Does anyone else find themselves uninspired to make New Year’s resolutions this year? As the pandemic wears on, and new variants arise, it can all be a bit “much” to think about anything other than preserving your own sanity. The good news is, in Chinese Medicine, the winter season calls for us to slow down, move inward, and deeply rest. This tends to be counter-intuitive to our culture that is obsessed with weight loss, achieving goals, and going full-throttle as soon as January 1st hits. Therefore, it is a revolutionary act to declare that you will go against the norm.
Chinese Medicine does not see a separation between living beings and the planet we inhabit. Like the Earth, we too have seasons, and since China is in the Northern Hemisphere like we are, the seasons followed the same patterns. In the winter, seeds of plants are deep within the ground, in a state of hibernation or dormancy. In the spring, they begin to germinate and then break through the dirt to move into the light. We must think of ourselves like those seeds. The winter is when we should be still, practicing self-care, and cultivating ideas but not yet acting upon them. If we tend ourselves during the winter, we have the energy to burst forth into the spring, ready to bring our projects to life.
The concept of making New Year’s resolutions does not have to be thrown out the window, however. We can still take time to reflect on what we want the coming year to bring. If we keep in mind that the winter is when these ideas can be generated and meditated upon, and then wait until the spring to start intensely acting upon them, we will be more in line with the natural energy of the seasons. In Chinese Medicine, the spring season begins around February 5th, so you don’t have to wait quite as long as you’d think, but it makes how we use this final month of winter all the more important.
Here are some examples of how a resolution can be modified to be aligned with the seasonal energies:
- New Year’s Resolution: Going from completely sedentary to being able to trail run 2 miles by July 1st.
- Modified Resolution: Instead of starting out running every day, begin by walking the trails in the winter weather to get used to it, setting small goals like walking for 5 or 10 minutes, or 0.5 miles. Throughout January, increase the time or distance you are walking to approach the 2 miles. In February or March, depending on your fitness level, begin to alternate jogging and walking on the trails for short distances, but make sure the full distance is close to the 2 miles. As the weather continues to warm, you can begin to jog longer distances, following fitness professionals’ plans to eventually be able to run the full distance on the trails by your goal.
- New Year’s Resolution: Lose 15 pounds.
- Modified Resolution: For the month of January, focus on conscious eating (see the December 2021 Lake Talk article I wrote for more details on this). Don’t worry about what you are eating. As February approaches, consider ways to meal prep or batch cook to make it easier for you to eat in a way that helps you feel your best and avoid takeout meals. In mid-February or early March, you can begin to implement the rules and guidelines that the spring energy loves and aligns with, and limit certain foods or eat other foods, based on the guidelines of the diet you are following.
- New Year’s Resolution: Spend every Saturday morning cleaning your home, top to bottom.
- Modified Resolution: In January, spend just 5-10 minutes each day focused on cleaning one area of your home. As the spring arrives and you have more energy, you can begin to clean in two longer bouts instead of little ones if that works well for you, and work up to the one full Saturday morning cleaning. Alternatively, consider if you can delegate some cleaning tasks to other family members, like your kids, or possibly hire a professional to come in once a month to give yourself an occasional break.
So this New Year, find ways to ease into the goals you set. If you want to go the extra mile, practice “yin” building activities, which are things that are more restorative and relaxing. Examples include yoga, tai chi, qi gong, meditation, reading, going on walks, spending time in nature, or whatever else fills you up and helps you cultivate a peaceful, calming energy within. Happy New Year, and may 2022 bring you the energy to meet all of your resolutions with ease.
Note: This article was originally published in a local magazine for their January 2022 issue. For citation references, please contact Dr. Yocum at https://jenyocum.com/contact/
Recent Comments