01/02/2023
While this time of year often carries a certain weight of new expectations, new goals to achieve, let me invite you to take a deep breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Along with this new pile of expectations, may I offer a reminder- this is the season to slow down and conserve energy. The darker days invite a meditative energy, a time to rest and reflect. So while the social culture is pressuring you to make resolutions, let’s instead take a moment to focus on the energy of winter, which is deep and potent.
Winter is ruled by the water element: the most nourishing and essential substance for life. This element stores much of people’s reserves of energy. That’s why rest is crucial in the winter.
With rest, we allow the internal structures of our body to work and heal-energy is collected and held in reserve. This deeply nourishing Yin time gives us the needed energy, vision, and purpose with which to emerge into spring- a season of growth, renewal of spirit, and fresh starts.
There is a depth to the season that invites us to connect with the core of our being and untouched emotions. There is death in nature and less activity to induce stimulation and excitement. For some, the energy of the season can easily contribute to depression, loneliness, and seasonal affective disorder. Others may feel relief for an opportunity to pause and do internal work.
“During the Winter months all things in nature wither, hide, return home, and enter a resting period, just as lakes and rives freeze and snow falls. This is a time when yin dominates yang. Therefore one should refrain from overusing the yang energy. Retire early and get up with the sunrise, which is later in Winter. Desires and mental activity should be kept quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret. Stay warm, avoid the cold, and keep the skin covered. Avoid sweating. The theory of the Winter season is one of conservation and storage. Without such practice the result will be injury to the Kidney energy. This will cause weakness, shrinking of muscles, and coldness; then the body loses its ability to open and move about in the Spring.” -The Huang Di Nei Jing
Along your seasonal journey know you are surrounded by helpers-food as medicine, herbs and essential oils, meditation, journaling, yoga, and the gift of many skilled bodyworkers in our community. Invest in your self and rest under the skillful care of trained hands.
As a gift to those who offer me the consistency of pre-booked appointments, I am offering a New Year special. For those clients that prebook 3 or more monthly appointments before January 15th I will take $10 off each treatment. So for example, if you pre-book 5 appointments, you save $50!
Let us create resiliency and flow by moving through the dark season together,
Becky
