Wintering – by Hayley Court of Forest Retreats

26 January 2025

In the past, I have hated winter. I worship the sun, was born in the summer and love the heat, outdoor BBQs, holidays and festivals. However, over the years and living at Hill Farm especially, I have adapted to the natural rhythms of the season and embrace all the wisdom the season has to offer. I now run my Wye Valley yoga classes and yoga and wellbeing Forest Retreats in a cyclical nature.

Wintering by Katherine May has helped me to view winter differently. We need the winter as like trees, we are stripped back to the bare bones – letting go of what no longer serves us. A seasonal time for resting, digesting and healing in the deepest dark, slow and feminine yin time of the seasonal cycle. Yin yoga is a floor-based practice where we hold the postures for longer and the focus for winter (guided by traditional Chinese medicine) is the water element, specifically the kidneys and bladder which controls the fluids in our body. Kidneys are the powerhouse of the body and used to replenish other organs. In winter they need deep rest and nurturing, therefore it’s important to hydrate, create more balance in our lives and again (I’ll say it again!) -rest!

Donna Ashworth is one of my favourite poets and she says:

“You may think yourself lazy or flawed. Yet your body is made of almost the exactly the same elements as the stars. Your bone composition matches the coral in the seas and you, my friend, are ruled by the moon and the sun. Whether you like it or not. So no, you are not lazy. Nature is simply pulling you to slow, like the life, flora and fauna around you. It’s not your moment to rise. It is winter, you are wintering. And you are right on time.

Winter is not, therefore a time of action, setting unrealistic resolutions, late nights, lots of socialising and strict expectations. This takes us out of balance and causes “dis-ease” in the body, mind and spirit. Therefore, the busyness of Christmas and new year can put us out of sync, and why we need time to recover.

Give yourself permission to take things slowly, sleep more, lay down and listen to a yoga nidra as we slowly return to the light of spring – the snowdrops, the bluebells, the warmth and of course eventually the BBQs!

Slowing down is a process of unlearning in this very yang fast paced world, where we all hear the call to take things slower and look after ourselves. That’s what we teach here at Forest Retreats.

Our next weekend retreat “Spring Awakening” is listed here, and for a full list of 2025 retreats on offer at Hill Farm, sunny Spain and Devon visit here.

Rest well my friends.

Hayley

Forest Retreats and Hill Farm