Feel Good in Your Skin This Winter Season

By Maureen M. Conant, L.Ac.

“Bien dans sa peau, which means “to feel good in one’s skin.” ...a state of mind... a state of ease and contentment...No worry wrinkles, no cheeks flushed with stress. Bien dans sa peau is a state of simple physical and emotional grace. You live well. You do not have a guilty conscience for personal pleasures. You feel good about yourself on a very essential level, and so others feel good around you...Bien dans sa peau is being balanced. Relaxed. Natural. At ease in body and soul”

—excerpt from Entre Nous, A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier

The holidays are over, but there are still nearly three more months of winter! Rather than talk about how to detox the holidays away, I’d like to offer another view for the new year. Over the holidays I read the book quoted above. In one chapter, there was a discussion about a phrase in French, Bien dans sa peau, which means “feeling good in one’s skin.” What really struck me was the concept of being comfortable with who you are, as you are.

This concept is a good one to ponder, particularly at a time of the year when we tend to feel guilty about all the holiday indulgences. Many of us begin the new year by making resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, start exercising, whatever. This can reinforce negative self-images and set one up for failure if those resolutions are not met. Although I encourage a healthy, balanced lifestyle, I also believe in enjoying simple pleasures in life. When you feel good in your skin, you are happy, and more likely to live a healthy, balanced, relaxed life.

The concept of ‘feeling good in your skin’ can also translate to ‘feeling good in all seasons.’ Embracing and being content with what nature hands us is, in my opinion, an essential part of being ‘healthy’. Winter is a natural time of turning inward, reflecting, eating and sleeping. Indulge in more sleep, take a “mental health day” and curl up on the couch with a book or a stack of movies. It’s okay! You deserve it!

According to Chinese Medicine, winter is a time to conserve energy. Nature illustrates this beautifully. Animals hibernate, seeds and bulbs lie dormant in the ground, germinating. Cold temperatures cause streams and rivers to slow and contract as water freezes. A good snow is Nature giving us permission to slow down, stay home and avoid the icy streets. It is natural to eat a bit more and exercise a bit less, as we attempt to stay warm and our energy slows down. This may mean putting on a few pounds. Most likely, the pounds will come back off in the spring and summer when more daylight encourages you to increase your activity level and eat less.

In Chinese Medicine, each season is associated with an organ system in the body. Wintertime is associated with the Kidneys. The Kidneys are the root of our vital Qi (energy). They encompass much more than our western medicine’s understanding of kidney function. According to Chinese Medicine, in addition to governing filtration of wastes, the Kidneys hold our genetic material, govern our metabolism, strength of constitution, reproduction and nervous system.

Now is the time to nourish our core energy. Our body’s Qi (energy) is directed inward to nourish our internal organs. This is the most Yin time of the year, with the increased amount of darkness and the least amount of daylight. This peak comes at the winter solstice and then the earth’s Yang energy begins to increase until its peak at the summer solstice and the whole cycle repeats.

Some people are prone to seasonal depression and suffer from the lack of warmth and daylight. Giving yourself a tune-up with an acupuncture treatment or taking a prescribed, customized herbal formula can help boost your own body’s lack of Qi/energy and warm up your Yang energy. Nourish and warm your body to the core with warming soups, stews, root vegetables and roasted nuts. Take pleasure in your favorite winter joys. Sitting by a fire on a cold, blustery night, cozying up under a wool blanket with a cup of steaming cocoa, baking your favorite treats or purchasing a new fuzzy cashmere sweater that you love can make getting through the winter much easier.

Our society doesn’t allow for seasonal fluctuations. We live indoors and many of us work indoors under artificial lighting which causes us to be out of touch with nature’s cycles. Wouldn’t it make more sense to reduce our hours in the winter and increase our hours in the summer? Look at farmers’ lifestyles. Their work load is determined by cycles of nature. Since most of us cannot adjust our work schedules to suit Mother Nature, we can adjust our after-work schedules. Going to bed earlier, easing up on the intense exercise routines (it is still important to exercise enough to keep joints flexible), slowing the pace of life and adjusting diet are ways to live our lives in accordance with nature’s cycles.

So, rather than feel bad over those extra five pounds you acquired during the holidays, make a resolution to feel good in your skin, and to feel good and appreciate the rest of the long winter season. Before you know it spring will be right around the corner!

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