The Winter Season

Yesterday was the winter solstice. Yay! For those of us in the northern hemisphere, this means our days start to become longer. So very exciting! However, despite the colder weather and shorter days, this season of pause and introspection is critical to our health-and I think it is beneficial to utilize this time of year wisely. This is the perfect time to discuss how we can slow down and take care of ourselves during the winter.

This is the time of year when our bodies are meant to slow down and be more introspective. If you look around in nature, the plants have died back and are storing their energy in the ground and have gone dormant, many animals go into torpor and hibernation. The days are shorter, and the nights are longer. Just as nature goes through its seasons and cycles, our bodies mirror these seasons in a similar way. Our bodies were meant to ebb and flow with the seasons. We too are meant to slow down but of course, we do quite the opposite at this time of year!

Let’s explore this natural seasonal flow a little bit further and see how it can affect our bodies and health.

Those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE the adrenal glands. And I would like to touch on the adrenal glands because this is one of the body systems that can be negatively impacted by not slowing down, especially at this time of year.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the adrenals are often included in discussion with the kidneys which makes sense because they are on top of the kidneys. The kidneys are referred to as the “seat of the will” reflecting willpower, ambition and providing the storage of the life force energy.

When we don’t take care of the adrenals, especially during this critical time of year, it can lead to a dysfunctional hormonal system and fatigue. This can then lead to decreased vitality by the time spring arrives in addition to increasing your risk of serious health issues in the long run.

Our tendency to be most busy in the season where we are supposed to slow down can leave us exhausted, dull and not ourselves. This is an epidemic in Western culture.

So what can we do about it? Here are some ideas and tools:

Sleep more!
Yes! Try to go to bed earlier or sleep in a bit later-or both! Remember our bodies are meant to slow down with the shorter days. Going back to Traditional Chinese Medicine, this healing system uses a 24-hour biorhythm clock where each organ has a regeneration time. The adrenals are between 9-11PM. If you can be in bed at this time, this is great for the adrenals! If you are someone like me who can’t fall asleep before 10:30 or 11, at least make sure that you are winding down at this time, i.e. not doing anything too stimulating like working out or watching the news or doing anything stressful. I like to end my day reading, doing red light therapy and expressing my gratitudes for the day.

Learn something new!
Is there anything that you wanted to learn or read about for fun? This is the time of year to nurture and feed yourself. Self-paced courses are great because you can learn at your own speed without the stress of commitment or expectation. I usually take an aromatherapy course over the winter months. I also love to look at seed catalogs and map out my vegetable garden for the upcoming season.

Reflect!
Take time to reflect on the previous year and think about what you have observed and experienced, whether it is good or bad. What have you learned? What did you achieve? Could you do anything better? Are there any goals that you didn’t make that you could focus on in the new year? Think about your accomplishments and what you did make happen and make sure to acknowledge them.

Eat!
There are some foods and herbs that tend to be more nourishing in the darker months. These assist in helping to keep the body warm.

Foods that are beneficial in the winter season include root vegetables, good fats and protein. Some of these foods provide a little more carbohydrate content to help our bodies produce more heat and keep us full longer. For example, some of these foods include beets, turnips, carrots, onions, garlic and all types of potatoes. Cooked vegetables in general are better at this time of year versus raw veggies and greens. In the colder months, focusing on warm foods and beverages is a good practice.

We can lean into warming herbs such as ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cayenne and turmeric. I love drinking golden milk at this time of year!

Root herbs are great too like licorice root, marshmallow root (both are great demulcents which means they provide mucilage to dry, inflamed mucous membranes) and burdock root (which is great for liver support). All of these can be utilized in cooking as well as taken in tea form.

Good fats to consume include avocados, coconut/MCT oil, extra virgin olive oil, ghee and grass-fed butter. Since fats take longer to digest, they do help raise the body temperature and make you feel warmer (a process known as thermogenesis). Good fats also help stabilize the blood sugar which helps support adrenal health.

Proteins to consume include grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs, pasture-raised poultry, wild caught fish and fermented soy. Protein is very important in promoting muscle-building ability, proper hormone formation and helps to stabilize the blood sugar.

Movement/Exercise!
You will notice that you may not have the same motivation to workout in the darker months versus when the days are longer. Again, this goes back to the body wanting to conserve energy during this time. This may be a good time to focus more on restorative exercises such as yoga, Pilates, Tai 'Chi and walking. Strength training would be fine too. Again, wintertime is more about slowing down and being gentle on the physical body.

Tools for self-care during this time of year:
Kidney Belts. Many cultures have been supporting the health of their kidneys (including adrenals) for centuries by using kidney belts or sashes. From the Mongolian Deel to the Japanese Obi, kidney belts are ancient items of clothing, with examples stretching back to the beginning of recorded history. They are especially important in colder climates to help the kidneys and adrenals warm and snug. This can be worn daily and especially in the colder months.

Red Light Therapy. Red light therapy is good for a number of things, but it is great for enhancing mood, cognitive function and melatonin production (which helps us with sleep and mood). It helps chase the winter blues away.

Doing red light therapy for about 20 minutes a day can be helpful (and you can divide this time up if needed-for example I do 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening).

Make sure you are minding your D3 levels. Low D3 levels can strongly impact mood, causing a depressive-like state in addition to a whole host of health issues.  Optimally, D3 levels should be at least at 50 nmol/L. To find your D3 level, you can request this test from your doctor or simply get a D3 finger prick kit online that you can complete at home. Remember from 09/22-03/20 in the northern hemisphere, if you are above the 37th parallel, the sun is too far away for you to manufacture D3, even on a bright sunny day. So you want to make sure that your D3 levels are sufficient. If you are low, make sure to supplement.

Candle Gazing. This ancient practice involves a focused gaze for a concentrated period of time. The benefits are said to relieve anxiety, calm the mind, sharpen insight and intuition, strengthen eye muscles, improve memory and willpower.

In other cultures, candle gazing or gazing into a fire is also a divination method known as scrying or “seeing”. This method can help provide answers to questions that one is seeking by allowing yourself to tune in and listen to your inner self by becoming quiet, still, and focused.

You can create your own ritual around this technique and make it unique. You can use your favorite essential oil to intake while doing this, having a journal handy is good in case you get some answers or insight into something you have been thinking about. I also suggest using a good-quality, unscented candle that is free of toxins (scented candles are often scented with synthetic fragrances and contain lead wicks-something you want to avoid). Using a plain old beeswax candle is the best, actually.

How to practice candle gazing:

1. Find a comfortable seat.
2. Begin by lighting your candle, set at eye level to where you are sitting.
3. Place 1 -2 drops of your favorite essential oil into your palms, cup over the face and breathe in deeply.
4. Pay attention to the flame of your candle and focus on the flicker of the flame without blinking.
5. If your eyes begin to feel tired or teary, close them and relax for a minute or two then return to the flame and repeat again.
6. If you would like to try scrying or “seeing”, hold your question in your mind’s eye and gaze into the flame and allow the answer to come to you.
7. Once you have finished, record any insights that may have come up in your journal.

Make time for yourself and slow down! I realize that not all of these tips and tools are doable or practical depending on what’s going on in life but simply focusing on one or two that may be the easiest for you is a good way to start.

Realistically this could look like setting aside quiet, uninterrupted time for yourself each week. Perhaps start with 1-3 hours a week and make a commitment to yourself to hold this time as sacred, “you time”.