Five tips for your powerful transformation during the Winter Solstice

As we move closer to winter solstice time here are five tips to make this winter solstice transformational in your life.

The winter solstice is a transformational time of year. What's happening is the days are shortening and darkness is taking over before finally around the 22^nd of June (in the southern hemisphere) is the shortest day and then we begin to move back into the light. 

Tip number one - Embrace the Darkness

 The seasons are a powerful time to get in tune with nature and follow nature’s cycles that are mimicked in our body. This is a great time to feel into the darkness.  There are a couple of things about this, feeling into the darkness is allowing yourself to stay inside a little bit more, go to bed earlier and sleep in a bit later. But there is the other side of feeling into the darkness which makes this time of year transformational is feeling into your own shadow.

 In the lead up to the solstice ask yourself:

• what are the places inside of you that you still disown – those parts you feel shame or resentment or hurt or lack of forgiveness.
• What are the places inside where you're still holding on to some form of darkness.

 Be brave enough to write your story about these disowned parts of your shadow and allow yourself to feel into the stories. Sit with any emotions that may arise. Emotions are feelings and you just need to feel them and let the associated emotions move through you and give yourself permission to let the darkness go.

 Tip two - prepare the ground

 Once you've felt the feelings they begin to dissipate and disappear. The you focus on preparing the ground for whatever is going to come next. This means clean up your side of the street and do things such as physically cleaning and decluttering your house and metaphysically your habits of thinking and behaving.

Remind yourself each day is a new day, you've got the opportunity to let go of those limiting stories and prepare the ground for whatever you decide you want to create in your life. Personal transformation can mean introducing positive affirmations into your daily routine that are the opposite of your ‘dark’ stories.

But preparing the ground really means do the work so you can look back on your past with appreciation and neutrality. A big part of preparing the ground is offering yourself forgiveness for the ‘mistakes’ you thought you made so that you are no longer energetically attached to them and they will not be drawn towards you to repeat as you move forward.  

Preparing the ground from a farming perspective is that they sow the soil with a plow to mix top soil with deeper soil, then they put fertilizer on the soil to make it as rich and fertile as possible. Farmer’s put in a lot of preparation work before they start planting the seeds.

Tip three – plant your seeds of intention

The winter solstice is a good time to take the time to soften into the ideas and visions you have for the next level version of you. Invest the extra inside time you have to get clear about an inspiring and uplifting vision for your life that you would like to move towards. To help crystallize those ideas you might:

• try journaling
• begin meditation
• work with a coach
• move your body
• allow yourself to daydream and visualize an exciting and enticing future life

Now is a powerful time to be planting your seeds of intention for them to bloom, blossom and grow in the spring. Now, with your seeds of intention don't be afraid to think big and create a vision that scares you, because it is so distant from your current life. When you plant big seeds of intention, they may take a little bit longer to grow because they will start a transformational journey that may invite you to go back and repeat tips one and two over and over as you grow towards your big future vision for your life. Do the work, whatever it is that shows up for you.

Tip four – pause and rest

The great thing about winter is that it is a time when you get to give yourself a free pass in terms of resting. In winter we are called to spend more time indoors and are meant to pause and rest – this pause is an important germination period for your intention. Take the time you need to integrate your shadow work, to feel rested and renewed.

Winter is the season of Kapha. It is the season of stillness, darkness, slowness, wetness, earthiness, and grounding. You are encouraged to embrace those seasonal attributes in yourself.

We often teach that there is a power in the pause, to pay attention to the gap (madhya) between one thing ending and the other beginning, and to pause, soften and feel.

When you plant a seed of intention, you're creating something completely new. The analogy is being pregnant.  When you're creating a new beginning, when you're creating a new life, you are going through a transformational process.

The powerful thing about seeds is you don't know what's happening on the inside, their growth for a long time is invisible. You must leave them to do their thing. You can't be digging them up all the time, not in the in the physical with real seeds and you can't be doing it in your life either. Once they are planted just get on with your life.

Creating something new for your future takes energy, you’re letting go, getting out of the way. Now you rest and trust the work you've done to prepare the ground, the work you've done to plant the seed of intention will lead to fruits at some point.

Tip five – move towards the light

The planet is naturally turning towards the light after the solstice. Now it is time for you to make some selections that will support you to move towards the light, just like the seed does as it begins to grow. Take the positive actions that are going to nourish you and support you to achieve your intention.

There is a saying in yoga ‘no step on this path or no effort on this path is wasted’. Whatever action you take to move towards the light, know it's never going to be wasted effort. Don't be afraid of failing, or of falling over just keep moving in the direction of your intention.

You can refer to light as in the light of the sunshine or the greatest Light within you, but ultimately you are moving towards your intention that is calling you forward into that next level version of who you are.

Always remember the light is within you. Do not underestimate the power of this work, it has the power to positively transform your life.

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