on energizing rest | Early Winter 2022

winter greetings all,

I hope this weekend feels full of abundance for you and your loves!

Lately I’ve been thinking about rest and the feeling of being inspired. The century-old quilter’s stories I’ve been reading from The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art, an Oral History are reminding me of creative craft as survival; how an intricately pieced, handpicked cotton-batted blanket was one of many to insulate from the depths of the cold—how it brought both beauty and pride to a family of little means. It reminds me, albeit within my own privilege and comforts, of my annual impulse to make cozy, pretty things.

Every year, as the shock of early winter hits, something in me wakes up; An urge to create comes in a big rush of new recipes, projects, and gift-making. I’ve always suspected it’s a semi-subconscious way my intellectual body decides that if I don’t make the most of these shorter darker days, then it won’t survive them. And out of that rummaging for light in the dark, I find I may actually be happier during these times, because I’m finally choosing my imaginative whim over all else I could prioritize in my unstructured hours.

This year, the need for nourishing rest in order to be creative is challenging the habits of more superficial rest I’ve acclimated to (insert: watching tv, scrolling the internet). I’ve been asking myself what energizing rest vs depleting rest looks like. The former, for me, is a lot about silence for the brain and a break for my whole nervous system by lowering the tax of media consumption, especially screen time.

Here’s a sample list of what my energizing rest looks like:
::: Just sitting while I just look out the window, maybe with hot tea
::: A 15-minute meditation
::: A 30-minute nap
::: A short walk in the fresh air
(alone, without my dog or phone/headphones)
::: A quiet bath or shower
::: A cuddle
::: Slow slow movement or stretching on the floor

Given just a little bit of open space, your brain will begin to absolutely pop off with all kinds of beautiful thoughts and ideas from yourself. This kind of rest is also what nourishes our energy to then socialize, create, and learn with more connection, pleasure, and ease. It’s kind of magic!

What do you care deeply about, but find yourself too depleted to fully give presence to?

What kind of nurturing would your nervous system like to have first?

What makes your mind and body a good place to be?

B I Z N O T E S

NEW RATES

Please take note that, as of January, my rates will raise by $5. This updated rate will allow me to contribute more to things like Continuing Education (and time for such!), new equipment, and my own regular bodywork. Thank you for your symbiotic support!

(This increase will also effect the package discount, which is still 13% off the total value of 3 sessions.)

30 mins $60 | 45 mins $75 | 60 mins $90

90 mins $120 | 2 hrs $150

REFERRALS

Folks, my practice is full! Thank you for supporting my practice by coming again and again! Thanks for sending people who need the work my way!

I will not be taking new clients for the time being (with the exception of gift card recipients). Please let me know if a friend or family member needs an LMT referral, and I will do my best to provide one that may be a good fit.

I L L U M I N A T I O N S

Lanolin, also known as “wool fat”
for crackling heels and whatever else needs a big dose of moisture protection from the approaching cold. Lanolin is naturally secreted from sheep’s skin and acts as an emollient for their wool coat. I love the raw, grassy, slightly sour smell that takes me back to my farmhand days.
…
Wooden Spoon Herbs’ Light Ray Tincture
adaptogens are plants + mushrooms that help your body respond to stress, anxiety, and fatigue through either up-regulation or down-regulation. This adaptogen-rich tonic is a good wintertime ally for staying luminous and balanced!
…

For The Wild podcast
an anthology of the antropocene—conversations on land-based protection, co-liberation and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth and consumerism.
…

Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka
on a more frolicsome note, here is a 1961 Russian holiday film based largely on Ukrainian folklore. It’s a delight if you’re into quirky, witch and devil-ladden Christmas movies like I am.
…

M U T U A L A I D / community investment

This Fall I gave a percentage to Greene County-local organization, The Feminist Health Fund who supports our nook of Ohio through direct medical funding, domestic violence relief, and partner projects. (AFAB [assigned female at birth] folks can apply for medical expense funding here.)

Over the Winter I’ll be investing in Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice in Yellow Springs. Here’s a beautiful, short piece about seed-planted braids and relationship to soil, written by my fellow LMT, Herbalist, and our local paper’s Editor in Chief, Cheryl Durgans.

Stay warm through this midwinter, and may you be supported by the light that still lingers — both, outside from the hearth and starlight and inside from your truest home.

blessings in the new year,
yours in health,
Zoey Bryant, LMT