Winter: The Power Of Stillness

When we look at the trees in the wintertime, they don't look like they're doing much. But their rest is very important. Without it, they will not have the energy resources for that bursting forth that happens when they bud and flower in the springtime. Our bodies aren't meant to live in this spring and summer energy either.

Winter is a natural time to want to pull inward and rest. Are you feeling called to go to bed a little earlier than usual as these days get shorter? Does the idea of hibernating with a cup of tea feel a bit more appealing this time of year? Answering the natural call of the season sets it up. Our health all year round, improving our immune system as well as reducing symptoms in our menstrual cycles.

Join me this week as we take a look at why winter is so important in Chinese medicine and how you can support your body in this season to flourish the rest of the year.  

Transcript

Adrienne: 0:01

When we look at the trees in the wintertime, they don't look like they're doing much. But their rest is very important. Without it, they will not have the energy resources for that bursting forth that happens when they bud and flower in the springtime. Our bodies aren't meant to live in this spring and summer energy either. Winter is a natural time to want to pull inward and rest. Are you feeling called to go to bed a little earlier than usual as these days get shorter? Does the idea of hibernating with a cup of tea feel a bit more appealing this time of year? Answering the natural call of the season sets it up. Our health all year round, improving our immune system as well as reducing symptoms in our menstrual cycles. Join me this week as we take a look at why winter is so important in Chinese medicine and how you can support your body in this season to flourish the rest of the year. Hi, I'm Adrienne Irizarry. I am an Eastern medicine practitioner who is passionate about women's health and helping women live their best lives. My goal is to put you in the driver's seat of your menstrual health offering period solutions for a symptom free life. Welcome back to another episode of the Reproductive Rebel Podcast. Today we sit on the doorstep of the winter solstice, so I thought that it would be appropriate timing to talk about how to best care for ourselves during the time to set up our health and our cycles for success. For the rest of the. So winter is the most yin aspect of Chinese medicine, and that means that it is dark, cold, slow, and more inward energy. So if you look out the window and you look at the trees, for those of us that are in the Northern Hemis, You will notice that there are no leaves on the trees, right? They don't look like they're doing anything. But this rest period that they get is absolutely critical in terms of them being able to bud and flourish and produce fruit the rest of the year. So why would our bodies be any? Our bodies are very connected to nature. Being outside helps our sleep cycles, our bodies, our bleeding bodies move on the lunar cycle. There's a reason why our menstrual cycles, when they are healthy should arrive between 28 and 30 days. It's because the lunar cycle is 29 and a half. So we are very connected with our natural environment. Even in this modern era where we think that there's a disconnect, we absolutely cannot separate ourselves from nature. So if you're thinking about these descriptive words of dark, Cold, slow, inward. They all make you think of, sun coming up later, sun setting earlier. These ideas of wanting to go to bed earlier, hunkering down by a fire, slowing down, right? These are all things we wanna do in the wintertime, it is natural and normal and actually very healthy to honor that call that our bodies have towards more rest, because just like the trees, we need that kind of rest this time of year in order to flourish the rest of the year. So in Eastern medicine, Each, season of the year corresponds with a different organ network. And if you listen to episode three this year where I interviewed, Dr. Lindsey Tucker, we talked about spring and the season of the liver. here we are in the winter and now we are talking about the kidneys. So in Eastern medicine, the kidneys are more than just an organ. They're seen as storing energy, known as prenatal chi, which is the chi that we inherit from our parents. So when other organs in the body are not functioning optimally, the kidney lends an extra hand and sends some of their. To support and prop up other parts of the body. So when we're continually drawing on that resource, This is where we'll see some premature aging actually. and we'll see fertility issues and things like that because if you're running in a constantly stressed state, the body puts all of the resources into getting you away from that saber tooth tiger, right? So this is a really beautiful time of year to be able to help support. That kidney energy because while we inherit some of this energy from our parents and that is a finite supply, we can actually influence some of our chi as well through diet, lifestyle, how we spend our energy, how we manage our stress, all of those kinds of things. kidneys store jing, which is our basic and fundamental energy, and when we deplete Jing, it leads to accelerated aging. So Chinese medicine really does believe that if you are living in harmony with the seasons, you can stay healthier and prevent disease. So disease is disharmony in the body. So if you're working in the flow with the seasons, you are managing your stress and you're nourishing yourself with the right things. You are in the flow. When you're in the flow, you stay healthier. So rest is an incredibly important part of revitalizing your kidney. So just like the energy of your menstrual cycle, when you are in your menstrual phase, you don't feel like being as social. The idea of going to a networking event, even for an extroverted person is Ugh, I feel tired. I'm not really digging this right. That is natural and normal because during your bleeding days you are more inward. Winter is like that phase of your cycle. You want to be more inward. So connecting with our inner selves and relaxing our minds, calming our emotions, raising our spirit, are all part of supporting the health of our kidney. So I keep harping on kidneys. Why are they so darn important anyway? kidneys are vital for fertility and reproductive health, so they govern our birth growth, reproduction development. if you, whether your goal is to get pregnant or. Kidneys play a big role in your menstrual health, especially if you are trying to conceive. Making sure that you are caring for your kidneys as much as possible is actually gonna ensure a healthier outcome for a potential pregnancy and for the health and longevity of the child that you have. Because we literally are what we eat, and if our bodies are coming from a deficient place or a place of depletion when they walk into pregnancy, this is where you'll have, you'll have extreme nausea. Maybe nausea that'll even go up to six months instead of, mellowing out at the end of the first trimester. having anemia when you are pregnant, like all of those kinds of things can actually come from not being properly nourished and balanced when you walk into a pregnancy, because pregnancy demands a lot on the. So whether your goal is to get pregnant or not supporting your kidneys is going to be incredibly important for how you age, how gracefully you age. winter is a beautiful time because we have it. It's almost like a supercharged opportunity to replenish. Energetic system in our body, Food does play a big role in this. So not only are we going to be going to bed, the adage is that you go to bed when the sun sets and you wake up just before it rises, or right at the time it rises. in this instance, I don't know about you, but where I am in New England, we, our son is setting at four 30 in the afternoon, five o'clock. I'm not going to bed then, but I do feel the call to go to bed more like 8 30, 9 o'clock rather than during the summertime. I'm not feeling that call until, closer to 11. But the sun doesn't set until seven 30, almost eight. So just listening to what your body is asking for, and for some of us, when we're just so used to artificial light going from thing to thing like we're, we might be completely out of touch with what our body's actually asking for, and that's okay. this is a, this is an invitation and an opportunity for you to really check in with what your body is asking of you, and continuing to build a relationship with understanding. Listening to the call and answering the call that your body is putting out to you is a big part of regulating your menstrual cycle. Helping improve period symptoms, helping to optimize fertility and all of these things. So let's look at food. I was originally a Chinese nutritional therapist, so food's my jam, right? And I you'll hear me talk a lot about food. But, during the wintertime, cooking foods at lower temperatures with less water. Is a good practice. It adds heat to the body to help stay warm during colder temperatures. So things like hardy soups, whole grains, roasted nuts, all of those things are really good for the kidneys. A lot of times I'll put a soup in my crock pot and then I'll bake something in the oven, right? Baking puts a lot of heat into your food, which is really great. foods that are warming in nature. so the, these could be some of your warming spices. not only the temperature that you're actually serving the food at, but the profile of the spices that you're using in it. So chili powder, corer, like those types of things. Those are very warming in the body, which is lovely in the colder months. So we're gonna want to stay away from raw foods because your stomach, your body, the. Energy in your body is more aligned with having a salad during salad season, right? So think about what you can access during certain seasons. Yes. I know you can have a salad all year round, but you're gonna get fresh salad fixings from a farmer's market in the summertime. That is the time of year that your stomach, your body, your energy in your body is more appropriately aligned for raw foods. And the same is true for soups. When I talk to my clients, like as we're coming into the fall, a lot of them will talk about, oh, I'm so excited that I get to start making some more soups and, I'm looking forward to having the squashes and that type of stuff. Cuz that's something we naturally, if we're really in tune with it, get pulled to in the fall. the winter is no different. a good rule of thumb for things to keep in mind in terms of supporting your kidneys in the winter time are blue and black foods, okay? Just like those descriptors of yin and winter in Chinese medicine are dark, right? Think about dark foods, blue and black foods. So things like black beans, black sesame seeds, blue be. Blackberries. another really, easy way to remember all of this is that you've got foods that look like this particular organ. So kidney beans, cashews. Walnuts, walnuts also look like little brains too. And the nutrients and walnuts are awesome for not only kidneys, but they are good for brain health as well. but bone broth. All right, so we're back to the soups, kidneys support bone health. So for those of us who are getting towards the end of our bleeding, we are, maybe questioning if we are on the perimenopausal, transition spectrum, right? This is even more important for you. So over 35, our bone health starts to change. Some of it has to do with the change in our chi after 35, but bone broth is so important. it helps to give you the building blocks you need for nice, healthy, strong bones. So as you transition out of your menstruating years into your second spring or your post-menopausal years, you're setting yourself up for. So I cannot emphasize enough how important bone broth is, even if you just wanna sit with a nice hot cup of bone broth and drink it that way. I have some clients that put a little sprinkle of Himalaya and sea salt in it, and they drink it just like that. some, particularly for my vegetarian and vegan clients, this is an incredibly hard sell for them. and I understand why, for moral reasons, et cetera, et cetera. But, Even if you don't do anything else, you should include this into your diet regularly because you will notice exponential changes in the health of your cycle when you do, because of all of the amino acids and nutrient profile that bone broth brings to the table. Other kinds of foods that support the kidneys from a Chinese medicine perspective are going to be things like mushrooms. They're great for the immune system, cranberries, any of your root vegetables. So you start feeling the call to the root vegetables in the fall. like I mentioned, the squashes with one of my clients. turnips, par, snips, parsnips are nice and warming. radishes, beets, all those kinds of things are fabulous. sweet potatoes, both white and sweet potatoes, yams. Those are all fabulous for kidney health. as we step into this time of year, being mindful of these foods, incorporating them in, slowing down our level of activity. Now, when I say that, I'm not just talking about going to bed earlier. Yes, that is important, but I'm also talking about things. Do not do five days a week of hit cardio at the gym. Just please don't, because it's going to affect your bleed. It's going to affect how strong you are. it doesn't matter where you are in your life, although I'm specifically targeting that, that statement towards women who are 35 and older because you were depleting your chi way too much. And once you cross that 35 t. your body and the way that it utilizes chi and the way that it deals with stress starts to look different. Okay? I'm not saying that you can't do it ever. What I am saying is that you have to be more mindful and intentional about how you're doing it, when you're doing it, how often you're doing it, okay? So things like weight bearing activity is actually a much better option. In the wintertime because you have that muscle tug on bone, and we're supporting our bone health right as we're supporting our kidneys. Lightweight training it. This doesn't have to be power lifting folks. Like in our Western culture, we tend to think everything has to be an extreme, extreme hit. Cardio an hour on the elliptical at the gym, like we just. Think everything has to be an extreme. So when I say weight training, a lot of people get this image in their mind that I'm talking about power lifting, where they have to, three rep max kind of thing. no, that's not what I'm talking about. I am talking about weight bearing activity. Because there is a muscle tug on bone, actually not going to that extreme is going to be more productive in terms of supporting your kidney chi. So I'm a big fan of a rebound. I'll spend at least 10 minutes on a rebound or every so often, and it's great for your mental health. there. Big changes in dopamine and serotonin levels when you jump on a small trampoline. For those of you who have no clue what a rebounder is, I didn't know at first, but a little personal size trampoline, just bounce on that for 10 minutes. Maybe your kids have one in a playroom, right? And you got the small one for them to jump on. you can use it too. Jump for just 10 minutes. It helps to move blood and chi in your body. it's going to help wake things up. You're gonna have more mental clarity, but that's a gentle activity. If any of you have a smart watch and you jump on a rebounder for a even just a few minutes, you'll be really shocked to see how that fairly gentle activity of just jumping up and down for 10 minutes. Actually will raise your heart rate to a point where your smart watch thinks you're working out, which is great because you're getting those benefits, but you're not overtaxing the body. So a rebound is a great way to do it. Getting out and walking, I can't advocate enough for that because you can do that in every phase of your cycle. And we'll talk more specifically, definitely listen to episode six. Episode six. We talk about the different kinds of energy that you have in the different phases of your cycle. and I think it's very important to be mindful of what your body needs in different phase. So we are not like men. We do not experience our hormones in a 24 hour period where we wake the next morning and everything is still even keel. We experience our hormone cadence in a 28 to 30 day cycle. So there are days where you're going to feel more tired. That is. That is normal. You're going to have days where you're going to have a little bit more energy. You're gonna have some days that you're gonna feel like you can set personal records with whatever athletic activity that you have chosen to do in your life, and it will be a healthy place for you to do that. I do my heaviest weightlifting around ovulation because that is where the hormones in my body are supporting that action, and I can get the most traction without completely gassing my system. As you're getting closer to your period, again, things start to stagnate. They start to slow down, and this is why people get irrit. They get irritable and they feel like fire breathing dragons or they wanna cry all the time because you're, as you're getting closer to your period, those changes that are happening that are preparing that process to take place requires a little movement. And again, it does not have to be an extreme movement. It can be walking. I love walking because you can do walking in any of these phases. During the places where I could set personal records for myself for weightlifting, I will still walk on those days. It feels good to walk. And it's a gentle enough activity that even on your bleeding days, maybe you're not walking five miles that day. Maybe you're only going a mile, or maybe you go 20 minutes and you feel tired, and so that is enough exercise at that point in time for you then to. So a big part of this is tuning into the internal landscape, and what is your body asking of you and the winter time. When we're nourishing the kidneys is an absolutely perfect time to start that inward focus. We talked in a previous episode about intentional, setting of goals for the new year. in this instance, it's the same kind of thing like you are really plugging into what does it feel like in my body? and if you are trying to lift heavy weight on day three of your period, cuz believe me, I've seen it. If you are trying to lift heavy weight on day three of your cycle and you are asking your community of people to prop you up to help psych you up because you're so tired, you can't function through it. Your body is already telling you. Your body is saying, Hey girl, I'm too tired for this. If you have to ask people to help psych you up because you're tired, you are tired. That's okay. That is totally okay. You cannot lift and exercise the same way that a man can. You can't, and it has nothing to do with one body being superior or the other being inferior. It has everything to do with the fact that we have different levels of hormones. Our hormones do different things. Our hormones call the shots. And if we are trying to swim upstream against the rapids, we get tired. That is normal. So if you just learn to embrace that flow, no pun intended, that some parts of the month you're going to be tired. Some parts of the month you're gonna feel. A rock star and a superhero, and where is my cape? Because I can do all of the things right? So use the energy that your body is saying, I have this today. I have gas in the tank, let's go get it If you are that day three hit cardio person, or that day three trying to lift super heavyweight person, I beg you to reconsider because your body, you're just starting to have a rise in your fsh, which is your follicle stimulating hormone. You're just barely starting to get a rise in that hormone. In your body where naturally you start to have your energy come up a little bit, but not to a max out place. Because if you push really hard that day, I guarantee you're gonna be tired for the next two or three. And it's gonna take you that much longer to recover in order to then start going after your goal again. So if you are just mindful of the fact and turn inward, that na, that natural inward turn that we have in our menstrual phase in the winter time. If you are mindful of that, and I know I keep using this mi, this mindful word over and over again, but I do that because as a culture, we are out of touch with our bodies, period. We are out of touch with our bodies. We ignore the very. Obvious signs that they are sending us, saying this is too much for my system right now. I am too tired for this. I am too hungry for this. I am, too weak for this. Please give me what I need. And it will ask you by the flavors of the foods that it asks for. So if it's asking for salty things like potato chips just before your period, that is the kidney is talking. Okay? It means your kidney energy is weak if your body is asking for sweets, right? So we have this. Stereotypical chocolate craving thing that happens before our periods. That's more of a spleen looking thing. Things that are sweet. Your body is looking for the sweet flavor. It does not mean it's looking for refined sugar, although that is how we have been taught to interpret that. But it's actually, if you give it a sweet potato and squash and things that are in that sweet flavor category, you're actually gonna find that craving is gonna chill itself out because you've answered the call that your body is asking of you. So the winter season is a beautiful opportunity to slow down and to start practicing. Listening to that little voice inside of your body that goes, I'm too tired today. I feel like going to bed right now. I need this introspective time because just like the leaves are not on the trees right now. This time is important for that bursting forth that happens in the springtime. Our bodies as bleeding bodies, as cyclical female bodies, we are not biochemically wired to live in spring and summer energy and that go, go, go. Fruitful, fruitful, fruitful place all year. There are four seasons in nature for a reason. There are four phases of our cycle in our body for a reason. There are four phases to the moon. Like it's not a coincidence, folks. It's really not. And when you are struggling with menstrual health problems, That are running your life like pain, irregularity, bleeding at inappropriate times, all of those kinds of things. It comes back to listening to your body. Your body is really smart and it will tell you everything you need to know, and one of my goals with this program is to teach you how to listen to what it's saying and how to interpret the language that it is lovingly trying to communicate with you in. Because your body is brilliant, it knows what it needs, and it is entirely possible. And a large piece of it is diet and lifestyle in terms of being able to reclaim your health and level set symptoms that show up in your menstrual cycle. So honor the call of winter, pull in. Hibernate a little, sleep a little more. Nourish yourself with great foods like bone broth and other kinds of black and blue foods, and really take this winter time to recharge your kidney battery so that regardless of whether you have intentions of getting pregnant or not, that the rest of your months. This year, all of your cycles will become healthier and healthier. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Reproductive Rebel Reproductive. Rebel is recorded by certified per steam hydrotherapist, herbalist, sound healer, and Chinese nutritional therapist, Adrian Irizari of Moon Essence, llc. If you are interested in setting up an appointment with Adrian for one-on-one support, ordering from our store or checking out our course offerings, visit our website at Moon essence dot. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get insider information on upcoming events and offerings. Join the conversation like us and follow Moon Essence me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Your voices make this program possible. Thank you all for your continued support.