I’ve learnt a lot in my eight years of transitioning into and living a slower and seasonal lifestyle. But after finishing this year exhausted, depleted and struggling with multiple injuries I have realised two things:

Although I’d been making sure to schedule in regular self care I hadn’t actually given myself any real holiday or time off all year!

The way I was planning and trying to work just wasn’t in alignment with my slower and more intentional way of life.

Although seasonal living doesn’t mean doing less, it does mean slowing down and following natures cues to live + be in a cyclical process that supports wellbeing, as well as many physical and mental health benefits…

But what if there WAS a way to set goals, plan + make my dreams happen in a more intentional and sustainable way?

What if I could prioritise health, wellbeing and happiness AND achieve my goals for the year?

These were the questions I asked myself in December last year.

A Seasonal + Intentional Planning System…

Humans are creatures of habit.

We like our routines and the predictability of how we do things. even when those things aren't conducive to making us healthy and happy.

It isn’t always easy to see where we are holding ourselves back, or where our daily habits may be letting us down.

So that no matter how hard we try to improve our health or how we feel mentally + emotionally, we can’t quite get there.

The problem is our habits and actions we take aren’t always the right ones. Mindless action is only of benefit to you if that action takes you in the right direction!

Intention is a powerful thing.

When we are present, and do things with intention, make choices with intention we not only take action, but it is action in the direction of where we truly want to go.

Winter can be tough.

When you suffer from long term or ongoing illness winter can feel extra hard on your mind and body. Aches and pains become more pronounced, the cold can be an extra layer of exhaustion, and the lack of daylight has a tendency to affect our mood and immunity…

It’s so important at any time of year to have a routine that helps you not only feel and stay healthy, but also gets you excited to start the day & means that you approach every day with the best mindset, energy, and intention possible.

That doesn’t have to be the same routine all year round though. Your routine should shift and change to naturally align with the changing seasons and the changes these being about in your body, health, and wellbeing needs.

Did you know there are different kinds of rest?!

Yep, that's right. There are in fact eight different types of rest! Which do you need most right now?

When we think of rest we often only think of being sedentary eg. sitting/laying on the sofa, or passive rest eg. sleeping/taking a nap where the whole body and senses are resting and inactive.

But our body as a whole system is so much more than this. Our 'body' and our well-being are dependent on these eight forms of rest to ensure our sustainable health + wellbeing.

Winter solstice falls on the 21 December each year. It is the day with the shortest hours of daylight (in the Northern Hemisphere), and the longest amount of darkness.

In the Pagan Wheel of the Year this is the celebration of Yule. A time of reflection, birthing new beginnings, and celebrating the return of the light. Winter Solstice is a time of hope.

Although winter can be a hard time of year, Winter solstice is a beautiful celebration offering hope for the coming spring and the return of the light.

In this post I will share some of my favourite nature filled and slow, seasonal ways to celebrate this winter solstice.

Rosehips are abundant at this time of year, their ruby red skins a welcome burst of red brightness as we head into autumn.

Once we’ve had the first frost they are perfect for picking. The birds and wild animals like eating these sweet berries too, so don't forget to be mindful of leaving plenty for them too...

Rosehips are full of vitamin C as well as bioflavonoids, vitamin E, and a few other compounds that are good for you. The rosehip benefits are many and varied.

Healing Rosehip Benefits

The contents of rosehips mean they have a lot of healing properties for you any your body, especially during the autumn and winters seasons.

For more on Autumn health + wellbeing read my last blog post.

As with everything in nature Mother Nature is very clever, and everything has its season for a reason. The things that grow naturally in each season of the year contain all of the vitamins and essential nutrients your body needs at that time to be health and strong! Including rosehips.

In any belief, way of thinking or living there are pillars; key areas that need to be addressed and considered. These pillars are the basis or foundation of a system or way of being that provides values to uphold. A solid foundation you can build upon. The foundation that supports you + lifts you up so you are able to focus on other goals and activities.

You could call these pillars your habits + rituals. The things you do and repeat on a regular basis… because what you repeat you become.

If you focus on poor habits and self care you get poor health + wellbeing where you struggle to maintain momentum and/or happiness.

In contrast when you focus on healthy habits + self care (in all the pillars), choices that you know improve your health + wellbeing, you thrive.

Today is the 21 September and marks Autumn equinox in the northern hemisphere or Mabon. The Celtic celebration of the first day of Autumn.

As a season autumn is the season of shedding + releasing what’s no longer serving us and the life we want to live, or bringing us joy.

Seasonally there are many themes that come up for autumn. If you wish to learn more I recently wrote about seasonal living through autumn.

For many years I struggled through autumn and winter, struggling with the turn in weather + darker days, especially the cold weather. It was only once I found the path of holistic health + living that I found things to appreciate and enjoy in every season. Even in the darkest days, there are little sparks of light + joy that you can find if you take the time to look.

If you are anything like me you may have been finding it tough to adjust to the change in season, the shorter days, reduction in sunlight, and colder, wetter weather?

Sometimes it can be hard to let go of the summer season and mentality, especially if you enjoy the heat and the feeling of expansion and growth Summer brings.

BUT sinking into the cosy vibes, slower and darker days of Autumn and Winter is important too!

The seasons are a cycle, one which repeats each and every year without fail, and, just like the ebb and flow of energy within each of these seasons [the expansion and growth of Spring/Summer, the contraction, withdrawal, and rest of Autumn/Winter] our minds, bodies, emotions, and needs also need to rest and withdraw sometimes.

Seasonal living is something I’ve been advocating a lot recently. It’s something I’ve first hand experience of; seeing how re establishing that natural and innate connection with nature improves both our physical, mental, emotional + spiritual health + wellbeing.

What is Seasonal Living?

Seasonal living is the art of aligning with and embracing the cycles of nature, rather than resisting them. In our modern world, we tend to celebrate “doing” and activity, and resist stillness, introspection, and rest.

Are you listening to your body? It’s a question that gets flung around a lot in the health and well-being industry. But what does it even mean? And why is it important?

Have you ever had a morning where you have woken up feeling sluggish, bloated, nauseous? or a day when you haven't drunk enough water and you end up with a headache and feel tired and irritable? These symptoms are your bodies way of trying to tell you something is wrong, in the same way that craving certain foods can often tell you what vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body is lacking.

We have forgotten how to listen to our bodies

We have forgotten how to listen to our bodies, and we have forgotten how to eat to nourish our body!

Have you ever stopped to think about what these signals of fatigue, restlessness and aches and pains actually mean? Or on the other side, the meaning of having extra energy, a skip in your step?