Honoring the Seasonal Shift: Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is an opportunity to match the tempo of nature and slow down.

This is an opportunity to explore our spirit’s shadow side and invite healing opportunities.

This powerful internal shift can be taxing on our body.

​I consulted with herbalist Cherise Atkinson, founder of Bright Green Possibilities, for some resources on how to help nourish our body through this energetic shift.

Lighten Up Winter Blues
Despair, loneliness, fear of the lack of light, and not being able to focus can all occur when we are not attending to our body’s needs properly. Instead, nourish body and spirit! Dress warm, eat mineral rich foods, light candles, create a safe fire in a stove, fireplace, or outdoor pit, and engage in intimacy. This will elevate your mood and help you cozy into the season.

Spending time indoors? Take advantage of tasks that stimulate mental wellness. Seek activities that induce creativity, motion, and problem solving. Some great examples are handicrafts, playing music, games, storytelling, really anything that wards off lethargy and induces motion.

Keep in mind, a need for stimulation can be interpreted as hunger. So, keep those food cravings in check!

Engage Your Senses
Add enjoyment to the longer dark nights by choosing to do everything a little more mindfully instead of task based.

Netflix night? Great! Take time to be thoughtful by making an enriching meal to enjoy during the show. Or get cozy by locking in a good book, perfect beverage, and fun snack.

Have friends over or host a party with love and intention. Honor the foods that allow us to flourish this time of year!

• warming spices such as nutmeg, allspice, chai, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, anise
• citrus juices add sunshine to dreary weather and contain vitamin C for wellness 
• mushrooms (interconnectedness)
• onions and garlic (warm pungent fragrant, warming our system)
• chard, kale, and collard greens (most nutrient)
• fermented foods (Summer’s harvest, Winter’s feast)

Feeling bitten from the frosty cold? Revive your body’s energy through healing self care. 

• Essential Oils: Affect the brain and central nervous system. Different fragrances can have different effects. Essential oils are easily absorbed into the skin and can enter the bloodstream through the lungs and small capillaries. They affect the lymphatic system and are great when used correctly to aid in all kinds of wellness practices. Use essential oils in the Winter to aid in positive mood, for massage, in the bath, and in respiratory steams.
• Baths: Are ideal for relaxing, healing the skin, warming the body and detoxifying the body. A cup of epsom salts can be added to the bath water to provide nutrients to the body and further relaxation. Add a strong herbal decoction and essential oils to provide additional healing, relaxation, along with physical and emotional support.
• Massage: Helps elevate muscle tension, relaxing the mind and body. It promotes circulation and helps move the lymphatic system. Regular massage can reduce stagnation in the body. Receiving or giving a massage can also build bonds of trust between loved ones. Massage can be used to stoke the fires of intimacy.

Create Ceremony
The Winter Solstice and New Year are a powerful calendar duo! Their proximity set us up for the possibility of a grand healing event, supporting us in letting go of energy that is no longer serving us.

Use fire to create ceremony and inviting light back into life.
Create a safe fire using a stove, fireplace or outdoor pit.
Write down memories you are ready to let go.
Write down intentions of creations for the new year.
Burning the written memories and intentions in the fire.
Let the inspiration be reflected in the embers, carrying you into the new year free and clear!

Or, don’t make a fire.. light a candle.
Create ambience by including your treasures! Surround yourself with any medallions, crystals, shells or magical finds that bring you joy.
Do the writing exercise above.
Read the memories and intentions and then rip the papers into bits.

Warming Recipes
Indulge in these delicious recipes and nourish body, mind, and spirit!

Spiced Hot Chocolate
Serves 4
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons cacao powder
⅜ teaspoon cayenne
½  teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
In a medium pot, whisk together chocolate, cacao, cayenne and cinnamon over medium-low heat. Whisk until chocolate begins to melt. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to a subtle simmer.
Add maple syrup. Poor into cups and savor this warm sipper.

Golden Milk
Serves 4
2 cups Coconut milk
1 teaspoon Turmeric 
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
Pinch of black pepper
¼ tsp ginger powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Blend ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Pour into a small saucepan and heat for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Poor into cups and enjoy while warm.

Embrace Winter’s Depths
Winter sets the stage for an introverted adventure! Nourishing the body fuels us with the energy and courage to navigate spiritual depths available at this time of year. So, hunker down in your cozy space, and open up to the vibrations available. Embracing this season prepares us for the growth and creativity that spring provides.

CHERISE studied herbalism at the Ohlone Herbal Center. She is a practicing clinical western herbalist, seeing clients in her home clinic in Redwood City, California. Her apothecary is filled with garden harvested, wildcrafted and organic dried herbs and hand crafted plant medicines. When herbal medicine arrived in Cherise's life, she realized her potential for wellness and happiness, her BRIGHT GREEN POSSIBILITIES. Her herbal practice and BGP Natural Products are the manifestation of her love for people and plants. She offers her education and relationship with each plant to you, in a beautiful package. Pure, practical and luxuriously simple.

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Published in Sedona Journal's November 2018 online issue. Available at many natural food stores and online.