What is SEasonal Self Care?
A huge pillar of my practice as a Stress Management Coach and Physical therapist is seasonal self care. that might seem a little... different to you.
and I get it, it is.
But I'm used to being different and seasonal self-care is something that I have found is ESSENTIAL to my own health and well-being.
It might sound silly but I think the first time I really became aware of the seasons and how much things shift is when I moved in with Chris and started taking care of the Bstreet garden with him. With a garden, there are certain things you HAVE To do at a certain time in order to get the veggies and crops you want.
In gardening, you work with the seasons. Planting garlic before the first frost, harvesting tomatoes in August, and being lush with lettuce in June. Each year was slightly different but also very much the same.
It started to feel like magic after the 2nd and 3rd years. The idea that I could predict or envision what would be growing next. It's one of the things I loved about my google photos reminder "This day 4 years ago." I could look at what we were growing and planting and doing and most likely, we would be preparing or executing the same rituals.
Gardening was a salve for my overworked soul when I Was struggling with burnout and loss. Gardening is what first taught me about seasons: of life, of nature, of being.
And thanks to gardening, I developed a deeper understanding and deeper gratitude for the ever-shifting nature of the seasons and therefore the ever-shifting nature of myself.
So what is seasonal self-care?
to me, it really is an essential way of being. There are seasons of the natural world: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer. There are seasons of life: abundance, growth, death, and rebirth. There are seasons of creation: thinking, planning, creating, offer. There are seasons of being, evolving and learning. And really, that is why it is essential.
On the first level, seasonal self-care is living in tune with the seasons of the natural world around you. It is understanding that you will NOT find strawberries in New England in January so you probably shouldn't be eating strawberries in New England in January. It is recognizing that you feel sleepier, earlier in Fall and Winter because it is quite literally darker for longer periods of time and THAT IS OKAY— you should be sleeping more. It is noticing that your social calendar is more full in June, July and August and you are more excited to get out of the house and explore AND embracing that too.
Seasonal living is eating ALL the tomatoes in August and enjoying all the pumpkin spice come October. It's watching the sunset everyday and noticing how it shift not only the time of day but where it is on the horizon. It's changing your moisturizer to something lighter in the summer and always having warm socks in winter.
It's the small things AND the big things of daily life: food, self-care, movement, mindfulness, rituals, routines, sleep.
On top of that, Seasonal living is embracing the season you are in.
And that can be in the natural world AND in your own life. We all go through seasons of darkness and light, seasons of abundance and scarcity, seasons of busy and peacefulness.
Seasonal Self Care is recognizing, understanding, and honoring ALL of that, ALL of you, ALL of the world around you.
There are so so many ways to practice seasonal self-care in your personal life, your business and career, with the natural world, and with friends and family around you.
Right now, I am practicing seasonal self care by:
Changing up my morning routine:
In the summertime, I would wake up really early and head right into a cold shower. Shortly after that I would make my lemon wate andn walk barefoot on the grass and then settle into my sit spot on the front porch to journal and maybe meditate.
Lately, I have been feeling less and less motivated to follow this routine. So, this week, I decided to switch it up. I'm still playing with it but my morning routine starts the night before. I make sure I have my food and clothes laid out the night before. I put cozy socks, pants and a big warm sweater next to my bed. First thing up waking up, I throw on some cozy layers and head downstairs to make my warm lemon water and a big cup of coffee or kakao. I still walk outside but pretty quickly throw my socks back on after. Then I cuddle up in my library with twinkly lights on and journal/meditate/gratitude practice/write. Last but not least, I take my cold shower and get dressed for the day. A lot of the same elements but in a more enticing and seasonally appropriate order (for me!)
Adding an infrared sauna session back in:
Sweat is essential for our body to detox. In the summertime, I feel like I am always sweating. I am a naturally sweaty person. This summer in particular, I stopped using my sauna as much because I was naturally getting my sweat on by hiking, walking,... breathing (jk). As the weather as gotten colder, I have been more mindful about adding the infrared sauna back into my routine to get my sweat going. IT feels magical.
Seasonal Self Care is going to look different for each and every person out there. and that's the best part. It changes based on where you live, what you do, your favorite things, and your body.
No matter where you live, I think honoring the season you are in can go a long way to improving your health and happiness as well as the health and happiness of our planet.
Stay tuned for more seasonal self-care practice