Wintering- connecting with your soul
New Year, new goals, new me…right?
That tends to be the cultural mindset during this time of year. It’s as though the new day of a new year inspires energy to make the needed and wanted changes. As we wake up in 2025, many of us try to start the day by listing out new goals or intentions and make our body/mind system move in the direction we prefer.
Yet in a few weeks, many end up burning out.
Signed up in too many classes, over-committed, and yearning to sleep in a little longer. Meal plans are now out the door, and we slowly find ourselves back to were we started, integrating in the things we were just trying to eliminate.
So how come whole food 30 doesn’t last for many past the 30 days? How come we become so exhausted and depleted in just a few short weeks?
Let’s take a step back and take a bigger look at the picture. First, lets start with some history and investigate….why January 1?
Looking back on history, it’s revealed to us that January 1 does not hold much of a symbolic meaning, particularly when it comes to the bodymind system. There is no connection between our human energy and what drives change. Change requires the metabolic energy of movement. Of doing. It needs the alchemy of fire to move things and propel it forward. Without that energy, we are fighting against gravity. We can move, yes but it becomes the energy of “I must” rather than “I can”.
If we are using the calendar as an indicator of greater self-change (i.e., January MUST be the time to change), then perhaps first be honest about what we are asking of our bodymind system. Noting that it is in the middle of the Winter season, a time of hibernation, drawing inward, slowing down. A time of self-reflection, being, moving with more intention and ease. Therefore, it will be more effort on our behalf to pull our bodymind systems into a state of greater heat/fire for change, particularly if it is less self-reflection and more outward behavioral changes. Examples of this include changing our eating habits, adding in more exercise routines, starting a new program, etc.
In yoga, there is often talk around “tapas”. It’s language included in the Yoga Sutras and can carry much meaning around change, etc. In my study of the Sutras, it’s defined as,
“recognizing that changing certain things enables us to see more, and so creating the conditions so that you recognize yourself day by day.” -Karin Carlson
These are self-reflection, their outcome is jñana, understanding. If we are desiring change during this time, we can come into this Wintering season with tapas, or self-reflection. Ways that this can look like is through:
The following few are skill building/tapas:
Friendships, relationships
Strength
Building on listening to intuition. Knowing our intuition and learning to tap into it. Being aware for when we have ignored it
Connection to our heartspace
So I invite you to include this practice of tapas into your January 1 itinerary. Include self-reflection as a practice and see then how your January feels compared to ones in the past.
Warmly,
Leslie
