Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:00]:

This episode is airing on Christmas Eve, so wherever you're listening from, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and happy holiday. There's a paradox in winter. On the one hand, the cold and the darkness is an invitation to slow down, soften and tend to our body, mind and spirit. On the other hand, winter has a way of asking more from us socially, emotionally, energetically, because there's holiday parties, gift given, and you might be consuming more food and alcohol than you normally do. As a result, we can end up feeling dry, scattered, anxious and depleted. So in this episode I'll share five simple self care rituals inspired by Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian health system that looks to optimize health by holistically caring for your body, mind and spirit. The practices that I'm about to share with you are going to support your body, calm your nervous system and help you stay juicy war and inspired throughout the holidays.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:01:03]:

So grab a warm drink, settle in and let me share some beautiful rituals so you can truly winter. Well. Let's dive in. Hello beautiful ones. Welcome back to the Goddess School Podcast. I'm your host, Lisa Marie Rankin. This episode will be released on Christmas Eve. So Merry Christmas, happy Holidays, and a warm hello to all of you on this holy and sacred winter day.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:01:35]:

Wherever you're listening from, whether you're curled up on the couch, taking a quiet walk, or maybe you're even hiding in the bathroom for five uninterrupted minutes, I am so glad you're here because today I want to talk about wintering. Now, I did an episode a couple of weeks back on my decision to winter intentionally so I could tend to my grief and really honor this call to make more space. In my days. I believe that when we follow the rhythm of the seasons, they really can be our teachers. And winter is this beautiful reminder. We could even say a permission slip that we get to slow down, retreat and focus on tending to our home, our families, our bodies and our spirits. I have to admit though, I've really been making a conscious effort to slow down this year. After five years of hustling, it's been challenging.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:02:34]:

Even though I envision myself spending more time making soups or baking cookies, what I really want to do is write. I want to share, I want to plan this podcast. Though I will say as I planned this podcast, I was sitting by the fire with a delicious cup of tea, looking at a cute woodpecker outside. So that really was quite a life. But wintering is this nudge that we all need because we live in just such a fast paced hustle and bustle society to slow down to tend to ourselves during the coldest, darkest and most inward season of the year. So in this episode I want to talk to you about tending to your body during the winter. And I want to share some self care rituals inspired by Ayurveda. Now Ayurveda is an ancient Indian health system that looks to optimize health by holistically caring for your body, mind and spirit.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:03:34]:

And in Ayurveda, it's not just the physical health that we're looking to optimize because it all goes together. If we don't feel good mentally and emotionally, that will take a toll on our physical body. And we also need to tend to our spirit. So I really love working with Ayurveda because to me, even though your physical health will be optimized, you will also notice that your mental, emotional and spiritual health feel a lot stronger as well too. Now Ayurveda understands something that our modern world tends to forget. We optimize our health and well being when we align with the rhythm of the seasons. I have so many women in my community tell me that they need to get in nature more. And yes, I am sure they do.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:04:21]:

Most people these days spend more time gazing at their screens than they do sunsets. And yes, that's, that's very unfortunate. And we also have to remember that nature is not separate from us. We are nature. So we don't need to get into it, but we need to listen to the rhythms of it. Whatever is going on outside is happening within us too. And when we follow the rhythm of the seasons, when we follow the weather patterns, we start to notice that we become supported by a divine life force where we feel more at ease. We feel that our health is being cared for.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:05:03]:

And that's really the main focus of Ayurveda is to realign ourselves with the natural rhythms of our body or with the day, the circadian rhythm, but also with the seasons. And let's be honest, the winter, even though it is this call to slow down, can be depleting. Even though it's often portrayed as this like cozy, magical time for many women, it's quite exhausting. There seems to be even more to do. When my kids were younger, I know I felt like it was just a time I wanted to move through. Both of my children have December birthdays and we also had Christmas. So trying to do the birthday parties and the Christmas gifts, I was so exhausted. Now, fortunately, they're a little bit Older.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:05:51]:

But I know we have women in all spectrums of motherhood, some who are not mothers as well, but you're still just as busy with maybe work obligations. We tend to get really tired and some of the things that. Cause that is we overeat foods that don't make us feel good. So if you're in the office, people are bringing in cookies and brownies and all of that. There's all those social engagements. We often drink more alcohol than we normally would. And especially for women in midlife and beyond, we can't process alcohol like we used to. I know that is true for me.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:06:29]:

So we really have to take that into account that it's going to take more of a toll than maybe it did when you were in your 20s or even your 30s. Often we exercise less because we're busy getting things done. We also socialize more than we want. And I know that many women in my community, and myself included, we're introverts, right? Often, if we're drawn to this work, whether we're drawn to reading these epic tomes of women's wisdom or spirituality, we tend to be more introverted. So all of the holiday gatherings can really start to fry our social battery and we lose our normal rhythms and routines. And that takes an effect as well, too. So as a result, we're going to feel fatigued, anxious, maybe dry, achy or inflamed, emotionally frayed and disconnected from ourselves. So I would love to hear if any of those ring true for you.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:07:27]:

Definitely tag me in Instagram, let me know, send me a dm. And above all, adding midlife to the mix. So perimenopause, menopause, changing hormones, the impact becomes even more significant. Ayurveda provides us with a very useful lens for understanding why all of this happens. In Ayurveda, winter is governed by vata dosha. So I'm not going to go too into doshas right now. But within Ayurveda, a dosha is a mind, body, archetype that represents certain qualities. Vata is made up of the elements air and ether, and it has some very specific characteristics.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:08:09]:

So, like, if you think of air and ether, sometimes people ask me, what's the difference between air and ether? You can think of ether as almost the space in which air exists, but they are cold, dry, light, rough, windy, erratic. So those are the qualities of vata dosha. So do they sound familiar right now? Because winter is cold and dry, the wind starts to pick up. We notice that our skin dries out, our joints can Ache, our sleep becomes lighter. And often even in our minds, we can feel more anxious or scattered. And again, for women in midlife, this can feel even more pronounced, as if we're literally drying out. And I feel like I'm actually adding a lot of oils and moisturizers which I'm about to, to go into just throughout the day. So what do we do about this, about the sense of dryness, maybe a little bit of flightiness? We're losing a little bit of that juiciness in life.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:09:07]:

So Ayurveda teaches us that balance comes when we introduce the opposites. So if winter is dry, cold and windy, we want to bring in more warmth, oil, moisture, slowness and nourishment. So today I want to share five of my favorite self care rituals. Things that I return to again and again. Now you don't need to do all of them. You can choose maybe one or two that are calling to them. Some of them are Ayurveda based. Well actually four of them are.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:09:38]:

The last one is a little, let's say romantasy, heroin based. Let's get started. Now the first one is Abhyanga and this is self massage with oil. This is one practice that I wish every woman knew about. So the way this is done is a little bit different than the way that we traditionally apply oil or moisturizer. So it's generally done with sesame oil and that can be a warming oil. And what you do is heat it up. You could heat up the oil, you know, running under hot water.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:10:13]:

I have one of those little Mr. Coffee filters, maybe you remember them. I feel like they're from like the 80s. And I put the oil in a ceramic mug and let it heat up that way. And then what you're going to want to do is maybe put a bath towel on the floor and you're going to rub your entire body, slowly massage the oil into your dry skin. So you do this before you shower or you bathe. And you can do long strokes on the limbs, circular strokes on the joints, rubbing your belly in a clockwise like motion, but really just massaging oil all over your body. And then what you're going to do is just sit.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:10:51]:

You're going to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. And I know that is going to be challenge for some of my go getters, but this is a great time. Listen to some mantra music, meditate. Maybe you want to journal, but just let the oil seep in. And then after about 10 or 15 minutes you can go in the shower, you can take a Bath, but you don't need to wash it off with soap or you need to scrub it. Just let the water do its magic. And the warm water from your bath and shower. Shower is really going to help the oil penetrate your skin.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:11:24]:

So then when you get out, you can pat dry and you'll really feel soft and nourished. This is such a beautiful practice. Abhyanga helps to promote lymphatic drainage, which is very important. It lubricates joints, reduces anxiety, moisturizes dry skin, and improves skin condition. And it really creates this feeling of being held. So especially if you have dry skin, if you're feeling very anxious, I really encourage this practice. It's a beautiful gift that you can give to yourself. One note that I also would like to say is after you come out of the tub or the shower, just make sure that you wipe it down.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:12:07]:

Sometimes you can even add just a little bit of dish detergent to water and wipe it off so the person getting in after you doesn't slip, because it can be a little bit over oily. But this is a beautiful practice. So abhyanga self massage with oil. And in another note, in Sanskrit, the word for oil is sneha, which also means love. So it's almost like the application of love onto your body. So that's ritual number one. Ritual number two is having warm spiced milk before you go to bed. In Ayurveda, warm milk with spices is really calming, restorative, and especially in the evening, so it can really help you get a good night's sleep.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:12:50]:

And also some of the spices help to boost your immune system so you don't get sick. So here are some things that you could add, like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric. I also like to add a little bit of fat to my warm milk, either as ghee, coconut oil, or MCT oil. If you don't tolerate or you don't drink cow's milk, you could also use oat, almond, or a milk of your choice. What I generally do is dilute a half a cup of organic whole milk with water. So again, this can be a really beautiful nightly ritual. One it starts to signal to your body. So when we do something at the same time every evening, our body really likes that because it knows what to expect.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:13:36]:

So especially if you deal with insomnia, you can have this beverage maybe about an hour before you go to bed, and it will help to signal to your body that you're getting ready for bed. The third is soups and stews. So as I mentioned, winter is governed by vata dosha which is represented by the elements of air and ether. And it is cold and dry. So to balance vata dosha, we want to introduce more warmth, cooked and nourishing foods. So winter is not the time for cold smoothies, raw salads or restrictive eating. We really want to more soups and stews because they're easy to digest, they're hydrating, they're comforting and they're grounding. Think root vegetables, broths, herbs and healthy fats.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:14:28]:

I also often get the question, do you need to be a vegetarian to follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle? No, you don't need to be. So you can add the bone broths, you can add healthy proteins as well. So you know your body best. And Ayurveda is really about tuning into your own inner wisdom and your own inner lineage and trusting that you know what is best for your body. I know for me it can sometimes be challenging to get excited about cooking again. Like I always want to sit down and write or I have a creative project or I want to get to a yoga class or walk the dog. So cooking tends to fall a little bit on the wayside with my list of priorities. But when we think of it less as a chore, like something that we need to do and more of a spiritual practice, it becomes a meditation.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:15:20]:

For me that becomes a lot more motivating because think about it, when we're cooking a beautiful nourishing meal and we're making it with love, care, attention, we are literally caring for our temple. We are made an image of the divine. So what more could we do as a spirit virtual practice, like what could be more important than that? When I run my Ayurveda program, Radiant goddess women will often tell me that they don't have time for abianga or exercise or to cook a healthy meal. And while all of these practices alone contribute to the health, I think it's really important to note that the time it takes to do them is also part of the medicine. When we're caring for ourself, we're not rushing around, we're not texting, we're not surfing the web or dune scrolling, we're actually caring for our body. We're practicing these self life affirming activities. Self care is self love. When we take the time to care for ourselves, we are creating the conditions for self love to develop so we can think of time is also part of the medicine.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:16:27]:

It's, it's the point. Now the fourth is One of my favorite and if you've been in my programs, I talk a lot about this. And this is a digital detox. So much of Ayurveda is very much focused on digestion. So if you start to dive into Ayurveda, there's a lot of different recipes and there's also a lot of information about how you eat and when you eat. Digestion is really key. When our digestion is good, everything else starts to fall into place. But here's the thing, it's not just the food that we digest, it's everything that comes into our consciousness.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:17:05]:

So you know the phrase you are what you eat? Totally true. But it goes deeper than that. You are what you consume. So ask yourself, is the content you're feeding your consciousness? Is it inspiring, uplifting and thought provoking? Does it spark your creativity and stir your imagination? Or does it generate fear, anger, anxiety, despair? Maybe some victim consciousness like food? What you allow into your inner world will either nourish you or it could destroy you. So use the winter as a time to take a break from social media, outrage, porn, doom. Scrolling your email, I promise you you will not miss a thing. One of the things that I really love to do in the evening is I put my phone outside side of the bedroom and I really try to have it on silent for most of the day as well too. I'll use do not disturb when I'm writing you do we really need to start to un wire ourselves from our technology and engage in real life? And I am confident that if you start to do this you are going to notice that you have more peace of mind, you have more creative ideas and you have a more active imagination.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:18:23]:

So you can use this winter as an opportunity to reset your nervous system and reclaim your attention through a digital detox. Now the last one is to indulge in epic novels and mythic stories. So this isn't necessarily an Ayurveda practice per se, but it does go along with protecting your consciousness and enlivening your spirit. Winter is not the season for short form dopamine driven content. It's the season to curl up with a good book, to read long stories or interesting characters and beautiful descriptions of scenery. Because really, why are we even rushing through 90 second clips? Like why do we even find that appealing? So this winter this kind of goes with the digital detox as well too. Indulge in epic novels, classic literature, fantasy, myth, stories with depth, beauty and imagination. Because it's stories that are going to nourish your soul.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:19:24]:

They Spark your imagination and help you connect with other realms. And I know we have a lot of young lovers here in my community, and young really believed that the spirit lived in imaginal realms and we need to reconnect with our imagination. And we simply can't do that if we're constantly looking at screens and consuming other people's content. So create white space in your day to let your mind wander and see what comes up. And I think it's important that these books be quality literature or fantasy or myth, because I know that there's a tendency that we want to always learn. We want to move the needle forward in our spiritual personal growth development. So there's a lot of self help, but self help doesn't really spark the creativity or the imagination. I think of it kind of like having the annoying person by your side who believes that they know best, telling you what to do, blah, blah, blah.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:20:22]:

Stories, on the other hand, help you imagine new possibilities. They excel, expand your consciousness. So winter is a beautiful opportunity to go inward with stories as your guide. All right, so those are the five rituals that I would really love to offer you this winter season to help you nourish and care for your body, mind and spirit. So I want to do a quick recap. The first one, Abhyanga Self massage with oil. You can warm some sesame oil in a mug, massage it all over your body, anywhere you can reach. I usually do up to my jawline because my face has sensitive skin.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:21:02]:

Let the oil just seep in for 10 to 15 minutes, then shower or bathe it off. Start a ritual of having warm spiced milk before you go to bed. About an hour before you go to bed. So can be the milk of your choice. Adding cinnamon, cardamom. You might even want to try some adaptogens like ashwagandha, but experiment with it. Cooking more soups and stews. The winter is dry, cold and rough.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:21:30]:

So we want to balance that with juicy, warm and also oily. So create these really beautiful stews. This is also an opportunity to get creative. 4. A digital detox. Really start to notice that the information that you are consuming when you are reaching for your phone, what's the phone feeling that you're trying to avoid? And start to engage again in real life. Whether it's decorating your home, going outside for a walk with your dog, but really putting the phone aside and reclaiming your attention. And start to balance your nervous system, you're going to see a huge, huge difference.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:22:10]:

It's going to be challenging at first. I'm sure, but give it a week or so and I really believe this is going to be life changing. 5. Indulge in epic novels and stories. Use fiction and stories as a gateway to these imaginal realms. I believe more than ever as women we are lacking the sense of imagination and that's really what we need to create, to design the lives we want. We need to imagine a new way of being in the world. And stories really do work on this like psychic soul level as well too.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:22:45]:

So use that time to bring up some maybe old classics that you haven't read in a while, or maybe there's a new romantasy that you want to read, but anything that you find enjoyable that you can really just sink your teeth into. Curl up by the fire with a cup of tea. That just sounds delightful to me. So those are the five rituals. I would love to hear which ones are calling to you, but remember, Winter is asking something different of us. It's to put aside the hustle and bustle to stop having these performatives. Need to be busy or be productive, but focus on being present, being grounded in really doing the things that is going to nurture you both in body, mind and spirit. Let Winter be your guide.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:23:34]:

All right beautiful ones, I am wishing you a peaceful, nourishing and inspiring magical winter season. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and I will look forward to connecting with you soon. Next week in fact. Be well. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Goddess School Podcast. I hope it sparked your imagination and expanded your vision for what's possible. If you're ready to explore these concepts more deeply, reclaim your personal myth and live with greater creativity and enchantment, I invite you to join me inside Enlivened my Divine Feminine Mystery School and Sacred Community where we bring these teachings to life through ritual, story coaching and of course, real world action. You can find the link to learn more in the show notes.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:24:27]:

And remember, the Goddess isn't a deity outside of yourself. She an aspect of your highest self. You are the Goddess. Until next. Time.