How do you hibernate? Eat as much cake as you can and find a big duvet? I’m joking – sugar overload is a key factor in compromising the immune system, particularly in the winter. Hibernation means to enter a state of torpor, to withdraw or to be in seclusion. We know that bears, snails and hedgehogs do this; their breathing and metabolic rate slow down. It makes sense in the winter. Conditions can be harsh, so why not turn everything down until summer and effectively go into a long sleep until spring appears?
We humans don’t need to go to that extreme, but over years of practising homeopathy I see an increase in illness during the winter months, often caused by people continuing to work, play, burn the candle at both ends and not live in alignment with the seasons. This includes me. However, for the past few years I have been working on the art of hibernation as a practice. As the branches of the trees become bare and the sun dims, I try to feel the winter energy of stillness, silence, patience and an inner sense of retreat and rest. Yes, REST. Listen to the message of the season. It is asking us to turn inwards to the heart and the hearth.
Rest isn’t easy to achieve in our demanding culture, with jobs and families to sustain and the demands and stresses of the festive season. Nevertheless, it is possible even in small incremental ways to weave in more self-care on a spiritual, a physical and a domestic level. Ideas include going to bed slightly earlier to journal, reading to your children, or simply staring into space. It’s about following the example of animals like mice or hummingbirds who enter a state of torpor on a daily basis, rather than for a long chunk of time, to save energy.
My prescription for the winter months is to see your homeopath for a good constitutional remedy. This will ensure that your immune system stands the best chance of coping with viruses and bugs. It is also a good way to check in with yourself properly on all levels.
Set aside time to completely relax, let go and just be. Take up a non-goal-orientated practice like meditation or yoga. Try and do one thing like this every day. It doesn’t always have to be the same routine. Perhaps try practising tai chi or yoga one day, and on another day lying on a rug and daydreaming – but commit to gifting yourself this time each day.
Reflect on how much nature is doing that right now. Remember we are not separate from nature – we ARE nature. There is wisdom in stopping and going inwards. There will be a time to grow and expand and go outwards. It’s called spring.
Declutter your home space in preparation for hibernation, make it clean and cosy, and give away what you no longer need in order to create space for new life in spring. Make room in the busy festive calendar to do restful things. This especially includes children, as it’s extra important for them to have quiet, recuperative times. By all means celebrate and eat wonderful festive goodies, but temper this with wholesome, organic, ‘clean’ food and plenty of hydration.
Get outside in daylight hours for fresh air and exercise. I love that feeling after a brisk woodland walk, returning home to the warmth with a fresh, tingly face. Wear warm socks and a hat outside. Keeping your feet and head warm is important.
Create a mini-hibernation routine as you would a morning routine. This could be wrapping a snuggly blanket around yourself and sipping a delicious chilli hot chocolate while reading an inspiring text or listening to an audiobook. Or, at the end of a working day, changing into comfy, soft clothing, doing some gentle stretching and lighting a candle. (Children love this, too.) Don’t get depressed in the dark. Get cosy. Take it a step further and block out a whole day to destress and find inspiration and rest. Browse through seed catalogues; collage or sketch what you would like to create and grow in the next season. Slow-cook a nourishing comfort food casserole.
If you come down with a winter bug, see it as an entirely healthy cleansing process, an opportunity for the body to flush out toxins and for you to emerge with body and soul strengthened. Here are my three key homeopathic remedies for winter. My website has a more in-depth list of winter remedies.
Gelsemium is characterised by feelings of weakness and trembling. Eyelids heavy. Mental dullness. A cold that develops more slowly in a mild winter. A teasing, tickling cough that is better for warmth. Chills up and down the back.
Aconite does wonders for children who, after being out in the wintry weather, particularly in a cold, dry wind, suddenly develop a fever and symptoms that night. A runny nose with a headache and acute inflammation of the throat. A sudden croupy cough. Restlessness, anxiety, fearfulness. Symptoms all worse at night.
Bryonia has a dry cough, pain in the head or chest, a dry mouth with desire for large quantities of water, constipation and a strong aversion to moving. The person wants to lie completely still.
I wish you deep rest, winter magic and sweet dreams.
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Lizzie Mae Smith is a yoga teacher, homeopath, student of Ayurveda, writer, grandmother and artist. She loves supporting and guiding people to their full creative potential. On Instagram @lizzie_mae_smith
Published in issue 64. Accurate at the time this issue went to print.
