Dear readers -
This is Lauren, founder of Well in the West. As some of you may know, Well in the West’s seasonal education was born from a deeply personal place. In the Fall of 2016 my dad died suddenly. There was the shock, the grief, the family and friends, and the logistics. The fall whirred by in a fast upending tornado of tears. In November, as the dust settled, all of a sudden I felt like I was grieving alone.
I share this with you because, Fall is the season that most closely connects with grief. In Chinese medicine this season is an opportunity for us to march through the wounds of grief that we still carry. Fall is a time when we can be uncomfortably forced to face our depths. This can be hard. It can be hard to feel our feelings. It can be hard to ask for help. It can be hard to show ourselves to those even closest to us because, well, as Brené Brown said… “rarely do we see wounds that are in the process of healing. I’m not sure if it’s because we feel too much shame to let anyone see a process as intimate as overcoming hurt, or if it’s because even when we muster the courage to share our still-incomplete healing, people reflexively look away.”
In this raw and tender place of the Fall of 2016, I dreamed of a group of people I could talk to through this season of grief. People that were perhaps also dealing with their own grief, but more so understood the ok-ness of this season of the year. And even more deeply, the perfectly normalcy of this season of life.
It is from that desire for showing the rawness of my grief that the Seasonal Wellness circles were born. That year was too late to start with Fall, I began in January in the depths of winter. Starting with an incredible group we went through winter together. I gave them nutritional information, exercise support, deep reflections and lessons to support through the darkest season. Over the past two years the seasons have passed and I have been a witness to incredible change. The women in these circles do. the. work. They are caring and open-hearted and they face themselves. On top of the emotional work, they take accountability for their physical health and make lifestyle choices to support the season at hand. They support themselves through the hard seasons and the easy seasons. I admire them, I am proud of them, I am grateful that they see the power of rising and falling alongside nature's beautiful cycles.
This seasonal work, is a practice. This work is not easy, but it is important. This work is both powerful and gentle. This work allows for a softness to take the edge off of the hardest transitions.
The intimacy of the circles and the information has been incredible. Now I want to expand the offering even more greatly in the world. I believe that if Seasonal Wellness can become a broader conversation that it will give us all more space and expansion for deep healing.
In 2019 I aim to have more offerings and more affordable versions of this work. I will be available for one-on-one seasonal coaching sessions that focus on self-care and lots of intuitive work to help guide you through your current state of transition. I will be available for acupuncture and seasonal treatment packages that will help your physical and energetic bodies align for the current time of year. There will be more workshop offerings, guided meditations and information on seasons of a day and seasons of a lifetime.
Thank you for your understanding, support and patience as I enter a new season of this work. I cannot wait to share it with you.
With BIG LOVE,
Lauren + Well in the West team