The Winter Solstice

Hello and Happy Winter Solstice

I am writing you today from my desk at my home office snuggled up with a blanket and listening to singing ice sounds. I am trying each year to grow more content with winter and change my mindset from dreading it to accepting and (maybe eventually) loving it. This year taking walks every afternoon with a friend has made me feel more connected with the changes in weather day to day. In previous years it sometimes felt like life suddenly was plunged into cold and darkness. Walking every day has smoothed out those edges and gives me a lot of joy even on days when it is cold and windy. Last year finding a love for cross-country skiing was a great way to embrace the cold and snow and I am very excited to go again this year.

Winter blues are hard to get through and you may be noticing some changes in your body and in your mind while the season has been changing. Energy levels can be very hard to keep up when we are experiencing less sunlight each day. It can also seem like time is warping with the extended periods of darkness. The solstice gives us the reminder, the season will keep turning and we are now on our way back towards the summer months. I have found accepting winter for what it is has significantly helped me change my mindset and feel better. I am reminded we are a part of nature and need periods of growth, rebirth, stillness, and dormancy throughout our lives and throughout our years. A great quote I came across recently said "We do not expect flowers to push themselves to bloom in the winter, so why should we?". I appreciate this reminder to accept the ebbs and flows of life, energy, and nature. I would love to hear how you embrace winter and fight off the winter blues. I am open to any tips you have for me.

Okay on to the yoga and the good stuff! For those who have made it this far thank you! This message is just for you. I am creating a post-holiday Burnout Toolkit for you! I have been hearing throughout the past month about feeling burnt out, exhausted, and in need of some self-care and compassion. I have decided to offer you something to help with these feelings and give you time to reflect and reconnect with yourself in the new year. I want to be of service to you so I will be doing a small test release of this offering to see if this is really something you want and are interested in before creating the whole thing. I want to spend my time creating things you want and need to help you feel better mentally and physically.

So here is what I have in mind ;) Your Burnout Toolkit will be a three-day online offering you can experience live January 21st-23rd or at your own pace. A new email will be delivered to you each day where I will be guiding you to reconnect, rejuvenate, and recuperate ending with an offering to join me for a 1 hour yoga for relaxation class (online or in the studio) on January 24th.

Your Burnout toolkit will Include daily yoga videos to follow along with, journal prompts for reflection and reconnection, and some new embodiment practices for you to try out. This toolkit will be full of self-compassion tools you can carry with you throughout the year and integrate into your daily life to find more peace physically and mentally. I am opening this offer up for presale ($15) now through January 4th. If I have enough interest I will be moving forward and making the toolkit to send out at the end of January. If I don't get enough sign-ups for this offering no harm no foul and your purchase will be 100% refunded to you by the 5th. Here is the link for you to go check out :) and let me know if you have any questions you need answered.

I know this can be a hard time of the year for many and if you are struggling here are a few tools to implement in the meantime. The holidays can be an onslaught of activities and traditions you feel like you have to do but is this true? You might check in with yourself and ask what I absolutely want to do this season to feel happy and present. Then write those down and nix the rest off your to-do list. If you have a family to coordinate with you might do this all together by sitting down and asking what is one thing you want to do most and pick a few things that are important for your family. This will allow you to let go of unnecessary expectations to do it all and you will have more time and energy for the activities and traditions you do want to participate in. After becoming clear on what you or your family want to do it is now time to set clear boundaries and practice saying no to others. I know this can be hard but finding a kind and friendly way of declining plans will help you stay more sane and grounded for these next two weeks of holidays.

Okay, that's all I have for now. Thanks for giving me the time and opportunity to talk to you every week! I have really grown to love it.

-Janae Kara

P.S A reminder I will not be holding classes from the 24th- the 29th nor will you be seeing me on social media as this is a work boundary I am setting for myself ;)