Special guest, Tami Roos, PhD, details why winter is such an important time for our minds and bodies and how to look for signs that your body is telling you it's time to take it slow.
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Winter has always been a favourite time of year for me. The leaves are beginning to turn colour, the mornings are crisp and it feels like a hush has fallen over the city. As the sun sets and the sky begins to turn into shades of midnight blue I experience the sacred within as I am grateful and quiet. The days are shorter with fewer sunlight hours and there is always the telltale sign of turning our clocks back by an hour. Winter is here!
You may notice menu changes at cafes and restaurants and the fruit and vegetables at the local store begin to change too. Soups and porridge may take your fancy as you begin to crave those foods that will nurture your body and support your immune system.
Jumpers and scarves come out of storage as we start to experience cooler temperatures, and generally, life begins to ‘subtly’ shift and slow down.
The idea of staying in at night and reading a book or curling up under a blanket by a fire or in front of the television becomes more appealing.
Growing up in the Northern Hemisphere and having spent so much of my time in the mountains, I witnessed some different telltale signs of the seasonal change from summer to fall through the animals.
I used to watch the squirrels and the chipmunks gather acorns from the ground and scamper off to store them for the winter ahead. The bears would be foraging as much food as possible to store up fat before they headed into hibernation. The cattle would be brought down by the farmers from the higher elevations to the valley below where they could still find grasses to feed on. The birds would fly off in mass formations headed for the warmer climates, and at the same time birds that you didn’t see in the summer would begin to arrive too.
The fall foliage would begin with a burst of colour from reds and burnt oranges to vibrant yellows before silently falling to the ground leaving trees barren and ready for winter.
Nature provides so many examples of the natural rhythm of transitioning from the energetic frenzy of summer into the slowing down and going within season of winter.
What have you begun to notice?
Be still for a minute and focus on that question. What is your body and mind asking for? Are there signals that you are aware of and haven’t honoured yet? What desires are rising to the surface?
If you listen to the wisdom within you will know exactly what you need or require in this moment.
Nature illustrates a fluidity in life. By simply following nature’s example within your own life you will more than likely understand the benefits of caring for yourself by slowing down.
Summer illustrates the ‘fruits of your labor’ from the past year. Fall is a time for reflection. A time of shedding and letting go so that you can release and recharge. Winter is all about preparing for the upcoming year. You may liken it to a farmer preparing his soil so that it is fertile and once planted will yield the highest output or best crop. Winter illustrates the incubation time a bit like the caterpillar going into the cocoon and in spring emerging as the beautiful butterfly. Every season has its purpose. Nothing is left to chance. There is always a plan.
Winter presents an amazing time for reflection. You can ‘review’ the past few months and get really clear on what it is that you are trying to bring into your life for the rest of the year ahead. By allowing yourself to slow down and recharge you are able to tap into more creativity. This is a perfect time to daydream or use your imagination which is really once again all about the creative energies which we are all born with.
Journaling is an amazing skill set that allows you to put these thoughts down on paper, giving you a blueprint for what it is you wish to remember and/or create.
You may wish to create a ‘vision board’ where you cut out photographs or words of text that represent what you wish to experience or attract into your life.
Both journaling and creating a vision board have something in common which is they highlight your desires and empower those dreams and/or ideas through being clear in your reflection.
Winter is the perfect time to begin setting the stage for your wants, needs and desires.
Honour your body and mind by slowing down, get in sync with nature’s rhythm as it applies to you as well and embrace all the wonderful gifts that you have inside yourself that you have yet to unearth.
Winter is the Present Moment.
Go Within and Thrive.
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A little note about Tami:
Earning her PHD in Parapsychic Science with her dissertation on meditation, Tami Roos cam to a life-changing realisation - alignment with our untapped highest potential is the missing link to a life of fulfilment and well-being.
The tool that leads us there: meditation. Today as the acclaimed author of Presence to Power: I AM the Gift, and an accomplished speaker for CEOs looking to gain more influence or for those seeking to access the power mindfulness has to improve lives, Tami offers timeless wisdom to slow down, gain clarity and experience more.
Find her at:
- https://tamiroos.com/
- @tami_roos on Instagram
- @tamirooswellness on Facebook