Slowing Down with the Cycle of Nature
In nature, winter is a time to slow down. Animals hibernate and many plants go dormant to conserve energy. As we move through winter and into the new year, this is a wonderful time to connect to nature by slowing down and dedicating time to self-care. This month we want to discuss:
- The benefits of slowing down, focusing on rest, and taking time to care for ourselves.
- Mindfulness, meditation, and connecting with ourselves, others, and nature.
- How warmth helps protect us during cold weather.
- The first exciting events of the new year.
Congratulations to Carol!
Carol won our monthly random subscriber drawing for a free float or infrared sauna session here at Integrative Health and Wellness! We will be reaching out to you by email to get you set up and ready to relax!
Ready to treat yourself?
Come nourish your body and nurture your soul at our Heart & Soul Wellness Day! Join us for a morning dedicated to self-love and care, filled with opportunities to relax, restore, and reconnect with yourself.
Give yourself the gift of relaxation, healing, and self-love. You deserve it!
We can’t wait to spend this heart-filled day with you!
Crystal Healing Sessions with Bethany Adams
Bethany will be in town doing sessions on February 14 and 15! She has a few spots already booked for Friday and would love to add a few more to fill up this beautiful day of LOVE!
Soul Love in February:
Transform into your most powerful soul self with a focus on soul LOVE.
If you are unable to come to a session and still want to connect, please use one of the following lovely crystals/stones to open and nurture a soul heart connection:
- Rose Quartz
- Amazonite
- Green Aventurine
- Pink Tourmaline
- Rhodonite
- Pink Opal
All of these crystals are so lovely, and their top properties include encouraging love and compassion, heart healing and openness to love.
Upcoming in March/April:
We are in the process of developing a quantum reset workshop!! A quantum reset workshop is similar to when you reset your computer - this same reset is done on your system, and it is a wonderful self-healing where your soul is in control! We are also developing guided meditation at IHWC which includes direct channel healing and uplifting your vibration to new levels! More to come soon.
To book a crystal healing session with Bethany click the link below!
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Slowing Down
Just as many animals and plants enter a state of dormancy in winter, we can take a cue from nature by slowing down and prioritizing rest. We can do this by focusing on sleep and relaxation, slowing down our schedules to take intentional time for self-care, and by incorporating the idea of slowing down into our daily activities.
It can often feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, and sometimes that results in less sleep. Getting enough sleep plays an important role in our health by reducing stress, improving mood, improving heart health and metabolism, and lowering risk of chronic conditions. (1) Not only is sleep crucial for our mental and physical health, experiencing rest while awake has major positive impacts. Resting helps calm our mind, relax our muscles, and lower our blood pressure, among other benefits. (2)
Recent studies also show that after we engage in learning, brief periods of rest facilitate consolidation of new memories. This effect is associated with memory-related brain activity during quiet rest, and suggests that in our daily lives, moments of unoccupied rest may serve an essential cognitive function. (3)
Aside from focusing on sleep and relaxation, incorporating a slower pace into our daily activities can improve our wellness. Many of us find ourselves sitting a lot throughout the day for our work and hobbies, and engaging in gentle movements can help break up these periods of inactivity. Even if we dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to structured exercise, it's still important to get up and move for at least a few minutes, many times throughout the day. (4)
Taking time to incorporate gentle movement throughout our day gives our bodies the benefits of activity while being low impact. This movement could be stretching, standing up frequently, or walking around your house while doing activities like brushing your teeth or talking on the phone.
Even breathing slowly has a positive impact on our health. Regular practice of slow breathing has been shown to improve cardiovascular and respiratory functions and to decrease the effects of stress. (5) Breathing slowly through our nose can help our airways become wider, help us produce energy more efficiently, and help us breathe more easily. (6)
Mindfulness and Meditation
Sometimes life moves so fast it is easy to get caught up in that flow, and slowing down gives us a moment to pause, be more present, and engage in mindfulness. We can do this by taking an intentional break from our busy schedules to focus on doing something peaceful and restorative.
Focusing inward and practicing mindfulness through meditation is a great way to create connection with ourselves, with others, and with nature. The word “meditation” refers to a variety of practices that focus on mind and body integration and are used to create a sense of calm and enhance overall well-being. Some types of meditation involve maintaining focus on a specific sensation, such as breathing, a sound, an image, or a repeated word or phrase. Other forms of meditation include the practice of mindfulness, which involves maintaining awareness of and grounding ourselves in the present moment. (7)
Meditation and mindfulness can help reduce stress, anxiety and depression, as well as help reduce insomnia and improve sleep quality, in addition to other benefits. (7) Benefits of meditation can be experienced in a variety of ways depending on what works best for you. Some people may find that setting dedicated time to sit and meditate works best, or they may find that practicing mindfulness while doing calming activities benefits them most. If you want to get outdoors and connect with nature then hiking, birdwatching, and even sitting and listening to the sounds of nature can all be meditative activities. When it is too cold to be outside for long, indoor activities like stretching, reading, creating art, and even cleaning can be meditative if you do it with mindfulness and intention.
Rest, meditation, mindfulness and slow movement are large components of IHWC services. All of our services below are focused on helping you achieve wellness and relaxation:
- Float Tank
- Infrared Sauna
- Physical Therapy
- Massage
- Acupuncture
- Hypnotherapy
- Yoga
- Reiki
- Sound Therapy
- Crystal Healing
If you’d like to book any of these services to help you rest and relax, call 541-523-9664 or click the link below!
New Year, New Opportunities
Focusing on physical and mental rest can help us center ourselves in the present moment, which promotes a strong foundation from which we can view the new year and new opportunities ahead. When we feel rested, it can be easier to focus on tasks, be creative, and face challenges.
Slowing down is not only good for our health - it is also a great opportunity to reflect and plan. Often people make resolutions in the New Year that can be centered around changes they’d like to make, new interests they’d like to explore, or habits they’d like to build. Whether you prefer to make a resolution, make a list of some things you’d like to focus on in the coming months, or just be mindful of changes you’d like to make, this is a great time to explore new opportunities to slow down, rest, and build self-care into our lives.
Warmth
In November we discussed the health benefits of warmth (Click here to read that newsletter) As we experience some of the coldest days of the year in January, we’d like to focus on some additional benefits of warmth, and on the effects of cold. When utilized intentionally, cold can have benefits - for example, cold applied to an injury can reduce swelling and inflammation and reduce pain. (8) While cold can be a great tool in caring for our health, when we experience cold in an uncontrolled, unintentional way there can be downsides. When exposed to cold weather, the body can lose heat faster than it’s produced, which can lead to hypothermia, frostbite and other issues. Cold temperatures can increase blood pressure and cause blood to thicken and become more prone to clotting. Cold weather can also increase our susceptibility to illness as dry air irritates the airways and can lead to greater inflammation. (9)
Aside from being generally good for our muscles, nervous system, and immune system, warmth can help prevent negative effects of cold. Whereas cold can certainly slow our bodies down, warmth helps us slow down with intention in the ways that work for us. Warming up in cold weather helps us maintain healthy circulation and keep our respiratory systems and brains healthy. To stay warm, make sure to bundle up in insulating clothing including jackets, hats and scarves. Extra blankets on the bed can help, as can shivering! Shivering happens because our brain detects that we are getting cold, and sends a signal to our bodies to increase adrenaline so we can warm up. (9)
IHWC services can also help you warm up! Our Far Infrared Sauna provides adjustable warmth while offering the benefits of detoxification, relaxation, stress relief, cardiovascular benefits, and decreased inflammation. The water in our Float Tank is calibrated to be the same temperature as your skin, providing a comfortable temperature to relax in. Our Physical Therapy and Massage services also utilize heating elements.
Whatever form your self-care takes in the coming months, we wish you a warm, restful, Happy New Year!
Thank you for being a part of our IHWC community!
Until next time,
The IHWC Team
Sources cited:
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/about/community-health/johns-hopkins-bayview/services/called-to-care/social-support-systems
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7025456/#:~:text=Results%3A,associated%20with%20increased%20antiviral%20immunity.
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10314672/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3827458/
