Winter Season – How To Slow Down & Nurture You

Winter season is the perfect time to slow down and rejuvenate our energy. Not only are days colder, and our homes a little cozier, but when you look at winter as a season, you can see how it’s designed to naturally be a restful period for all.  Nature, for example, shows us how the trees and plants need to rest for the winter, taking time to rejuvenate so they may blossom again in the spring.They take the time to rest and do some work underneath what we see so that we get to enjoy their beautiful new blossoms in the warmer months. This is a mirror into ourselves that reminds us to rest and nurture ourselves in the colder, slower months, and give our mind and body the rest that we need so that we too can ‘bloom’ beautifully in the future.

Today, I’ve invited my daughter to share a few ideas for how you can align your routine with the flow of winter season to help you slow down and nurture. How to set a good pace for yourself and rejuvenate yourself in the way you deserve.

Winter Season Self Care

1. Be intentional with the pace of your life

The most important part of slowing down for the winter season is to be intentional with your time. As mentioned before in our slow living post, this doesn’t mean you can’t get things done, it just means that you prioritize rest and mindfulness over the hustle. You take your time in doing your tasks, immersing yourself in them fully, and being present with them.  If you normally rush to drink your coffee, instead, slow down, and enjoy each sip you take. Pause in between, admire the scenery, the sound, and world around you. Rejoice in the layers of the flavors, the sensation of a warm cup, and the peace it brings to your mind and body. But most importantly, give yourself permission to enjoy it as long as you want to. Then, start to do this with all of your tasks, if possible. 

This will help you move slower and more intentionally as you navigate your way through the winter season, and through every day after to make each moment a little more special. 

2. Focus on inspiration and creativity 

We often kick off the year with pressure to complete all our goals and move as quickly as possible, but, much like nature in the winter season, this is a time we should be slowing down, and working to instead nurture our inspiration and creativity within.  Nurturing your creativity and inspiration is so important for helping you to move through life with balance and happiness as a creative person, and it can look different for everyone. Some of my favorite ways are by creating a vision board, journaling, admiring art, creating art, listening to or creating music, trying something new in your home decor, bringing in fresh flowers, or even just focusing on self-care. The lesson here is to try to take in more of the things that inspire you, rather than putting the pressure on yourself to create something. 

By simply taking the expectation off of your creativity and instead just having a little fun and seeing what comes of it, you’re helping to rejuvenate yourself and your creative side which can help you feel happier, more fulfilled, balanced, and more productive in the future. 

3. Make your routines more mindful

We’re all guilty of not giving ourselves the love and care we need, so winter is the perfect time to start making it a habit to feed into ourselves more. While it’s still important to get our obligations done, now is the time to be mindful in incorporating and prioritizing more rejuvenating activities in your day as well, so that our days don’t revolve around a list of tasks but instead revolve around mindfulness and rest, even in small ways. Focus more on self-care, papering yourself, treating yourself, and giving yourself permission to enjoy hobbies, favorite foods, shows or books, and indulge in yourself a little more than usual. This isn’t the time to move quickly. Align with the slow energies of where we are now, and enjoy the restful moments as much as possible. 

4. Try out slower activities in the winter season

Now is a good time to focus on slower activities as well. These are the kind of activities that teach you to slow down to enjoy or complete them. Some examples of this could be meditation, yoga, reading, knitting, sewing, or baking. One that we’ve really been enjoying at our house is puzzles. Puzzles are a great way to enjoy a fun activity with the whole family, that really teaches you the beauty and reward of slowing down to complete something.

Whatever slow activities or hobbies you enjoy, winter season is a great time to enjoy them more as you may not get as much time to enjoy them as things get busier in the warmer months. 

5. Take time to be inspired by the world around you

Lastly, take walks and admire how incredible the world is and the changes it undergoes. Allow the world to inspire you to take the pressure off, and just enjoy the moment. If you are able to, go outside, walk, or sit and enjoy the scenery of how winter looks. Admire the stillness and beauty of the snow, or if you have clear weather, admire the way the bare structure of the trees look, and all of the world as the seasons change. This photo was from our trip to Washington state in November- the leaves were falling and the trees were taking on a more structural shape. It was a beautiful seasonal change and a reminder that even in the slower pace of the season, beauty is happening.

Recently I started to plant winter bulbs. Doing so allowed me to not only enjoy the process of planting, but to see the magic of winter, and how, even now, in the slower, colder months when it looks like the world around us is dry and dead, there’s actually a lot of magic happening below the surface to help bring new life in the spring. Let it inspire you to plant your intentions now as well, just like the bulbs, and bring forth new opportunities and new growth in your future.

Overall, if you’re off to a slow start this year and feeling down about it, take the pressure off, and understand this is exactly where you should be. Although it may seem slow on the outside, within ourselves, wondrous new things are taking place to help us set ourselves up for success, happiness, and joy in the future. But, the only way they can grow is if we show up for ourselves, take our foot off the gas, and allow them to grow.

Give yourself permission to slow down and let go of the busy expectations of a new year and let all the restful days of winter restore you just as they are meant to. 

For more helpful ideas for slowing down & living more intentionally- check out our slow living series here on the blog.