It seemed appropriate to write about wintering as I looked out my window onto the driveway, where 18 inches of snow had exquisitely accumulated during the weekend’s blizzard. Here in New England, we pride ourselves on going about our business no matter how high the snow banks become. It wouldn’t be long before the plows cleared the roads and our city returned to its usual bustle. But for a day or so, life seemed to pause, and we had a precious moment to reflect.

I came across the deeper meaning of the word “wintering” last year around this same time when I was gifted the book; Wintering: The Power Of Rest And Retreat In Difficult Times written by Katherine May. Her book came to me in early February when the bone chilling temperatures made it feel like a chore just to leave the house.

While reading the book, I found myself living in my own season of winter. I had just given birth to my new son, Gabriel, and now my baby boy was four months old. He needed me. All. The. Time. The life that I had known up to that point had changed and it would never be the same.

Having a baby leaves you no choice but to draw inwards. The same is true at many other times throughout life such as the death of a loved one, loss of a job, a divorce, an illness etc. These moments can feel lonely, sad, like you’re stuck in a rut, not making progress or not moving forward. Yet there is a gift here in this reclusive time.

My favorite quote from the book tells us exactly how we can take advantage of the opportunity that wintering presents us.

“Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.”-Katherine May

The season of winter in your life is a chance to reorganize and to undergo your own extraordinary act of metamorphosis. Therefore, this is my invitation to you:  lean into your emerging self. Imagine the person you’d like to evolve into and take the necessary steps RIGHT NOW to get to where you want to be. Use this seemingly sedated winter interval to rest, plan, and prepare.

Here are 3 Healthy Ways to Regenerate Yourself This Winter:

1. Get Adjusted!
   • One of the best ways to ensure your body is functioning optimally is to have your nervous system checked for misalignments. These misalignments place pressure on the nerves that act as the communication highway between the brain and body.
   • Once corrected through the chiropractic adjustment, your body has its best chance possible to function at its peak.
   • Research shows that people who receive chiropractic care have a greater overall quality of life! (ICPA - Establishing and Advancing the Chiropractic Family Lifestyle (icpa4kids.com)
2. Get Sweaty!
   • Engage in winter activities like skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, sledding or hiking.
   • Find an online fitness class. Many free ones exist on YouTube. I personally enjoy dancing along with Fitness Marshall and my kids join in too! 😊
3. Create a Vision Board
   • Cut out pictures or words from magazines that align with what you want for yourself. This can show your financial, spiritual, personal and health goals in a way that’s easier to imagine than writing out a list. 
   • Hang it somewhere that you can see it daily for inspiration. I have my vision board hanging in my closet so that I can glance at it while getting ready for the day.