Letting the Light Return: A Reiki Reflection After the Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice has passed.The longest night is behind us. And still, nothing needs to rush forward.

This moment in winter is subtle. The light does not return all at once. It comes back slowly, quietly, almost unnoticed at first. Day by day, minute by minute. And in many traditions, the days after the solstice are not about celebration or momentum, but about integration.

A gentle settling. A quiet noticing. A deep exhale.

You didn’t miss anything

If the solstice passed without ceremony, without candles or intention-setting, you are not behind. The energetic turning does not disappear once the date has passed. Often, it becomes more tangible in the days that follow, when the noise softens and the body finally has space to feel.

This is where Reiki meets us so naturally.

Not as something to do, but as something to receive.

Reiki as winter medicine

Reiki works in the same way winter does. Slowly. Patiently. Without force.

It does not demand transformation or clarity. It supports the nervous system, the emotional body, and the subtle layers beneath the surface, especially after periods of stimulation, effort, or holding it all together.

In these post-solstice days, Reiki can help:

• Calm an overstimulated nervous system

• Soften emotional residue from gatherings or expectations

• Restore a sense of inner warmth and steadiness

• Create space for rest without guilt

  
  

Winter does not ask us to bloom. It asks us to rest beneath the surface, trusting that life is still moving quietly within.

A simple Reiki-inspired pause

You don’t need silence, candles, or a perfect setting. This moment can happen wherever you are.

Sit or lie down comfortably.

Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly.

Close your eyes if that feels supportive.

Take three slow, natural breaths.

With each exhale, silently repeat:

I allow myself to soften.

Imagine a gentle warmth beneath your hands, not bright or dramatic, but steady. Like embers that continue to glow long after a fire has quieted. There is nothing to visualize perfectly. Simply notice sensation, breath, and presence.

Stay for one to three minutes.

That is enough.

Let the return of light be quiet

The return of light does not mean doing more. It does not require resolutions or immediate clarity.

It asks only that we notice what is already shifting.

These days between the solstice and the new year are a threshold. A place to stand gently between what has been and what is still forming. Reiki holds that space without urgency, without expectation, without needing answers.

However you are feeling belongs here.

Tired, tender, hopeful, unsure.

There is room for all of it.

May you let the light return in its own time.

May you rest while it does.

If your body is asking for a deeper reset, Reiki sessions are available in person and remotely.

With light and love,

Amy