Embracing the Lessons of Winter

How to Heal Deeply in the Season of Deepening

“And don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.” — Rumi

The season is beginning to tilt into cooler territory. The nights are longer, the mornings crisper. The air feels more ethereal with space and stillness.

Winter offers a unique opportunity to heal. Let’s talk about why that is and how we can gather the wisdom and medicine of this potent season.

The energy of Winter is one of contraction. If Autumn is about release and taking stock of the year, Winter is one of moving the lessons of the past season into our inner sanctum. If all goes well, we harvest our wisdom and draw that deeply into ourselves. This process will give birth to something new as we tilt back into Spring. The wellspring is open to contemplation, understanding and the celebration of sharing our lifestories around the fire of community is a well shorn tradition that gives back to the world.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we see this wellspring also as a path of healing the body. The deeper layers are more accessible now and we can draw nutrition and medicine into places that are impenetrable most of the year. This is because Winter is ruled by the Kidneys and Bladder, two of the most mystical organ systems in the…