This may be hard to hear, but winter is a time for rest and rejuvenation. And while human hibernation may be unrealistic (even when the weather makes it an appealing prospect), setting aside time to relax rather than speeding through the season can actually help you achieve your 2024 aims.
“Just as the entire world works in cycles, we think about winter, January, February, even into March, those are all months to really recharge,” yoga teacher Andrew Sealy tells me during a yoga and meditation retreat at SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge, located in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. “Allowing the body and the mind the time and the space to recharge is what helps us enter spring with a deeper sense of awareness as to how we can direct the energy that we’ve accumulated, creating from a space that brings forth the sort of positive change that we wish to see in our world and in our reality, in our minds and in our bodies.”
Below, Sealy shares a winter rejuvenation meditation to helps you embrace stillness, the better to welcome growth and vitality when the season is right.
Find a Comfortable (But Not Too Comfortable) Position
“Start by taking a comfortable seat, with the feet either together or crossed; if those postures are not fully accessible to you you can take a nice comfortable position on the back, preferably in a lounge chair where your spine is a little bit upright so you do not fall asleep. One of the main practices of meditation is allowing the mind to be clear while keeping the presence here, meaning that you don’t fall asleep into the subconscious but instead keep your conscious present.”
Practice Box Breathing
“From there, utilize the box breathing method—inhaling to the count of four, holding for four breaths, exhaling for a count of four, holding for four breaths—using the breath as vehicle to bring forth a sense of evenness to the mind. As your mind beings to rest, you will find a deeper sense of rejuvenation in your body. Allow that sense of freshness, that sense of levity, to really permeate your being.”
Release Stagnant Feelings
“As you exhale, release any stress, any frustration, any pent-up trauma. And with your inhales, really allowing fresh oxygen to fill your lungs, bringing forth a deeper sense of awareness of your intention for the day—a deeper sense of clarity so that you can allow creativity to allow your body and your mind to jump back into play. Embrace the playfulness of rejuvenation, the playfulness of springtime, and the playfulness of really realizing how your mind and your body are fully intertwined.”
