Winter puts us in touch with our shadow

Until (very!) recently, I framed winter as something to endure.

The lower energy and slower pace felt like problems to fix. The quiet invitation to introspection could easily be mistaken for depression.

What I’m learning is that winter is not something to overcome, rather it’s a doorway inward.

Water is winter's element, and it holds our emotions. The very nature of this season is to put us in touch with our shadow. The stillness of winter - the plants that seem void of life - invites us to see what’s been hidden deep inside, and to feel what we’ve been too busy to notice. But most of all - to slow us down long enough to hear our heart's longing.

In traditional healing systems, winter is associated with the kidneys - the reservoir of our life force energy. The kidneys govern deep resilience, and our capacity to endure. Winter is the time to put energy back into our kidneys.

The coldness of winter is deeply contracting and drying - it pulls energy inward and slows circulation. I know this really well in my own body - I tend to thrive in the warmth and humidity, with the circulation it encourages. Winter asks something very different of me - and of all of us.

This is the season of reduced output, inward attention, fewer inputs, and deeper digestion… both physically and emotionally.

When we honor this rhythm, the body quietly restores itself.

When we override it with stimulation, planning, and media consumption, the kidneys can't replenish their reservoirs and the nervous system takes a hit.

The moral of the story? Less really is more right now: less input, less pressure to know what is next.

Remember that.

It’s time to conserve our energy - so we can use it wisely later.

Let’s prepare our ground this winter, so the seeds we plant in the spring can flourish.

More soon on what this looks like - and why it matters for the healing work you’re doing.

Dr. Marie