Embracing Winter as a Season of Healing
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In a culture that prizes productivity and momentum, winter often gets a bad reputation. We brace ourselves against the cold, the darkness, the shorter days—counting down until spring arrives. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), winter isn’t a season to dread. It’s a season to honor.
Winter is the most Yin time of the year: quiet, inward, deeply restorative. It’s nature’s invitation to slow down, conserve energy, and replenish what’s been spent throughout the year. When we embrace winter instead of resisting it, it becomes one of the most powerful healing seasons we have.
We’re Meant to Hibernate—At Least a Little
Animals instinctively know what to do in winter. Many hibernate or rest deeply, conserving energy until conditions are right for growth again. Our biology mirrors theirs more than we often realize.
Winter signals the human body to slow down, rest more, and heal the accumulated inflammation from the active summer months. With longer periods of darkness, hormones like melatonin, prolactin, and growth hormone naturally rise, running powerful internal repair and restoration programs. These hormones support immune function, tissue repair, metabolism, and nervous system regulation.
When we skip this phase—by staying up late, overworking, and pushing through exhaustion—it’s like spending money that hasn’t been earned yet. In TCM terms, we deplete our reserves. As the old wisdom goes: don’t burn the candle in winter, or there will be nothing left to light in spring.
Winter is the Season of the Kidneys and Deep Reserves
In TCM, winter is associated with the Kidneys, which store our foundational energy (Jing). This energy governs vitality, resilience, immunity, and aging. Winter is the time to protect and nourish these reserves—not drain them.
This is why winter calls for:
More sleep and earlier nights
In winter, rest isn’t optional—it’s restorative medicine. Going to bed earlier supports melatonin and growth hormone release, allowing the body to repair tissues, regulate immunity, and replenish energy reserves that fuel the rest of the year.
Warm, cooked, nourishing foods
Soups, stews, broths, and slow-cooked meals are easier to digest and help protect digestive fire. Warm foods conserve energy and support the Kidneys, which are especially vulnerable to cold during winter.
Keeping the body—especially the neck and feet—warm
In TCM, the neck and feet are key gateways where cold can enter the body and disrupt circulation and immunity. Keeping these areas warm helps preserve energy and prevents stiffness, fatigue, and illness. Simple practices like using gentle heat on the neck and feet can make a meaningful difference in how your body holds warmth and recovers during winter.
Supportive care that nourishes your reserves
This is also an ideal season to receive care rather than power through. Practices like Acupuncture, Lymphatic Drainage, and Reflexology help regulate the nervous system, support circulation and detoxification, reduce inflammation, and gently replenish depleted energy. These treatments work with winter’s Yin nature—supporting restoration rather than stimulation—so your body can rebuild from the inside out.
Whatever your version of “winter hibernation” looks like, it’s essential that you allow yourself this time to replenish resources that have been used throughout the year.
When You Embrace Winter, You Support Deep Healing
When you allow yourself to embrace the darkness, the cold, and the stillness of winter, powerful things happen in the body:
Deep mitochondrial function is restored
Cellular repair and regeneration increase
Sleep, energy, and metabolism improve
Inflammation decreases
Risk of chronic disease, depression, and weight gain lowers
Winter becomes your most healing season, not your hardest.