Winter Wisdom

Sure, we all like to stay warm during colder months, but it’s important to focus on taking care of more than just your body temperature during the holiday season.

- Isaac Eliaz

When the elements are harsher than usual, do you step up your defenses? According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), there’s an opportunity to focus on greater wellness, energy, and vitality during the coldest season of the year. This elevated level of health can be reached by following time-honored practices that align us with nature; nourishing body, mind, and spirit with the energies of each unique season.

Whether home is in the United States or New Zealand, winter marks the time when the days become shorter, the temperature drops, and many people must alter their schedules to focus on staying warm. As with hibernation, metabolism can naturally slow down and activity levels can subside due to the body’s natural desire to conserve energy. However, there is a positive aspect of winter: emphasis on improving relationships with friends, family, and most importantly, yourself!

WINTER MEDITATION

The stillness of winter offers an ideal time for retrospection, meditation, and reflection. It can be hard to focus on yourself with all the commotion from family gatherings and holiday shopping, but this season naturally gives rise to negative thoughts and issues that you have been avoiding, or didn’t even know you had. Whether it’s about family, friends, or even yourself, these thoughts have often been overshadowed by busy work and personal schedules and need resolution. It is important to find your own quiet space and simply allow these issues to arise, unfold, and slip away as you calm your mind with relaxation, meditation, and/or breathing practices.

WINTER’S ORGANS