Winter Solstice – The Essence of Sacred Bones
Happy Winter Solstice for those in the Northern Hemisphere! On the shortest day and longest night of the year, we are embodied by the darkness to remind us of our mother’s womb. This is a nourishing and sacred time for many communities all around the world. A time for rituals to gather, celebrate, renew, and honor our spiritual and ancestral connections. Many believe the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds are very thin at this time and it allows us to move between realms and elevate our consciousness.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter season is connected to the Kidney and Urinary Bladder Meridians and also associated with the bones and marrow. In many cultures, the bones and marrow are often linked to our ancestors and protection. The bones and marrow are in the deepest layers of our physical body and they also store our essence. When we are born, we are given Pre-Heaven Essence (also called Prenatal Jing) from our parents. Essence is considered a battery pack of vital energy reserve that we use throughout our lifetime to preserve health and prevent illness. The essence determines our body constitution and health tendencies. Some people are born with bigger energy reserves than others, but we all have the ability to recharge and build more vital energy through our daily nutrition, lifestyle, and self-care, which creates the Post-Heaven Essence (also called Postnatal Jing).
Energy is a form of currency and in this case, the Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven Essence make up our “savings and checking account”. The Pre-Heaven Essence represents the savings account and it is meant to be guarded and used sparingly, so that we can stretch its benefits into our elder years when we need it most. The Post-Heaven Essence represents the checking account, where we regularly withdraw and deposit energy to run our day-to-day life. When we run low in our checking account (Post-Heaven Essence) then we tap into our savings account (Pre-Heaven Essence) of deep reserves to heal and repair the body in times such as stress, burnout, fatigue, sickness, postpartum recovery, and more severe illness. It is very important to balance, budget, and manage our daily energy currency from season-to-season to prevent sickness and disease. We don’t want to make a habit of dipping into the savings account (Pre-Heaven Essence) too often because it is non-renewal. If we constantly deplete it, then we may face greater health consequences later in life.
Winter is the season to care and rest our bones, connect with our family and ancestors, and rebuild the essence. If we can heal and regenerate vital resources then we can prepare for the upcoming spring and summer months when we are more physically active. Give yourself permission to rest, strip away from the superficial routines, and let go from the year’s grip. We have all experienced and are still enduring the effects from surviving this pandemic and we desperately need to restore our physical, mental, and emotional health. We are at the peak of hibernation and introspection. Now is the time to slow down, pause, reset, and find the stillness and peace within ourselves. If we don’t follow this recommendation, then we could find ourselves in a direr situation of exhaustion when the spring season arrives and demands our attention and hard work.
Things to do this season:
Drink bone broth and root vegetable soups
Eat congee or rice porridge
Focus on slow cooked foods such as root vegetables and warm drinks
Avoid raw foods and icy drinks
Take care of your feet - keep warm, foot soaks, massages, hot stones
Warming heat pads on abdomen and low back
Cancel all unnecessary plans and avoid people that deplete your energy
Make time for quietness and stillness
Rituals - connect with your spiritual side
Increase meditation, Qigong, Yoga
Sleep as much as possible - this is hibernation season