Winter Nourishment and Self-Care

Wren Patel
Dec 7, 2025
8 min read

Winter is upon us and unfortunately so are coughs, colds, and the cold dry air. But, as always, Ayurveda's incredible wisdom has us covered! Read on for your winter-time survival kit to keep the shivers, blues, and sniffles away (and what to do if they show up anyway).

Ayurveda is an ancient medicine and lifestyle tradition that originated in India thousands of years ago. In one of the original texts, the Charaka Samhita, it is said that the wisdom of Ayurveda will need to be adapted to the time, place, and people for which it's used, or it will be of no use. How amazing that so many thousands of years ago the ancients knew that this incredible wisdom would withstand the test of time, and be as relevant today in 2025 as it was before the dawn of electricity, running water, grocery stores, international travel, wifi, and all of the many facets of our modern lives.

How to tackle winter, Ayurveda-style

...in modern times

This season brings cold, dry air that makes our skin feel rough, less sunlight which can make our immune system struggle, and fewer opportunities to get outside and move around which can impact our mood and activity levels. Here are some of the top ways to stay warm and healthy this winter.

Keep your skin protected

The practice of abhyanga, or self warm-oil massage, has been used in Ayurveda since ancient times. This deeply nourishing practice can be done as often as daily or as little as a few times per week, or whenever it fits into your schedule. Take an oil of your choosing, preferably something that is organic, cold or expeller pressed, unrefined, and single-origin. Traditionally sesame oil is used, but you can honestly use any oil you have handy. Warm the oil gently (NOT in a microwave) by submerging the bottle in warm water until it is a comfortable temperature. Pour a small amount of the oil into your hands and start working it all over your skin with gentle sweeping strokes along the long bones of your body, and easy circles over your joints. Move in the direction of distal (further away) to proximal (closer to the torso), so for example, if you were oiling your arm, you would start at your hand and work your way towards your shoulder. Take your time, this should be a nurturing and relaxing experience. Address every part of your body. Use just enough oil to cover your skin and work a bit of it in as you lightly massage. This whole process could take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes depending on your day. Allow the oil adequate time to absorb (5-20 minutes) before bathing or showering. If you have the time, make it a super relaxing experience by wrapping in a robe or towel, light some candles, and listen to some relaxing music for a few minutes while the oil absorbs.

Support your immune system

Immunity starts in your belly, so Ayurveda places a lot of focus on digestion. It doesn't matter how many supplements you take, if you aren't digesting them well, they aren't going to do their job. So yes, take your zinc, vitamin D & C, and all that, but tend to the fire of your digestion if you want them to actually help you.

Focus on warm foods that contain plenty of moisture such as soups, stews, steamed vegetables, lentils, chili and the like. Appropriately spice your foods to help with digestion, and avoid anything that is cold or raw like smoothies or salads (save those for the summer months). Spices such as ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, mustard seeds, cumin, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, and nutmeg are all excellent spices for helping digestion and keeping dishes flavorful.

Chew your food completely. No, there's no magic number of times you need to chew, just chew until your food is an even consistency in your mouth. Notice the tendency most of us have to go: chomp, chomp, chomp, swallow. Be present, get rid of the distractions (yeah, like really, don't watch something on your phone, just sit there and eat), take a few slow breaths before and after your meal, set your utensil down between bites. This seems simple but it's a GAME CHANGER for digestion.

Ayurveda teaches us to eat fresh, seasonal, local foods, but if you live in Chicago in the wintertime you'll most likely be eating tree bark if that's the case. We can certainly take our cues from nature and incorporate as many local, seasonal foods as we can. Visit SEASONAL FOOD GUIDE to see what's local in your state right now.

Move your body

Winter is not the time for depleting our energy reserves, so ditch the super-intense workouts this time of year in favor of something that is a little more nourishing. Go for a bundled-up walk, try a moderate or gentle yoga class (even enjoy some heated yoga this time of year!), lift weights, do Pilates, or some moderate indoor cycling, treadmill, or rowing. Enjoying a steam or a sauna can also be great ways to work up a sweat without being too taxing for the body.

Hydrate

Ever feel like you drink water all day but you're still dehydrated? Enter the wisdom of the East! Eastern traditions think we're CRAZY for how much water we drink--it unnecessarily taxes the kidneys. And it's no wonder we're so thirsty all the time when you start to think of all of the depleting and drying qualities in our diet and lifestyle. So, here's how to fix this once and for all:

1) DITCH THE ICE! Cultures across the world think we Americans are strange for all of the ice-cold water we drink. Now, a few years ago you could not have pried my ice water out of my hands without a fight, but let me tell you, when I finally gave it up, it was a game-changer. Cold (especially icy-cold) drinks are digestion-killers. Favor room-temperature and warm drinks instead. Honestly, give yourself a bit to get used to it and before you know it, you'll never want to go back.

2) Begin your day with a glass of hot water. Before coffee, before food, sip some hot water to kindle your digestion, flush your liver, and move the night's toxins through the body. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon in the cooler months and lime in the warmer months. I like to peel and slice ginger root and put it in a mason jar filled with water in the fridge--then mix 50/50 with hot water for my morning drink.

3) Sip room temperature water or warm herbal tea throughout the day. Try to focus on hydration between meals, and avoid drinking lots of fluids while eating as it throws off the balance of digestive juices during a meal.

4) Eat hydrating foods. The Western diet is so dang dry. Packaged foods, chips, crackers, breads, popcorn, cereal, etc. It all sucks moisture from our body. Hydration is so much more than drinking water. Especially during the winter when the air is also drying us out, we need deep moisture from within. Soups, stews, lentils, chili, ramen, steamed vegetable and rice dishes all bring excellent moisture in the diet.

5) GHEE IT UP! Ok, here's the thing, you know how oil floats on top of water? It creates this amazing barrier that protects our water from evaporating--this is why we put oil (or more likely lotion and chapstick) on our skin, to keep the moisture IN. When we consume healthy fats like ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, peanut oil, and sesame oil we keep our moisture inside. These oils also nourish our tissues from the inside out, improving our muscle and joint health.

Rest

Look outside. Everything is dormant. Nature has a natural rhythm of growth and restoration. Just like we wake up every morning and sleep every night, these rhythms permeate every part of our life. The seasons are our guide for how to be. During the winter it's time to rest, conserve, and prepare for the building energy of spring. Now of course we aren't bears and we can't just hibernate all winter. Chances are you still need to take care of your kids, go to work, and live your life, yes? So it's not as though we're just going to Netflix and chill our way through Dec-Mar, but perhaps we can bring a sense of rest and restoration into our lives this time of year in small ways.

By now we're probably all aware of the health concerns associated with artificial light, especially blue light from our screens. Imagine what life must have been like before electricity--how much resting and doing nothing must have gone on before we could just turn the lights on and stay up after nightfall. So maybe we don't call it a day at 4pm, but could it be possible to slow things down a bit this time of year after dark? I know, the kids have late practices and homework, and you have a meeting at 7:30pm, that's life. But can you find a reasonable time to start to dim the lights around the house, be done with the screens (or at least get some stylish yellow lens glasses for that meeting), and wind down the routine a bit? Ideally you should be in bed no later than 10pm (no, not starting to scroll at 10, like nighty-night), and will have eaten dinner at least 2-4 hours prior to bedtime. Let evenings be as calming and restful as possible so your nervous system has a fighting chance at falling to sleep. We can absolutely reset our circadian rhythms with simple, natural tweaks that don't require pills or substances.

Nurture

Take care of YOU. Our busy lives pull us in all directions all the time and it depletes our energy and our life force on a deep level. Do small, simple things that bring you joy and pleasure. Saturate your 5 senses in beauty--wear soft, warm clothing, slow down and smell the wonderful aroma of your coffee or dinner, chew your food fully and be present at meals, revel in the beauty of the snowy landscape and take in wholesome content as your scroll (or take a much needed break from the racket of the internet for a while!), listen to cheerful and relaxing music.

Set some boundaries and get good at saying 'no' to things that you're not excited about.

Surround yourself with people and situations that lift you up, and don't hesitate to reach out to friends to make plans to pass the winter months. A walk, a game night, a lunch date, anything.

Treat yourself well with healthy nourishing foods, adequate exercise, perhaps a warm bath, go get a massage, anything that allows you to receive without having to cater to anyone else.

What if I get sick anyway?

Here's the thing, even if you're living your most Ayurvedically perfect life, something will come along and stress you out, throw you off balance, or take your off your routine, and when this happens there are opportunistic little microbes all around us and one of them is bound to sneak in once in a while. This is when the Grandmother Medicine steps in to help out. Our ancestor's kitchens were their pharmacies. Grandma's chicken noodle soup has deep traditional wisdom cooked right in, so look to your lineage for your medicine. Ayurveda is not about adopting Indian traditions, it's about learning your wisdom traditions and applying them to your modern life.