Thursday, 28 March 2024

Tips for staying healthy and balanced in the winter season

Winter is a time for slowing down. We have moved from fall, of leaves falling and releasing and letting go, to receive the time of winter, the most Yin time of year. A time of rest, stillness, and replenishment. It is the time for the seed underground, storing up and conserving energy, growing strong roots that will support our growth in the coming spring.

Each winter is a time of replenishment, to restore our resources and potential energy. We restore our trust in ourselves, our deepest wisdom, that uplifts us to realize anything is possible if we simply follow our true nature.

This winter how will you acknowledge this essential season? How will you replenish yourself?

In Chinese Medicine the winter season is the water element.

Water is about our ability to flow and overcome obstacles. To understand the attributes of water in ourselves we can think of the many ways water presents itself in nature. Think about how our energy can resemble a mighty river or a trickling stream, the waves of the ocean, a frozen lake, or a gentle rain.

Water is transformative. When we take the time to be quiet and internal, and “be,” we allow an internal transformative process to occur. As the most yin of all the seasons and the elements, it is a time for stepping back from our relationships to the outside world and instead, turn inward, to reconnect with ourselves.

Each element has its own gifts in body, mind and spirit.

The body/physical gift of water element is rest, solitude, re-balancing, and replenishment. When we have enough reserves, we have enough strength, drive and ambition. We manage our physical energy by not overdoing it or we can become tired and exhausted.

The mind/emotional gift of water is courage, faith, trust, and the renewed sense of our essence and the 'blueprint' for our lives. What happens if we become out of balance? We can feel anxiety, fear, and stress from not being able to live our fullest lives.

The spirit gift of water is the will, to persevere and adapt, to nurture our intuition, tap into our creative, internal energy, to manifest who we are. The water element grants us the capacity to more deeply discover the essence of our true self, and to grow ‘roots’ that anchor us in who we are.

Keys to staying balanced in the winter season.

Allow yourself to be quiet and listen to your deepest self-essence.

Stay warm, reduce outward activity to conserve energy in the colder, darker months.

Take a quiet walk outside in the fresh air, listen to relaxing music, read books or listen to books on tape.

Take time for extra self-care: get a massage, take a soothing bath, or a hot foot soak. Get an acupuncture treatment to stay balanced!

The winter season is an especially good time to discover more about yourself through reflection, paying attention to your dreams, and begin the practice of meditation.

Do more moderate exercise like Chi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates.

Daily vitamins can help to keep your immune system strong: try taking multi- vitamins and multi-minerals, B vitamins, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D.

Drink lots of warm herbal teas, like chamomile, ginger tea, Bengal Spice, and Good Earth tea. Eat warm foods, like soups, plenty of steamed vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.Have meals with whole grains, squashes, beans, peas, and dark leafy greens like swiss chard, kale, and bok choy.

Avoid too many cold foods and drinks. Although it is hard over the holidays, try to have less sugar and dairy, as they can deplete your immune system.

Drink plenty of good quality water. Drink half your body weight in ounces. For instance, if you weigh 150 lbs, you need to drink a minimum of 75 ounces of water per day.

Stay warm, cover the back of your neck to protect against the cold wind, as energetically this can cause colds and flus. Also cover your low back area, to protect your kidneys, and your reserves of energy.

This is the wisdom of water: the effortless response to its environment, adapting to change, yielding yet persevering, the courage to stay the course, and staying rooted to one’s essence.

Find the quiet contentment that comes with resting and waiting in the hibernation as you replenish your reserves.

Spring always follows winter. We don’t know what that will look like, yet if we have followed nature’s way and allowed ourselves to be immersed in Winter’s gift of rest and replenishment, we will emerge in Spring with replenished energy, more vibrant, rooted with a clear vision, and a deeper sense of how we want to manifest our life.

Wendy Weiss has been practicing Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for thirty years. She can be reached for more information on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at 707-277-0891.

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03.28.2024 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
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