HONOUR YOUR SEASONAL SELF

Winter in Byron Bay has a very different rhythm. The pace softens, the town becomes quieter and, for a few months, there is a natural invitation to retreat inward before Spring begins to expand us out of our cocoons again.

Living in this seasonal location has really tuned me in on what I know about my seasonal body! Life can be crazy busy and stimulating here all through Spring and Summer, even into Autumn then winter hits and I feel myself breathe a sigh of relief, but still find it difficult to slow down!

It takes time and giving yourself permission to go inward to allow your body to be still!

She is saying, it's ok to stop! All around me I hear people saying they feel tired, flat, depleted or resistant to slowing down. Sometimes the body really is asking for more rest. And of course, persistent low mood, illness or exhaustion can have many causes and deserves appropriate support.

Winter naturally invites more rest, warmth, stillness and restoration. To cosy in and be in stillness.....The deep waters within us ask for stillness — a chance to restore and replenish and to recharge our batteries!

Today I am feeling for those who have to get on a train and go to an office, 9-5 all year around! I feel grateful that my work can be done at home or locally, without the punishing energies of public transport and exhausting travel. I am so fortunate to be able to stay close to home or at home, being quiet and still for the entire winter if I choose to! For those that don't have that luxury, please allow yourself downtime when you can....nourish yourselves with warm drinks, soups, treatments, baths and quiet time! For those who don’t have the luxury of slowing down as much as they’d like, small pockets of restoration still matter — warm food and drinks, baths, treatments, quiet time, gentle movement and early nights when possible.

This is seasonal living... to allow ourselves the internal wisdom that our bodies require, to avoid going against the grain of what feels inherently right!

Our meridians for winter are Kidney and Urinary Bladder, they are directly connected to our nervous systems and believe it or not our nervous systems are recalibrating us throughout the entire winter season. It’s no wonder we can find ourselves craving warm, nourishing foods, quiet spaces, warmth and touch!

When we don't listen to them, everything becomes hard work, this is no mistake! Sometimes what we interpret as laziness or lack of motivation may simply be a genuine need to slow down. Learning to distinguish between normal seasonal tiredness, stress, depletion and something that needs professional support is part of listening to ourselves wisely. Look after your divine self and allow your nervous integration!

So what happens when we do allow this request from our body? Do we feel guilty or lazy or is our mental programming telling us that this is not right for some reason? I am constantly trying to give myself permission to honour my needs, to listen deeply to what she is saying. Believe me, I don't always get it right away but when I become quiet and still enough to hear, my own bodily wisdom is there waiting for me.

Sometimes we need help with the shift between seasons

Being the go-go person I am, I find it hard to allow myself downtime, it is an imbalance that comes from my biological and mental design!

Over the past few weeks, instead of suffering with my internal voice and constant doing along with the pressure I put on myself... I went to see my Ayurvedic consultant, we discussed my Dosha, (your constitutional type within Ayurveda) in depth.

I also took part in a wellness leadership program with a multilevelled healer, who taught me to ask myself, what do I need to hold the space I need to hold whilst supporting others! What an epiphany!

With the right advice, I found some simple tools to balance myself and was given permission to slow down. To feel into myself and honour my inherent needs! You are a divine soul and you deserve this divine space! I learnt that our bodies are working on a different time frame than our minds, when you shift your perspective and know what your body needs and is doing at certain times of the day, you will find a whole new level of connection to yourself, what a reprieve from the constant pressure of what we think we should or could be doing.

Dig deep into why you can't allow yourself to relax, talk to the aspects of your divine self that are trying to tell you what you need...You always know what is right for you! Ask yourself... what do I need right now? Feel into it... don't think too much, your body will tell you!

When we gift ourselves with our own wisdom, it all becomes very clear! There is a deep reverence and honour for the temple that we inhabit although we don't always treat it like a temple!

In between the lines of what we should and could be doing is what IS, The truth is we push ourselves, we work with momentum, we follow the economic and societal rules that supposedly ensure success in business and in our personal lives but when we stop and listen.... most of the time it is not true. When we honour ourselves with the simplicity of downtime like watching a sunset, sunrise or making soup, with a deep sense of allowing our spirit time, so many natural opportunities come our way.

When we create space and stop forcing every outcome, we often notice opportunities and possibilities that were harder to see when we were constantly pushing.

BE TRUE TO YOUR NEEDS AND ALLOW THEM!