bodies (yes! pretty much like a closet cleanse). The thing is, in our non-stop excessively productive patriarchal society, we’ve forgotten the true gift that resting, pausing and going inside is. Resting is a medicine itself.
In an effort to reclaim the slower rhythms of life and remember the importance of honoring each cycle, I invite us to explore some of the following rituals and self reflection questions:
How much do you allow yourself to rest in a single week? month? year?
What does true rest look and feel like to you?
Do you constantly feel exhausted and burnt out?
What is your body really asking for during this winter time?
When you rest, what feelings come up for you? Is there any shame and guilt to work through?
How can you honor your body’s need to slow down?
Now, let’s explore a few self-care rituals ideal for the winter time. Again, all an open invitation for us to welcome the concept of unwinding, pausing, & slow life.
All things warm & cozy.
Beauties, this is MAJOR! Keeping yourself warm from the inside out is one of the most important pillars in the main ancient medicine systems (Chinese Medicine for instance). This isn’t only about wearing warm clothes & hanging out by the sun, this is much about diet too! Think of meals that can keep you warm from the inside out - warm veggies, warm cacao, teas, soups, porridge, etc. Avoid raw, cold, uncooked meals ;) As a woman, you want to pay special attention to the womb and kidney area. One way to keep both spaces warm and cozy is getting yourself a hot water bottle and placing it on your body before going to bed at night. And of course, warm baths :)
All things inwards.
Use this pause in time to take a look within. Make time and room to listen to yourself. Cultivate a stronger and deeper connection to your inner voice & intuition. Meditation and journaling are major allies for this season.
3. Remember your boundaries!
Winter is the perfect time to practice your boundaries. Why? Because you now know what your body and soul are truly needing. Nevertheless, external forces (aka family, friends & patriarchy) will be pushing and pulling you around to perform, produce, party, shop, do, do & do. So ladies, it’s time to stay grounded and centered when we are sharing time with others. This doesn’t mean that you can’t spend the holidays with friends and family, it simply means that you now know how to respect your own times and rhythms. If you need to go slower than everyone else, so be it. If you need to leave earlier or arrive later, so be it. Re-member that boundaries are not about others, boundaries are the way that we protect our sacred energy, our true wants & needs.
“Everything in nature has a season, but in our modern world we seem to have forgotten that all good things take time to unfold. Time and space are needed to heal, to develop, and for things to come to full fruition. Persevere with your journey without grasping for immediate gratification. There’s simply no rushing the process. You’re not given everything at once because rushing spoils the end result. Slow cooking yields the richest, tastiest of dishes.”- Baba Yaga Wisdom from Goddesses, Gods & Guardians Oracle Cards Deck.
Wishing you all happy holidays and a peaceful winter ahead.
All my love,
Sofia
PS. Final spots left for Wild Woman Full Moon February Retreat 2024!
Early bird pricing available till January 7th.
