Nature always teaches us, but are we listening? While we are rushing, stressing, moving too fast, filling up our schedules, overspending, overindulging, pushing past our fatigue and ignoring the body's call to rest, outside, nature has a different energy going on. Winter is a time of stillness, hibernation, a time where the ground freezes, the empty branches and trees sit idle and where the hustle and bustle of birds, squirrels and rabbits slow down and huddle to keep warm. There is a subtle silence, a slower pace and a sense of calm outside. And even though it is cold out there, there truly is beauty in the deep freeze.
What if we followed nature's lead? What would that look like to you? How would that feel for you? For me, the thought of taking the holidays to slow down, reflect, dream board, acknowledge the year's accomplishments, enjoy delicious food that has been made with slow and love, nourish with soups, to sit and enjoy mugs of Golden Turmeric Tea and other warming beverages, turn on the fire place, do a puzzle, be present with my family, watch movies and go to the mountains, sounds absolutely amazing to me!
We don't realize how important it is to slow down and follow nature's lead at this time of year. We are supposed to conserve our energy not burn it out. If we ignore Winter's wisdom and fail to rest and come to more moments of stillness, symptoms can begin to show up - feeling cold and dry, tending to constipation, having more anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, feeling ungrounded and experiencing chronic fatigue are examples of an imbalanced body and mind at this time of year.
How do we counter these symptoms? We eat warming, grounding and earthing food (stews, soups, crockpots, one-pot meals, baked and roasted root vegetables, increase our essential fats with more nuts, nut butter, drizzling oil on top of our food, eat denser protein like dark poultry and fatty fish and we can bake and stew our fruits and warm up our meals instead of eating cold and dry food and we can infuse warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric and black pepper into our food). Our homes need to feel like our sanctuary where they exude warmth, relaxation and calm. We need to rest, sleep deeply and dream. We need to come home to ourselves and move inward. We need to take time to nourish our body with delicious food made with love, nourish our mind with thoughts of love and gratitude and nourish our soul by doing the things we love to do. For some it may mean taking a vacation in the warm, sand and sun, for others it may be taking a staycation with your feet up, reading a book while wrapped in a blanket. Whatever it may be, let it be slow, warm and grounded. When we do all of this we find our balance and only then can wellness take its place.
This holiday season, may you heed winter's wisdom, come home to yourself and do whatever it is you need to to feel slow, calm, relaxed, rested and restored.
Yours in health & vitality,
Amy
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