The start of a new year. Do you feel the call to start something new, to break free from the past and to completely re-create yourself? Year after year we find ourselves making new year’s resolutions we can barely keep beyond a week. It may be because this idea of reinvention is a lot more suited to spring, not the dead of winter. It’s in the spring when seeds planted start to sprout. It’s in the spring that the animals return from their hibernation and we witness hints of new beginnings all around us. Winter is for recharging, resting, reflecting not for launching new projects and acting as though we are in the height of spring or summer.

So why do we place all this pressure on ourselves every time our calendar year shifts?

Because we live in a world that disregards the cycles of nature and imposes an unnatural linear model solely focused on the outcome and the ultimate goal to produce at the expense of ourselves and the planet.

This is the patriarchy at its finest. Denying the seasons, denying our need for rest and relaxation, denying the feminine. We are the only creatures on earth that completely disregard the cycles of nature because we believe we are separate from it.

But the female body functions according to the rhythm of the moon and the seasons. Every plant, animal, relationship, business, experience follows the cycles of birth, life, death and rebirth. And yet in our society we are expected to always be on the go, as if summer is the only season, as if we exist solely in the phases of birth and life.

This is not the way of nature. We are part of nature and when we understand this, we start releasing some of the shame we carry around rest and play.

Our society teaches us our worth lies in our action and in our productivity. We’ve internalized the belief that if we aren’t actively working or doing, we are lazy and unworthy of success.

So much shame and guilt is tied to the feminine, including the honouring of our cycles and our need to slow down. Yet these phases are absolutely necessary to the process of creation.

The system keeps us distracted and disconnected from our feminine power but the truth is, rest and play are what fuel our creativity and powers of attraction.

Rest and play are an expression of the divine feminine. When you rest you are in devotion to the goddess. When you listen to your body and give yourself permission to stop, listen and enjoy, you are feeding your reserves of feminine power, fueling yourself for the following phases.

When you nurture yourself, when you give your body what it needs and wants, when you open yourself up to receiving… your desires start naturally flowing towards you because the feminine is magnetic.

We are cut off from our magnetism when we are constantly in a state of action. We don’t allow the potency of our female energy to build. We’re constantly expending it, not giving it the opportunity to fully grow and blossom and reach its fullness. We force ourselves to stay in a heightened state of action which is against our nature. And which prevents us from actually birthing the magic we are meant to birth. In due time.

So how do we unlearn these imbalanced ways of being imposed on us and tap into our feminine flow and magnetism?

Next time you catch yourself feeling guilty for resting or you’re feeling the (often self-imposed) pressure to push beyond your limits just to stay productive, STOP. Take a deep breath and give yourself permission to do f**k all. Prioritize yourself, turn off your phone, be with your breath, relax into your body and just be.

Do something just for you, something that has no end goal other than your own pleasure.

If you still need some extra inspiration, repeat these mantras out loud (works for me every time):

Rest and play is an expression of the divine feminine.
My rest is a resistance against the patriarchy.
Rest is what flames my inner fire and nourishes every other phase of my cycle.
I am nature. I am meant to flow.
When I accept and celebrate all phases and seasons, I am magnetic.
I don’t need to do anything to prove my worth or to be loved, being is enough.
I am enough.
I am enough.
I am enough.

Remember, you are nature, you aren’t separate from it. Every season serves its purpose. Honour the season you’re in, within and without.

FEMININE FLOW: Trust The Season You're In