In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we observe nature and live by the seasons. This is key to health and longevity. Winter is the season of going inward, rest, renewal, and rejuvenation. Just look at nature, you can observe the squirrels collecting nuts to store for winter, the trees lose their leaves (that no longer serve them), the sap flows inward and although the trees may look lifeless, they are storing up and resting for the spring. This is a time when we need to do the same—to slow down, rest, and look inward.
This year of 2020 we all have been forced to slow down in many ways, to look inward to reevaluate our lives and relationships to others. In a way this has been a great gift and opportunity for us to slow down enough to hear our own inner voices, hear what we really want, and to be grateful for what we do have. If we are feeling lack, we can focus on the small things for which we are grateful, and then how can we create and envision our new future. This is a time for preparation and vision. Take the time to envision what you want for the new year—see it, smell it, feel it, and know that in the fullness of time, it will happen.
Wintertime is the most Yin time of year—meaning the darkest, most inward, restful, most optimal time for self-cultivation. There are longer dark nights perfect for meditation, gentle exercise, reading, reflection, time with loved ones, and rest. Nurturing the body and spirit are especially important during the winter as we are resting and storing up for the outward growth that happens in the spring. Home cooking—stews, soups, congees, root vegetables, squash, kidney or black beans, walnuts, cinnamon, ginger are examples of foods that are good to eat in the winter. And don’t forget about water as well. Wintertime can be dry and cold. Even if you don’t feel thirst, drink plenty of room temperature or hot clear beverages. In TCM, the kidneys and urinary bladder rule the organs of winter. So warming, flushing and hydrating those organs is even more important at this time.
Winter has a stillness and beauty to cherish--like walking on a quiet, snowy night in the woods with the stars overhead. It is a joyous time connected with renewal of spirit, body and connection with those close to us.
I wish you all a season filled with warmth, stillness, peace, inner knowing, and vision.