The healing power of living in sync with the seasons

We shop seasonally and dress seasonally. But could the secret to a happy and successful life be to live seasonally too? Life coach and author Kirsty Gallagher certainly thinks so. “We live life at a hundred miles an hour and as a society try to make life linear, thinking that it should be the same every day,” she says.

“We feel as if we always have to be ‘on’, working at our peak, happy and constantly doing things.

“But the reason nature can grow so beautifully in spring and summer is because it’s had a period of rest, of going inwards and being dormant in autumn and winter.

“It has gathered resources and nutrients, and is therefore able to grow strongly once more. It should be the same for us.

“Living in line with the cycles of the seasons helps us to take conscious control over our lives too, as opposed to life merely happening to us.

“Every time nature changes, it can remind us to pause and check in with ourselves. Where am I? Am I going in the direction I want to be? If not, why not?”

Living seasonally can also bring about a sense of calm.

“Life flows so much more easily when we stop fighting nature,” says Kirsty. “We have lulls and peaks, just like the seasons, but nothing is permanent.”

And spring is the ideal time to start this new way of living.

“It’s a time of new beginnings,” explains Kirsty.

Here she shares her yearly plan.

SPRING

Time to: Work out what you want from the year ahead, and set the wheels in motion. We often make resolutions in January, but it can be hard to plan hopes and dreams when it’s cold and dark outside.

This is the main reason new year resolutions fail, because everything around us is still hibernating.

In spring, the light stretches into the evening and the natural world starts waking up and coming back to life.

Spring is a time of new beginnings – there’s a sense of opportunity and expectation.

Therefore this is the best time to set your intention for the year ahead. What do you want to grow and create in your life over the coming months?

Whatever you plant now, you’ll reap later as you move through the rest of the year.

The seeds will take life and grow. It’s time to work out what you want – and go for it.

Try: START SAYING YES This could be sending your CV to an employer, starting a small business, signing up to a class, going for coffee with someone new, or embracing a new healthy habit. Once you start saying yes, positive changes will begin to flow.

SUMMER

Time to: Enjoy yourself and the things you set out to do. Summer is an exciting time. We look around and everything in nature is filled with energy and life. Those seeds have taken root – plants are now abundant, lush and fertile. And it can be the same for us too.

Summer is the time to enjoy what we’ve created, and stay committed to what we want to achieve. So stay focused on those roots you planted – are they playing out how you hoped they would?

Because we set out our intentions, goals and hopes in spring – we sent the CV, we joined the class – now it’s time to enjoy the opportunities we opened up for ourselves. So keep growing, saying yes, and blossoming.

Try: CELEBRATE YOURSELF Nature is not ashamed when it’s in full bloom. And we can learn from this. We don’t celebrate enough, so find something every day to celebrate – what did you do well?

At the end of every day look in the mirror and tell yourself you’ve done well. Pick two things – you did something brave, you made that phone call, you went to the class when you couldn’t be bothered, for example.

AUTUMN

Time to: Reflect and be thankful for what you have. Autumn is a time of harvesting, gathering the fruits of our labour and feeling grateful for what we’ve achieved. When we don’t ever stop to look at what we’ve done it passes us by.

Autumn is also a time to let go of the things we’ve been holding on to that we need to jettison. Nature doesn’t struggle with letting things go. It doesn’t think, what will happen if I let this leaf go? It simply sheds, knowing things will grow again and everything will be okay.

So let go of the things that haven’t worked this year, be it projects, friendships or hobbies.

Try: A GRATITUDE MAP Take a pen and paper and write down everything you’re grateful for. Then stick it on your fridge and add to it whenever you think of something else.

It’s a wonderfully visual way of seeing how far you’ve come. What beautiful experiences did you have over the summer? Who did you connect with? What did you make happen? What did you bring into your life?

WINTER

Time to: Rest, recharge and renew.

The Christmas and new year party season leaves so many people burned out, sick, frazzled and unhappy because we’re pushing against everything else in nature, which is dying back and retreating into silence and hibernation.

Winter teaches us how to be still. We’ve been taught to fear the darkness, but it’s in the darkest times in life we learn the greatest lessons about who we are, what we can do and how resilient we can be.

When we look at nature in winter, nothing appears to be happening and everything looks dead. But under the ground are vast systems of roots that are gathering nutrients and nourishment – everything a tree or plant will need to grow again in the spring.

We too need to go inwards to take stock and gather what it is that we need. We can fill ourselves up from the inside so we’re ready to go back out into the world in spring.

Try: LEARN TO SAY NO Stop worrying about missing out and balance your time spent socialising with ‘me time’. Prioritise looking after yourself. This will give you self belief, so when spring comes round again and an idea comes to you, you’ll believe you can do it.

Sacred Seasons by Kirsty Gallagher (£16.99, Yellow Kite) is out now

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