The wintering body
In a world that rarely stops moving, our bodies often carry the quiet wisdom we ignore. They whisper long before they shout, sending subtle signals of fatigue, overwhelm, and the need to rest. Yet many of us override these signals in the name of productivity, responsibility, or habit.
Wintering, a term made popular by Katherine May, refers not only to the literal cold season but also to those internal winters we experience when we are called to slow down, step back, and restore. Embracing the concept of the “wintering body” invites us to reconnect with our own natural cycles of energy and rest. It teaches us to pause before burnout forces us to.
Why listening to the nervous system matters
Our nervous system is the gatekeeper of safety, energy, and resilience. It constantly scans our inner and outer world for cues of threat or support, and it shapes how we react and how much energy we have available.
When we ignore its signals, we begin to live in chronic activation:
Overwhelm feels normal.
Tension becomes permanent.
Rest feels uncomfortable or even unsafe.
We power through fatigue instead of tending to it.
Over time, this can lead to emotional shutdown, irritability, memory lapses, sleep disruptions, and burnout.
Listening to the nervous system means noticing the early signs:
Feeling unusually tired or foggy
Losing motivation or joy
Becoming more reactive or sensitive
Struggling to concentrate
Sensing heaviness or emotional flatness
These aren’t failures, they’re messages.
The rest cycles of nature (and why we need them too)
Humans are seasonal beings, even if our modern world pretends otherwise (the modern Gregorian calendar was invented by man to fix inaccuracies of previous man-made calendars in an attempt to fit the natural cycles into whole numbers).
Every culture, tradition, and physiological rhythm points to cyclical energy patterns:
Spring - Emergence, growth, experimentation
Summer - Full expression, activity, outward energy
Autumn - Release, letting go, slowing the pace
Winter - Rest, reflection, healing, gestation
Many of us try to live in an endless summer, always producing, always achieving, always showing up. But nature doesn’t work that way, and neither do our bodies.
Winter, literal or metaphorical, invites us into:
Recalibration: slowing our pace to reconnect with inner clarity
Deep rest: restoring the nervous system’s baseline
Integration: making meaning of what we’ve carried or accomplished
Preparation: gathering resources for the next season of growth
Rest is not an indulgence; it’s part of the natural rhythm that supports vitality.
Energy patterns - recognising when you’re moving against yourself
Energy moves in waves. It expands and contracts. We all have daily, weekly, and seasonal fluctuations, but we often override them.
Common patterns indicating the need for a wintering period include:
The push-crash cycle: you push hard, then collapse, then push again. (Also described as the all-or-nothing pattern).
The plateau: energy flattens, and no amount of sleep restores it. (Stagnation, procrastination).
The emotional dip: things that once felt manageable start to feel heavy. (Low mood, duvet day feelings).
The restlessness: you can’t settle, even when exhausted. (my personal favourite!).
When we tune into these patterns, we can respond before exhaustion becomes burnout.
Easing into a slower pace (without feeling like you’ve failed)
Rest doesn’t have to mean stopping everything. It can mean recalibrating how you move through the world. Here are some gentle ways to ease into wintering without guilt:
Create micro-rests throughout your day
Thirty seconds of slow breathing. A cup of tea without multitasking. A stretch between tasks. Small pauses prevent big collapses.
Practice seasonal planning
Allow winter months, or internal low-energy phases, to be times of reflection, maintenance, or gentle creativity rather than high output. Imbalances in our energy can cause energy cycles. If we pay attention to them, we can minimise their effect and frequency.
Soften your schedule
Trade back-to-back commitments for pockets of spaciousness. Say “not right now” instead of “yes.”
Tune in before you tune out
Ask regularly: What is my body saying? What does it need? What can I release?
Honour slowness
Slowing down doesn’t mean falling behind. It means aligning with your sustainable pace. Slowness can be seen as a sign of laziness; rewrite the narrative to ‘less is more’. (This is a constant struggle for me; I’m still working on it).
Let rest be productive
Rest rebuilds your nervous system, sharpens clarity, and enhances creativity. You’re not doing nothing, you’re replenishing everything. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and little gets accomplished from running on empty.
Preventing burnout through seasonal living
Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re weak; it happens because we’ve been strong for too long without rest. When we honour winter, externally and internally, we create space for renewal.
Seasonal living allows us to:
Respond to energy levels, not expectations
Embrace cycles instead of fighting them
Live in alignment with our nervous system
Cultivate resilience rather than depletion
Build sustainable, meaningful rhythms
Your body knows how to winter. Your responsibility is simply to listen.
