Herbal + Holistic Self Care for Winter~* From an Ayurveda and indigenous lens

Sacred rest, reflection, inner warmth and nourishment

The winter season has been hijacked by colonial capitalism! Contrary to popular belief, the winter is not the time to be partying, consuming massive amounts of processed sugar and alcohol and running around shopping.

It is the time of rest. Nature is in her slumber and our bodies are tied to her rhythms. We should be drawing inward to meditate, reflect, and rest as the year cycle closes.

The lights, parties, sugar, alcohol, shopping, and excess wasteful consumerism is like max level disassociation and distraction. Like a tired toddler running around trying to keep themselves awake when they need to nap.

However, I believe there is a beautiful way to utilize lights, vacation, and foods in a holistic and mindful way.

Here are some ways rooted in indigenous medicine and the cycles of nature to care for yourself through the winter season.

Ayurveda in winter tells us to hydrate, find warmth, ground, rest, take care of our energy, and eat well cooked meals like cooked veggies with healthy fats, probiotics, and soups. Here is more details:

*Herbs for Winter 

Seasonal foods are seasonal for a reason. Ginger in gingerbread cookies for boosting internal warmth when we need it most. Instead of gingerbread cookies swap out for a seasonal feeling ginger chai tea lattes or cinnamon mexican hot cocoas (I have an adapotgenic blend in my shop), without processed sugar or a keto/paleo friendly variety! Processed sugars also disrupt our liver balance and immune system which also needs support in winter. These herbs boost warmth which the uterus and immune system need, by boosting circulation, adrenal gland function, and/or immune function:

cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, clove, nutmeg, reishi, ashwagandha, tulsi basil, white pine, elderberry, mugwort, siberian ginseng, cordyceps, schisandra, chocolate

*HYDRATE! Use a thermos and add a squeeze of lime/lemon and salt/electrolytes to keep you hydrated and drinking more

Winter can be dry (when freezing and cold), and we naturally drink less water in winter. Drinking warm water will help your slower digestion during winter too!

*SOUP SEASON

Hydrating with soups is also a wonderful way to care for your body and is much easier to digest. Bone broth with some chili and garlic is a super nourishing meal/snack especially when fasting. I love fasting during winter with slower digestion, but only if you are comfortable and not right before your cycle.

*Abhyanga- self massage with oil

This practice is LIFE CHANGINGGG. It is an ayurvedic practice (yoga's sister science). Do it. Rub your body down with a nourishing body oil like coconut, avocado, or mustard oil. DAILY! Loving yourself will change your self-worth and feelings about yourself; it is a mindset. Do it right before a hot shower to help the oil soak in, especially if it has herbs in it. Infuse an oil with herbs on the crockpot method- or get my own craft creations from my shop. This practice inspired most of my body oils. Oil the body, face, and scalp.

*Probiotics + digestion

During winter our digestion naturally slows down. We have evolved to be in tune with the seasons around us so depending on your climate and location. Generally it is colder in winter, and our tonalli or prana (heat/life force) goes down and is conserved. We can embrace this time by eating lighter and more easily digestible foods. If you are recovering from eating disorders, take this in whatever manner you can approach it. Listen to your hunger cues and wait for hunger before eating. Incorporate a probiotic AT LEAST once a day, like saurkraut or kimchi. I love kimchi in ramen soup and noodles and saurkraut on burgers or just on the side as a snack. Bonus is you're also getting your cruciferous (crunchy) veggies which help boost digestion and hormone balance.

*SLOWWW down

This is the season of rest. Our bodies will naturally have less energy, and we are receiving less energy from the sun too. Pay attention to how tired you are and much caffeine you consume so you are not burning out your adrenal glands. This will lead to many issues far worse than caffeine dependence if you have a uterus, the same glands that produce adrenaline and cortisol produce our cycle and sex hormones so if we are producing too much cortisol and adrenaline from caffeine and burn out stress, we can't produce the hormones we need (caffeine just tricks your body into thinking it's not tired). REST when you are tired and if you are in caffeine addiction, break the cycle (it will suck for just a few days) and use an adaptogenic herb that will help heal your adrenal glands. Try my restorative rose cacao latte- with ashwagandha my favorite adaptogenic herb.

*Yin/restorative yoga and mediation

Winter is the time of reflection, inner knowing, and the wise crone side of the triple goddess. Taking time to intentionally slow down and meditate (whether that's sitting in meditation or moving mediation), will help clear the mind and process the year and cycle. There is a native saying that if there is mist, we can't move forward into it. We have to sit and wait to be able to have a clear path forward. Wait until the smoke clears. Instead of rushing to new year goals and plans, take time to reflect and move through the mist. Clear the mind by moving your body! If yoga and sitting isn't for you try dance, tai chi, running, FUN exercise. Yin and restorative yoga are my favorite ways to do that. I'm hoping to have some virtual offerings available soon of these! For now I suggest finding somebody you like on YouTube or a local studio.

*Lights + candles

The light decorations and candles can be used intentionally at this time instead of wastefully. Get plug in lights instead of batteries as usually the battery ones don't last long and add to plastic waste at this time. Local and natural candles (made with essential oils and not fragrance - look at ingredients) are a beautiful way to keep your home feeling cozy at night for winter restful activities like cozying up, reading, yoga, etc. Set an intention with your candle or write a wish underneath it to help manifest your desires with the powerful element of fire. Burning incense or smudging is another wondeful way to bring that element of fire and light in a healing way.

*Warmth! Simple yet effective

If you are Mexican, you know that we don't walk around barefoot in the winter or go outside without a jacket! Tia's advice was right and rooted in our ancestral wisdom. In Mexican Traditional Medicine, keeping warmth in the body is essential and is correlated to our tonalli or life energy. Keep warm layers on, especially on feet and head, light up the wood stove or fireplace if you have one, take a hot bath or showers, have hot teas and soups. It will nourish both your body and energy. Hot yoga and womb steams/saunas is my favorite thing to do in this season!

I hope these suggestions help you find ease and restoration in one of the hardest and most depressing times of the year (at least for me!). Let me know if you try something or it resonates with you <3

Sending you amor

~*Hope

About the author

Hope is an artist, herbalist, doula, yoga teacher, entrepreneur, and the owner of Luna Xochitl. LX is a botanica and art shop rooted in Mexican traditional medicine focused on body and womb healing. They have immersed themselves in the practice and teaching of yoga and art for the past 11 years and are currently studying herbalism, ayurveda, Mexican indigenous postpartum doula work, and traditional healing methods. She currently resides in the woods of Vermont, embracing the healing power of living in tune with the cycles of nature and the land. Her work focuses on healing body and wombs of primarily BIPOC femmes with holistic indigenous medicine, while learning and sharing her husband's work of hemp extraction through hashmaking in her products.