Rituals to Winterize Your Boundaries
Winter is coming, and I don’t know about where you live, but it finally feels like it here in Colorado. We’re in that threshold transition time between equinoxes and solstices. And with it comes the invitation to slow down, turn inward, and honor the rhythms your body and mind crave. But in the rush of deadlines, meetings, and holiday obligations, it’s easy to lose touch with your energy and overextend.
This is where mini rituals come in. We played around with this idea last week in The Grove's monthly workshop, and I’m excited to share some nuggets from our conversations.
I think of rituals a bit differently than routines or habits, which can be challenging, albeit important. But rituals feel more like embodied practices of tiny, repeatable (flexible) actions. Their roles are different, too. They mark transitions, protect your energy, and anchor you in the present. Think of them as mini-boundaries you can practice daily, even during the busiest weeks.
Returning to set rituals as practices trains your nervous system and rewires cognitive patterns.
Here are some ideas from my own practices and ones that clients have designed, too. The two important parts of designing your own mini ritual are that it fits how you want to experience your day and is doable under less-than-ideal circumstances (hence the mini part).
Winterized start-of-day mini ritual ideas:
Make a cup of tea and hold your hands to feel and breathe in the warmth for 10–20 seconds. (This is my go-to ritual - green tea - to transition into work time in the mornings, especially since I work from home. Heat the water, wait for the kettle to sing. Steep the tea and wait. Then reward of warmth and earthiness.)
Stand by a window and observe low winter sunlight, breathing slowly. Or greet the day with sun salutations or slow arm circles from down by your sides up to over your head, synced with your breathing.
Wrap a cozy scarf or blanket around you before starting work. Leave one on your work chair so that it becomes synonymous with cozy protection as you sit down at the computer.
Bubble boundaries, a practice from last month, is a great mini ritual before heading into group or shared spaces, even online ones. Clients who tried it last month noticed greater awareness of how certain people and places affect them, in a felt sense they might not have noticed without it.
These are just some simple ideas for how to start your day. You can also set up end-of-the-day transitions or during the workday resets.
Why mini rituals matter as boundary work
One of the biggest reasons is that rituals, more so than routines (which get the rap of monotonous and automatic), feel more special so they invite presence. And in that, we slow down even if momentarily.
In the winter when days are shorter and darker, getting started can be more challenging for a lot of us. Rituals can help mark the shift from night to morning to work, especially on work from home days. It essentially creates a sort of edge around work, relationships, and tasks that is a boundary.
Rituals become embodied and thereby signals to your nervous system: “I am entering activity, but gently.” This protects your energy from being pulled immediately into the day’s demands and the buzzy energy of blue light and phones and emails.
Reflection to try today:
Where in your day are you most likely to overextend?
What tiny ritual could mark a boundary in that moment?
The key is consistently-ish, not length or complexity. Ten seconds, repeated, signals your nervous system: this is yours, this is pause, this is rest.
This winter, give yourself the gift of ritualized boundaries. Those tiny, embodied moments that protect your energy, honor the season, and help you move through the month with more ease and clarity. Slower and more intentional this season, not more overing and chaos, please.