Thoughts on "Wintering"

“Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle.  It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment….doing those deeply unfashionable things – slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep…resting.”                   

                                                                                  –Katherine May 

These words from author Katherine May invite us into considering a countercultural set of practices that call for a slowing down as well as an invitation to rest, reflect, and take good care.  May offers up the concept of ‘wintering’ as an invitation to connect with the ever-changing natural cycles and ecological transitions.  Winter, she posits, is a time where we may do well to reflect on how we are caring for ourselves, our families, our colleagues, and our communities. 

December 21st marked the winter solstice, the time each year where we collectively experience the shortest day and the longest night.  For those of us residing in the Chicagoland area, we swiftly experienced a winter shock of cold and snow shortly thereafter the solstice reminding us all of the current season we inhabit.  For me, this wintry weather event meant a shortened clinical workday, a hot pot of my favorite carrot-fennel soup simmering on the stovetop, and many (many!) hot beverages.  Somewhere between the cups of coffee and the multiple mugs of Rooibus-turmeric-ginger tea, I finally felt myself able to begin slowing down – even amidst the winter holiday hubbub.                 

The concept of wintering aligns with the nature-based origins of Traditional East Asian Medicine, whereby the system implicitly considers people as a part of the natural world, not separate from it.  As such, we recognize that your body may have different needs as the weather chills and the sunlight hours shorten.  To counteract a wintering of the body, which can in fact occur during any season, herbalists will often employ a warming strategy.  For example, when working with patients on digestive issues, I will have the patient consider what happens to a stream as winter approaches.  

As the temperatures drop, the stream’s current begins to slow and may eventually freeze.  The same dynamics may be at play within the body.  For example, if someone is experiencing a slowed digestion as evidenced by fewer healthy bowel movements or is experiencing digestive pain, this may in part be exacerbated by the ingestion of cold foods and beverages that can be compounded in winter by the external cold temperatures.  With slower digestion, cold may contribute to a dynamic like the chilling and slowing stream on its way towards freezing, which would ultimately cause digestive pain.  

Herbalists will work with patients to try to balance their systems by suggesting warm fluids like brothy soup and warming herbal medicine formulas.  Essentially, we are trying to counterbalance the digestive wintering that has occurred.  To reverse the pain, we gently warm your system – effectively melting the metaphorical ice and support a quickening of the digestive stream to support your system in moving back into a healthy digestive flow.  While not all digestive issues are caused by cold alone as individuals embody dynamic systems, this nature-based example is one frame we may consider when determining how to help patients understand the dynamics of the body in relationship to nature.  For tailored support specific to your body’s system, it is always recommended to meet with an herbalist who is formally trained in how to diagnose and treat specific health conditions.       

That said, even for patients not experiencing pain or digestive pathology, we may suggest drinking warm herbal teas such as ginger or cinnamon to support digestive health and to simultaneously enhance well-being that often accompanies taking a ten-minute tea break at some point during your day.  Other activities that may enhance well-being include bundling up and connecting with nature.  As the daughter of a second-grade teacher, I have a clear memory of my mom stopping class during the first snow to bundle up and head outside.  This momentary break in the day became a priority especially if there was a new student who had just moved from a warm weather state and had never experienced snow.  

Once outside, she would equip the student with a black or dark blue pieces of construction paper and allow them to experience several snowflakes landing on the paper.  Even today, this activity never ceases to amaze me – seeing the crystalline structures of each individual flake land in full integrity for a few minutes.  While a great exercise to do with children, I have found that it can also slow down adults of all ages for a moment of joyful reflection, despite the cold temperatures.  

In moving forward through the winter season, we hope you are able to take good care and please never hesitate to reach out to our practitioners and care teams for support!  At Five Point Holistic Health, we recognize that our larger cultural systems often do their best to eclipse one’s ability to slow down and rest.  We will certainly continue to be in conversation and support larger policy changes and systems transformations that safeguard rest such as universal sick leave, minimum paid vacation, and adequate parental leave.  As we continue to cultivate a more caring culture, we also offer up some ideas for ‘wintering’ home practices to nourish your moments of solitude and to help sustain relationships as we move through this season on our Five Point Holistic Health Instagram Page. 

Warm Wishes and Happy Lunar New Year!

Ashley 

Acupuncturist, herbalist, and public health-informed nature enthusiast 

Source: 

May, K. (2020). Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times. Random House.