| CALM BY NATURE |
Opening to the Medicine of Winter
Experience more of the nourishing, soulful side of the cold season, so you can thrive through it, rather than just endure it.
I'm Ready!
Does the thought of winter make you feel heavy?
- Do you feel resistance come up as the cold wet weather approaches?
- Does the relationship you normally enjoy with nature get interrupted during this time of year?
- Do you long to feel more receptive and more trusting of the wisdom of the cycles of nature?
Or do you already love winter?
- Are you intrigued about what deepening that relationship might be like?
- Are you ready to create nourishing rituals that can help you along this journey?
- Would you like to experience more meaningful exchanges around these themes?
Hi – I'm Natasha.
When people started telling me that I was helping them transform their experience of winter, I was completely surprised!
I grew up in Venezuela and have lived in San Francisco most of my adulthood, and so I don't have much experience with winter at all. . .
What happened was that people who were attending my nature practice programs started to report this as a side effect.
They would say things like:
"I used to hate winter and now I'm looking forward to it."
Since then, I've helped women around the world overcome their "hatred" of winter and come into appreciation for and alignment with winter, for a more nourishing and soul-satisfying experience.
My perspective is infused with 20 years of study with the Dalai Lama, nature retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh, and learning from Indigenous wisdom keepers and some of the great naturalists of our time.
What does 'hating winter' even mean?
Does it mean that you live in hatred a quarter of the year?
A quarter of your life? Twenty-five years in hatred?
What does that do to your mind? How does it feel in your body? In your womb space?
How does it impact your relationships? Your community? Our planet?
In your core - you know that winter has important gifts for you.
That the dark and cold holds deep and necessary rest and replenishment and healing and wisdom for you.
You know that every difficult passage holds medicine to help you grow and evolve.
But how can you become more receptive to these gifts? How might you soak them in and let them work their magic?
How might you be more present for the gifts of the season?
A better winter than you ever imagined.
Introducing Opening to the Medicine of Winter!
I've intuitively invited eleven women who I deeply admire to be in conversation with me, to share their stories of winter transformation and wrap you in a warm blanket of goodness, so that you can draw meaningful insights from their experiences and learn how to support yourself in the most helpful way this season.
You can think of it as the Calm by Nature Winter Collection!
I'm so excited to explore the theme of Opening to the Medicine of Winter with you from a variety of perspectives:
TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE • INTUITION • INTEGRAL HEALTH • SPIRITUAL MEMOIR • NOURISHMENT • WARDROBE • POETRY • INTIMACY & SENSUALITY • TRAUMA HEALING • NON-VIOLENT COMMUNICATION
You'll walk away with:
- a reframed way to think of winter.
- an ability to be more present for the season.
- clarity into how to become more receptive to the wisdom of the rhythms of nature.
- a renewed sense of commitment to your relationship with nature even during winter.
- inspiration for uplifting practices and rituals that you can personalize to make your own.
- a plan to put into place to make this a better winter than you ever imagined.
- a community of like-minded people committed to a more nourishing, soulful and aligned season.
Jean
“I am a much better person for this beautiful journey. My heart has reopened, my winter resilience has improved, as has my health and wellbeing. My chiropractor says I now look healthier, happier, & younger than ever before!”
Valerie
I used to relate to winter as a time of sadness & discomfort. Now I know that winter is as important as any other season. I was awakened to the beauty of this time of year. Thank you for showing me the way of love & connection!
Diane
I used to wonder how to fit together my love of nature with daily spiritual practices, and how to feel in community around them. Now I have ways to connect more deeply with nature and also with others who are traveling this path.
Gift yourself an experience of winter sustenance.
How it works:
- You'll receive a curated collection of audio recordings designed to be listened to with one earbud, outdoors (or by the window or fireplace), on your own schedule. Each recording will be on a different aspect of Opening to the Medicine of Winter. There will be storytelling, song, poetry, prayer, practices and rituals to help you make this a better winter than you could have ever imagined.
- We'll gather in sharing circle to discuss & integrate. We'll meet twice in 2-hour live sharing circles on Zoom, to draw out key insights from the recordings and soak them in together. We'll also answer questions, build community and encourage each other on this journey. (The calls will be recorded so you can enjoy later as well.)
- Thursday, January 2 at 11am - 1pm, Pacific.
- Thursday, January 16 at 11am - 1pm, Pacific.
- You'll enjoy lifelong access to the recordings, as long as the program exists. You'll also receive all future updates that we make to it in seasons to come.
Meet our Guest Teachers for this Winter Collection
I'm overjoyed to be gathering with this dream group of caring, committed and courageous women who I admire deeply.
Addison Brown
Elephant Conservation | Plant-Based Cuisine | Podcasting
When I study elephants, it's not to understand what makes them tick, but I study them in order to recognize how humans and elephants can live in the same world without destroying each-other. How can we enable and empower elephants to flourish with all kin? Same with the ocean, mangroves, forest, the wetlands, and winter... It’s never a human path alone to take, and that’s the point.
Rochelle Calvert
Healing Trauma with Nature | Therapy | Nature-Centered Mindfulness
Rochelle believes that unhealed trauma will beget more trauma, and healing trauma will beget more healing. The Earth is experiencing trauma from our disconnected relationship with her. Our capacity to awaken to heal our trauma with the Earth, to in turn support healing her trauma is at the heart of her work.
Meganwind Eoyang
Non-Violent Communication | Tai Chi | Lakota Wisdom
Meganwind sees life, nature and seasons flow between opening and closing, starting and ending. Conversations flow between people or don’t, a flow between harmony and disharmony. We can note discomfort while also basking in beauty. For instance, walk through a Monet-like foggy winter morning, noting cold, then color, warmth, softened shapes.
Sarah Gale
Wardrobe | Femininity | Intrinsic Health
Far from being a superficial part of life, Sarah believes that our clothes are an embodiment tool for the self-expression of our soul. She says the move into winter brings us a significant opportunity to examine the balance between our feminine and masculine in what we wear, the impact it has on how we feel within ourselves, and how we relate to the natural world.
Jocelyn Gordon
Hoop Yoga | Embodiment | Conscious Conception
Some winter seasons last years. Those years of unwinding vows, awaiting completions, existing in the void, and feeling as if no real progress has been made. We are invited to remember that the void is a gestation period before a sacred rebirth. After four years of separation leading to a dissolution of marriage, Jocelyn invites a conscious appreciation of the winter season void.
Desirae Harp
Indigenous Wisdom | Water Protection | Prayerful Song
Winter calls on Desirae to slow down, to be more present for the stories of the elders – the ones which will not be recorded, nor scheduled. The season calls on her to be more available for the opportunity to turn harvested plants into medicines with her mother and to do it on nature's time. Winter calls on her to practice and to remember the rhythm of ceremony.
Kristin Kaye
Spiritual Memoir | Story Alchemy | Tree Dreaming
Within each of us is an inner light of knowing and wisdom—our inner genius—that is ours to discover and offer to the world. Writing in Winter provides the perfect reflection for our journey. We let stories fall that no longer serve us. Our well-worn patterns are laid bare. We rest within our essential knowing. And we write our way out of darkness.
Meagan Major
Dahlia Farming | Sovereignty | Sisterhood
Meagan honors the winter as a moment of deep reflection and gratitude. In this moment of stillness, while the flowers of her farm return to compost, Meagan celebrates the beauty and lessons learned. In the death of the dahlias there are sparks of rebirth, inspiration for the season to come. In the winter, she finds pause to celebrate her own personal growth.
April McMurtry
Moon Breathing | Cycles Within Cycles | Personal Harvest Cycles
Winter is like the emptiness of the exhale and the contraction of waning; the death before the rebirth. Every cycle needs this pause, but many of us are metaphorically inhaling all the time and feel discomfort with letting go. Working with the wisdom of the moon and cycles has helped April be more present and enabled her to embrace the gifts and challenges of winter.
Perla Yasmeen Meléndez
Life As Altar | Living in Color | Rituals for Slowing Time
Darkness gives shape and form to light. The literal and metaphorical darkness of Winter is its own gift as much as it is a bringer of gifts. Consider Winter a series of candle-lit moments offering space for intimate connection, reverence, release, and beauty. What do you wish illuminate this season?
Natasha Deganello Giraudie
Filmmaking | Nature Practice | Intuitive Living
Natasha believes that our essential work is to be in good relationship with nature in all seasons, even during the cold, wet, darkness of winter. This vital relationship has a direct impact on our wellbeing, the Earth's and that of future generations, and that's why she now focuses all her filmmaking and teaching work on this theme.
You're Invited to Join Opening to the Medicine of Winter
A NOTE ON SCHOLARSHIP PRICING:
Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and communities from the Global South have enriched my life in countless brilliant and generous ways. I'm committed to reciprocating and to nurturing a diversity of perspectives in our programs to enhance the experience for all participants. Learn more here.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I get access to the program?
When are the Sharing Circles?
How do I know if this is for me?
How long will I have access to the recordings for?
What if I can't afford it right now?
Thank you so much for being here.
I can't wait to be in community with you & call in a better winter than you ever imagined.
xo,
natasha
DISCLAIMER. This is likely obvious, but just to make sure, the Calm by Nature and Nature Practice programs and offerings are intended to educate and inspire you on your personal journey toward wellbeing and happiness. They are not intended to replace care best provided by qualified professionals and they are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.