Winter Wellness: TCM, Sleep, Nourishment, and Movement

Your guide to wellness this winter: Look at one subject each week for a month or dive into the whole lot.

Topic One: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) attributes winter to the water element, associated with the organ system of the kidneys and urinary bladder. Winter is the most yin season with its dark, slow, inward energy, and is the time to strengthen your kidneys.

In Western medicine the kidneys are associated with water metabolism, filtration of blood, regulation of blood pressure and production of red blood cells. Chinese medicine expands the functions of the kidneys and urinary bladder further, recognising these organs as “energetic pathways that convey not only physical but also mental and emotional qualities.”

In TCM, kidney qi (life force) is responsible for your memory, healthy teeth, bones, storage of vital energy and inner strength. Kidneys also rule birth, growth and reproductive capacity; they are responsible for your longevity and house willpower and courage. The emotions associated with the kidneys are fears of all kinds, courage and depression.

Chinese medicine further teaches that kidneys hold our vital essence, the fundamental energy, referred to as jing, which is produced in our bones.

Stress, lack of rest and sleep, overwork, overindulgence and exhaustion deplete the kidney qi and accelerate the ageing process. Too much sugar and salt and stimulants and too little water in the diet also cause imbalances in the kidneys and the urinary bladder.

Colder weather may also deplete kidney qi and, when weakened, this may exacerbate rheumatoid conditions as well as joint and lower back pain. TCM doctors often recommend bone broths to strengthen the kidneys and nourish the deeper tissues such as bones and joints.

The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, arguably the most essential Chinese healing text, advises: “Retire early and get up with the sunrise, which is later in winter …” The theory of the winter season is one of conservation and storage. So don’t feel bad if you’re struggling to get out of bed at the moment! Without such practice, the result will be injury to the kidney energy. This will cause weakness, shrinking of muscles and coldness; then the body loses its ability to open and move about in the spring.”

Be sure to try these classes to nourish kidney qi

Vinyasa Flow for Winter

Yin Yoga for Kidney Qi

Topic Two: Sleep

Winter is the time to slow down and, if your lifestyle allows, the season when you can indulge in rising later - there you have it, permission to sleep in! Ayurveda and Traditional Chines Medicine suggest going to bed earlier and rising around 7 am. Staying in bed a little longer will help you rejuvenate. Napping is not recommended in winter as it increases Vata and reduces Agni, your digestive fire, and metabolism.

For many reasons, this might not be possible – children and work being two major factors. There are other things we can look at around sleep like improving the quality of our sleep. Can you switch your device off a couple of hours before bedtime? If not, maybe look at investing in some blue light glasses to help reduce exposure to blue light waves that can keep you awake. Maybe you could create a ritual around your bedtime… Here are some ideas:

Have a cup of sleep tea between dinner and bedtime. These not only help to relax you but also have digestion benefits. Treat yourself to a local brand like Heke Herbals, their sleep tea should do the trick!
Have a nice shower or bath. Use essential oils or infused shower steamers.
Moisturise your body with nourishing oils. The massage can be super relaxing for your muscles, and the extra hydration oils provide is great for dry winter skin
Read a book (this puts me to sleep without fail!)
Restorative yoga poses. Try all or just one of the poses below to help shift your body out of flight or fight mode and into a relaxed state. Pick one (or all) of these poses below, that are included and explained in the yin class linked, and do it before bed:
LEGS UP THE WALL.
SUPPORTED BRIDGE
RECLINED BOUND ANGLE
WIDE KNEE CHILD'S POSE
HAPPY BABY

Sweet dreams x

Yin Yoga Sequence for Sleep

Warming foods are so nourishing in winter time

Topic Three: Nourishment Through Food

In winter one of our body’s greatest needs is to keep warm, and what better way to support that than with warm, nourishing food and drinks.

Enjoy eating warm, mildly spicy, slightly oily foods, balancing out sweet, sour, salty, bitter and astringent tastes, and avoid cold, wet, damp foods like raw and frozen foods and dairy together with overly oily or overly sweet meals. Winter’s the season for hearty soups, nutritious stews and nourishing casseroles. How good are slow cookers?!

Cooked sturdy greens (eg. kale, silverbeet), zucchini, pumpkin and root vegetables like beetroots, carrots, parsnips, swedes, sweet potatoes and turnips exert a nourishing and grounding effect on the body. Cooked garlic, leeks and onions will further reduce Kapha and Vata imbalances and nourish the kidneys (as talked about in topic one).

If you consume them, favour well-cooked legumes (try adding a sheet of nori during cooking to enhance their digestion), tofu, tempeh, eggs, poultry, lamb and/or freshwater fish. Drink rich broths cooked with animal bones to tone the kidneys and stay warm. If you’re vegetarian, make hearty vegetable stocks instead.

Traditional Chinese Medicine also advises adding micro-algae (eg. spirulina, chlorella) into your diet together with miso, black beans, kidney beans and nuts for healthy fats.

Complementing your warm winter meals with fermented foods such as kefir, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut and homemade yoghurt will further support your digestive system, enhance your immunity and encourage better absorption of the nutrients from the foods you consume.

Kitchari, made with seasonal spices (listed below) and ghee or “warm” oils such as sunflower and olive can make a great winter all-rounder.

For a warming breakfast, try cooked cinnamon and nutmeg spiced oatmeal or quinoa porridge topped with a banana or cooked apples or pears. My favourite at the moment is the porridge in Rosie James’ Keto e-book available on her website. Make lunch your biggest meal of the day, as digestion is the strongest then, and eat vegetables, proteins and grains your body responds to. Dinner could be a nourishing soup.

Herbs & spices

Winter is a wonderful time to experiment and be generous with warming herbs and spices to help dry out dampness, boost your immunity and vitality, soothe your stomach, enhance digestion, support the kidneys, eliminate congestion, strengthen your lungs and balance blood sugar levels. Try the following:

Black pepper and cayenne (in small quantities) are known for their Kapha- and Vata-reducing properties and are great for relieving congestion, stimulating digestion and nutrient absorption.
Ginger, cinnamon and cloves are warming spices and will boost immunity, invigorate metabolism, enhance digestion and respiration, increase circulation and aid in mucus elimination.
Ginseng is a sweet, sour, heating and energy-boosting herb that may also help strengthen digestion and immunity.
Fenugreek is a good kidney tonic that also helps regulate cholesterol levels.
Nettle will boost your energy levels and is a kidney tonic.
Nutmeg calms the nervous system and improves sleep.

Drinks

First thing in the morning, have a glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon or try my favourite warming and detoxifying drink, it really does warm you from the inside out!

Warm-boiling water
Juice of 1/4-1/2 lemon
Dash of apple cider vinegar,
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper
Honey (optional) to taste.

I drink mine with a stainless steel straw as the acidity is no good for my poor teeth!

I hope you find this useful, and if nothing else, you will reap the benefits of simply adding some warming spices to your current repertoire.

Stomach/detox Vinyasa Flow

Topic Four: Practice, Breath and Meditation

Take the opportunity on these quieter winter days to establish a mindfulness routine

Here are some great tips on how you can (and why you should) reap the rewards from your yoga/barre/pilates this winter.

1.We create our summer body and mind in winter. Even though it's important not to limit our yoga and our motivation for practice to the physical body - knowing that a healthy body is just the tip of the yoga iceberg - the body is where positive self-awareness and self-esteem start.

It's a fact that when our prana, our lifeforce energy flows freely through the body, the body is able to maintain homeostasis. That means it can naturally fight off infection, balance hormones and maintain a healthy body weight. Practising a variety of yoga asana (postures), and barre/pilates as often as you can is key. Standing postures tone and strengthen the leg muscles. Forward bends strengthen the digestive system and tone the abdomen. Arm balances develop focus, confidence and upper-body strength. Back bending strengthens the nervous system and realigns the spine. Sun salutations warm and energise the whole body. A home practice is a wonderful way to get your movement in during winter, setting up a cosy space and wearing something comfy, it could be your pj’s!

2.Change your mindset. Know that what you choose to think and do, you become. The law of karma, as well as the scientific equation of cause and effect, says that every thought and action now has a corresponding future outcome or consequence. We are powerful creatures!

Each time you choose to set a positive intention to practice yoga, and you follow through, you make it easier to set intentions and follow through tomorrow. Like putting coins every day into a piggy bank, your savings soon mount up. Each time you choose and follow through, your capacity to accomplish whatever you set out to do, in all areas of your life, is strengthened.

3. Catch procrastination. Don't be fooled by it, procrastination doesn't bring freedom. It's the mind's fearful way of keeping you stuck in unhelpful patterns of inertia and inaction. Like a hungry ghost, procrastination tends to have an insatiable appetite that devours lots of energy - the same energy that could've been put into completing the very action you're putting off.

As a practice, catch the FIRST time you procrastinate about getting up early to do your home practice. Overcome its message and take action instead. You'll feel much better about it. Each time you step beyond your procrastination, you create greater inner freedom.

4. Have full faith that your yoga and meditation works. The paths of yoga and meditation have been successfully trodden for over 5000 years - and they work. Remember how you are today, compared to how you were before you started? Have full faith in your practice continuing to serve you well, enhance your self-awareness and bring you health, vitality and inner calm - providing you continue to put the effort and energy into regular practice.

5. Be organised. Doing little things to organise and prepare yourself can really help. Arrange your work schedule so that you leave on time to get on your mat. On Sunday nights or at the start of each week, block out your practice or class times in your diary and set reminder alarms. Layout your exercise gear by the bed. Roll out your yoga mat the night before. Make your practice space warm and inviting with candles. Simple habits can often make a big difference.

6. Reflect on and recommit to your long-term goals in life. How does your yoga or meditation practice link to your life goals and direction? Why do you practice?

Take a pen and paper and make a list of all the ways your practice helps you to live life with greater happiness and ease. Focus on the benefits. Maybe it's about being less anxious so that you can take the next step in your career with confidence. Or perhaps you want to be more patient and less reactive. Maybe it's about easing your back pain in the longer term. Or to go through your days feeling calm so that you remember to smell the roses and do what's most important.

7. Don't forget your breath. Pranayama or breath control exercises are a valuable yogic practice, especially during winter. The right nostril connects us to the warming, uplifting energy channel called the Pingala in our pranic body. Doing practices where the inhalation or exhalation (or both) is slow and controlled through the right nostril energises and warms the body, as well as energises and uplifts the mind. Remember that you should always get instructions for pranayama from a competent yoga teacher first. And a period of still meditation or savasana should also be practised after pranayama.

8. Start again. Every day is a new day. If you've fallen off the regular practice wagon, don't beat yourself up. Learn and let go of the past and set a new intention to get back on track, starting now. Every student and teacher of yoga and meditation, me included, goes through phases where our motivation for practice waxes and wanes. Being able to brush yourself off, persevere and start again is always possible. Find what you can love about this beautiful season and flow with the unique energy, light and depth of the winter.

PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION

Pranayama for Winter

Kapalabhati is a breathing technique that helps build internal heat, clear your mind and strengthen your lungs and aids in digestion, relief of allergies and mucus elimination from the respiratory tract, protecting and strengthening it along the way.

Find a comfortable seated position on the floor or a chair, keeping the spine erect and shoulders relaxed. Tune into your natural breath.

When you’re ready to commence, inhale naturally, feeling your diaphragm moving downwards into the abdomen and your chest expanding as the lungs fill with the air. Exhale actively, contracting the abdominal muscles, drawing your navel in and forcefully expelling air from the lungs. Begin slowly then speed up your inhale and exhale, remembering to allow the inhalation to be passive and the exhalation to be active.

Perform this cycle 20–30 times. Take a few normal breaths to rest then repeat twice more.

If this doesn’t work for you try practising ujjayi breathe by constricting the back of the mouth/top of the throat and breathing in and out through the nose. Notice the ocean sound you’re creating with your breathe. This creates a subtle internal vibration that calms and tones the central nervous system. As you get the hang of this breathe try to practice it throughout your vinyasa flow classes. It's not ideal for yin as we want to relax as much as possible.

Mindfulness Meditation.

Try one of my meditations with me this week, even if it's not usually your cup of tea. Often the things we least want to do are what we need the most! Get comfortable, warm, and find a quiet spot. If you’re open to it, try it a few times and notice if you’re able to go a little deeper into your mindfulness experience each time.