Winter is the quietest season of the year, with plenty of time for reflection and contemplation. Instead of getting bogged down by cold weather and a lack of sunshine, embrace this period of calm by turning inward and focus on cultivating your inner life. Winter meditations will help you cope with any stress or anxieties you may face during this season.
In the first months of a new year, you have the opportunity to refresh your perspective by turning inward and cultivating mindfulness and calm. Use the new cycle to be more present in your interactions, more grateful for what you have, and to encourage yourself to meet your full potential. Here are some winter-focused mindfulness meditations to help you look inward and make the most of this quiet, slow-paced season.
Winter Meditations– FR. John Bartunek, LC, STHD
This book includes a compilation of weekly meditations to conduct in the wintertime. It perceives snow as an opportunity to allow you to reconnect with yourself and your spirituality.
Guided Winter Meditation Exercise– NBC News
This is a guided meditation with instructions that any meditation beginner or expert can follow. It’s meant to help you regain focus on yourself and where you are in your surroundings. The focus is to warm your spirit with gratitude and positivity no matter what you are doing at the moment (middle of a walk, at work, sitting at home, etc.). It’s a brief, simple meditation that could improve your chances against the winter blues.
Breath Temperature Meditation– Yoga Basics
This is among the three meditations recommended by Yoga Basics that are best for wintertime mindfulness. The breath temperature meditation involves focusing beyond your breath and the temperature that your body takes in and releases when inhaling and exhaling. It’s an effective way to make you conscious of the warmth that your body generates and ground yourself with “cool” and “warm” breathing awareness.
These guided meditations offer the instructions you will need to take a moment, sit down, and breathe during the wintertime. YouTube is also full of calming winter mindfulness meditations that include someone’s voice guiding you along the process.
These meditations will improve your overall state of mind, strengthening your resilience when the days are darker and you are required to remain indoors. It will lead to heightened focus and alertness for mental endurance and productivity when your energy levels feel lower. These are among the many benefits that will support you on snowy, chilly days.