Winter Health Strategies

Winter

It’s a couple of weeks after the holidays. There has been a multitude of gatherings and celebrations, and maybe you’re feeling a bit….over-indulged and over-stimulated. Maybe you’re feeling the need to rest some more, and reel back in your level of activity. You may be feeling the urge to be quieter and to spend more time at home. If this is the case, then congratulations: you are probably not sick, anti-social or depressed, but rather experiencing a very natural deeper and quieter state of being called Winter.

Every season brings accompanying changes in nature. When we live in accordance with the natural cycles of the seasons our health is optimized. When we live in conflict with the seasonal rhythms, then we become prone to illness. It is important to live in harmony with each season. It is natural to be more active and outgoing in the summer, and more focused on letting go in the autumn. Winter has it’s own unique qualities and gifts. In the winter season, nature is at it’s darkest, and most quiet time of year. Animals hibernate and seek deep rest, while plants recede deeply into the ground to gain potency for the coming spring. Life slows almost to a stop. Rest is maximized, as opportunities for reflection and rejuvenation are at their peak.

Paradoxically, it is during the deepest part of winter (December 21^st: the winter solstice), when light is at it’s lowest and rest and inwardness should accentuated, that our society has the most outgoing and active time of year: the holiday and new years celebrations.

So, in the spirit of getting back to the essence of this most deep and restorative season, here are some suggestions on how to best access and align with the season of winter.

Winter is an ideal time to practice stillness. This is the time of year where nature is at it’s most quiet, so it is an ideal environment (and a great teacher) for practicing meditation and cultivating the ability to be quiet and still.

Have a day of silence in your home. Observe what thoughts and emotions arise in that silence…

It is in the quiet, stillness, and depth of winter, that soulful reflection and self examination can most deeply take place. It is an ideal time to reconnect with what is most important to us at our core.

Get more rest. Follow the example of the winter sun, and get to sleep earlier and rise a bit later.

Use more natural light in your home. Light candles in the evening and reduce the use of electrical lights.

Eat less raw fruits and vegetables and more cooked warming foods like root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, carrots), beans, and grains. Spend a day making a warming and nourishing soup or stew.

Enjoy herbal teas for their warmth and the relaxation they can evoke. Ginger and cinnamon teas are particularly warming.

If you have a fireplace, light lots of fires. If you don’t have a fireplace then I recommend not doing this.

Laugh a lot, and create inner warmth through spending precious time with your loved ones.

Winter is an ideal time to dream…to brainstorm and free associate about future endeavors and creations. You can think of these beginning dreams and ideas as seeds that you are potentializing (by deeply resting this season) for growth and action in the spring.

Don’t get too chilled. Intense cold (especially moist cold) can penetrate to your bones and cause pain and achiness. Wear appropriately warm clothes when outside.

If you do get achy from the cold, try a restorative hot bath with Epson salts and/or ginger or eucalyptus (“Abra Therapeutic Bath” is a good combination).

The Dali Lama suggests that we spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering that we all want the same thing (to be happy and loved) and that we are all connected. He also suggests spending an additional 5 minutes cherishing yourself and others (including the people who you have a difficult time with), and to extend that attitude to everyone you meet during the rest of the day.

Practitioner Profile
Jeff Millison, M.Ac., L.Ac.