Slowly Welcoming the New Year

Happy New Year and I wish everyone as peaceful a 2025 as possible. It seems to me as though more and more people than ever are tuning into the seasonal cycles and reconnecting to the ebb and flow of nature. Many people are eschewing the calendar New Year as a big celebration and its significance, as well as ignoring the traditional making of New Year’s resolutions. From what I’ve seen online, more and more people are noticing and commenting on how nature isn’t ready to wake up yet at this time of year, that we are still in the thick cloak of winter, and we should follow Nature’s lead.

I wonder how much of the January Blues and so-called ‘Blue Monday’ (the third Monday in January and supposedly the most depressing day of the year,) are due to the tension that’s created by our separation from nature – and the chasm between what nature is doing – still resting, waiting in the darkness until the conditions are just right to then very, very slowly begin the new growth cycle – and what is expected of us as human beings from a societal structure that is so disconnected from it roots (both literal and metaphorical) and nature’s cycles that we also all belong to. I.E. were so used to the old ‘new year, new me’ mentality, with its resolution lists, lifestyle changes, goal setting and the pressure that befalls many people to get straight back into work and for it be ‘business as usual’ or even ‘business better than usual’, straight after Christmas and the New Year.

We might not be able to change the overarching societal norms just yet, but we can still tune into and align with the energy of the season. Simply by remembering it is still the season of Nature’s rest can help us get more in tune with the season and ourselves as nature beings and be more in touch with our needs and what needs/wants nurturing within us.

For instance, we can prioritise rest and self-care whenever we can, which might mean doing less socialising, postponing a project, going to bed earlier, whenever possible creating relaxing, cosy environments such as a candlelit hot bath, or relaxing, low lighting with a fluffy blanket on the sofa.

We can try tuning into our body and heart-space and asking it what qualities it needs more of (peace, joy, playfulness, safety, spaciousness, clarity?) and perhaps what foods our body needs for nourishment and respond to that, by cooking up some healthy, wholefood, seasonal soups and stews etc. We might want to make some physical space in our day and mental space, by spending less time on our phones, online, on social media etc. We might even try slowing down our movements and for instance, slowing down when walking or eating.

If we slow things down, raise our awareness and curiosity and turn our attention inward, we can begin to notice much more of our everyday experience that’s usually overlooked. We can notice if we’re rushing when we don’t need to, or even speaking more than we need to and importantly how we’re using our words and voice – is our tone (inner or outer,) kind, encouraging and patient with ourselves and others? If we slow down when we’re cooking and eating we might tune into what wisdom our body holds and notice more what food does or doesn’t really suit us. We might notice our habits of thinking and how they affect our mood, what stories we tell ourselves, whether we’re worrying more than we need to (difficult in these challenging times), or holding any tension unnecessarily anywhere in our bodies, and perhaps then respond to that with some slow, gentle movements and stretches.

We can do raise our awareness in a gentle way, throughout the day we can just pause and take a few slow, deep breaths and ask ourselves: what’s going on for me right now? What needs to be nurtured in me at this moment? And see if any insights arise, perhaps then explore that more through journaling?

We can slowly discover what ‘seeds’ we might like to consider planting next year? What helps us to experience the qualities of joy, ease, to feel grounded, connected and spacious and what helps us to have room to expand and grow? We can ask ourselves why these qualities are important and what might that feel like if they were present in our body, mind and/or spirit, if we’re connecting to them now?

This gentle pondering technique that’s focussing more on the qualities we wish to experience in our ‘being’ rather than from any ‘doing’, can be a helpful approach that aligns with the energy of inner reflection during winter season, and aids mindful awareness. This way we can more gently participate in the rest and unfurling process, ready for Nature’s true new year that unfolds slowly in stages, first with Imbolc when the plants and trees begin to reawaken and there’s more obvious signs of the returning of the light. Finally there’s the Spring Equinox when Spring is finally reborn and is in full flow and bloom.

When we take the time to concentrate on the qualities of ‘being’, the ‘doing’ aspects often follow on much more spontaneously and from a place of feeling more aligned and resourced when the time is right, just like a plant that is preparing to push through the soil with their first new shoots. It’s a slow process, the turning of the season, nothing is rushed. We can tune into this more and nurture our sense of interconnectedness with nature’s unfurling, and reflect that in how we begin this new calendar year.

One of the benefits of training in Reiki is learning the five Reiki Ideals, which in my teaching I link to ‘qualities of well-being’ as well as to the elements. These can help by giving us a gentle daily reminder, an invitation to realign with what is truly important.

If you would like to include any Reiki or Reiki Drum sessions as part of your New Year self-care, or if you would like to take part in any practitioner training in 2025, do get in touch. I am teaching Reiki Usui Level 1 in Worcester (WR4) in February/March. Dates for Reiki 2 and Reiki Drum to follow.