Though they come from the same plant, elderflower and elderberry offer very different medicine, each aligned with a distinct phase of support.

The psoas and the diaphragm are deeply connected — anatomically, neurologically, and functionally. Together, they sit at the crossroads of breath, posture, and survival response. Understanding their relationship helps explain why anxiety so often feels physical, and why gentle approaches can be so effective

At this time of year it often starts with what we call “getting sick.” A heaviness in the body. A low, quiet ache. A subtle tickle at the back of the throat. Tiredness arrives first. Then the thought follows: Oh no… I’m getting sick.

When I slowed down enough to listen this morning, it wasn’t my thoughts that spoke first — it was my body. A familiar tightness deep in my hips, especially on the left. I could trace the tension up along my lower spine. The psoas. A place I’ve learned to associate with vigilance and holding.

Rather than pushing the body to respond, Astragalus builds internal capacity. This makes it especially supportive for anxiety-prone systems that do not tolerate stimulation well. By reinforcing the body’s reserves, anxiety often softens naturally, not because it has been forced away, but because the system feels more supported from within.

Winter Solstice has been honored for thousands of years because it marks a precise and powerful moment in the earth’s rhythm—
the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

WINTER SOLSTICE RITUAL — WELCOMING THE RETURNING LIGHT

A gentle practice to help the body soften, unwind tension, and bring awareness to where anxiety may be hiding.

Sharp, grounding, and clarifying, this ancient herb helps you hear your truth again—then guards it with quiet strength.

In late autumn, bears begin slipping into hibernation—not on a precise date, but when the world around them shifts. As daylight fades, temperatures drop, and food becomes more challenging to find, these furry beings naturally read these cues and choose to go inward.

Each year, I notice how my body does something similar.

Winter asks the body to soften, but that softening can feel unsettling when our nervous system is used to a faster pace. In this month’s Gentle Science piece, we explore how changes in light, melatonin, serotonin, and the pineal gland shape our anxiety in early winter—and why these sensations are not a sign of something wrong, but a sign that your body is recalibrating.

The body is always listening. Every breath, every heartbeat, every subtle shift in muscle tone reflects the signals it receives from the world around and within us. When awareness softens into appreciation — that quiet state of connection and coherence — the body mirrors it through rhythm, chemistry, and calm.

Developed by Positive Psychology founder Dr. Martin Seligman, Three Good Things is a gentle reflection that helps the mind remember moments of goodness and the body settle into balance.

Nadi Shodhana, or alternate-nostril breathing, is said to purify the body’s energy channels — the nadis — creating harmony between the right and left sides of the brain.

For me, gratitude isn’t a list or a command. It’s not something I can force myself to feel or prove by writing it down. Gratitude, to me, is more like a quiet relationship between body, breath, and being — a conversation that unfolds when I slow down enough to listen.

Once labeled a weed, Dandelion teaches us the art of reclamation — how to rise again, rooted in truth, even after being cut down.

Twice each year, the world pauses in balance. Day and night meet as equals — light and dark holding one another. This brief moment, the Equinox, reminds us that balance is not static but a rhythm.

I wish someone had told me that trauma and anxiety are deeply interwoven — creating strong, misunderstood emotions that are not signs of weakness, but signals of something deeper. Together, they are informational.

Oat invites rest, softness, and the kind of slow restoration that can only come from consistent care.

Some women describe feeling vulnerable, as if letting go of this deep muscle might cause them to “fall apart.”

We go through life changes because if we didn’t, well we wouldn’t be living.