Hey, hey, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. Happy February. It is my birthday month and I hope it's a really good one for you. This month, there are four practices from December and January that are going to be really important to continue with being conscious of. And these are winters changing vibe and how it's affecting you because the reality is it is still winter for another month and a half. And depending on where you live in the northern hemisphere, you might have winter vibe for even longer than that into, you know, the rest of March and possibly even into April. The second thing to be conscious of is the continued invitation of winter to reflect, to arrest to recalibrate, to rejuvenate, to imagine to slowly plan. The third is maintaining our juicy January vibe. Remember that's from Mia Birdsong, with practices that are fluid, deep, pleasurable, nourishing, sustaining, supporting your resilience, things that are sensual things that activate your senses in a good way. Remembering that juicy is a way of loving yourself. It's not the shit that makes you feel good in the moment, but is actually dehydrating, juicy habits, practices, actions, etc. Take care of you. And that's all from you birdsong. You could find all that information in her Instagram posts, which I just freakin love so much. And the fourth one is allowing your son kapa, that heart centered, deep intention that is just attached to your state of being in the world. How you want to move through the world, the change, you want to create what is important to you, in terms of just you being here, and, you know, not ego driven, but heart driven, right and remembering that we are divesting if you haven't already but you know, as a collective, we are divesting from that dominant culture push to have that figured out by January 1 Or even the end of January. Right and just allowing things I mean, if you have it great, if not, don't worry about it, right, because the reality is your sankalpa can change, it can adjust, it can adapt, it can just, you know, evolve. Because the things we want the things we need, how we move through the world changes too. So I really want you to encourage yourself to offer a lot of space here. As you let everything unfold and take you know initial or more steps, you know, maybe move deeper into even getting more clarity in how what the practices are, how you are implementing steps to honor that sudden capa of what you need and desire. Now this week, the shit that we need to talk about is how necessary uncovering any discomfort difficulty or I don't know downright challenges that happened for you in the winter time to your mental your emotional, your physical or Energetic Health. And this may actually be on a cycle. If you've been around the podcast for a while, you know that, you know a lot of things that we experience are on a cycle. And you know, we're busy and life is overwhelming this the oppression that we're living under is overwhelming. And so we don't really always have the time and capacity to address everything. Right. And so then the reality is some of the stuff that we sweep under the rug, you know, with how challenged we are in the winter time is still present bubbling up under the surface, even festering throughout the rest of the year. Probably every episode from 2023 talks in some way shape or form about burnout, how to how it is happening to us how it keeps on happening to us, and how to reduce its effects and even begin to interrupt the cycle because I am on a freakin mission and it continues to help us to not feel so depleted by the end of the year and bogged down or anxious throughout the winter season. The reality is friends winter tends to be really challenging for a lot of people and those challenges can happen in different ways. For some people it is the same exact cycle year after year with the same challenge or challenges for others it changes based on how they're experiencing life right now depending on your inner energetic nature right your your natural biological nature, as well as as how you are currently experiencing life in terms of balance or imbalance, you might be aggravated by winters energy or you might be soothed by it. Now as a reminder of some of the science behind what you're likely experiencing in the winter, I want to remind you that winters vi really depends on where you live geographically and what goes on in nature there. From an Ayurvedic perspective, winter is dominated by Kapha energy, and that's the energy that governs stillness, steadiness, darkness and dormancy, right coffee energy is largely present throughout the winter, but maybe different ways. Geographically, it is what is, you know, fueling cloudiness and snow. Here in New Jersey, though, we don't see snow until the middle of January, usually. And so for here for us, when winter begins in the middle of December, there is still a largely vata vibe that and that's the energy that unsettled very mobile energy of fall, that is still very, very present for us here in New Jersey, through December and into January, and that, you know, we don't see snow, last I said till mid January. But Kapha energy is present for us in the cloudy days of darkness and dormancy. But still, there's wind and sometimes a light feeling. So you may live in a place where it is kapha, energy, darkness, snow, etc. From the get go. And, or you may live in a place where it comes in later. For us here in New Jersey, we tend to see Kapha energy lasting through most of spring. And so, you know, it just depends. And so, you know, for me, the way I experienced winter is more of like an unsettled Ness at the beginning. And then that dormancy, sometimes lethargy will come in later on, but you may have a different experience. And I just want to normalize that, right? Because, you know, you may know people who are talking about that lethargy settling in from like, right when daylight savings hits, and we start to see the darker days. For other people, they experience it differently. So you are not bad or weird, right? It's just different. You know, winters energy Kapha energy is going to call us to slow down to turn inward, right? That is what governs that invitation to rest to reflect to rejuvenate. Imagining comes from a little bit of vata energy. And this resting piece, though, even for liberation and social change, focused people like us who know that rest is necessary. Even we still struggle with embodying darkness as restful and restorative. Right. And to take this a step further, those people who are naturally Kapha dominant, those people who are naturally calm and steady and loyal, the people who, you know, can problem solve very clear headed Lee. They might be even headstrong, but naturally supportive, very naturally calm. For them. The Kapha energy in excess in the winter time, can cause a real feeling of lethargy, a sense of heaviness, a sense of unmotivated newness, possibly even deep sadness, and may ignite or trigger some sadness, some some things from the past. And, you know, this may be an uptick in what already happens in their regular life with struggling with the pace of society and society's expectations. And for those living with depression, especially those who are naturally tend toward a depressive nature right? Winters dark, dull, slow energy can really complicate that, especially for people who do not have support and practices in place to help them throughout the season as well as throughout the year. Now on the kind of flip side of the energy of winter, vata energy is the subtle energy of winter. This is that mobile dry and light not not light as in sunlight, but lightness
as an upvote as opposed to heaviness, right. That's that energy and that's present for us in maybe occasional dryness or dryness that is very present. It could be in wind and also variability in winter weather. This energy is very balancing and uplifting for Kapha. As long as it's not like wild amounts, and it's that energy that I mentioned before, that supports us in imagining and dreaming and creating plans for the New York future, and getting organized in that way. Those people who are naturally bought to dominant people who are naturally creative, highly intuitive, maybe easily loss of thought free spirited, also quick to move on, quick to be unsettled, kind of gogogo in nature, or anybody who's currently experiencing this kind of imbalance, the subtle energy, when it happens in nature can be really aggravating can heighten anxiety or the need to do and limit their capacity to rest. And for those of you who know that you're Pitta dominant, that's that energy that governs summertime heat intensity, you know, very highly motivated people who are high achievers, anybody who's experiencing an imbalance in Pitta energy to can also be aggravated by vata energy and also can find that their rest capacity is limited. And also people who are vata dominant on a normal basis may not have a subtle relationship with rest, or feel safe to do. So it can be very anxiety inducing to rest. And so it is really important for you to understand who you are how you will write, and not from a judgment place, but a place of self acceptance, we're gonna talk a lot about self acceptance this month, we talked about all the time, right? But with self love comes self acceptance, a conversation around it. And I say, it's so important for you to know yourself and understand yourself so that you can limit the judgment, the shame, the gaslighting, the bypassing spiritual bypassing, and just meet yourself where you are, right. And so really understanding coming back to the first point I made, in this episode of understanding how winters changing vibe affects you, I cannot say enough about this, because of how challenging winter can be for us, and how different the challenges can be person to person, understanding who you are, and how you are what you are currently experiencing and why it's gonna be really important not just to meet yourself in this moment, but also to mitigate how much of this shit moves on with you into the other seasons, because it will friends, you know, we don't just leave that shit behind. It comes with us. And so I I'm hoping that throughout this conversation, that it's going to shine a light on that. So the first question I want to ask you in this conversation about, you know, honoring winter is what is your current relationship with rest? Where is your acceptance of it? Where is any resistance to it? Where is your guilt? Where is your need? Where is your desire? What is your current relationship with rest, and you may find that you're in the best place ever, with your relationship with the rest compared to past Great, awesome. And you may also realize that while your relationship with rest in terms of how you feel about it, your perception of it, at cetera is really great. But your practice of it the way you are allowing yourself to rest, maybe is not where you want it to be right. And so those two things can exist at the same time. Now, something that I'd like I love to talk about when it comes to rest is another principle of Ira avetta. Besides living in tune with nature, which is what we were talking about just now is taking it easy. And when we talk about taking it easy, we're thinking of a few different ways, right? We're thinking of hobbies, we are thinking about spending some alone time, quiet time, we've been talking about this a lot the last few weeks, right? And also practices, different a variety of practices, something that in the wellness space in the last year and a half or so is calling seven types of rest. And that might be best practices for your physical rest for your mental rest, sensory rest, creative rest, emotional rest, social rest, spiritual rest. And so I'd like you to consider for the month of February for this week, what might some rest practices be in each of these categories? Because remember, it is okay for your definition or the way you practice rest to change day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year. It does not have to be the same thing. It may depend on your responsibilities, your access to time and energy, your access to support. Right and that is okay. So I'd like you to continue to explore your relationship with rest your perception of rest, right? What might be rejuvenating for you what might restore you might may be rehydrating for you not just in terms of rehydration, as in like intake of water. But coming back to the juicy January practice of doing things that are not, you know, that are soothing in the moment, but dehydrating in the end, right? Sometimes we do things that just take the edge off, but really, you know, don't have a good long term at impact, or they're not sustainable for us. They're not exactly what we need. So what could be actually rehydrating for you? This month, it is going to be really important to explore mental rest practices, mental fortifying practices, spiritual and emotional fortifying practices as well, right? We're talking about self love, always. We're talking about, you know, balance emotionally and mentally, always. But because things get kind of really wonky in the winter. It's really important. And you may be saying, well, you know, stuff, you know, we're coming into spring, and you're right now it is beautifully sunny outside, and the sun is warm here in New Jersey. But friends, remember, we've got to deal with the dark stuff, we've got to deal with the hard stuff, we've got to deal with the shit that's present, because it will come with us into spring, we don't just ignore it, because the sun is shining, right, we got to deal with it. Now, something that really helps us when it comes to the conversation about rest is yoga philosophies, practice of Yamahas, our ethical disciplines our sense of integrity, it's a focus on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. Now, one of the Yamahas is Brahmacharya. And in English, it translates to energy management, that might be managing extremes as in like feelings, cravings, including sexual energy and manipulation. And turning toward a more moderation type of approach. It is also movement towards essential truth. And so when it comes to energy management, right, it's not just, you know, doing what needs to be done for, you know, immediate gratification, or, again, a practice that's going to take the edge off, but be dehydrating in the end. And so the question I have for you is, what if you stopped giving your energy away in sensory sensual pursuits, or actions to make you feel better in the moment, but don't actually address what's really going on? Or are dehydrating in the end? Where are you still wanting or hoping for immediate gratification? I always think of like, you know, Amazon delivery, right? And how there's, with Amazon Prime, if you've got that option, two day delivery, right, many of us are trying to order from Amazon as much, you know, moving towards small business purchases, of course, but sometimes we find ourselves having to rely on that convenience of Amazon, right? And so how are you feeling when something's not available to you in two days? Or one day, even same day shipping? Right? And how does that also kind of that that idea, that approach? Also? How does that present in other areas of your life, right? Where you expect that somebody is going to have an answer for you right away, or that this thing is going to happen in a certain amount of time? Or that you can problem solve or act or react or respond in a certain way, in a certain timeframe? Also a big one, where or in what ways, are you continuing to put yourself into an energetic deficit, or too close to empty, or not adequately restoring your energy, in the name of doing and being? Right. And I know this is hard, because we've got to do a lot. And we've got to be a lot. And we've got to be a lot of places. I know that. And I know that your work is important to you. I know that your efforts in liberation and social change are important. I know how important your family and your friends and all of the things that you hold true and dear how important they are to you. But remember, friends, I'll always remind you, right, your self care is at the root of all of that. So for any practices, rest practices, taking it easy practices, self care practices that are currently you've got in place. I'm curious, how can you shift your relationship to these things or deepen your practices?
And when it comes to community care, how can rest take in taking it easy continuing to lean into winters vibe, help you to more authentically connect with community and either lead on or in other instances, facilitate community care in a really authentic and deep way and also how Can you acknowledge any resistance that arises? With wanting to shift or deepen practices? How can you be with this resistance? And some ways that you can do this is reminding yourself in the moment when you're feeling the resistance, of the truth of the practice that you want it to its value, its effect, and how it's going to support you in your endeavors, maybe how it already has supported you, and allowing this to help you move through the discomfort and what might practices be to continue to help you to move through the discomfort of showing up to yourself care even when life is getting in the way. Now, I have a last question for you. Where do you need support? What questions do you have, you might have some more questions that are coming up, you may have some doubts, you may have some in your indecision happening, you may feel like you want to go deeper with this. Remember that you can always connect with me on a release, the pressure call will sit down in real time in zoom, and figure out how to implement the practice you want to focus on in a sustainable and flexible way that honors your responsibilities, your available time and energy it this could be even a practice you already have in place, but you want to shift it in some way. Right? Maybe something new you want to do. But this meeting will take some of that doubt and overwhelm out of the process for you doing this on your own and move you in the direction that you want to go without the guilt without the shame without the shoulds in the judgment and you'll have variability you'll have flexibility and sustainability built in for you. My friend the ease you're looking for really as possible. So you know, head to my website, Steff gallante.com/relief-the-pressure-call And you could meet me there until next time, my friends please be kind and gentle to yourself just as you would those who are most precious to you whether that as a human and animal baby or a plant. I'd really love to hear your thoughts about this. Any of the support the guidance that I've provided in this episode, so please feel free to reach out and share it. If you've been loving the show. Please share it with your nearest and dearest and leave a review or rating. My friend remember you are a badass and you are enough now go be your favorite self and be well
