Here's Your Permission Slip

February can be such a cruel month: the excitement of the holidays are long over and spring is just barely out of reach. 

It's a good time to allow for some rest and maybe a bit of planning for the next season. If you haven't taken the time to really hibernate this winter, give yourself permission to do that now. Take advantage of the chilly days and long-ish nights. Allow yourself some time away from the screen and the need to be hyper-productive. We are in the throes of a major flu epidemic after all. Rest is so good for immunity!

This is such a good time to allow yourself to simply feel and BE yourself in your very own skin. This is such a good time to get naked with your emotional landscape and to allow yourself to get intimate with your current emotional reality. Think of it as pre-spring cleaning for your mind and soul.

This is what winter is for, yes? Winter is a natural reminder to go within and find rest. This season is almost over so, even if it's uncomfortable, it won't last much longer! Plus, February is the month for love! So use this time to love on yourself during the process. Speak to yourself the way you would speak to your best friend: encouragingly and compassionately. Feed yourself the way your would feed a child: nutritious and lovely food. Set up your days in a way that gives you energy rather than draining it. 

I promise that I am right there with you, tired friend. I'm tired of winter but still don't feel like I've taken full advantage of its gifts. I'm not terribly excited at the idea of doing some inner excavation; I don't really want to do any of the things that I'm suggesting! It doesn't sound like fun at all! Ha! But it's good medicine. Taking this time and doing this work will help to set us all up for a brighter and more energetic springtime. And, really, who doesn't want that?

Here are a few of my favorite self-care tips for this last push of winter:

• Green tea​
  
  • It and great skin toner and helps to firm up tissues, both internally and externally. Taking it inside will produce brighter skin on the outside!
  • It's full of antioxidants and, when used correctly, is a great immunity booster.
  • Its caffeine level is lower than coffee and black tea so provides a nice energy boost without all the jitters.
  • Throw a couple of bags in the bathtub, add local honey, and a touch of milk. Tell everyone to go away for 20 minutes. Light candles. Soak up the luxury.
  • Use it as part of your morning face wash routine.
  • Drink it. Old school.
• Local honey*.
  • In Ayurveda, honey is considered to be a "fat scraping" food. It's an ideal sweetener for the springtime because it will help keep water retention in check.
    
  • Good for keeping springtime allergies at bay.
  • *Be sure to use it raw and don't add it to your piping hot drinks- let the drink cool a bit before adding the honey.
  • *Never cook with honey. Cooked honey turns putrid and will just make your food toxic. trust me, I've made this mistake. It was pretty gross.
  Dark chocolate
  • Cacao is a digestive bitter which means that it will help to improve digestive efficiency. Hooray!
  • Chocolate bars with at least 70% cacao can be a healthy food!
  • Cacao powder for hot coco or even  mixed with green tea.
  • There are loads of easy, fun, healthy recipes with cacao. Enjoy a quick Google search to find things like healthy peanut butter cups and chocolate coconut bites.

Happy pre-spring, friends! Sunny, colorful days are just around the corner!