Fierce Winter Softness
Finding your sweet spot, in health.
This post is primarily aimed for folks enduring a cold northern winter, but may be helpful to anyone navigating the challenges of keeping ourselves healthy in today’s complex world.
When I relocated to southern Florida in 2020, I never imagined that I would be living through another long Michigan winter! But here I am, in 2025, and doing my best to flow with it because I know that resistance is not only futile, but harmful to my health. I do expect to travel south for a couple of months in future winters, but this winter I have compelling reasons to stay put in Michigan for the duration.
What I’d like to explore is the healthy relationship, in winter, between retreating inward in tune with nature’s dormant season, and maintaining vibrant physical health at the same time. Some people experience more illness in winter, despite maintaining good health habits, and I myself have extra physical injury challenges this winter. So there may be physical reasons to slow down in this season, which can be conducive to some deeper mental and emotional rest, reflection, and recalibration. However, it’s really important to keep the body moving, in whatever ways we are able. Moving the body brings critical circulation to the lymph system, helping us to continually detoxify, which may be especially important when we are spending so much time in relatively stagnant, dry indoor air in the northern winter. Daily movement also helps with mental and emotional balance, of course.
I have some basic exercise equipment in my home, my favorite being my mini trampoline. I highly recommend every household have one of these, and keep it easily accessible in your main living spaces, especially during the winter! There are many available, but be sure to invest in a quality one to protect your joints. Here is an example: https://rebound-air.com/product/reboundairtm-standard/
There is also lots I can do with just my own body weight to get my blood flowing and muscles pumping, such as versions of slow squats and pushups. I am also fortunate to have access to a local gym a few blocks from my home. I have been thinking about finding a nearby swimming pool as well - I don’t like the idea of chlorine exposure, but freedom of movement in water is very helpful when working with injuries that make other movements challenging. Some pools also offer a hot tub, sauna or steam-room, which are deeply relaxing and rejuvenating.
Another idea is to visit indoor botanical gardens, like the one in my area that has a huge tropical humid greenhouse environment that stays warm and plant-rich all winter long. I am currently getting a whole-house humidifier installed on my old furnace, and in the meantime I have a couple of portable humidifiers operating at all times in my house. We are designed to live in a humid, tropical environment, so I do what I can to mimic that in my home, with plants and humidifiers. Because I often have a cozy fire going in my woodstove, I have to do a little extra to add humidity back to the indoor air. Another very important aspect of mimicking our natural environment is to use a Sperti Vitamin D lamp daily. I use mine for 10 minutes a day. It’s better than taking a Vitamin D supplement, because the lamp is a much more effective replacement for the whole array of sunshine’s many health benefits. https://www.sperti.com/product/sperti-vitamin-d-light-box/
Winter is a wonderful time to study and learn, and if you apply some of that time to studying about natural health, it will inspire you to keep up health-promoting habits even when that feels challenging! A quick search for books or videos about the field of ‘Natural Hygiene’ will offer a starting place. I am also forever studying about mind mastery and spiritual development, and journaling my feelings and insights daily. And this winter, I am learning new songs on my piano keyboard, for fun! I also plan to start dreaming up some new garden plans to be ready for springtime.
Working from home as I do, it is especially helpful in the winter for me to have a daily/weekly framework to bring some amount of discipline with the spaciousness of time. A top priority right for me right now is healing, so I consciously give at least 2 hours a day of focus on that, including journaling, exercises, and conscious restoration of my whole system. To be honest, I generally do that anyway, just that it’s more specifically focused right now, and even more vigilantly protected. I am a “river person,” who prefers to flow with my intuition rather than keep to a definite or rigid structure….but I do really well with what I call a “framework for freedom.” This is a rough outline for the day and week which keeps me on track with my purpose and goals, but holds a great deal of open space for me to choose my direction in the moment. Without this I might just curl up and hibernate by the woodstove all winter! Many mammals do….
Let’s talk about wintertime food strategies. When the weather is really cold, gray and snowy/icy, it feels unnatural to eat only cold raw foods - and it is!! We are designed to live in a warm climate. But if you, like me, find yourself in the north in wintertime, there are many strategies you can use to maintain a healthy, natural raw vegan diet more comfortably. Get foods out of the refrigerator well ahead of eating them, to let them come closer to room temperature. Gently warm foods if you wish, either immersing them in warm water, or warming them in the Vitamix, a dehydrator, or even in a saucepan on a low temperature, just stir constantly and be sure you can comfortably immerse your pinky finger (you’re just warming the food, not cooking it). I indulge in natural herbal teas in winter, or warm lemon-water. Make sure you are comfortably warm before you eat. You can achieve this by keeping your furnace higher, having a wood stove burning, taking a warm bath, shower or sauna if you get chilled, or simply engaging in a bit of quick vigorous exercise to get your blood flowing. A few super-slow squats will have you warm in seconds!
I called this post Fierce Winter Softness, because winter can be fierce - in its often brutal cold iciness, and also in what it demands of us physically, mentally, and emotionally. Yet winter also invites us into a special kind of hibernation-like softness, and when we find ways to embrace this winter can become a time of deep personal growth and honing our inner resilience.
READY TO DREAM ABOUT SUMMER?
I’m thrilled to be part of the Vegan Wellness Retreat 2026 team! 🌿✨
I’ll be joining an amazing lineup of speakers, chefs, and wellness leaders for five days of learning, connection, movement, plant-based meals, and lakeside fun in beautiful Northern Michigan.
If you’re interested in joining us, use my code Ellen$100 for $100 off your ticket.
Would love to see some of you there next June! 💛
veganwellnessretreat.com
