Caroline Mellor encourages us to find peace and stillness during the darker months of the year
Winter is all about cosy, bracing outdoor walks, and nourishing ourselves with hearty soups and stews. It’s also the time of rebirth, transformation and renewal: nature appears to be frozen and dormant, but under the surface, the vital work of regeneration is taking place.
If we surrender to the season, winter can be a wonderful time of receiving, listening and dreaming, rather than doing. But with busy modern lives, children to look after, depleted immune reserves and endless to-do lists, along with the stresses of the holiday season, for many of us the months of cold, dark weather can be a struggle.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has evolved over thousands of years, can offer ways to align and flow with the cycles of nature in order to live a healthy, joyful life all year round.
Winter is Associated with the Element Water
According to Five Element Theory - a central tenet of Traditional Chinese Medicine, whereby all phenomena in the universe are understood in terms of five elemental energies – winter is associated with the element of Water.
Water embodies the Yin qualities of being dark, damp, and cool. It is all about stillness, rest, and connecting with the wisdom of what's hidden under the surface, in the deep rivers, lakes and oceans of the unconscious mind.
The positive emotional expression of Water is peacefulness, but it is also associated with the emotion of fear. Fear can be healthy and is a normal part of development: it alerts us to danger and the need to exercise caution. However, excessive fear can be an obstacle to movement.
