Wintering: Returning to the Rhythm Beneath the Noise

Two years ago, I participated in a beautiful program called Wintering, where I was introduced to the idea of Winter as a verb. 

Winter as something we do.

Winter as a rhythm.

Winter as a choice.

Not just a season outside our windows, but a rhythm inside our bodies. A way of being. A remembering.

It changed the way I saw this season completely, typically with dread and discomfort. Winter stopped feeling like a long, chilly intermission between the “real” parts of the year and started to look more like a built-in reset — a time meant for regrouping, clearing out, and catching my breath.

“Wintering is nature’s way of regenerating before spring… The focus shifts inwards & downwards. Seeds gestate in the cold darkness and prepare for rebirth. Wintering is not about doing nothing, but about regeneration and renewal.”—Jennifer McConachie

Winter Trees Mirroring the Season for Us- Quiet, Simple, Grounded

We know this intuitively, don’t we? The days darken. The temperatures drop. The body asks for blankets and slow mornings and early nights. Something in us wants to retreat, to breathe, to soften.

And yet… how ironic that this season—designed for rest and deep nourishment—often begins with frantic schedules, consumerism, pressures, obligations, and the emotional acrobatics of the holiday season.

There’s something about winter that invites a different kind of honesty — the kind that surfaces when the world finally quiets down enough for us to hear ourselves think. Nature pulls back, the light softens, and everything in us starts whispering the same message:

Rest now. So you can rise later.

But while we’re naturally being pulled inward, December tends to pull us in the opposite direction.

The busy calendars.The errands. The holiday pressure. The expectation to be cheerful even when we’re stretched thin.

If you’re someone who gives, manages, coordinates, or takes care of everyone else first… winter can feel less like a season and more like an obstacle course.

Maybe as you read this, you feel a little spark of recognition, like:

“Yep. That’s me.”

Maybe you’re someone who wants to rest but immediately feels guilty for even thinking about it. You know you’re tired, but you keep telling yourself, “It’s just a busy season.” Except the busy never ends.

Maybe you’re in a life transition — a change, a loss, a decision point — and everything feels a little wobbly. You want clarity, but what you really need is space to let clarity form.

Maybe you crave quiet mornings, slower evenings, less pressure… but your days are packed with commitments, errands, and the never-ending list of things you’re responsible for.

Or maybe you’ve been feeling the itch for something new — a creative nudge, a desire for more meaning, that sense that you want something different but you’re not sure what. The problem isn’t that you’re uninspired; it’s that you haven’t had any room to think.

If any of this sounds like you, winter might be offering you a softer way forward — not by doing more, but by gently doing less.

How to Choose Peace Over Performance This Season

Here are simple, doable shifts you can start immediately — no lifestyle overhaul required:

1. Say No Without Guilt

Protect your time like it actually matters — because it does.You don’t owe anyone a long explanation. “I can’t make it this time” is complete.

2. Honor Your Energy, Not Expectations

If your body feels tired, let that matter. If something feels draining, rethink it. Your energy is data — treat it like information, not a weakness.

3. Look for Tiny, Real-Life Joys

It doesn’t have to be a whole day off. Think:

• a warm drink before the house wakes up

• two minutes of sunlight on your face

• five quiet breaths before your next task

Joy hides in small pockets, not big productions.

4. Let Rest Count as Productivity

Because it is. Rest restores problem-solving, patience, creativity, and resilience. You’re not a machine — you’re a person. And winter naturally pulls us toward recovery.

If any part of this feels like a relief… follow that feeling. If your body is asking you to slow down… listen. If you want clarity… create the space for it to emerge. If you’re craving something gentler… give yourself permission.

Let this winter be the moment you choose yourself — not someday, not when everything settles down, not when life magically gets easier.

An Invitation

If this resonates — if your body exhaled reading this — then I’d love to support you in weaving Wintering into your own life in an intentional way.

Here are a few beautiful next steps:

🔥 Come to the Fire Ceremony this Saturday. Let go of what no longer serves you — literally and symbolically — and call in the energy you want to carry into the new year. Bring a friend, you won't want to miss it!

🌙 Join our Sunday Women’s Circles. A soft landing place for connection, reflection, and grounding during a season that can feel anything but spacious. We will start again in January!

✨ Or step into 1:1 coaching with me. If you’re craving deep support, personalized rhythms, and a season that actually feels like it nourishes you… this is where we can create something truly transformative together. In celebration of the season, I am GIFTING two more free 75-min. Clarity Calls for you to explore this and more!

With so much warmth,

Discovering the Truth After Tucking Ourselves Away

I’ve done some traveling over the last couple of weeks, and on one of my flights I found myself unexpectedly tender around a moment I witnessed.

There was a little girl sitting in the seat in front of me. As we waited to board, she was delightfully in it — giggling freely, peeking back at me to catch my eye, asking curious questions, sprawling across her seat with her head in her mom’s lap and her feet pressed up against the window. She was relaxed. Playful. Completely at home in her little body. Freedom, on full display.

Freedom to Be

And then… the pilot’s announcements began.The seatbelt light clicked on.Flight attendants moved through the aisle, checking, instructing, enforcing.

Of course — safety first. Always.

But what struck me was the sudden, dramatic shift in the spirit of this child. Her joy was interrupted. Her body stiffened. Her play paused. She offered the tiniest resistance — just a flicker — and then whimpered in quiet defeat.

It was such a small moment. And yet… it felt heavy to witness.

That contrast stayed with me.

Because it reminded me how early we begin learning to contain ourselves.

As children, so many of us were told to stop. To quiet down. To sit still. To dress this way. To behave that way. To be polite. To be grateful. To be tidy.

We might have been too loud. Too emotional. Too playful. Too giggly. Too curious. Too sensitive. Too much of something… and not enough of something else.

We asked too many questions. We wanted too much. We ate too much. We slept too little. We moved too wildly. We felt too deeply.

And somewhere along the way, many of us learned that being fully ourselves came with conditions.

Most of us, in one way or another, were shaped to conform to the world around us — sometimes out of love, sometimes out of fear, sometimes simply to survive inside family systems, religious structures, or societal expectations.

At what point did we begin to live as someone else’s idea of who we “should” be?

Did we lose ourselves entirely… or did we just tuck parts of ourselves away for safekeeping?

Is social conditioning a necessary rite of passage- something we all move through in order to survive- only to spend our adult lives slowly unlearning, remembering, and returning to who we truly are?

And maybe… just maybe… that’s the sacred work of adulthood.

To gently shed the layers. To carefully uncover what’s real. To discover, accept, and forgive along the way.

Because the truth is- some of what we carry was never ours to begin with.

"Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's work,

but it's worth the effort". - Fred Rogers

This feels like the perfect season for that kind of inward turning. Winter has a way of inviting us to soften, to slow, to listen more closely. To cozy up inside ourselves. To warm our own hearts. To notice what’s ready to be released… and what truth is quietly asking to be welcomed.

We are worthy of living that truth. And only we can invite it in.

Reflecting to Discover

(or to journal… softly, slowly, honestly)

➡️ Where in your life have you learned to contain or quiet parts of yourself?

➡️ What parts of you feel ready to come back home?

➡️ What expectations might you be ready to loosen or release?

➡️ How could you invite a little more being into the doing of your days this season?

Gentle Invitations This Season

If this reflection is stirring something in you, you don’t have to walk it alone.

🌿 This Sunday — Women’s Circle A soft, heart-centered gathering where we slow down, share honestly, and remember ourselves in community. A place to exhale and be met just as you are.

🔥 Next Saturday — Fire Ceremony A sacred space to release what’s heavy and call in what’s aligned for the season ahead. Grounded, intentional, and quietly powerful.

✨ And always available — 1:1 Coaching with Me If you’re feeling the pull for deeper, more personalized support, during this gifting season I am offering THREE Complimentary 1:1 Clarity Calls (first come, first served) — a 75-minute space to explore where you are, where you long to be, and what might be possible with support. From there, we can gently feel into whether ongoing 1:1 coaching feels aligned. No pressure. Just curiosity, honesty, and resonance.

If any of this speaks to you…you’re already listening. And that’s where everything begins.

With so much love and gratitude,

Spaciousness on Fancy Incan Trains

As I land back on American soil after wandering through the gorgeous lands of Peru- and the very real, very alive spirit realm of the ancient Incan civilization in Machu Picchu- I swear I can still feel the mountains humming in my bones.

Making Space for Connection and Truth

Those two magical Inca Rail rides? Pure heart-opening goodness. Somewhere between the majestic Andes flexing outside the windows, the river winding its way alongside us, and the staff the staff weaving up and down the aisles with colorful textiles and playful energy — something softened in me. My two soul sisters and I slipped into this dreamy Andean bubble where time felt stretchy and our conversations got deep in that delicious, soul-fed way. It was like the universe handed us a little pocket of magic and said, “Here… enjoy.”

As a Triad, We Opened Ourselves to Tearful Laughter and Deep Vulnerability

And honestly? Opening up like that isn’t always easy. We’re often raised to be strong, resilient, capable. To power through. To get things done. To be the queen of the to-do list and the CEO of “I’ve got it.”

Most of us have been coached into our masculine energy — doing, pushing, striving — and given very little guidance on the feminine arts: softness, vulnerability, presence, letting your heart (gasp!) lead for a change.

But when I’m met in that sweeter space — when I’m seen and heard and held with zero performance required — something inside me melts. My heart gets all expansive. My stories tumble out. I laugh too loudly. I cry without apologizing. My edges blur in the best way. And every time, I’m reminded how healing it is to be witnessed, fully and lovingly, without needing to be anything other than… me.

Moments like that? I treat them like treasure. Because they take intention, courage, and the willingness to show up with your whole, messy, beautiful self.

And I’m endlessly grateful for what becomes possible there.

The Beauty that Lies Within Us When We Allow Ourselves to be Seen

✨ A Moment to Reflect (or journal… or just stare into space thoughtfully)

➡️ How can we create more of these moments in our everyday lives?

➡️ Do you have a community that welcomes your truth — not just your shine, but your softness too?

➡️ Who in your world can sit with your vulnerability without flinching or fixing?

➡️ And where could you gently soften your daily doing and invite a little more being?

Because life shifts — quietly but powerfully — when we stop performing and start allowing.

🔥 You’re Invited: December Offerings

If your heart is whispering “yes, more of that please,” I’d love to have you in our December Women's Circle — a warm, cozy, heart-forward gathering where we slow the heck down, breathe deeply, and remember who we are under all the noise.

Later in the month, we’ll welcome the new year with an Ancient Hindu Fire Ceremony — a soul-clearing ritual of releasing what’s heavy and calling in what feels aligned for the season ahead. It’s gentle, powerful, and deeply grounding. You won't want to miss this!

And if you’re craving more personalized support, you are warmly invited to a Gifted 1:1 Clarity Call — a 75-minute, soul-expanding session to explore your current reality, your desired reality, and the beautiful possibilities in between. Zero pressure. Pure exploration.

If any of this is stirring something in you… please reach out. I will warmly welcome you!