Tips to Stay Warm in the Winter and Why it’s Important for your Menstrual Cycle

“During the Winter months all things in nature wither, hide, return home, and enter a resting period, just as lakes and rivers freeze and snow falls. This is a time when yin dominates yang. Therefore, one should refrain from overusing the yang energy. Retire early and get up with the sunrise, which is later in Winter. Desires and mental activity should be kept quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret. Stay warm, avoid the cold, and keep the skin covered. Avoid sweating. The theory of the Winter season is one of conservation and storage. Without such practice the result will be injury to the Kidney energy. This will cause weakness, shrinking of muscles, and coldness; then the body loses its ability to open and move about in the Spring." 

- Chapter 2 of the Huang Di Nei Jing states

Wintertime humbles us. Life is buried underground. There isn’t much vegetation, and we must shelter to stay alive. Hopefully, we have stored away what we truly need during the autumn season to carry us through this frigid season. The cold is necessary to anchor the earth’s temperature during the height of summer. It needs time for less activity and deep restoration. To maintain the energy cycle, all life needs to have a time for rest in order to replenish. Humans also need this time to reflect on our next cycle and to move into it with the lessons we’ve learned from the last. We cannot ride on the heat of summer for too long, we’d burn out, too fast. Winter teaches us about patience, rest and resilience. When we feel into the cold, we can feel the constriction and how it slows everything down.

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The Six Qi

In Chinese Medicine, there are six qi that are naturally occurring in nature. They are cold, heat/fire, wind, summer heat, damp and dryness. The six qi can become externally contracted “evils” if we don’t protect ourselves adequately. We can easily adapt to these external influences, and usually, they don’t cause harm to our bodies. Sometimes, they can create dis-ease when our defenses are down, and we become exposed to allow the evil to enter. This can also happen when the evil is very strong like an abnormal shift in the weather or an epidemic/pandemic situation.

Here, we’ll focus on Cold entering the body and how we can protect ourselves. But, first let’s talk about the nature of cold. It naturally balances heat/fire and makes sure that we do not overheat or burn out. It’s the governing qi of the wintertime so we’ll usually see cold-type challenges during this season. It’s considered a yin evil and it can easily damage our yang energy. It’s constricting, stagnating and congealing. When cold enters the body, it’s really common to feel pain. Other common things you’ll experience when cold enters your body are:

• Inability to maintain warmth and core body temperature

• Yang qi is damaged, so things move slower (metabolism, circulation, digestion)

• Feelings of cold in the body in the upper back, hands, feet, abdomen, uterus, low back, or all over the body sensation of cold/chills

• Your qi and blood congeal creating stagnation, so there can be pain and clots

• Joints can be stiff and tight

• Pain in the stomach, intestines, uterus

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Cold & Menstruation

For those of us that menstruate, we are a little more vulnerable during our bleeding days. Our bodies are essentially “open” to allow our lining to shed. This happens on a monthly basis for most of us. Because of the frequency, it becomes important to build good routines and rituals to protect yourself. We’re not really taught how to care for ourselves during our bleed. Since we are more open, we can easily contract cold and then our blood can start to stagnate and congeal.

Warmth and yang are essential to our wombs because we cycle every month, for years. This requires movement and free flow. We want to avoid being exposed to too much cold leading up to and during our bleed. Cold can injure our much-needed yang and interfere with our free flowing of qi and blood.

In the winter months, it becomes increasingly vital to protect your yang. And when you are bleeding during the winter months, take care to protect your yang even more.

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How to Stay Warm during Earth’s Winter & Your Inner Winter (Menstruation)

The most obvious method of protecting your yang is to cover up and stay warm. Layers are great, especially your abdomen, lower back and your neck. Scarves are your friend! During my bleeding days, I wear an abdomen wrap called a Haramaki. It’s also important to keep your feet warm as this is where the kidney meridian begins. The kidney organ and meridian are connected to the Water element of Winter. In Chinese Medicine, keeping your feet warm means you’re protecting your fertility. We call them “fertile feet”.

Warming Foods

Beyond staying warm with extra layers and comfy socks, do your best to avoid cold and raw foods as this will tax the yang qi of your digestive system. Smoothies and salads should be avoided. Instead, enjoy mostly warmed and cooked foods that will not tax your yang qi and are easily digestible. Here at The Way of Yin, we advocate for eating seasonally. In the winter, we want our diet to consist of foods that store well (in our pantry and bodies) and also foods that provide sufficient energy. Most wintertime foods help to bring your body heat deeper inside. We want to focus on foods that are warm in nature and also provide the nourishment we need for restoration. Think about all of the cozy and comforting hot teas, warm stews, soups, broths, hot porridges, and congees.

Here are some wintertime cooking tips:

• Cook everything and cook foods longer on low heat

• Make sure you include Salty and Sweet flavors in your diet as this helps to strengthen your kidneys and spleen, but definitely consume a balanced diet

• Everything you eat and drink should be warm or hot in temperature

• Enjoy black and dark colored foods as this helps to deeply nourish your kidneys

Warming, Nourishing Foods & Herbs:

Vegetables: Asparagus (late winter), beets, carrots, celery root, garlic, kohlrabi, onions, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes, radish (daikon), rutabagas, scallions, shallots, sweet potatoes, turnips, yams, yucca, winter squash

Fruits: Blackberries, blueberries, dried goji, grapes, dried jujubes, mulberries

Grains: Black rice, purple rice, glutinous millet and rice, rye, whole wheat

Nuts: Almonds, cashews, chestnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hazelnuts, hemp seeds, macadamia, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts

Protein: Bone broth, chicken, duck, goat, lamb, lobster, miso, mussels, oysters, pork, salmon, shrimp, smoked fish, trout, tuna, venison, black beans, black soybeans, adzuki beans, lentils

Dairy: Avoid

Herbs & Spices: Basil, bay leaves, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, ginger, horseradish, turmeric

Try out my yummy warm sesame seed cereal recipe for a nourishing and warm breakfast or snack!

Movement & Exercise

While our bodies and nature are slowing down for rest and reflection, we still need to move them to keep our qi flowing, our muscles flexible, and our joints lubricated. During the cold months of winter, it’s important that we don’t ramp up our cortisol or adrenaline levels to allow our kidneys the rest and nourishment they need during the most yin time of year. You will want to avoid intense exercises that get your heart pounding and your adrenaline rushing and instead opt for more mellow exercises that will circulate your blood and fluids but not deplete your resources. These same movement suggestions also apply to our inner winter menstruation phase.

Optimal Movement Exercises for the Winter

• Nature walks or Snowshoeing

• Yin or Restorative yoga & Stretching

• Tai Chi & Qigong

• Swimming (Natural hot pool or an indoor heated pool)

Self-Care Practices

Self-care is an important aspect of conserving your jing in winter and staying warm. Here are a few rituals and tips to help you rest, reflect, and preserve your essence.

• Limit your outings and social gatherings

• Draw inwards and tend to things closer to home

• Warm baths are wonderful wintertime rituals.

• Be around large bodies of water and journal or simply reflect

• Make a fire, cozy up by the fire with a warm cup of your favorite drink or sipping broth

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If you’d like to learn more about how to care for yourself during your inner winter as well as all of the inner seasons of your menstrual cycle, I have a self study e-course called Embodied Menstruation. In this course, you will not only learn the best practices for each phase of your menstrual cycle from the perspective of Chinese Medicine, you’ll also understand why it’s important. Upon purchase you will have instant access to all of the videos and content. You will also have lifetime access so you can visit and revisit it whenever you need it. You’ll be joining a great community of like minded folks from all over the world who want to connect and embody their cyclical nature. I hope you’ll join us. Deep bows & blessings. ~Kris

Embodied Menstruation :: Menstrual Attunement