This Winter, I have shared a fair amount about the wisdom and medicine that the season of Winter holds but I haven’t yet shared about the physical medicines that are available to us. Certainly, we always have access to herbs in preserved forms, such as dried or tinctured, and we can purchase fresh herbs at the grocery store year round. But many think that because the ground is frozen and there aren’t plants actively growing or blooming that harvesting plants for medicine isn’

How are you doing? Might you take a moment to check in with yourself (and comment below or send me an email if you would like to share!)? Since my last letter to you, we have been amidst the darkest days as well as the “in between” days. Last week as well as this week have a different kind of energy or feel to it than any other time of the year. Maybe you feel it too. Beneath the busyness of the season, there is an undeniable stillness calling as the darkness is still very pr

The Winter season is filled with memories, traditions, heritage, and folklore. The celebrations and happenings throughout this season have a way of stirring up things that have long since passed. Positive or otherwise. This season is one of joy and gratitude and it is also often a season of grief and loneliness. (Yet another way Winter brings us the wisdom of contrast, just as there is snow in the darkest season.) A bit of a disclaimer: The topic of grief and loneliness is on

This coming Sunday, December 21st marks the Winter Solstice - the darkest day of the year and the holder of peak Winter energy. Winter, at its most basic, is a season of rest, of replenishment, of reflection, and of condensing and/or refining to what is truly needed. It is going back to our roots, just as the trees have done. Going back to our roots. Winter, according to the Five Element Theory used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is the season that generates Spring an

Between the first big snowfall and the air feeling a bit drier in my home, I’ve been pleasantly nudged to start doing some simmer pots again for the season. A simmer pot is quite simple: a pot of water with some (fresh or dried) herbs added to it which is then simmered on low for as long as one may desire - unlidded to allow the steam and the aromatics of the herbs to make its way into the home. Adding more water to the pot as needed. This ‘practice’ is so simple and so under

The other day after the fresh snowfall, I sat on the forest floor and admired the “new” landscape. Snowfalls such as the one we just received often feel like a gift in these early Winter days as the darkness is now just a few short weeks from its peak (on Winter Solstice, December 21st). With December and January being two of the darkest months of the year, this snow offers us, inspires us, and/or nudges us to do some of the very things that our bodies need in order to thrive