A seasonal reflection on what the body asks for in cold months, the quiet wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the slow work of reflexology in the longest nights of the year.
By Odi · June 2026 · 5-minute read
There is a moment, sometime in May or early June, when the body simply knows. The light changes. The wind sharpens. Something inside us turns inward, almost involuntarily — wanting earlier nights, warmer food, slower mornings. We feel, often before we name it, that winter has arrived.
In modern life, we are trained to push against this. We try to maintain our spring-and-summer pace through cold months that the body, quietly, is asking us to ease into. And then we wonder why we feel so tired by August.
I want to share a different way of seeing winter — one that has shaped how I work with clients during this season ever since I first encountered it in my training as a Therapeutic Reflexologist.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter belongs to the Water element — and Water governs the Kidneys and Urinary Bladder. The Kidneys, in this tradition, are considered the storehouse of the body's deepest energy: the place from which all vitality is said to begin.
Winter is the season of Yin — the receptive, the quiet, the still. It is the body's natural pause. In nature, animals slow their metabolism. Trees draw their sap inward. Roots grow deepest in the coldest months, because that is when growth above the ground is unnecessary.
This is not metaphor. It is careful observation, refined across thousands of years.
What it asks of us — and what is often forgotten — is conservation. The Kidneys, in this view, are the body's energetic battery. Winter is when we are meant to recharge them. Push through, and we drain them. Rest into the season, and we are said to restore them.
A few simple things.
Warmth. Especially of the lower back, the soles of the feet, and the area around the kidneys. The Kidney meridian begins at the centre of the sole of the foot, which is part of why walking barefoot on a cold floor in winter feels jarring in a way it does not in summer.
Stillness. Earlier nights. Slower mornings. Less of what is loud, and more of what is quiet.
Nourishment that warms from inside. Slow-cooked food. Soups, stews, root vegetables. In TCM, dark and deeply coloured foods — black beans, black sesame, blackberries, rooibos — and the salty flavour are traditionally associated with the Water element. A small touch of natural salt — sea salt, miso, seaweed — often feels more satisfying than usual at this time of year; in the TCM tradition, both a strong attraction to salty foods and a strong aversion to them can be a quiet indicator of how the Water element is doing. Cold drinks and raw salads, however virtuous in summer, ask the body to do extra work in winter.
None of this is dramatic. None of it requires anything new to be bought. It is mostly about giving the body permission to do less.
In Therapeutic Reflexology, we work with specific reflexes on the feet, hands, and face that correspond to systems and structures throughout the body. In a winter session, several areas naturally receive a little more attention.
The Kidneys are quiet, ceaseless workers. Every minute of every day, they filter roughly a litre of blood through their fine inner architecture, separating what the body still needs from what it can let go of. They regulate fluid balance, blood pressure, and the body's acid-alkaline balance, and they produce hormones that signal the bone marrow to make red blood cells. They also help convert vitamin D into its active form, supporting bone strength. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidneys are said to store the body's deepest reserves — what is called Jing, or essence — and to govern the ears, which is part of why hearing tends to soften or sharpen with our overall vitality.
The Kidney and Urinary Bladder reflexes sit near the centre of the sole. Working these areas is traditionally associated with supporting the body's fluid balance and inviting the nervous system into a quieter, more restorative register.
The adrenal reflexes sit just above the kidney reflexes, anatomically; in practice the two are inseparable. Gentle, attentive work here is traditionally associated with supporting the body's stress response, and with inviting the parasympathetic — the rest-and-restore side of the nervous system — to come forward.
In the meridian framework I was trained in, working these areas is also said to support the downward and inward flow of energy that winter naturally calls for. What TCM describes as anchoring Yang into Yin: bringing scattered surface energy back home, into the body's deeper reserves.
Clients often arrive in winter feeling busier, more wired, less rested than they realised. A session at this time of year is, more than anything, about doing less — slowly, attentively, until the body remembers how to settle.
Warmer than usual. The room is gently heated, the blanket is a little heavier, the work itself is slower. There are fewer brisk movements and more deep pauses. The pressure is grounding rather than activating.
Most clients describe leaving a winter session not exhilarated, but anchored. Steadier. More themselves. The kind of quiet that often lingers into the evening, and sometimes into sleep.
| What you may notice | What is traditionally said to help | Something to try at home |
|---|---|---|
| Cold hands and feet, sluggish circulation | Reflexology work on the Kidney and Bladder meridians, traditionally associated with supporting fluid flow and grounding warmth into the body | Keep ankles and lower back covered; avoid walking barefoot on cold floors; a warm foot bath in the evening |
| Low energy that doesn't lift | Gentle reflexology around the adrenal area, traditionally associated with supporting the body's stress response | Earlier bedtimes; restorative movement (slow walking, gentle stretching) in place of high-intensity exercise |
| A feeling of stagnation, heaviness in the joints | Slow, attentive work along the Kidney and Bladder pathways, traditionally associated with supporting fluid metabolism | Warm herbal teas — ginger, rooibos — in place of cold water; soups and stews in place of salads |
Winter is not a lack. It is the necessary pause that makes spring possible. The roots that grow deepest through these cold months are the same roots that hold the tree steady through every storm thereafter.
When we honour the season — through earlier nights, warmer food, slower work, and the quiet, hands-on care that supports the body's natural shift — we do not lose ground. We prepare it.
I am, as always, glad to be doing this work alongside you.
Health in Balance.
With warmth, Odi
This article is shared as a wellness reflection drawing on the Traditional Chinese Medicine framework studied as part of Therapeutic Reflexology training. It is not intended as medical advice or a substitute for medical care. If you are managing a health condition, please discuss any new practice with your doctor.
Winter sessions are gentle and grounding by design — warmer rooms, slower pace, attention to the areas the season most asks for. You are warmly welcome to book a session, or to simply mention winter when we next meet.
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