Show Up For Yourself (& Winter Food List)
Feb 15, 2026
I hope you had a great Valentine's Day yesterday. I like to experience this Hallmark holiday as an opportunity to focus on my relationships. While it's lovely and fulfilling to spend time with loved ones we cherish, I want to encourage us to also focus on the relationship we each have with ourselves - as it affects all the other relationships in our lives. Here are some of my encouragements for you, to balance out the external focus of Valentine's Day with inner nourishment.
Showing up for yourself doesn’t have to be complicated. On this New Moon and Lunar New Year arriving on Tuesday, it's a wonderful time to set intentions for the coming lunar cycle which will lead us into Spring, officially.
Small, rhythmic acts of care can gently yet powerfully bring you back into balance. During this shift from late Winter to early Spring, remember to show up for yourself, in lots of little ways.
5 gentle ways to show up for yourself today:
1. Choose warm, lighter meals: As Winter heaviness melts into Spring, warm brothy soups, cooked veggies, and warming spices help clear excess Kapha (earth and water elements) and rekindle digestion.
2. Re-establish rhythm after Winter hibernation: Spring invites consistency. Create regular wake-up and bed times, meals, and movement schedules to help your energy feel steady.
3. Move to circulate and clear energy: Frequent walks, more twists added into yoga flows, as well as resistance training help move stagnation built up over winter and invite fresh vitality. See if you can build more warmth in your body each day.
4. Make space to release what’s been stored: Spring is nature’s detox season. Journaling, sweating, breath work, or decluttering support emotional and physical renewal.
5. Check in before you push forward: Before rushing into “doing” mode, ask: What can I let go of instead of taking more on? Is this mine to do?
Ayurveda teaches that awareness of tending to the shifting elements in our environment creates balance. Spring isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about clearing space so your natural vitality can emerge. We can begin the process of clearing space during this late Winter time. This is especially important to attend to if you are in perimenopause or post menopause because you will be experiencing life/seasons in a new way.
One way to start focusing on this shift is in our foods. This time of year is perfect for beginning the shift from the heavier foods of late Autumn and early Winter to the lighter foods of late Winter and early Spring. Check out my recommended list here:
Winter Food List - PDF (printable version)
Staying balanced and nourished can be simple and healing!
These opportunities are great ways to show up for yourself and not have to go the path of doing a Spring reset alone!!
Wishing you a peaceful and supportive week ahead.
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