How Do You Winter in Summer?

7 Tips For Inner Winter

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to all the new subscribers! Thanks for diving into the flow with us.

Going with the flow is the awareness that we are cyclical/phasic women. We have shifting energies every week of our monthly cycle called the infradian rhythm. These four unique phases are so closely match up to the yearly seasons and moon phases. Such a glorious design! One that we can tap into to better understand our biology.

If you are no longer bound by the menstrual phase(post menopause), follow along using the moon phases to keep yourself and your energies in rhythm!

• Week 1/Inner Winter/Day 1-Day6ish/New Moon/Menstruation

• Week2/Inner Spring/Day 6-Day 13ish/Waxing/Follicular

• Week 3/Inner Summer/Day 14-Day 19ish/Full Moon/Ovulation

• Week 4/Inner Fall/Day 20ish-Day28ish/Waning/Luteal

  

  Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash

  
  

This post was going to be about food for the flow of our winter phase and then I kept staring at the title thinking, who is going to want to read about winter food when the heat is about to break the hot flashes wide open?!

But as I have sat on it, I realize that what needs to be addressed first is the very phase of inner winter (menstruation week) and navigating it through the outer season of summertime fun and heat.

Some say summer is almost over. August and getting back to school means that a lot of travel and summer activities tend to naturally wind down. I am a stickler for the solstices and they tell me we have until September before we enjoy the crisp apple air of Autumn. And the weather app sure looks like the soggy dog days of summer with its wild abandon. So hold on to your pumpkin spice we aren’t there yet.

How is your summer going?

Last month, I had a friend visit from across the country. It has been almost 10 years since I saw her last! I was so happy to see her and spend time with her for the week she was here.

Unfortunately for me, I was day 28 when I picked her up at the airport. It was a very tricky week for me to lean into my slow wintery pace and to let go of trying to run around on adventures. My body pushed my cycle to 31 days. 

I did my best to go slow, let go and also practice boundaries and self care. On day 31 we sat in a hot tub and chatted into the night and it was a great place for me to welcome my inner Winter the next day. It was not ideal, but I made the best of it and of course I survived.

This is life, right?

How have your Inner Winters shown up this summer?

Here are some gentle reminders for entering August and your inner Winter, sure to be on the horizon or maybe you are already in the blizzard of your inner Winter today.

Here are 7 tips for Inner Winter when it happens to be in the throws of Summer!

• When you find yourself in planning mode, remember to block out time to slow down and rest.

• Treat extra hot days like they are very wintery days and remember it is okay to stay inside with a book/movie on the weekend in the middle of the day. Or heck, stay in bed too!

• Hold strongly to your boundaries to rest. Constantly overdoing it throughout the summer, ignoring our winter phase over and over, can set us up to crash and get sick. This has happened to me on many occasions.

• Prioritize rest, restore, renewal.

• Practice winter by making yourself a she-cave.

• If you realize you haven’t planned properly and have one more big sha-bang vacation before summer ends, but it lands in your inner winter, adapt and plan to go slow. Prioritize self care throughout. And if you are like me you will pack EVERYTHING. Do it, take it all. Eye mask, back massager, yoga mat, extra pillow, chocolate… all… the… things.

• Remember this is the essence of the Wise Woman archetype, the Grandmother. For me this has shown up as the picture of the turtle. Remember to be in turtle mode and let the world zoom on by you just for a bit while you rest, restore and renew. Give yourself so much grace to be where you are and not try to compete or do as the rest of the world is doing.

Inevitably, I see myself coming back to read my own preaching here in about 2 weeks time.

Thanks for diving into the flow with me!

Jessica Mujica *finished my edit away from my computer so no fancy sign off this time :-)

…look for the next post in the series Foods For The Flow where I'll try to keep foods for Winter super simple.