By Lisa Viger-Gotte
Winter invites us inward. As colder days settle over the landscape (especially here in Michigan), everything takes on a slower pace. Trees conserve energy. Animals burrow and rest. The air itself encourages stillness. As every living thing knows, true rest isn’t laziness, it’s nourishment. Winter gives us permission to soften, restore, and rebuild energy before spring arrives. Thankfully, there are so many lovely ways to incorporate rest and relaxation into your everyday routine.
Here are ten supportive practices to help you embrace the quieter months with intention, comfort, and joy.
Create Cozy Rituals with Firelight & Candles
Soft light calms the nervous system. Fireplaces, either simple or grand, can anchor a room with warmth. Candles turn evening hours into an atmosphere of peace. Create a nightly ritual: dim the lights, bundle up in a favorite blanket, and let the glow help your body unwind.
Cook Hearty Homemade Meals
Cold-weather food is comfort. Think simmering pots of soup, roasted root veggies, warm spices, and deeply satisfying plant-based stews. Cooking becomes therapy as the kitchen fills with warmth and aroma as you nourish yourself from the inside out.
Sip Teas & Cocoa with Intention
Mugs of warmth are winter’s love language. Herbal teas soothe and support wellness. Rich, plant-based cocoa offers pure delight. Pause while you drink. Notice the scent, the first sip, the settling warmth. Let the moment itself be restorative.
Nonni Cole, a holistic bodyworker in Ann Arbor and Owner of Mamma Mantra Healing Arts, said, “My favorite go-to teas for winter are chaga with maple syrup, cardamom, and a newfound love addiction to lapsang souchong which smells like a toasty campfire and feels like a warm hug inside. Keeping our bodies regulated with warmth throughout the cold season is vital! Drinking teas during the day and early evening is a great way to help with this.”
Recharge Creativity with Art & Journaling
Winter creates emotional spaciousness perfect for creative reflection. Set up a simple art or journaling spot. Grab watercolors, markers, collage scraps, or a favorite pen. Expressing yourself on the page helps process emotions, explore dreams, and plant seeds of new ideas.
Try journaling prompts like: What is winter asking me to release? What might I be nurturing below the surface?
Art pages might include a silent winter landscape with written reflections on possibilities when the world slows down. Or, illustrate something that makes you feel warm, like a teacup, a sleeping pet, or cozy mittens.
Get Lost in a Good Book
Stories are worlds where the cold cannot reach us. Create a winter reading list and curl up with something that feeds your imagination. Fiction for wonder. Nonfiction for curiosity. Poetry for magic. Reading gives the mind a vacation without leaving home.
Amy Busch, owner and lead instructor for Breathe Yoga in Chelsea, said, “One of my favorite rituals is to get the coffee maker ready the night before. I love waking up before anyone else in the house and enjoying a long, quiet morning to myself—sipping coffee and reading while it feels like the world is still asleep. In the winter, I wrap myself in a long cardigan with a blanket across my lap and savor that feeling of stillness. It helps me begin my day with a sense of calm and ease.”
Practice Yoga & Meditation for Inner Warmth
Slowing down can be deeply energizing. Gentle yoga warms the muscles and supports circulation. Meditation quiets the mental noise and settles the nervous system. Even a few minutes of mindful breathing each day can shift stress into spaciousness.
Busch said, “To me, true rest means allowing the body to be still, the mind to quiet, and stepping away from the commotion of the world. It’s about finding a quiet space all to myself—lying down, putting my legs up the wall, and closing my eyes. If my mind won’t settle, I gently tap the space between my eyebrows and rest my fingers there to stimulate the pineal gland which helps the body release melatonin. Taking a break from people, screens, and noise allows my system to reset. That’s what true rest feels like to me—simple, quiet, and deeply nourishing.”
Busch also noted that even gentle movement can have big benefits. “While it’s wonderful to be wrapped up and cozy in winter, it’s also a season when we tend to move less. It’s important to keep the whole body moving each day—you don’t have to do anything intense. Simply making gentle circles with the joints—shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles—and moving the spine in all six directions (forward, back, side to side, and twisting right and left) can make a big difference. A gentle yoga practice helps keep the body feeling open and comfortable, supporting overall wellness through the colder months.”
Walk or Hike in the Snow
Fresh air rejuvenates the body and mind. Winter hikes require presence—from the crunch of snow to the brightness of winter skies. Even on short days, sunlight supports mood and Vitamin D. Bundle up and step outside into nature’s quiet beauty.
Nichols Arboretum offers nearly 3½ miles of trails weaving through forest, along the Huron River, and across ridges and valleys. In winter, the landscape is especially serene: snow-blanketed branches and crisp air make it a perfect spot for a reflective walk.
Wear boots with good traction as slopes can get icy and go early in the day for the best light.
Bird Hills Nature Area features woods and rolling hills, offering a bit more terrain than typical flat city paths. The mixture of hill and forest makes it feel a little more adventurous.
Bring poles or walking sticks for extra stability on any downhill or uneven terrain.
Grow Herbs Indoors for a Burst of Green
Winter doesn’t have to be colorless. A windowsill garden of basil, rosemary, thyme, or mint offers fragrance, flavor, and a tiny oasis of life. Caring for plants connects us to nature’s resilience—a little green hope on gray days.
Visit a Greenhouse to Breathe Warmth & Life
Greenhouses are winter magic. Warm, humid spaces filled with foliage let your senses thaw. The smell of soil and leaves brings instant relief from dry winter air. Many cities—even here in Michigan—have conservatories that feel like stepping into another season entirely.
Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton and Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor both offer indoor warmth and greenery even in the coldest months with their conservatories. Even in the winter plants native to tropical and desert areas thrive indoors at these conservatories.
Soothe Body & Spirit with Bath Rituals
There is profound comfort to be found in a hot soak in the tub. Add lavender, eucalyptus, or chamomile sachets to your bath and melt into the moment. Follow with gentle skincare to protect from winter air. These rituals remind the body that it is cared for and cherished.
Winter is more than a slowdown; it is renewal in progress. Nature doesn’t rush this season of restoration, and we don’t have to either. Even in the darkest months, beauty, comfort, and healing are available when we permit ourselves to pause.
A few last words from Amy Busch, “If you can make just one small change this winter, take a few minutes before bed to unwind your body with gentle reclined twists. As you lie in bed, draw one knee in and extend the other leg long, then guide the bent knee across your body and rest there for several breaths. Notice any areas of tension and breathe into those spaces, letting the breath smooth and soften. Stay for several rounds of breath or as long as it takes to feel your body release. Then switch sides and repeat a few times if you like. Twisting before sleep helps release the day from your body and calm the nervous system. I’ve added this simple ritual to my own evenings, and it makes such a difference in how I rest and feel in the morning.”
A few last words from Nonni Cole: “I’d suggest listening to your body, fully and deeply to find this one thing: to intentionally and whole heartedly cultivate a practice that works for YOU and dedicate the time each day to follow through is the greatest gift you can give your soul for self-care. If that’s brewing a pot of tea each morning and making a gratitude list, do it! If it’s making time for breathwork and meditation before you go to sleep, do that! If it’s standing outside in the sunshine for seven minutes in the cold and telling yourself all the amazing things that make you an awesome human being, absolutely do that! And if it’s scheduling a healing session for bodywork or energy work once or twice a month for your winter self-care ritual, by all means, please do it! You won’t regret any of these options, but connecting with a therapist who is kind, supportive, and intentional with their work is an incredible way to support yourself throughout the season. Mostly, just find something that you truly enjoy and look forward to doing each day that soothes your soul and feels grounding and supportive for your overall mind and body health. The art of a deep rest ritual does not need to be a difficult challenge. It just needs to be a consistent dedication to yourself.”
Let winter reshape you gently into someone ready to bloom when the world warms again.
Information about Nichols Arboretum and Matthei Botanical Gardens can be found at mbgna.umich.edu/nichols-arboretum and mbgna.umich.edu. Information about Hidden Lake Gardens can be found online at ipf.msu.edu/hidden-lake-gardens. Information for Bird Hills Nature Area and other local parks can be found at washtenaw.org/289/Parks-Preserves-Trails.
For more information about Amy Busch and Breathe Yoga online explore atbreatheyoga.com. Find Nonni Cole and Mantra Mamma Healing Arts on IG @ mantramammahealing or on Facebook @ truetribeMICH.Information.
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Winter invites us inward. As colder days settle over the landscape (especially here in Michigan), everything takes on a slower pace. Trees conserve energy. Animals burrow and rest. The air itself encourages stillness. As every living thing knows, true rest isn’t laziness, it’s nourishment. Winter gives us permission to soften, restore, and rebuild energy before spring arrives. Thankfully, there are so many lovely ways to incorporate rest and relaxation into your everyday routine.