Happy Winter Solstice!

The winter solstice graced our lives, here in Australia, on Thursday 22nd June 2023. The shortest day and longest night of the year. Traditionally a time to stop and reflect. A time to go inward and let go of what no longer serves you and plant seeds of intention for the coming year ahead.

The winter solstice is shown in nature by bare trees, frosty mornings and in some places snow. This year, where I am, there has been a lot of rain as well. Rain that nourishes the earth, that cleanses and cleans and that begins the rejuvenation of the plants for the impending spring, the season of growth.

But let’s pull back a little, let’s return to the winter we sit. Let’s reflect on where we are in this winter, where we find ourselves on the shortest day of the year?

Do you feel the pull inward? Do you want to curl up by the fire with a hot chocolate and read a good book? Do you want to sleep in, enjoying the warmth and coziness of your bed? Do you want to eat warming stews and soups and nourish your body from the inside out?

Or do you feel depressed and sad? Do you want too doona dive and stay in bed all day? Do you feel a longing to be outside and the desire that winter be over? Do you feel tired and lethargic and like you have no energy?

Both of these experiences are valid and so is anything else you feel. If we take our cues from nature and succumb to the seasons and the cycles, we begin to take notice, to stop and listen rather than getting swallowed in the busyness. We can check in with what we need, what nourishes us and what will fill our souls. We can let go of what no longer feels good, nourish our bodies, minds, spirits and souls and plant seeds for new beginnings.

But in our world where overwhelm and chaos are commonplace, where doing is more important than being, where the pull to do more and be more and show up more is ever present- taking the time to stop and listen, isn’t a priority. Often our nervous systems are in chronic survival mode- searching for protection and cues of danger, rather than connection and cues of safety. Keeping us in state of hypervigilance and alarm, that prevents us from slowing down, from connecting to self, other, earth and spirit. Keeps us safe, but keeps us disconnected.

For me, winter is often a time I fall into dorsal vagal shut down. The oldest part of our Autonomic Nervous System, that engages when we feel life threat. Not when we are in mortal danger, but just when we perceive we are. The winter blues are truly a thing. Remember the doona dive? The depression and sadness? The lethargy and no energy? This is a dorsal vagal response to what is happening inside us, in our environment and between our nervous systems. This is a protection response.

This year I have been more mindful and connected. I have found time to connect with nature, watching the sunrise cuddled up in the back of the car, drinking hot chocolate, with my beautiful children. I have made time to slow down and listen. I have consciously made choices to not go places and not fill my diary with activities, because it is naturally a time of slowing down. I have meditated and gone to bed earlier. And I have nourished my body from the inside out with warming hearty soups. Remember the pull inward? The sleep ins in the coziness of bed? The nourishing foods. This is a dorsal vagal response to what is happening inside us, in our environment and between our nervous systems. This is a connection response.

Maybe you aren’t there yet, and that’s ok. Maybe your system is still in survival mode from years of fear, anxiety, unknowns and lack of control, due to the pandemic. Maybe your experiences before that where the same. Or maybe you are there and that’s ok too. We are all walking different journeys of life. Different paths, intersecting, winding, twisting and turning in this realm of the human experience.

May this intersection, bring you comfort in your connection or protection. May you see that going inward is the phase of the season and the cycle and it is time to slow down, it is allowed. Or may you see that protection is your biological response to a perceived danger, even if you don’t understand that, yet. No matter where you are on your path, no matter what step you take next, know that we are all navigating this world, often blind, sometimes alone, and most times unsure. But I am here, I hear you, I see you, I understand. Take this moment of ventral vagal connection, feel my deep breath connecting to yours to slow your heart rate, if only for a moment, feel the warmth of a warm embrace hold you tight, if only for a second, and know you are loved.

Stay tuned for more blog posts exploring life, autonomic nervous system, stress and more. To be a part of the Healing Hands Help Hearts Community please e-mail alana@healinghandshelphearts.com.au with the subject line Blog Community and I will add you to the e-mail list.

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