January Energy Reading: Slow Traction, Real Change, and Necessary Care
January hasn’t asked us for a dramatic overhaul.
Even though we’re already halfway through the month, time doesn’t really matter here. The energy that arrived with January is still present and still relevant. This month isn’t about proving anything or forcing yourself into massive New Year’s resolutions that demand perfection and stamina you may not have yet.
The invitation is much quieter than that.
January energy feels like driving up an icy hill. If you rush, you slip and don’t have enough traction. If you demand too much traction too fast, your tires won’t grab. The way forward is slow, steady movement. Small tire turns forward and finding your grip. Letting yourself test and learn the terrain before you drive to the top of that hill.
Change doesn’t happen 100% overnight. Real change begins with initiation and a start. With deciding to try and just test things out! With choosing things that are small enough to repeat, consistent enough to become habits, and kind enough that your own inner worst enemy doesn’t cause you to fail so quickly. Showing up for yourself each day with what you know you can handle is not settling, it’s wisdom.
For some of us, even a simple, small change is already meeting that edge of our comfort. There’s no need to force growth by launching yourself in a full-blown YEET off that edge. Expansion doesn’t require shock or for things to feel too hard. It requires presence, pacing, and trust.
Eventually, momentum builds. You move higher up the road where the sun has melted some ice. It’s just enough to help you keep going. What felt like slow effort starts to feel supportive and a little exciting! But you don’t get there by pushing, you get there by pacing.
January feels both fast and slow at the same time. Half gone already, yet still heavy with adjustment. I am still navigating the last months of last year and finding a new rhythm out of the chaos. The past few months asked a lot, and this month is about integrating that shift rather than sprinting ahead.
Care is not optional right now. It’s essential.
Months ago, I had channeled some insight that this winter would be bitterly cold at times (more than normal,. Spirit was telling me to get new snow boots and a new winter coat) and it absolutely has been. Dry skin. Bloody boogers (TMI? Eh.) The occasional nosebleed. Tightness in my body from lack of warmth and not enough movement. Dehydration that water alone doesn’t solve. The message wasn’t just to hydrate, but to hydrate by drinking my water or electrolytes, it was to hydrate through the body.
Warmth, moisture, and circulation matter.
That meant rubbing lotion into my skin with intention, increasing blood flow and helping my skin keep moisture IN. Using clean, nourishing products that actually support the skin barrier. Taking baths with moisturizing bath bombs and plenty of hot water. Choosing warm drinks instead of cold ones. Keeping my body warm in any way I can. I bought a new heated blanket to enjoy though I think Franklin is having plenty of cat snoozes on it. I also have a humidifier set up in my room since I have a heater going occasionally and I want to combat the dry air.
It’s meant moving more (especially in the mornings at my early AM workout classes) getting blood flowing with strength training and gentle consistency. Giving my face extra care with hydrating masks and loving it up with my tallow moisturizer. These aren’t indulgences, they’re responses to the environment I’m in.
This kind of care is gentle, but deeply rewarding. And it doesn’t feel excessive because it’s actually entirely necessary.
January isn’t asking you to become someone new. It’s asking you to support who you already are as you adjust, integrate, and begin again. Slowly, steadily, and with respect for your capacity.
That is how momentum is built. So if you are wondering what the energy is pointing to for the rest of January, think about is what is one small, repeatable act of care or support you have gotten signs about? Can you offer yourself this each day that feels doable? Follow that intuition babes!