Why Winter is the Time to Rest

Modern society is going against our natural, innate rhythms

It’s that time of year again. The sun rises after most of us are already up and making our morning coffee. It’s still cold and dark by the time we are ready to leave our homes for the day.

It’s dark once again when we are finishing our work days, and the sun isn’t out to share our last meal with us.

You may even feel yourself becoming tired around 6 or 7 pm, your body telling you it’s already time for rest.

As the days slowly become shorter, you may notice yourself becoming less motivated to work hard on certain projects, exercise, or focus on your hobbies.

While it can be easy to feel down on yourself, this is quite normal.

As living creatures on planet Earth, our bodies adapt depending on the season. We are not built to be or feel the same throughout every season, just like Mother Gaia herself isn’t.

Seasons come and go, bringing their own unique beauties, challenges, emotions, and bounties. With summer and winter being opposites, how can you expect yourself to function and feel the same during both?

It’s important that we lean into each and every season and what it’s telling us, rather than fighting against it.

Think about it- bears spend all spring, summer, and fall eating and fattening themselves up just to hibernate all winter.

Flowers and vegetables stunt their growth and die off, only to return thriving in the spring and summer months.

Creatures and plants are in tune with the natural seasons of the Earth, whereas humans are not.

Modern society has pulled us away from living alongside nature, telling us we need to work 5 days a week, every week, for the rest of our lives. It doesn’t take the seasons into effect, or even a woman’s monthly cycle into consideration.

We are expected to perform in our careers despite the natural changes inside us and all around us.

Our natural innate rhythms

When you think back on how our ancestors lived, their only real job was to survive.

They needed to secure shelter, find food, stay warm, and keep healthy. Our ancestors weren’t worried about yearly taxes, paying for unexpected repairs on their cars, or trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends.

All of the materialistic desires of modern society didn’t apply.

Because of this, they let nature dictate how they felt and worked. When plants were plentiful in the spring, they took advantage and spent most of their time picking berries and foraging mushrooms.

If they didn’t do this when these foods were abundant and available, they wouldn’t have anything to eat.

Our ancestors hunted when animals were the most active, whether that was during the spring, summer, and fall when the animals were awake for longer periods feeding, or during their mating seasons when they were acting foolish enough to make a mistake.

Humans already had little physical advantages over their prey, so throw in harsh weather conditions and success might not have been found as often.

Because of the fewer food sources during the winter, our ancestors had no choice but to use this time to keep warm, rest, and prepare for the more bountiful seasons ahead.

How this applies to us

Most of us, myself included, put pressure on ourselves to always be productive. If we aren’t working from 8 am to 8 pm on our full-time job and various side hustles, we won’t be successful.

In modern society, our worth is tied to our output. If we aren’t producing something, we aren’t good enough.

I’ve been feeling this weight a lot lately as it slowly turns to winter. I have goals to go after, but I can only give so much in a given day. In the end, I feel like the problem is me, when in fact, I’m not the problem at all.

Society is making me view myself as lazy when really my body is just doing what it’s always done to survive.

Rest.

This time of year, we are programmed to slow down, conserve energy, and prepare for an abundant spring and summer.

We aren’t lazy, we are simply in tune.

A “successful” winter

We need to reframe how success looks in the winter months. Instead of looking at how much money we are making or how we are progressing in our business, pay close attention to how your body feels.

After all, what good is success if you are too sick to reap the rewards?

Is your body getting the rest it needs? Are you conserving energy? Are you taking the time to deepen your relationships with family and friends? Are you reflecting on what you were able to achieve in the spring and summer? Are you thinking ahead about your goals for this spring and summer?

These are all measures of a successful winter.

Winter is meant to prepare you for the warmer, more bountiful months ahead when work (hunting and gathering for our ancestors; finding purpose and living comfortably for us) is necessary to survive.

Take action: Instead of forcing yourself to push past your lower energy levels or innate desires to rest, lean into it. Take this winter to be intentional about allowing your body to recover.

A lot of times, when we are in tune with nature, pushing and pulling back at the right times, we end up being even more successful in our goals. We are giving our bodies what they need to do their best work.

Unfortunately, modern society rarely sees rest as important, but rest is necessary to balance periods of work and creation.

You can’t have day without night.

You can’t have fall without spring.

You can’t have growth without death.

You can’t have success without failure.

-Madison

PS: Sebastian and I would love nothing for the holidays than the gift of knowing you better! Reply to this email or schedule a free time to chat with us here. We’d love to hear what your health and well-being goals are for the year ahead. We look forward to meeting you!