Vitality for Winter Dreaming, Pt. 2
Winter is the season of purest water. Aligning with Qi allows us to “recharge” our kidneys to increase will, clarity and emotional and physical resiliency.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re craving more depth to complement Part 1 of what I shared on winter alchemical vitality and dreaming. Thank you for investing your time, attention, and energy into this learning.
In Part 1, we explored the energetics of winter and the central role of the kidneys through the TCM perspective. Here in Part 2, I want to go a layer deeper—into kidney energetics and how we can consciously work with winter’s dreaming season to prepare ourselves for 2026.
Winter, Water, and the Gift of Darkness
Winter is the season of the purest water—especially during the window from December 8, 2025 to January 8, 2026, when the days are at their darkest. Rather than fearing the dark, we are invited to embrace it. In Chinese medicine, the color black carries a deeply restorative frequency for the kidneys and winter energy.
Practically, this can look like dimming lights in the evening, allowing your pupils to rest in darkness, and letting blackness nourish the body. (You may remember I also mentioned eating dark foods in Part 1.) Structuring your days around adequate rest is equally essential. Sleep is the most powerful medicine for repair and restoration.
Purifying the Waters
My qigong master often says that purifying the waters of the body helps purify our thoughts, intentions, and overall vitality. When the body’s waters are clear—through conscious cultivation of our choices, behaviors, and emotional life—the fire of the mind and heart can be gently tamed, rather than scattered or excessive.
This becomes especially important as we approach the Fire Horse year of 2026. Fire, like a wild horse, can be impulsive and reckless if uncontained. With the coming year carrying forward-moving and gargantuan energy, we want clarity—not chaos—at the reins. This is where the foundational winter practices from Part 1 become so supportive: they help cultivate clear waters so fire can be expressed wisely. Notice how some people you know and the world at large express untamed fire — this leads to both burnout and unrest.
Emotional Alchemy & the Breath
Winter gives birth to the new year, meaning what we tend during this season carries forward. This makes it a powerful time to minimize unnecessary negativity—and when difficult emotions arise, to consciously transform them into usable energy.
Simple practices matter here: calm breathing, meditation, and learning how to rest in the space between the inhale and exhale. That pause alone can teach us a great deal about patience, trust, and timing in life.
The kidneys are known to store fear, fright, and shock. Using strong, intentional exhales can help release stagnant fragments of these emotions. As the kidneys clear, space opens—space to establish new boundaries, and space for creativity, which is also a kidney specialty.
Grounding the Roots and Branches
During winter, take special care of your hands and feet. They are both the branches and antennae of the body, as well as our roots. Keeping them warm and tended supports circulation, grounding, and energetic coherence. And appreciate their beauty (I’m serious about this) helps the Qi glow.
Why This Matters
I share these teachings from TCM and Daoist medical philosophy because when our bodies truly sense that we are caring for them, liberation becomes possible. When we don’t, mental and emotional prisons quietly accumulate over a lifetime—and are often passed down through generations.
Winter is an invitation to interrupt that cycle.
Enjoy this season. Be the sunshine you are craving in the dark.
You are capable of dreaming—and embodying—far more than you realize.
