How to Create A Restful Winter That Works For Your Schedule I: January

As the new year ushers in there’s always a mixture of advice regarding whether or not to set New Year’s resolutions, when the true time to plan and goal-set is whether it be now, Spring, or the Lunar New Year.

I think it’s always best to find what resonates for you and make it your own. 

 I remember the first time I learned the idea that the standard New Year may not be the time for new goals and planning yet The Lunar New Year was. 

It resonated for me because I always felt rushed or behind in January. The top of the year felt more like a time to complete all that had happened in preparation for the next chapter.

I craved the time to just be before moving into planning, yet still after the final ring of the new year. 

For this reason, the Lunar New Year resonated strongly for me. 

Considering most of us are not taking the full month or season off for complete rest – the question became what does it look like to allow space and rest during this season? 

I want to share my take on this and how it has been showing up for me the last few weeks.  

Significance

Winter on a natural level is known to be a time to turn within, rest, and reserve your energy during the colder months. 

I always think of the bear during this season. I remember learning in elementary science how bears build up reserves leading into colder months and ‘sleep’ all winter. 

Fun fact is that bears don’t sleep the entire hibernation period and bears that have access to food don’t need to hibernate at all – though they do slow down and sleep more than usual. 

It is shown however that when bears that live in zoos are not allowed to hibernate they can become overweight, impacting their health.

So what does Winter Rest look like in a society where in the first week of January most of us are back to work, our children are back to school, and life is life-ing? 

To maintain an inner state of connection to the natural cycles of our bodies it is necessary to be intentional about creating rest during this time. 

Our bodies are brilliant. If you’re familiar with my work you know that rest is one of the Foundational Four in the healing phase of The Feminine Power Toolkit. 

Rest all year round is imperative. Taking periods of rest (aligned with nature), works wonders to heal our mental, emotional, and physical bodies. 

Rest is ESSENTIAL for our evolutionary process. 

Winter is a time of rejuvenation preparing us for the renewal of Spring. 

Nature has given us all of the answers. 

A Modern-Day Hibernation: Stage I of the Winter Rest

I’ve noticed a flow that works well in my experience for integrating an intentional rest period during the Winter months of the Western Hemisphere. 

January – Reclaim

I urge you to borrow what resonates and create an intentional rest period that works for you. 

I will say that while this is mapped to the winter months it is a great flow to borrow from when healing and reclaiming anything, at any time in your life. 

Reclaim

January is a great time for reclamation. It is a time to heal, forgive, let go, and of course, rest.

As part of this, a natural reclamation of our energy, power, and thoughts that may have been caught in open loops can be restored. 

I see this as the closing of a chapter. 

During this time consider these questions:

What books have you been wanting to read? 

What movies have you been wanting to watch? 

Who have you been wanting to catch up with? 

What cafe have you wanted to visit? 

Who have you been wanting to create some extra cuddle time with? 

These natural inclinations are restful activities that support your healing and reawaken your soul’s vision. 

Remember this is restful healing – allow the difficult stuff to emerge as it may, trusting the alchemy of the period will support your growth. 

Stories through books or movies can reawaken the mythology that resonates with your soul. 

The people and places you crave to connect with have a way of reminding you of things once forgotten. 

The extra cuddle time with loved ones, a furry pet, or your favorite blanket allows the cells of your body to heal, realign, and strengthen. 

A return to love. 

Prioritizing these activities during this season and deprioritizing other activities can serve as a wonderful reset.  

Doing so will also create the opportunity to deprioritize and reassess how you spend your energy. This alone is a reclamation of your power and focus.

A few tips to support this process:

Go to bed early – intentional rest, when possible, can do wonders for any problems you may be facing. 

You may be called to eat less or differently during these months – listen to what your body needs and wants. I personally love soups and stew during this season. 

Set the intention and allow situations, conversations, and open loops to be resolved and completed. 

Trust the process and your higher power to work on your behalf as you do less and be more. 

I realize this is a reprogramming that is contradictory to the hustle-and-grind culture of colonial capitalism. 

Be with that. 

In Part II and III of this I will share more about the next two stages of this intentional rest – a modern-day hibernation.