Blog

I’ll be honest with you:  I struggled with fatigue and low mood in the winter for years.  At the time, I was forcing myself to go to early morning workout classes, feeling guilty every time I hit the snooze button, frustrated with myself for not having the energy I had in summer. I felt like something was wrong with me and that if I just pushed a little harder I would feel better.  That is always the balance, isn’t it?  When do I push against something, and when do I honor what my body is telling me?

In this case, my body won, and in the end, so did I.  I finally gave myself permission to honor the dark season and rest (no more 6am workout classes for me in the winter!). I leaned in to the rythm of the season, trusting the desire and energy to lift weights in the early morning would follow with the spring. And you know what? It did. By March, I naturally started to wake earlier and craved movement again. My body knew what it needed, I just had to listen.

If you’re feeling low energy, unmotivated, or struggling with the winter blues right now, you’re not broken. You’re responding to winter’s energy, which is naturally slower, quieter, and more inward.

Signs Your Body’s Battery Is Low and What To Do About It

In Chinese medicine, the Kidney system is like your body’s battery, it stores your deepest reserves of energy and vitality. Winter is the Kidney season, and it’s when we’re meant to recharge that battery, not drain it further. When Kidney energy is depleted, we feel exhausted, unmotivated, mentally foggy, cold all the time, and emotionally heavy.

The problem is that modern life doesn’t honor winter’s rhythms. We’re expected to maintain the same pace year-round, to be just as productive in January as we are in June. But your body knows better.

Acupuncture is incredibly effective for supporting your Kidney energy and lifting the winter blues, treatments help you restore, regulate and harmonize your mood, and give you sustainable energy rather than the jittery, artificial kind. 

 

Self Care for the Winter Blues:  Acupressure Points for Winter Energy and Mood

There are many useful and simple activities, based on Chinese medicine philosophy, that we can incorporate during the dark days to help buoy our mood and bring us back to the light.

Acupressure is a way for you to activate the acu-points, on your own without needles.  Don’t let the simplicity of it fool you, acu-pressure, when done consistently, is a powerful treatment.

Use firm, steady pressure on each point for 1-2 minutes. You can do this twice daily when you are needing stronger treatment, or once daily for maintenance or when you’re feeling vulnerable.

Kidney 3 (Taixi) – Supreme Stream 
Location: In the depression between your inner ankle bone and your Achilles tendon.

Why it helps: This is the source point of the Kidney channel, it directly nourishes your Kidney energy and helps rebuild your reserves. It’s especially good for fatigue, feeling cold, lower back weakness, and general depletion.

How to use: Sit comfortably and use your thumb to press into this point with steady pressure. Breathe deeply while you press. Try to get a sensation, and awareness of the point becoming active, do you feel tingling?  Warmth?  

Kidney 1 (Yongquan) – Gushing Spring 
Location: On the sole of your foot, about one-third of the way down from your toes, in the depression that forms when you curl your toes.

Why it helps: This point grounds you, calms anxiety, and brings energy down when you’re feeling ungrounded or mentally scattered. It also helps with insomnia when your mind won’t quiet down.  It is very effective.  

How to use: Use your thumb or knuckle to press firmly into this point before bed. You can also massage it in small circles.

Heart 7 (Shenmen) – Spirit Gate
Location: One of my favorite points.  On the inside of your wrist, in the crease, in line with your pinky finger (on the pinky side of the tendons).

Why it helps: This is a primary point for calming anxiety, lifting the spirit, and helping with sleep issues. It’s called the “Spirit Gate” because it helps settle your mind and emotions.

How to use: Press gently but firmly with your opposite thumb. This point responds well to gentle, sustained pressure rather than deep pressure.

Yintang (Third Eye Point)
Location: Right between your eyebrows, in the center of your forehead.

Why it helps: This point calms the mind, relieves mental fog, and helps with seasonal affective disorder. It’s incredibly soothing and helps when you feel overwhelmed or can’t focus.

How to use: Use your middle finger to press gently or massage in small circles. This is wonderful to do while taking slow, deep breaths.  Again, try to take time to feel under the pressure, notice any warmth or tingling.  

Simple Lifestyle Support for Winter

You don’t need to overhaul your entire life, small shifts make a real difference:

Sleep: Go to bed earlier. Seriously. Winter is when your body needs 8-9 hours of sleep to restore your Kidney reserves. This isn’t lazy, it’s medicine.

Movement: Gentle, grounding movement like walking, yin yoga, or tai chi is better for winter than intense cardio. Save the high-intensity workouts for spring when your energy naturally rises.

Food: Eat warming, nourishing foods, soups, bone broth, roasted root vegetables, warming spices like ginger and cinnamon. Your Kidney energy needs to be fed.  It can be depleted by cold, raw foods.

Light: Get outside in natural daylight, even on cloudy days, especially in the morning. The light we get from the outdoors, even on cloudy days, impacts our brains in significant ways, helping regulate circadian rhythm and mood.  Many of us are solar powered, getting some actual sunshine if possible can do wonders.  Research shows trying for about 45 minutes a day should be the goal. 

Warmth: Keep your lower back and feet warm. In Chinese medicine, the Kidneys are located in your lower back, and cold depletes Kidney energy quickly. So keep yourself toasty, get the heated blanket or a heating pad and try it out. 

Trust the Season

Winter blues aren’t a personal failing, they’re your body asking you to slow down, rest, and conserve your energy. Spring will come, and with it, your natural vitality will return. But only if you honor winter for what it is: a time to recharge your battery, not drain it.

Use these acupressure points, make small supportive shifts, and most importantly, give yourself permission to rest. Your energy will return when the season shifts. Trust that.

And if you need more support, we’re here. Acupuncture can make a profound difference in how you feel through winter’s darkest months. Call us to schedule an appointment, your Kidney energy (and your mood) will thank you.

 

Julie