The Winter Season: Turning Inward
Winter is the season of turning inward. On a physical level, winter is not a time stay out until 8 pm sprawled out on a towel at the beach enjoying a sunset. We hurry home from work in the dark, shoulders hunched because it is cold and we want to curl up on the couch under a blanket. Turning inward. Our society as a whole is also aware of winter’s turning inward: mentally and emotionally, this time of winter is the season of New Year’s resolutions. Turn inward to a ‘new year, new you’. World's End, Winter 2020
Many of us have difficulty getting out of bed in the early morning and heading out to work in the dark, only to come home in the dark again. In Chinese medicine, it is in fact suggested that we sleep more in the winter because winter is the season of yin energy: dark, cold, slow, and inward. If you’re still the person that gets out of bed and to the gym at 5 am – good for you! If you are not, however, I invite you to go easy on yourself, know that this season is temporary, and embrace your winter needs – they are as real as the dropping temperatures we experience here in New England.
Turning inward – be that through meditation or slowing down – allows us to be more in touch with our own winter needs.
A few tips from Chinese medicine during this period of turning inward:
Slow. Down. Yin energy in Chinese Medicine is associated with slowing down. When we are less active and outside, this can be a great time to pick up a quiet meditation practice that we’ve been putting off for months now. The app Insight Timer is one of my favorites for free, guided meditations. Five minutes each day goes a long way.
Warm It Up. Winter is also the season of the kidney in Chinese Medicine. To nourish and warm the kidneys, I encourage my clients to make warm, healing soups during these months. If you’re a salad person and can’t give them up, try wilting your greens first in a pan to warm them. Or, swap the salad at lunch for a soup entirely. Eating with what’s in season is important, but especially important is that our food is warm. Supporting the kidneys means strengthening the immune system to help fight illness.
Speaking of illness, I’ve worked with so many patients this season who have experienced cold and flu symptoms lasting 10-12 days that have knocked them right into bed. It is not fun! Some tips to help support yourself – whether you’re trying to build back your immune system after being down and out, or you are doing your best to ward off these symptoms I’ve mentioned:
Bundle Up. Wrap yourself in a scarf. There are six evils, or the pathogens of Chinese Medicine. Two of them are cold and wind (the other four being heat, summer heat, damp, and dryness). Protecting your neck is important to ward off cold and wind, as it’s believed that cold and wind enter specifically through the back of the neck. Yes, scarves are a fashion statement in the winter! But that’s not the only reason I’m encouraging my patients to wrap themselves in something warm during the winter.
Come On In. Build your immune system with an acupuncture treatment. Following the holidays, we are drained, lethargic, and have had food and drink that our bodies probably aren’t used to. Supporting yourself with a treatment allows yourself to balance your Qi during these winter months so that you are stronger in fighting infection. Balanced energy in the body means it’s supported in functioning and healing itself.
