I hope you’re having a supportive start to 2026! We’re less than a month into the new year, and already I’m noticing a theme that keeps showing up in my work: many people are learning to trust their bodies again.
I see this in clients who are healing from trauma, chronic illness, long-standing imbalances, sedentary patterns, fear of aging, or simply years of living in a state of stress. When the body has felt unreliable, painful, or overwhelming, it’s natural to begin questioning whether it can be trusted – and that uncertainty often spills into anxiety about the future.
This isn’t something I’m only observing in others. It’s something I’m living too.
That’s why this feels like an important conversation to have right now – especially in the depth of winter – about how creating safety in the body can slowly allow trust to return.
Mistrusting the Body Is Not a Failure
First, I want to say this clearly: it is completely normal to mistrust the body.
When the body has felt unsafe, unpredictable, exhausted, or overloaded – physically or emotionally – mistrust is actually an intelligent response. The mind steps in to protect you. It may encourage you to avoid certain activities, withdraw from situations that feel demanding, or become hypervigilant in unfamiliar or challenging environments.
Fear often follows.
And because fear is so stigmatized, many people feel ashamed of it – as if it’s a personal weakness or something to “get over.” But fear is not weakness. It is a protective strategy. It’s a signal that something in the system needs attention and care.
Rather than trying to suppress fear or push past it, healing begins when we honor it and ask why it’s showing up.
Winter, Kidney Energy, and the Need for Safety
In Chinese Medicine, Winter is associated with the Kidneys. The Kidneys are connected to our inherited constitution, our energy reserves, our sense of safety, and our ability to trust life itself.
Fear is the emotion associated with Kidney imbalance. When fear dominates – especially over long periods of time – it can further deplete our reserves. But when safety is restored, trust can gradually return.
This is why I believe the starting point for healing, growth, and change is not effort – it’s safety.
And safety is not something we wait for.
It’s something we create.
What Creating Safety In The Body Can Look Like
When the body feels supported, courage and healing emerge naturally. Creating safety might look like:
- Finding supportive environments
Quiet spaces, intentional alone time, or time spent with people who feel understanding and grounding. - Receiving consistent care
Therapeutic support that helps the body feel more relaxed, balanced, capable, and strong — whether that’s acupuncture, bodywork, or other modalities that work with your system rather than forcing it. - Listening to the body earlier
Learning to notice signals sooner instead of overriding them until they become louder or more painful. - Allowing time
Healing isn’t linear, and rushing the process often backfires. Progress unfolds more reliably when we respect the body’s pace. - Staying with sensation rather than fleeing it
Through gentle mindfulness practices that build tolerance and trust over time.
I’ve made all of these suggestions to my clients. They’re following them and they are doing really well. So, these strategies definitely work!
A Personal Reflection
What’s also helped me help my clients create safety in their bodies is that I am personally going through something tough. I can definitely relate to my clients with their anxiety & mistrust about how capable their bodies are.
In the video, I give details about how I had a little nervous breakdown with my ice skating journey in late autumn. I’m working with a very hypervigilant nervous system and a mature brain knows very well that there’s obviously risk to the sport. It has taken time, patience, consistency, strength training, and a change in attitude to slowly approach the fear.
Progress has not been linear. In fact, there were moments where I really regressed and wanted to quit. However, my love of the activity and the fun I have with my coach & friends overpowers the fear. I’m now starting to see progress again, and am actually coming back stronger!
An Invitation
I invite you to reflect on this subject further and consider:
- Where is your body asking for safety right now? In what situations and how is that showing up – pain, palpitations, fatigue, etc.?
- What would it feel like – creating safety in the body first — before trying to change anything?
- What might soften if you trusted that your body is on your side?
You don’t need to have all the answers right now. Even noticing the questions is a meaningful beginning.
