Deep Nourishment, Bare Minimum Winter Wellness Plan for Women of Color!

Holistic Health for Women of Color Podcast, Episode #108

This bare minimum winter wellness plan is designed especially for women of color who are tired of “all or nothing” health routines and unrealistic expectations. Instead of chasing perfection, this approach centers gentle, doable practices that honor your culture, your nervous system, and your real-life responsibilities.

Here, you’ll learn how to support your mind, body, and spirit through the colder months with simple, grounding rituals that fit into your day, even when you’re stressed, exhausted, or feeling stretched thin.

Mentioned Within This Episode

self care advent calendar. https://www.holisticbphealth.com/self-care-advent-calendar-guide.html

Holiday Gift - Self Care Advent Calendar Guide!

A holiday gift for you... Want December to feel softer this year?

I created a Self Care Advent Calendar Guide with:

- 24 bite-sized wellness prompts.

- Options for any culture, any climate.

- 5–15 minutes a day, zero pressure, no special supplies.

It’s an email-based guide that helps you:

- Slow down.

- Protect your energy.

- Create tiny, meaningful rituals that feel like you.

Start any day you choose. Sign up free here:

An Invitation To Work With Me!

Many women of color carry so much family, work, community, healing generational patterns that trying to care for yourself can feel like just one more job. This is exactly why I'm offering personalized holistic coaching for health and wellness.

In coaching together, we:

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Build a realistic wellness plan that respects your culture, your schedule, your financial reality, and your nervous system.

Work on the mindset that keeps you over giving, overworking, and under-nourished, so rest and self-care stop feeling like guilt and start feeling like a right.

Create tiny, sustainable habits around sleep, food, movement, and stress relief so you’re not starting over every Monday.

Give you tools to navigate this stressful season holidays, family dynamics, loneliness, grief, or burnout with more steadiness and self-compassion.

You don’t have to figure this all out alone. You deserve support that sees all of you, your identity, your culture, your lived experience and honors that as we build your version of wellness.

If you’re feeling the weight of this time of year and you’re ready for gentle, practical, and culturally rooted support, I invite you to take the next step:

Reach out to me for coaching.

Let’s talk about what you’re carrying, what you need, and what would actually feel doable for you this winter.

If you're excited about making lasting changes, I would love to meet you! Whether it involves improving your diet, shifting your mindset, easing physical discomfort, or managing a chronic health condition, I'm here to support and guide you.

Let's create the life you've always imagined!

I invite you to a complimentary health coaching session with me. I meet all my clients via Zoom, so no matter where you are located, we can work together to achieve your health goals.

Secure your free 30-minute coaching session with me. Let's turn your dreams into action together! I'm looking forward to getting to know you and supporting you, it's my honor!!

If you want to learn more about health coaching, click here.

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Holistic Health for Women of Color Podcast Core Value - Empowerment!

hh for women of color podcast. https://www.holisticbphealth.com/holistic-health-for-women-of-color-podcast.html

Hello and welcome to the Holistic Health for Women of Color Podcast. I’m Donna Williams, your Certified Holistic Health Coach and wellness friend who figured out a healthier way after dealing with high blood pressure and tough med side effects.

Around here, we keep it real and doable: food that fits your life, gentle herbs, mindset shifts, stress support, and small steps that add up. Less overwhelm, more you. Let’s make wellness feel like home.

Today’s topic is on Deep Nourishment, Bare Minimum Winter Wellness Plan for Women of Color

Deep Nourishment, Bare Minimum Winter Wellness Plan for Women of Color Podcast Transcript Episode #108

Today, we’re talking about winter. Not winter as just a season on the calendar, but winter as an energetic shift in our bodies, our moods, and our lives, especially for women of color who are often expected to keep going, keep producing, and keep showing up no matter how dark or cold it gets around us, or inside us.

This episode is about creating a bare minimum winter wellness plan not a perfection plan, not a “new year, new you” plan, but a gentle, culturally aware, deeply compassionate way to take care of yourself when life is loud and your body is asking you to move more quietly.

Think of this as a plan you can follow even on your lowest-energy days. A plan that honors your history, your culture, your nervous system, and your very real responsibilities.

Let's Build Your Bare Minimum Winter Wellness Plan!

Winter naturally draws energy inward. The days are shorter. The air feels heavier. Many of us move more slowly, think more quietly, and feel the need for more rest. That doesn’t mean you’re lazy, unmotivated, or “falling off.” It means you’re human, and your body is responding to a seasonal shift.

For Black women, Latinas, Asian women, Indigenous women, and other women of color, this season can be layered with extra stress:
– Family expectations and holiday obligations
– Cultural roles that often place us as the caretaker, the “strong one”
– Financial pressure as the year closes
– Old stories about needing to work twice as hard and never slow down

So today, I want to offer you six simple anchors for your bare minimum winter wellness plan, just six things that can hold you steady this winter without requiring you to become a different person or suddenly find more discipline. Think of these as quiet companions that sit beside you, not tasks that shout at you.

Get Exposure to Light in Ways That Fit Into Your Day:

You don’t need to chase after sunlight or commit to an hour-long nature walk. Start with what you already have access to.
- Sit by a window while you drink your morning tea or coffee. Let that first light touch your face, even for 3 minutes.
- Open your curtains, even if you don’t feel like looking outside. That simple act tells your nervous system: “The day has started.”
- Step outside for a few breaths during your lunch break: onto the porch, balcony, stoop, or sidewalk. You don’t have to “go for a walk” for it to count.
- If natural light is limited where you live, switch on a warm, soft lamp when you read or journal in the evening instead of sitting in harsh overhead lighting or total darkness.
For many women of color, especially if you live in northern climates, less light can mean mood shifts and more fatigue. Layer that with work, caregiving, and cultural expectations, and it’s a lot. These tiny moments of light help regulate your internal clock and gently signal to your body: You are safe. You’re orienting to the day.

Reinforce a Sleep Boundary That Doesn’t Drift:

In winter, it’s easy for our sleep patterns to slide. A little extra scrolling at night. One more episode. One more email. Before you know it, midnight becomes normal.

And for women of color, a lot of that late nighttime is “catch-up time” the only quiet moment in the day, or the only time you can finally do something for yourself. But the cost is often your rest, your mood, and your clarity.

Instead of trying to overhaul your sleep completely, I want you to:
- Choose a realistic time to be done being on socially, mentally, digitally. That might be 10 p.m., or it might be 11:30 p.m. Be honest, not aspirational.
- Aim to protect at least seven hours between when you fall asleep and your first real commitment the next day.
  
  Create a small wind-down ritual:
- Dim the lights 30–60 minutes before bed.
- Put your phone in another room or across the room.
- Wrap your shoulders in something warm or wear cozy socks.
- Maybe make a warm cup of herbal tea that reminds you of home—chamomile, mint, ginger, cinnamon, or whatever is part of your cultural comfort.
This isn’t about going to bed at 9 p.m. and waking up at 5 a.m. unless that genuinely suits you. It’s about consistency and signaling to your body: We’re done now. It’s safe to rest.

Keep Movement Gentle, Repetitive, and Close to Home.

Winter is not always the time to set intense fitness goals especially if your energy is already stretched thin. But stagnation, physical and emotional, can make everything feel heavier.

So instead of asking, “How can I work out more?” ask, “Where is my body already moving, and how can I give that movement a bit more intention?”
- When you walk to the mailbox, to the bus stop, or from your car to the building, slow down for a few steps and really feel your feet on the ground.
- While water is boiling, roll your shoulders, stretch your arms overhead, or gently twist your torso.
- Put on one song, just one that reminds you of your roots, your joy, your younger self, and sway or dance in your kitchen.
On higher-energy days, take a slightly longer walk, climb a few extra stairs, or try a 10-minute gentle yoga or mobility video. On lower-energy days, your movement might be just standing up, stretching your arms, and sitting back down. That counts.

For many women of color, movement is tied to culture: dancing at family gatherings, walking with family, moving in the kitchen while we cook. You can lean into that. It doesn’t have to look like a gym membership to be “real.”

Eat at Least One Warm, Balanced Meal a Day.

In winter, our bodies tend to welcome warmth and softness. I drink lots of soups during the winter months. Cold, raw, or highly processed foods can make us feel more depleted, even if they’re convenient.

The goal here is one warm, balanced meal a day, not a perfectly “clean” diet and not a strict meal plan.

Think about foods that your family or ancestors might have eaten in colder months:
- Soups, stews, porridges, congee, beans, lentils.
- Rice with a little butter, ghee, or olive oil.
- Soft eggs, sautéed or wilted greens, root vegetables like yams, plantains, squash or potatoes.
- Curries, braises, one-pot meals that stretch across a few days.
You don’t need elaborate recipes. You can:
- Add coconut milk to a pot of soup for creaminess and steady energy.
- Warm leftovers on the stove instead of eating them cold from the fridge.
- Add a spoonful of ghee, butter, or healthy oil to rice or grains to make them more grounding.
- Have oatmeal, grits, or a warm cereal with nuts and fruit as your evening meal if that’s easiest.
This is nourishment, not punishment. And for those of us who come from cultures where food is love, bringing back one warm, simple, comforting meal a day is a way of loving ourselves back into balance.

Make Room for Recovery in Small, Repeatable Ways.

A lot of women of color are over-functioning working, parenting, caregiving, holding space for family and community, dealing with microaggressions, racism, sexism, and all the invisible labor of being strong.

Your nervous system needs little cues that say: You can put the armor down now. You’re off duty, at least for a moment.

You don’t need a full spa day to reset. Try these small, bare minimum winter wellness plan repeatable recovery rituals:
- When you get home, change out of your “outside” clothes into something soft and comfortable. Let that be your signal: performance mode is over.
- Take 60 extra seconds to wash your hands slowly, really feeling the warmth of the water and the touch of your own hands.
- Stand barefoot on the floor while you brush your teeth or make tea, literally grounding yourself.
- Sit in your car for two minutes before going into work or home, no music, no scrolling, just a small pause.
The key is repetition. Choose one or two small rituals and do them almost every day. Over time, they become embodied messages to your system: You get to rest. You do not have to be “on” all the time.

Let Your Energy Fluctuate Without Self-Correction.

Some days you’ll feel clearer. Other days, heavy and foggy. For women of color, when our energy dips, we often immediately go to self-judgment:

“I’m slipping.”
“I’m behind.”
“I should be doing more."
“I’m wasting time.”

I want to invite you into a different relationship with your energy this winter.
- When your energy is low, notice it gently: “Today feels heavier. My body is asking for slowness.”
- Give yourself permission to do one essential thing that day and let that be enough. Pay the bill. Answer one email. Cook one pot of food.
- When your energy rises again, let that energy flow into small, supportive actions, not self-punishing marathons.
- Prep a simple lunch for tomorrow.
- Tidy one surface.
- Journal for five minutes.
- Make a call you’ve been putting off.
The goal is not to make every day equally productive. The goal is to honor your natural rhythm and to remove the guilt attached to it.

As women of color, many of us were taught to override our bodies: to keep going, to push through, to be “grateful” and never slowdown. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t push through anymore… if I feel like it I slow down or just sit for a moment engaging in something that brings me joy or doing nothing at all.

This winter, your bare minimum winter wellness plan is an act of resistance. It’s you saying: I am not a machine. I am a living, breathing, healing being.

Bringing It All Together!

Let’s recap your Bare Minimum Winter Wellness Plan:

1. A few minutes of natural or gentle light each day.
2. A realistic, consistent sleep boundary.
3. Gentle, close-to-home movement.
4. One warm, balanced meal a day.
5. Tiny, repeatable recovery rituals.
6. Allowing your energy to rise and fall without shame.

This isn’t about doing all six perfectly every day. It’s about weaving them into your life in ways that feel possible especially on the stressful days, especially around the holidays, especially when everyone else seems to be speeding up and your body is clearly asking you to slow down.

If one anchor stands out to you maybe it’s sleep, maybe it’s food, maybe it’s light, start there. Let that be your focus for the next week. That alone is powerful.

If you listened to this and thought, “I know I need this, but I also know I struggle to stay consistent or to make space for myself,” you are not alone.

As we enter the holiday season, I want you to remember this:

"Your worth is not measured by how much you push through. This winter, may you choose softness where you can. May you choose warmth, may you choose light, and may you choose at least one way, every day, to come home to yourself."

Thank you for listening to today's Holistic Health for Women of Color podcast episode on 'Bare Minimum Winter Wellness Plan'. Take gentle care of yourself today, and I’ll talk to you in the next episode.