A new year is already upon us. Are the cultural pressures and guilt weighing heavily upon you to get back to the gym, start that new project, or get your life on track now?
Perhaps what you really feel like doing is crawling back into bed and pulling the duvet over your head until Spring. You’re not alone.
The reason being, that your body’s inner rhythms are simply naturally aligning with nature.
The conflict lies in the loud cultural bombardment of messages versus our subtle inner voices. We tend to ignore these instinctual whispers.
Making resolutions or intentions for heightened activity is awesome. Perhaps they’re just not the best idea for January, the darkest time of the year. Maybe they’re best suited for say, mid-February or March.
I’m feeling like a bear right now…receiving and listening to an instinctual and urgent call to head to my cave.
A call to hibernate, snuggle in, slow down my energy output, keep out as much outer stimuli as possible, nourish and replenish.
My soul’s calling me to hit the pause button on my outer life, so I can rest, reflect, process and integrate the past year. Plus, dream and envision for the new year and new decade…to approach it purposefully and protectively.
My sleeping dream life is even affirming this call I feel.
I’ve experienced quite a transformational year. In fact, the whole past decade has been. I feel like a completely different person from a year ago, the inner shifts have been so profound. I need lots of time to take all this in, to go into introspection mode.
In past years, since my yoga teaching years, I’ve taught and written about this time of year, the winter months, as being a time of slowing down and going inward.
Just as nature needs to rest and restore for new spring growth, we humans need to as well. It’s a natural winter rhythm.
Most of us actually do quite the opposite this time of year. We overextend ourselves all through the holiday season and then come January 1, we feel the pressures to still increase our activity levels.
So, I had to ask myself, have I really aligned my outer life with my own advice? To be honest, not really.
Yes, over the last years I’ve slowly let go of depleting activities and engagements during the holidays, but then come January 2nd, I’m suddenly pushing myself into full throttle mode. Never have I really, truly aligned my outer life with what I could often feel was my inner rhythm at this darker time of year. I always intended to though.
Photo by Alex on Unsplash
In actuality, it would take a snowstorm to keep me hunkered indoors, cozying up by the fire all day with a good novel.
You know how it goes…the best of intentions and then life happens…the to-do lists, the expectations, the pressures to undo the not so healthy habits taken on through the holidays, all this propels you forward in the usual ways. Sound familiar?
The call this winter is too great to ignore.
Snowstorms or not, I’m heeding this call to hibernate. I’m setting up my cave. Gathering my supplies. Creating ritual. Letting my people know. Asking for support. Setting my boundaries. Limiting social engagements. Keeping outer stimuli at bay like news, podcasts, social media.
I won’t be perfect and don’t expect myself to be. That’s totally not the point. I’ll just do it my way.
I may emerge out of my cave by February 1…or maybe spring.
I’ll simply trust that my body will sense the updraft of spring energy, then effortlessly I’ll ease myself back into my full routine, renewed, revitalized, and ready to take on the world!
Hibernation appears as if nothing is happening. Don’t be fooled. Even female bears give birth during their heavy sleep, semi-hibernation stages!
Are you feeling the call to hibernate or semi-hibernate this winter?
If so, what’s one or two ways you could scale back?
How will you nourish and restore yourself?
What support do you need to put in place?
Receive a journaling resource to assist you in your introspection by e-mailing me at karen@karentasto.com.