Here we go… winter is officially here, at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. And honestly, I feel it everywhere in my body this year. I’ve just moved again to a new city (yes, again… my life always between countries or cities) and I can already feel how the change of climate is shifting things inside of me.

Maybe you have felt this too.
You wake up in the morning and you just want to stay under the blanket a little bit longer. There is that cosy, slow feeling… like the world is inviting you to breathe a little deeper, to move a little slower, to take your time. For me, it’s always the movies or the books in the evening wrapped up in a shawl, that feeling of comfort. But what I always find fascinating is that Ayurveda sees this not just as “emotional winter vibes” but as something deeply physiological.

Every winter, my body shows me very clearly that something is changing.
My digestion becomes stronger but at the same time heavier. I feel more hungry, and honestly, some days I eat a lot more. My skin becomes drier. I wake up a bit more lethargic. And since I’ve just moved from a hot climate back into a cold one, I can feel my immune system trying to adapt. Even my cycle and hormones shift subtly and you know me, I'm always observing these things.

Ayurveda explains all of this so beautifully.

Winter is the time when Agni , your digestive fire becomes naturally stronger.
The body wants more grounding food, more warmth, more nourishment. The appetite increases because your inner fire is burning brighter. A big NO for starting a diet in this time of the year. But at the same time, immunity can drop for some of us, especially when Vata increases with the cold wind and dryness. For others, Kapha takes over, making us feel heavy, slow, and sleepy.

I always say this: your body is talking to you all the time.
Every sensation is a message.
And winter brings its own language.

For someone like me, who has healed so much through Ayurveda and yes, part of this journey was recovering from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea after 17 years of contraception, over-exercising, and under-eating winter reminds me of that deep truth:
the body’s first capacity is to heal, when we give it the right environment.

This season has always been special to me for that reason.
It teaches softness.
It invites us to nourish ourselves, not punish ourselves.
To choose warmth, not restriction.
To trust that when we feed ourselves well, when we slow down, when we listen, our hormones and cycles find their rhythm again.

And yet… winter is also when many people get sick, when the immunity dips, when digestion becomes irregular, when we feel bloated, dry, or heavy. But what I love the most about Ayurveda and this is where I always get a little emotional is that the answers are often already in your kitchen.

In a world where everything is designed to be a quick fix, to “perform,” to take a pill for every discomfort, Ayurveda gently reminds us that true healing takes time.
Sometimes letting your body take one extra day to rebalance creates a deeper, more sustainable well-being. Sometimes the remedy is not in a supplement or in a pharmacy but in a spice you’ve had in your kitchen your entire life.

Since arriving in this new city, these simple spices have become my little rituals of self-love. Almost like small anchors while everything around me feels new. They are warm, grounding, and familiar. They make me feel at home even when I’m not fully settled yet.

So today, I want to share with you my winter kitchen pharmacy the simple tools I use every day in this season to support digestion, immunity, hormones, and that deep winter nourishment the body is asking for.

I learned many of these remedies through the International Academy of Ayurveda, and I’ve used them on myself for years. They are part of my daily life now.