Alaska’s Longest Season, Winter is an Opportunity to tune in
Seasonal Living is a great benefit from holistic medicine that can help alleviate and prevent health conditions. Winter can be a confusing time in modern life as we see nature taking a rest and drawing inwards, yet society often demands that we keep up! In Alaska we still may consume media that is based in warmer places. Even movies and shows filmed in Alaska rarely give the cultural narrative that shows the true cold we are dealing with in the Northern latitudes, I’m not talking to you Juneau! That said, here in South-Central Alaska and the Northern beyonds we can take wisdom from cultures in Scandanavia where they also boast Northern Lights, Fjords, and Orca’s. You’ve likely heard of Hygge. Wisdom comes from Traditional Chinese medicine where intense cold is experienced as well in Northern Cities such as Harbin.
Bears and bees hibernate, butterflies and frogs freeze solid and nature suggest that humans slow down and stay warm. Keeping yourself in good health with nature as a guide and constant companion will prepare you for the ‘woo’ of spring as it arrives. Not keeping with the seasons suggestions, or staying connected if you will, can make transitioning into another seasons flow impeded and imbalance with illness. Not wanting to ‘stay connected,’ to winter is understandable but it doesn’t mean you must start winter hiking any time soon (unless that is your goal!). Getting out in nature can be amazing, it’s the reason dog sledding can be so romantic. The glistening snow in the moonlight is nourishing in and of itself, but what are the hibernation activities that help if you’re too cold (or tired) to face the cold, or have been out and need to warm up beside the fire?
Winter is our deepest ‘cold’ or ‘yin,’ it’s element is water as in the water at the bottom of a barrel or canyon that is cool and soft (when still) and powerful when flowing as it has the capability to carve out canyons and smooth stone as it adapts to the deepest level that seeks it. The coolness of water connects with the element of water for winter. Our kidneys which filter blood into water (urine), represent winter as well and govern the body’s energies from before birth – known as pre-natal qi. This guides the processes of reproduction, growth and development, and aging. Prentatal-qi is determined in gestation – this is why holistic prenatal care focuses so much on this time. Winter is the season of ‘gestation’ where through deep reflection, like looking at yourself in a clear pool of water you can be ready for the next season and in a similar way and through other seasons flow with them to the benefit of your health and to have a more intimate connection with nature and the processes of life inside and outside of yourself. To nourish yourself in the yin season and benefit from the season of winter there are a few things you can do.
To nourish yourself in winter:
- Keep your low back, hips, and feet warm. Our favorites are merino wool layers (synthetic layers are also effective and inexpensive), insulated skirts, ski-pants for winter walks, warm socks and boots, hot hands for feet, foot soaks, infrared heating pads or hot water bottle, warming by a woodstove, even the use of a blowdryer on the low-back an hips can ‘warm’ and nourish as well as moxibustion. The kidney meridian begins in the feet and end in the torso so keeping the feet warm have special importance as well as the legs all the way up the torso, in not letting winter ‘rob’ you of your heat (also known as yang energy)!
Nourishment in winter:
- Activities that welcome yin are reading, knitting, jewelry making, board games, and social time that is relatively quiet and with smaller groups
- Gentle yoga such as restorative or yin and qi gong exercises
- Decluttering old photos or papers while the weather is conducive to being inside can be a way to delve deeper into your emotional patterns, limiting beliefs, and through knowing yourself clearly have a feeling of lightness and freedom going forward in Spring.
- Foods that nourish in winter are warming meats such as lamb, beef, and seafood. Seeds and nuts will pack dense calories to keep you warm while also moistening the intestines which can suffer the dry winter air. Root vegetables continue to from fall to be wonderful in winter packing a dense delivery of condensed energy.
- Moxibustion treatments offer a direct herbal method of warming specific meridians and acu points for healing and promoting health. Please check out more information on moxabustion on our site.
Activities to Avoid:
- Exercises that cause you to sweat excessively which can open the pores to cold ‘getting in,’ and spend
too much energy to get through the winter and ‘blossom’ in the spring
- Cold food and drink, including very many raw vegetables.
- Going outside with wet or damp hair
- Being outdoors improperly dressed.
*All of this advice for staying warm doesn’t apply to everyone! Some people run hot and cannot dress in layers even at 0 or -10. It will help even in a cumulative way if you do often feel chilled, low energy, or prefer to stay toasty.