Are you keeping yourself nice and warm? 

Staying warm… allows your nervous system to relax and feel safe, encourages good circulation through all your organs, and improves your immune system. 

Staying warm can be hard, especially in Canadian winters.

One of my favourite practices in the winter, is wearing a kidney belt, Haramaki, ハらまき. 

Haramaki, ハらまき is the Japanese name for kidney belt. It originates from Samurai, who would wear this belt of armour around their midsection. 

Wear an extra layer – you can get a fancy one knitted/crocheted (knit the one below, link here), or simply wrap a wide scarf around your mid-section.

Keeping your kidneys warm, provides a plethora of benefits. 

I like to think of it as hugging all your ancestors, as that is what’s stored in our kidneys, our ancestry, our essence. They’re like our batteries. They’ve got our back, quite literally. Our kidneys are tucked into our lower rib cage in our backs.

Kidneys continually filter our blood. They purge toxins and waste, and preserve vital electrolytes and minerals that maintain our blood pressure, support formation of new red blood cells, RBCs, and maintain strong bones. 

Kidneys/Adrenals can be recharged, and depleted many times, but if over depleted without enough recharging, they cannot function like they used to, and we crash. Adrenals are responsible for our production of DHEA and cortisol (stress hormones) and other important hormones (including sex hormones). It’s important to allow a balance of recharging between the depletion of your Kidneys/Adrenals. Or they’ll be impossible to fully recharge again – a bit like an old battery that’s been overused.

I recently lost my voice with this last bout of winter illness. It was frustrating to not be able to communicate. To feel unheard. And, honestly it felt a bit scary. I started wearing my Haramaki, ハらまき and it made me feel protected and safe. I realized, I didn’t need to use my physical voice to be heard. And leaning back from trying so hard to be understood, made others take on the effort to listen more. Sometimes we are putting in so much effort, that it’s depleting our kidneys/adrenals, and we don’t even know how to stop. Not talking for the week, allowed me to preserve my energy and recharge.

When you’re feeling vulnerable, or run down, wear a Haramaki, ハらまき(kidney belt). 

Stay warm and embrace the feeling of safety that someone’s got your back.