December can be a joyous time of celebration and family festivities. But it can also be exhausting, can't it?
In Yoga we look to nature for guidance, but we tend to look at the winter season in a negative way. If we look out at the cold, bare, harness of the landscape, we can see the positive message of the wild, inviting us to go inward. We can do the same and meet the quieter moments, visiting seeds of time that are buried within and let them be held and known.
Winter is whispering her restful, deepening message to go inside, to keep a low profile, to rest and digest.
Resting, not just by lying on the couch watching a screen, which only brings digital tiredness, 'twiredness'. It needs to be done in a gentler way by seeking quietness, stillness, in meditation. In order to digest, not just the copious amounts of food, but the year we have just lived through. Holding space to recognise and acknowledge all we have done, all that has gone on.
Many people I speak to say they feel guilty, for feeling tired at this time of year. It is hard to rest and focus of oneself when there are 'to do' lists to complete, a need to get everything just right for others.
Instead follow natures lead and put away this modern narrative of showmanship. Do what needs to be done, then gather in those close to you, keep it simple, don't be sucked into how the media tells us to be. Return to the yearning held in our ancestral wisdom and accept the natural invitation of the winter land. To focus on deep, healing, rest and nourishment, a sense of coming home to yourself.