Rituals for self-care #12
Cocooning in conscious rest, mood-boosting oils and winding-down for slumber. Practices to find deep rest in deep winter.
Hello dear reader. If you’re new here, each month I share practices and self-care tips to nurture and nourish your body, mind and heart. I open with a personal reflection and insight on the theme for the month.
Here’s this month’s quiet-time in a nutshell:
Cocooning in conscious rest
Mood-boosting with nature’s wonder cure
Sleep, elusive sleep
Recent favourites to read, watch and listen
Journal prompt: I know you can do more, but can you do less?
I was meant to be back at my swimming training this week. Despite my kit bag packed ready, my pale legs shaved and a post-swim banana set next to my car keys, I procrastinated just about long enough that I didn’t set off in time and tried to convince myself that, oops, it was accidental.
I just wasn’t feeling it. I can’t work out if I was simply being lazy or if, after the hectic festivities (including the month-long run-up), part of me recognised the tired, sluggishness as a call to rest. The quiet of an empty house appealed more.
But the cultural conditioning is strong isn’t it? A new school term has begun, we’re back to routine and the ‘new year, new you’ messaging bombards us left, right and centre. Onto the next thing we go - holidays to book and afford, summer body to prep, rat race to be run. I felt like I should be back to the push of the drills and lengths in the pool.
Except it’s not actually the new year, yet.
One look out of the window and it seems self-evident that we’re still in the depths of winter here in the northern hemisphere, which only began with the Solstice on December 21st. True new year isn’t until March - the time of newness, fertility and re-birth, light, energy. It feels way more aligned to a fresh start than setting resolutions in deep winter, doesn’t it?
Dont get me wrong - I jigged along to auld lang syne with the best of them at the stroke of midnight, sensing the nostalgic closing of another year, and I love my annual tradition of creating a vision board but, at the same time, knowing that the calendar year (the Gregorian calendar) is a man-made concept. My body is certainly feeling the wintry energy levels still.
Ayurvedic wisdom sees this as a transition to a kapha season, cold and chilly but with increasing moisture in the air. (That has felt very true here in the UK!) Associated with the elements of earth and water, kapha energy is solid, heavy and dense and can manifest as low energy and tiredness.
After the extroverted busy-ness of December, January is an opportunity to sink into the quiet and stillness of winter. The hibernating stillness of nature invites us into the same pause, a time for reflection and introspection.
Here’s the invitation for January: I know you can do more, but can you do less?
Can you resist the urgency to do more, have more, to be more? Instead, can you find moments of intentional stillness?
Maybe your body has forced you to slow down with seasonal coughs and sneezes. Though we often see this season as one of immune weakness, Ayurveda sees it as a time of strengthening - a restorative time to rebuild tissues and nourish the body before the spring. The time of high-energy is just over the horizon, right now is the time to enjoy the quiet of winter. If not rest now, then when?
How do you rest? I’d love to know what that looks like for you.
I’m sharing below a pick of restorative practices to restore you this month.
Emma x
This month you’ll find me…
Practising this:
Supported Savasana
Savasana is not just a lie down. It’s a pose of conscious rest. I know people get twitchy in this pose - both physically and mentally - but there are so many benefits to this simple shape. (I wrote an article for Om Yoga magazine on it here).
It allows the entire body to rest in an anatomical neutral and, after either a dynamic asana practice or simply a busy day, it teaches the body to come back to stillness and the nervous system to down-regulate. It lowers the blood pressure and heart rate, releases muscular tension from ‘holding’ patterns, reduces fatigue and is said to help manage chronic pain.
Restorative teacher Judith Hanson Lasater suggests it takes 15 minutes before the body moves into physiological relaxation where the breath and the brain waves slow down. This is where the true savasana begins, where the constant whirr of thoughts begin to quieten.
It is deeply restorative, especially when you take the time to fully support the body with props - the weight of the body drops, supported by the ground/props beneath, and there begins a slowing down of the thoughts too.
Begin to build your savasana cocoon with a support under the knees to reduce tension in the lower back and sacrum. You may like an additional blanket or two to place under the head and neck, maintaining its neutral position, or under the pelvis. And the cherry on the cake, a blanket over your front so you can rest with warm cosiness. Set a timer and just be.
Using this essential oil:
Eucalyptus oil
From a quick Google I discovered that eucalyptus was once deemed a sacred plant by the Australian natives and its leaves, soaked and crushed, used as a cure-all medicinal remedy. Other ancient traditions used this ‘wonder cure’ too, such as traditional Chinese and Indian (Ayurveda) systems. It’s known to be particularly good for respiratory issues and allergies, is immune boosting and, great for this sluggish time of year, is a reviving, mood-booster.
It’s not one to use before bed as it has a stimulating effect but is my pick this month as a great one to balance out the kapha heaviness.
You can read more on the uses, benefits and precautions of eucalyptus oil HERE.
Making time for:
A wind-down routine.
The whirlwind of social get-togethers, guests staying, poorly children, house-shaking thunderstorms and the mental load of Christmas have meant sleep has been light on lately. Maybe it has a little to do with my age too, peri-menopausal insomnia keeping me awake in the wee, small hours.
So, I’m intending to improve my wind-down routine before bed to see if it improves things.
In an interview with
, Charlie Morley says:“Sleep is fundamentally a natural process that will occur in the absence of stressors that prevent it from occurring. The most important thing we need to do is to regulate the dysregulated nervous system. So my approach is all about body and breath. You can do all the sleep hygiene tips you like, but until you regulate your nervous system you’re going to be staring at the ceiling until morning.”
You might like to try a short breathing exercise before bed or even encouraging a yawn or a sigh can help trigger the parasympathetic response. One other option is to give yourself a hug - your brain knows no different to this act of love coming from you or from someone else and will respond to the physical sensation by releasing oxytocin and acting as a stress-reliever. Cross your arms and squeeze your shoulders and then gently stroke down the length of your arms. Do this a few times to soothe the nervous system.
Recent favourites:
Enjoying:
As well as the usual festive films, I watched (and loved) the TV adaptation of Lessons in Chemistry on AppleTV, as much for the the 50’s style as the storyline.
Reading:
Last year I committed to switching out social media scrolling for bedtime reading and my goal was to read two books per month. I fully admit that I still spent way too long doom-scrolling but I did almost achieve my ambitious goal by reading 23 novels in ‘23 - probably by sleeping less. (I’ve curated the ones available on Bookshop here)
Anyway, my last read of the year was a goodie - The One Plus One by JoJo Moyes. The story of a downtrodden protagonist with the odds stacked against her which leaves you rooting for her and her family. It was one of those books where I missed the characters once I stopped reading.
Listening to:
This How to Fail episode with Claudia Winkleman was so refreshing. As a self-confessed perfectionist, I loved Claudia’s total honesty and rally-cry for embracing who you are, and who you’re not. “I have no time for perfect…. I like ramshackle and funny and smart. And I like things, sort of, decaying - including myself. I find that charming.”
Diary dates:
Sunday Rest & Restore: A soothing yin yoga and mindfulness practice will be live here on 21st January, 9-10am (GMT). Zoom details will be sent to paid subscribers.
Yoga Nidra for Deep Rest: A deeply restful guided meditation, this yoga nidra (yogic sleep) recording will be available on Sunday 14th January and sent directly to paid subscribers.
In-person events:
Reconnect to Self: A day retreat in the quiet of the Lancashire countryside that will feature a women’s circle, healing breathwork, restorative yoga and sound healing. Saturday 3rd February, 10.30am - 5pm.