Dec 21 marks the Winter Solstice. It might go relatively unnoticed to most of us in busy Western societies, but it’s a really important day in Taoist and Shamanic traditions because it marks a critical transition. This is the day where the YIN energy on Earth in the Northern hemisphere is at its highest (longest night) and YANG energy at its lowest, which shows up as the shortest day of the year. And of course, it’s the exact opposite for the Southern hemisphere.

Whilst many of us believe we are separate from the earth and it’s energies, we are not. Far from it. So when we are quiet, when we listen to our bodies, try this today, you may realise you’re energy is low and you feel quite tired. This is why.

Dreams & Aspirations

So how does this apply to you? Well, for the next several hours, the Yin energy on our planet is at its strongest and fullest expression culminating on the 21st when it slowly begins to wane with the emergence of the active and charged Yang energy. It’s a slow process but an important one. This is because it’s a great time for you to catch the Yang wave and ride it into the next cycle. It’s a great time for us to really visualise our dreams and aspirations so they get extra charge and energy to be realised. It is a great time to set your intentions for the way you’d like life to go for this next phase.

Rest up

Not an easy thing to do, mid-week when you’re possibly working, or looking after the kids. But we forget, winter is for hibernation. It’s the time for being a little more introspective and to gather all of our energy so we can recover from the previous season. And we need this energy. We need it in order to consciously participate in life (not go through it half asleep) and to take us through the next season. This is really worth taking in. In doing so, we’re in with a fighting chance to get more of what we want in the next phase of our life.

As we know, we’re probably doing it ourselves, people all around spend the tail end of the year partying, going full pelt, shopping madly to get things people probably don’t want from us anyway. We never take stock of where we’ve been and where we’re going. We never rest. So is it any wonder why most of us are sleep walking through our lives?

So our advice to you today, if you possibly can, is to slow down and allow your body and your mind to recover fully from a busy, probably hectic, year. Allow your mind and body to consolidate all that’s happened, take some time to wind down and inward and really think through what you want the next year to look like. You’ll need energy and clarity to get there – neither of which you’ll muster flying around the shops or out at parties. Take some time to go for a walk, spend an hour by yourself if you can, take stock, think ahead, but do it calmly and thoughtfully. Be lazy, sleep, and if you can, meditate, do some breath work and yoga. Don’t keep asking too much of yourself and you will be thankful for it going into the New Year.

Most bodies and minds are starving for some quiet and rest, so even making small headway towards this will help towards some recovery and rejuvenation.

You owe it to yourself and to your dreams and aspirations.