Somatic Healing for Wellness-Focused Women

(#59) Reflecting on 2024 and The Art of Wintering

• Rae The Somatic Coach • Episode 59

Share episode

In this episode of The Raediant Life Podcast, your host Rae shares essential practices for reflecting on 2024 and transitioning into the winter season. Tune in to receive and learn:

  • The benefits of annual reflection practices
  • How reflection is supportive for personal growth, self-awareness, and celebrating yourself
  • How to align with the winter season of rest, renewal, and introspection
  • Practices to support your mind, body, and soul during the colder months of winter

Schedule a 1:1 Breathwork Healing Session 60 min
Schedule a 1:1 Breathwork Healing Session 90 min 

Upcoming Events Schedule:

Resources:

WORK W. ME
Inner Alchemy Somatic Breathwork
Clarity & Release Somatic Coaching
Event Schedule

CONNECT
The Monthly Newsletter
DM on IG
Website
Subscribe & Review Apple Podcasts
Follow & Rate Spotify

Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast is intended to inspire, educate, and support you on your personal journey. It does not substitute for professional mental health advice. I am not a psychologist or medical professional. If you are experiencing distress, mental health challenges, or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified professional.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Radiant Life Podcast. I'm your host, rae, the Somatic Coach, and I'm here to support you in healing your past, living in the present and creating your future so that you can become the most centered, embodied and happiest version of yourself. Each week, I'll be bringing you episodes to help you navigate life's challenges, ease stress and tension and learn more about holistic healing, spirituality and wellness. If you're interested in becoming the best version of yourself so that you can live the life of your dreams, then you're in the right place. Subscribe to the podcast and the monthly newsletter and follow me on Instagram and TikTok to know when new episodes are released each week. I am so happy that you've landed here. Let's dive in. Welcome back to the podcast. If you are new here, I'm Rae, I'm a somatic coach and breathwork facilitator, and if you aren't new here, welcome back. I'm so glad that you're tuning in for today's episode.

Speaker 1:

So, some front desk items, some life updates. I'm recording this. It's Sunday morning and I just did a bit of a cacao ceremony. I did some breath work, I did some journaling. I'm starting to reflect on the year of 2024, but I haven't really dove in and done it completely yet, because the annual reflection workshop is coming up this month and I'm trying to do it at the workshop with everyone that attends. So my practice today was really about grounding. I pulled some cards. There's been some fun themes that have been coming up in over the past few months, I guess, so it was really cool to see and, yeah, that's kind of just like where I'm at recording this episode.

Speaker 1:

I've also started reading the Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yaros and it is so good, oh my god. I highly recommend it. I'm about halfway through and I cannot put it down and I'm oh, I am like literally loving it and I had never heard of this book before. I just like Googled recommended series because I wanted to start reading again and I wanted to just be reading like fiction, like nothing, like self-help or anything like that, and I wanted to read a series so that I would have like a few books lined up. And I'm so glad that I started reading it. Oh my God, it's so good, so highly recommend if you need a book to read.

Speaker 1:

And then the next update I have for you is that when this episode will be released on Wednesday, the following evening so Thursday evening, I believe that's December 12th we'll be having our breathwork of the month, and that is all based around stress relief for the holidays, and I know this can be for some people a very hectic time. So if you are a podcast listener, you always get 30% off breathwork of the month, and so I'll leave all that information in the show notes and you can always send me a DM or an email if you can't find the link or anything like that. I think the discount code is POD30, p-o-d-30, the numbers so P-O-D-3-0, but I'll link that in the show notes. So definitely check that out if you're looking for some breathwork support for this month. Just moving through the holiday season, and something to stay tuned for is next month we will be doing the vision board workshop. So in January every year I always host a vision board workshop, and I plan to do one that is in person in the Long Island area and also one that is virtual online for anyone that's not in the Long Island area. So more details Hopefully I'll have all the details by our next episode, which actually will be released on Christmas, which is so fun. So I don't know what I'll be doing in that episode yet, but I hope that I'll have the vision board workshop details for you then. So stay tuned for that, and that's all of our front desk items.

Speaker 1:

So for today's episode, we'll be chatting about the benefits of having a reflection practice, and I know for myself the annual reflection workshop that I host each year is so fun. I love doing it annually, I love the transition of one year into another, and, just for me personally, I love this practice of reflection. I don't do it all the time. I kind of sometimes I'll do it monthly or maybe even seasonally, but I definitely always do it annually. So I just really love this practice. I think there's a lot of benefits to it, and so that's what we'll be chatting about for the first part of our episode.

Speaker 1:

So what a reflection practice is like, what the benefits are, and then the second part of our episode, we'll be chatting about the art of wintering and what it's like for our bodies to move into this new season of winter and what that can look like, what some, what are some practices to help us through this transition, and how it can also be really hard. I know, even for myself, um, december and January aren't that hard, but like the end of February into March, beginning of April, that's like always been like the hardest um time, just season. It's like we're really in the winter, you know, like it's been cold for a while and it's tough. So that's just my personal experience with it. But wherever you land on the spectrum of loving winter, not loving winter, being about the cold, wishing it was summer all year round, like wherever you are we're going to chat about it in today's episode, all right, so to kick things off, what are some of the benefits of having a reflection practice and why does it matter?

Speaker 1:

So I find that pausing to reflect and just kind of zoom out and take a bird's eye view of the year that has passed is really, really helpful. I think it's a great way for you to really be able to see yourself, and this is something that I'll be talking about in the workshop, but I'll share a little bit about it now too. I was chatting with my friend the other day and we were both kind of like just acknowledging each other. I have awesome friends and I was, uh, kind of like like sharing with her, like no, like you've been, like what you've created is like phenomenal, like amazing, and she was like yeah, like I haven't, she's like I feel like I'm just now seeing what I've created in her life and she's like an entrepreneur as well.

Speaker 1:

And it's so funny how, like when we're going through the process, like we don't really like see ourselves and the experience of actually seeing yourself and like acknowledging yourself can be really, really powerful and it can just create so much like growth and acknowledgement and celebration and it feels really good to feel proud of yourself. And so giving yourself the time and space to reflect and really see yourself is so powerful. So the reflection practice and even creating your own or coming to the workshop, like whichever one it will allow yourself to pause, it will allow yourself to reflect, it allows you to acknowledge yourself and celebrate yourself, and that feels really good. It also allows you to let go and release and maybe close the loop on something that's kind of come up throughout your year that you didn't have the opportunity to. So I can speak for myself this morning.

Speaker 1:

Part of the practice that I did this morning and I pulled like a few cards. I like using this one Oracle deck it's called Intuition Oracle. I like love it and one of the cards I pulled was about forgiveness and I thought it was just so spot on for, like, we're ending the year soon. You know, we go through our lives and things happen. People are human, I'm human, and so it's a really great time to check in and see like, okay, where can I let go If there's any forgiveness that's present, maybe not, but if there is like where can I forgive other people? Where can I forgive myself? And I'll also share.

Speaker 1:

Last week I went to the grocery store and I feel like on the weekends the grocery store is just like a complete war zone. It's like so tough sometimes. Just everybody's like stressed and like like maybe they have the sunday scaries, like I don't know what's going on. And I had this like really awful experience with someone in the grocery store and I was like pretty upset about it. I I won't go into detail, but it wasn't great and it was like it happened on Sunday and so Sunday night like I couldn't sleep. I was like pretty worked up about it and I use Insight Timer.

Speaker 1:

That's one of the apps on my phone that I recommend to people and I love it because you can type anything in their search and they like have something. And so I put in like evening forgiveness and or like evening gratitude or evening something, and it came up with this practice. It was like a 20 minute practice and it walks you through your day twice and the first time it walked you through your day it was for forgiveness, which was like what I was looking for. And then the second time it walks you through your day again and it's for forgiveness, which was like what I was looking for. And then the second time it walks you through your day again and it's for gratitude, and it helped me so much. I was like this was exactly what I needed, so I thought it was interesting.

Speaker 1:

And then I pulled this card this morning and it's like about forgiveness again, and I think that that just relates so much to the end of the year and like where are we maybe holding on to things that don't serve us and also places that we can forgive ourself? You know, like we're human as well. So really taking you know, ownership in that way of like your practice, your insight, your being, your energy, and I think reflection allows you to do that. And then, lastly, I'll also add that it also allows you to see, you know, maybe places and things in your life that maybe didn't work out, so maybe challenges that you can, maybe could have like done something differently, and not necessarily in the terms of like regret, like nobody's perfect here, like we're all, like you know, learning and growing and just living our lives, but where we could learn things, where we could reflect and see, like, okay, maybe I would do this a little differently next time, like whatever the case might be. So there's a lot of benefits to having a reflection practice.

Speaker 1:

And the workshop is on what day is it? On December 19th. It's a Thursday night, I believe. It's at seven o'clock. All that information will be in the show notes as well, but this is my gift to you for the holiday season, for the new. I love doing this workshop. It's super fun. I think we almost have like 10 people signed up, um, so come, hang out. If this speaks to you, I will be doing my practice with you as well, and so you know exactly what to expect. We will start with a little bit of meditation and breath work and then we'll be journaling so you can come with some hot cocoa, some coffee, some tea, like whatever you need for like a nice evening practice. Get all cozy and just be in community while we uh move through this fun reflection practice for 2024 and head into 2025.

Speaker 1:

All right, moving on to our second topic for today's episode, which is the art of wintering, and I like to use nature as an analogy in our lives. In an analogy, oftentimes when I'm in session with a one-on-one or in a group, I'm always incorporating elements of nature and just also, like seasonally, looking around at our lives and how we can ebb and flow with the seasons. So, depending on where you're tuning in from, here in New York we got all four seasons and so right now we're about to head into winter and so like how can we honor this cycle and are there ways that we can really allow our body to ease into this transition and allow this transition and this time of winter to be one that is restful and restorative and like a nice little hibernation, in a way that feels really good? And, like I mentioned a little bit earlier in the episode, sometimes this season of winter can be hard. You know. It can be like emotionally hard, energetically hard. We can feel more fatigue or tiredness. It gets darker earlier, so maybe we're like missing the sunlight and it's like harder to get outside because it's significantly colder. And if you ever watch like the sunrise or the sun come up, it's at a different time now as well, so that can be different.

Speaker 1:

So I know for myself personally, like I mentioned earlier, like December and January are usually okay, but end of February until, like March is like brutal for me. I'm like, oh my God, I need this sad, I need summer. So every year my husband and I try and plan a trip during the winter somewhere, just so we can get some sunlight, and he loves to surf, so also he, so he can get back in the water and all that fun stuff. But you definitely don't need to do that. And as we move into winter, it's definitely a nice time to slow down and rest and honor your body's cues, honor how your body is speaking to you if it needs to recharge, and it's also a great time for that introspective, like deeper insights time. So with the reflection workshop coming up, that's also a great time for you to kick off that introspectiveness. But there's plenty of time throughout the winter to just have these moments with yourself.

Speaker 1:

So these are some ways that I would suggest, leaning into your body's natural rhythm. So the first is giving yourself some time to create a list, and this list can be in the notes section of your phone, it could be in your journal, it could be anywhere, and just write down a list of practices that are helpful for you when it comes to rest outside of, like scrolling on your phone or watching TV on your phone or watching TV. So this could look like reading, journaling, red light therapy. Maybe cooking is restful for you, or like nice for you, yoga, restorative practices, breath work, taking a warm bath. So, naturally, during this time, the body is going to be seeking less stimulation because it's trying to conserve its energy, and so what restorative practices are? Some that you really enjoy, and just creating that list and letting that list, you know, grow throughout the winter. Maybe there's something new that you discover, like painting or drawing or something like that. So the first thing that I would suggest is create a list of practices and then add to it as you move through the season.

Speaker 1:

The second tool that I would suggest for leaning into your body's natural rhythm is something that maybe you can add to your list, and that is flower essence. I know this is something that I've talked about on the podcast and a little bit on social media, but you can connect with nature and the elements and the seasons through flower essence, and I'm personally a huge fan of Lindsay Faulkneroy she is. I studied with her for about a year and I learned all about flower essence and the seasons, and so I like to use her flower essence blends and it's all based around five element theories, so I'll leave the link for that information also in the show notes. If you have any questions about flower essence in general or five element theory or any of these blends, definitely let me know. I'm always available email, dm and I love receiving questions and answering them. So, yeah, just reach out to me if you have any.

Speaker 1:

But there are three themes that she highlights throughout the season of water, like water season and the first is rest. So we've talked a little bit about that so far. But really allowing your body to rest that's something, myself included, that can be really hard, like if you are someone that's like driven and just in general I don't even know if you need to be driven. It's just hard to rest sometimes and tell our bodies to just like chill. So the first one she has a flower essence that's called Oasis and that is all around the theme of rest and restoration and letting your body take like a deep exhale.

Speaker 1:

Basically the second theme that she touches on is to deepen your connection with yourself and your soul. So really allowing yourself to be introspective, which is also something we've talked a little bit about so far but really allowing yourself to take that time to be with yourself, not so much like external stimulation there's so much of it between all of our daily lives and social media and media in general, and just a lot of external stimulation that is coming at us. So that flower essence that she suggests that's her blend is called sacred source, and I love, love, love, sacred source. It is so good. I will definitely be doing a cycle of that this I don't know when this winter, but maybe for the month of January we'll see but highly recommend sacred source. I love it. It will really bring you into connection with yourself. It is, it's so good so that one is all about connecting with yourself, connecting with your soul and allowing yourself to be introspective.

Speaker 1:

And then the third flower essence blend that she's created for water season is called Legacy and that is all around connecting with your ancestors, connecting with your family line, and there's a lot of healing to that one as well when it comes to any form of generational trauma, any form of like unhealthy family dynamics. So I personally have not done the legacy one before, but I'm sure it's absolutely wonderful and, yeah, so if that one interests you, definitely check it out. I think all three of these are really nice and something that, if you wanted to try, you could always add it to your list of practices that really allow your body to connect with this season, connect with nature and lean into its natural rhythm. And then the third thing that I would suggest is attend an event, be in community with others in terms of what you can receive from this season with all the various themes that we've talked about. So, whether that's rest like going to a restorative yoga class, or introspection, which could be something like the reflection workshop or the vision board workshop or really anything and one other event that might interest you that's coming up is the winter solstice. So that is the first day of winter. It's the shortest day and it's also the longest night, and I believe that's on December 21st. So the winter solstice can be a great time for being introspective, setting intentions. It can also be a time to just pause and be still and start your next season, feeling connected and in communities. So I know there's a bunch of winter solstice events that are happening locally in the Long Island or Long Beach area, but there are a bunch, too, online. So if that interests you, check out some events that are happening for winter solstice.

Speaker 1:

And then the last thing that I'll mention is one practice that I've been leaning into more this year, probably more than other years in the past, is drinking cacao. This is something that I've really been enjoying and I find it's really helpful for all these themes of the winter season really allowing your nervous system to rest and relax, allowing you to be introspective. If you're into creating ritual or creating ceremony or having any kind of like practice with yourself, cacao is really nice for that. So I find that it's great for being intentional and quiet, and winter is the perfect time to really dive into using this kind of resource because it can be introspective and support you through all these moments. So I particularly like Aura Cacao that's like the name of the brand, and I'll leave my link for that in the show notes as well. This is definitely something that what I enjoy about.

Speaker 1:

It is something that you can do yourself. You know a lot of these practices. You can do all of them yourself, but this one is nice that you can do it on its own. You can use it as like a supplement to another practice, so, like for the reflection workshop, you can make yourself a cup of cacao and it's like it's just something really nice and like decadent and all of the kinds that they have for through or a cacao. There are so many different. I think they're they might be up to like 12 different cacaos and they're all sourced ethically and they all have like great descriptions for each one, so you can definitely find one depending on exactly how you're feeling on that day. And one thing that they have that's pretty cool is they have like a variety kit so you can go online and order like a sample size, which is basically like two servings in each sample size, and you get like a whole variety pack of like all the kinds that they have. So it's like it's really cool. So, um, yeah, I love incorporating cacao.

Speaker 1:

If that doesn't speak to you, you can probably you can actually not probably have the same or similar practice with tea. I know a lot of people that work with tea and you can even have like a tea practice and so having some sort of like nice, warm, cozy, cozy beverage that feels good for you, I think is a really nice tool to add to your toolkit for the wintering season. So, really taking these insights, these tools, and leaning into this season of winter, leaning into this transition, seeing how you can use it as a way that feels like a gift to you, a way for you to feel really like rested and resourced and, if you're someone like me that like loves summer and loves the warmth, just looking at this season and this transition as like something that's really a gift for you and something that can really serve you and set you up for, like, a wonderful 2025 right. Like really allow yourself to, in your body's self, like the response of your body to shift and feel really good and, of course, like doing what you can to balance the demands of, you know, modern life with how your body and your nervous system respond during this time, and giving yourself grace and being compassionate with yourself and knowing that this is a practice. It's not something that needs to be perfect and it's not something that's like right or wrong, something that needs to be perfect and that's not. It's not something that's like right or wrong. It's a way for us to turn inward, listen to our body, listen to our nervous system and gain more insight about ourselves.

Speaker 1:

All right, so we went over a lot in today's episode. We talked about the benefits of having a reflection practice, how you can start your own and, of course, if you'd love to join the annual reflection workshop that's coming up. That is on Thursday, december 19th, and it's free. It's my holiday gift for you, so check out the show notes if that interests you. We also chatted about creating your own wintering practice. So the art of leaning into this new season, what some of the meaning in the season is and how we can really use it to resource and rest and feel really good throughout this transition into the colder months. So, yeah, really allowing yourself to lean into this season. If you would like to come to the vision board workshops once those are announced, definitely stay tuned.

Speaker 1:

I hope to have all that information in our next episode on December 25th, but if not, definitely sign up for the monthly newsletter. All the information will be in there and, of course, I'll share on socials as well. If you have any questions at all about anything I covered in today's episode, definitely send me a DM or an email. I'll link everything that I mentioned in the show notes, and thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope you have an incredible rest of your week, an incredible rest of your day, and I will talk to you soon.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. If you were moved or inspired, please share with me by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It means the world to me and I am so appreciative for your support in helping my podcast grow. If we aren't already connected on social media, head over to Instagram and TikTok and follow me at Ray the Semantic Coach. Make sure you check out the show notes of today's episode for links to freebies, opportunities to work with me and ways we can stay connected outside of the podcast. I'm so happy that you're here and I cannot wait to talk with you on our next episode of the Radiant Life Podcast.