Winterized Self Care

RITUAL: Self Care | SEASON: Winter | HOLIDAY: New Year's

It’s common for people who live in temperate and polar regions to winterize for the coldest season of the year. They bring in their potted plants and find their snow shovels to keep by the door. They replace any compromised weatherstripping and insulate their pipes. They get their chimney swept and firewood delivered. They put snow tires on their car or snow chains in their trunk. They pull out their winter coats and cozy sweaters and make sure they have some waterproof boots to wear in the snowy weather.

Even if you don’t live in a place where it gets cold enough to snow, it’s good to consider winterizing your self care routines. Customize your am and pm skin care routines for the darker, colder and drier season. And create morning and evening routines that honor the shortest and darkest days of the year.

As you create a Winter self care or morning routine, take the most yin season into consideration. Live a slow intentional life. Find alignment with the stark beauty and quiet stillness of the bleakness of winter days.

Resting Ritual

In January, people will often make annual resolutions about getting up at dawn to work out or complete a lengthly morning routine. But winter is a time to rest. It’s a time to hibernate, to sleep in, to stay warm and cozy in your bed longer. To curl up with a good book by the fireplace and fall asleep to its mesmerizing flicker and crackle.

Even though the Gregorian calendar claims that January is the first month of the year, it’s not. January is at the mid-winter point in the Northern hemisphere. And Winter is the last season of the cyclical year and second to last month before Spring.

Winter months are the time to conserve and restore our energy. It’s not a time to expend it trying to keep warm in the pitch black on a 5am run in frigid temperatures on black ice. According to traditional Chinese medicine, proper rest in winter helps you to age gracefully. Wait until Spring to get up with the sun and spring out of bed to get an early start on your day.

Lighting Ritual

Begin the day by lighting a candle for your morning meditation or journaling session. At dusk, instead of turning lights on, light candles. Read by candlelight. Take evening baths or showers by candlelight.

Choose unscented beeswax or soy candles. Make your own aromatherapy candles. Or, opt for some ambient lighting from Himalayan salt lamps, string lights or battery operated candles.

Enjoy natural sunlight during the day and warm candlelight or cozy firelight in the mornings and evenings. Avoid using too much electrically sourced overhead lighting. And see if you can synch your schedule with the sun’s rise and set.

Often, people who live in colder climates, tend to get less sunlight during the winter months. Even if it’s chilly, bundle up if you have to, and get outside to go for a walk during the day. Or, sit outside for 20 minutes in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon. And supplement with a high quality vitamin D3 K2 every morning.

Some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, a mood disorder that can present as depression, commonly experienced, but not always during the wintertime due to the reduction in sunlight. Other names are depressive disorder with seasonal pattern, winter depression, winter blues and seasonal depression. Bright light therapy can help both with SAD and circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

Another self care ritual are daily sessions in an infrared sauna. This is excellent any time of year. But the warm light and heat can be especially comforting during the darkening days and cold winter months. Taking ice baths, a polar plunge or even a cold shower preceded or followed by twenty minutes in the sauna is immune boosting.

Bathing Ritual

Taking baths are especially good for women. And Winter is a great time to create a bathing ritual that works with your schedule and lifestyle. If you take an occasional bath on special occasions or an Epsom salt soak when your muscles are sore or even a weekly detox bath, try taking baths more often, even daily.

Make a hot bath before bed part of your calming evening ritual. Or, try starting your day with a relaxing bath as part of your morning routine. If you can’t make bathing a daily ritual, make baths a priority on the weekends or as often as possible.

You can make a ritual bath salt mixture with Dead Sea or Himalayan salt, Epsom salt, baking soda and essential oils. Or, make your own bath bombs. Take a bubble baths with moisturizing Miracle II soap.

Drinking Ritual

Preparing and enjoying a warm beverage can be a part of the winter days you look forward to, especially if you’re snowed in and have cabin fever. Make a coffee with espresso from freshly ground beans. Add healthy fats from unsalted butter or heavy whipping cream to make it bulletproof. Avoid unnecessary sweeteners that spike your blood sugar. Try flavored stevia if you like your coffee sweet. Add therapeutic grade orange essential oil to your grounds before brewing. Or, add some good vanilla to your cup of morning coffee.

The afternoon is another time during the day to pause for a warm drink. Make afternoon tea a daily drinking ritual. Try a rooibos chai or golden milk latte, herbal tea infusion or foamy London Fog as a mid-afternoon pick me up.

Eating Ritual

During winter, when the energy is the most yin, it’s important to eat warm foods. Avoid iced coffees and cold smoothies. Cook yourself a protein rich breakfast. Make warm salads with lots of roasted root vegetables at mid-day. And enjoy hot soups and stews for dinner.

In traditional Chinese medicine, each season is associated with one of The Five Elements and certain vital and sensory organs. Winter is associated with the Water element and the kidneys, adrenals and bladder, as well as, the blood and ears.

During winter months, focus on preparing and eating foods that are nourishing, especially to the kidneys. Bone broths, cooked low and slow in the crock pot. Miso soup with kelp or seaweed. Black beans and kidney beans in homemade chili. Root vegetables with bone-in meats or ox tails with bone marrow. Eat fish and other seafood. Add high quality sea salt like Redmond’s. Add walnuts to baked goods or warm salads and roast your own chestnuts over the fire.

Listening Ritual

The ears are the sensory organ associated with the Water element and the Winter season. Keep your ears warm in winter by wearing hats, scarves or even earmuffs when you’re outside. Rubbing or massaging your ears or even doing some acupressure or taping seeds to your ears are also beneficial.

One of the best ways to honor your sense of hearing is to practice the art of listening. Listen to calm instrumental music, like classical music. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks as you clean your house or walk around the block.

Become a good listener. Actively listen to the people in your life when they are communicating with you or sharing their thoughts and feelings. And most importantly, listen to yourself. Listen to receive guidance from your True Self and messages from the wisdom of your body’s consciousness. Listen to your heart and intuitive awareness.

Reading Ritual

Often, reading books is on the annual New Year’s list of resolutions. Instead of making a goal about the number of books, make a TBR, a “to be read” list of the books you’d like to read this year. Move away from the big symbolic number to the more meaningful list of books you’ve always wanted to read.

Instead of spending money buying new books, read the books you already have. borrow them from the library instead of buying them retail. Or, thrift books for practically nothing and donate the books you’ll never read or never read again.

Make reading a daily ritual you do morning or evening. Don’t make reading a box to check on your to do list. Read for knowledge and pleasure, not to meet your numeric annual goal.

Sleeping Ritual

In addition to honoring your need for rest, winter is the perfect time to create a sleep ritual that works for you and your life. Determine how many hours of sleep you need. Decide what time you need to be asleep to get that many hours before you have to get up in the morning. Then, determine what time in the evening you need to start getting ready for bed and make a list of some things you know will help you feel ready to sleep.

Take a hot bath. Do your evening skin care routine. Give yourself a foot massage. Turn your phone airplane mode. Do 15 minutes of qigong. Make yourself a cup of herbal tea. Diffuse some essential oils. Journal your thoughts. Read.

Share in the comments what you like to do to winterize your self care.

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Dara Eden is the author of HER Rituals for the Divine Feminine, a periodical guide created in December of 2021. The 8 Elements, her life’s work, provides guidance about how to honor the essential needs and highest values of your personal feng shui element. Inspired by an Internet challenge designed for men, she created 365WISE, a daily self-care practice that supports women in honoring their needs and listening to their inner wisdom.

In HER Rituals, she offers insights, ideas and intuitive guidance about ways to honor your needs, values and unique expression of the divine feminine.

HER Rituals is a Womb Wisdom KeepHER’s guide to cyclical rituals for sovereign women. It provides insightful information, inspirational ideas and intuitive guidance on daily and seasonal rituals you can practice as a form of self-care. Read about ancient wisdom and philosophical principles, holistic approaches and traditional skills, slow work and intentional living, embodiment practices and immersive experiences.