Beating the Winter Blues

According to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical tradition, our health is a holistic balance of mind, body, and spirit, with each person having a dominant energy type, or dosha. During the winter months we are more inclined to rest and hibernate, which can often lead to the winter blues.

Winter is the season of kapha, the dosha marked by a certain heaviness, a tendency toward mental fog, and sometimes weight gain. However, we can work with the body and energy type can help lift the lethargy of winter. Oils can help us sit in this seasonal shift without lowering our emotional energy! Some great options for winter emotional support include:

* Jasmine, Neroli, Ylang ylang or Joy

* Winter Nights

* Rosemary, Basil or Eucalyptus

* Palo Santo, Frankincense, or Sacred Mountain

Create an application ritual with some of the oils above and any other oils you choose to add. This ritual is a reminder to not hold on to destructive feelings, which can happen when there's too much kapha.

* Gently rub the skin between your toes to create warmth in the area. Massage in four to five drops of your chosen oil, spending about three to five seconds between each toe.

* With the oil still on your fingers and palms, massage the bottoms of your feet, spending thirty seconds on each one.

* Move up to your wrists and gently massage the area with your thumb; spend ten to fifteen seconds on each wrist.

* Next, move to the ears; use your fingers to massage the area behind your ears in circles for fifteen seconds.

* Floating up to the forehead, massage your temples with your forefingers in circles for ten seconds.

* Finally, cup your palms over your nose and mouth and take five deep inhales.

Do you have a favorite way to combat the winter blues? Would love to hear!