Shiatsu Winter Wellness: How to Boost Your Immunity and Protect Your Energy This Season
- Andrea Marsh
- a few seconds ago
- 12 min read
The world is busy again this last year and no longer fixated on viruses, but in my cosy Cheltenham clinic I still see the ripple effects of stress, fatigue and weakened immunity—especially as winter approaches. This is the time of year when coughs, colds, and seasonal bugs spread easily. So how do you stay healthy, energised and resilient?
In my shiatsu winter-wellness guide, I’m bringing together practical, nurturing and Chinese-medicine-inspired ways to support your body, strengthen your immune system, and help you glide through winter feeling grounded rather than burnt out. Whether you’re looking to stop catching every cold going, boost your energy, or explore shiatsu in Cheltenham as part of your self-care, this guide will help you protect your health this season.
Why Qi Matters For Your Winter Health
Qi (pronounced “chee”) is your life force—your internal energy system that keeps you warm, nourished, vibrant and emotionally balanced. In Japanese traditions (including shiatsu), we call it Ki.
Winter is the season when Qi is most vulnerable. Cold, damp weather (hello British winter!) naturally slows Qi down. When Qi becomes sluggish you feel:
tired
achy
stiff
low in mood
more susceptible to bugs
Your Qi also controls your Wei Qi—your defensive energy, which is the Chinese-medicine equivalent of your immune system. When Wei Qi is weakened, viruses and bacteria find it easier to take hold. This is why clients often feel run-down before they even notice a sore throat. The problem starts before the symptoms, usually after stress, cold exposure or exhaustion.
The Three Key Areas to Keep Warm (or You’ll Catch Every Bug Going)
This is one of the most overlooked Chinese-medicine principles I teach in my my clients —yet it’s one of the most powerful for winter immunity.
Your Neck
Cold on the neck slows lymphatic movement and allows viruses to linger. Chinese medicine calls this “Wind Invasion”—a direct entry point to illness.→ Wear scarves. Protect the space between your collarbones and spine.
Your Lower Back (Kidney Area)
Cold kidneys = weakened Qi.Cold lower back = stress response + cortisol spike. Both = reduced immunity.
The kidneys govern your constitutional energy and temperature regulation. Keep them warm and your whole body feels stronger.
Your Feet
Cold feet trigger blood vessel constriction, reducing immune defence in your nose and throat.→ Slippers, warm socks, and foot baths are not indulgences—they’re prevention.
These three simple warming habits alone can dramatically improve your winter health.
How to Support and Strengthen Your Qi This Winter
Reduce Stress to Boost Immunity
Modern life keeps us in fight-or-flight far too often. Constant stress depletes Qi and leaves you vulnerable to illness. Many of the suggestions in this blog help reverse this, and shiatsu is one of the most effective therapies for calming your nervous system.
Clients who choose regular shiatsu in Cheltenham often notice:
fewer aches and pains
calmer digestion
easier breathing
fewer winter colds
more mental clarity
reduced stress levels
deeper sleep
Supporting Qi = supporting immunity.
Reducing stress is a benefit to your health, but where do you start? Most of the items in this blog are stress reducers. Areas like work and family life that need more management; your perception is the key to reducing your stress in these areas.
While you're working on the major stress factors in your life, I want you to be helping the cortisol that's in your body, not to produce more of it, that's not good, that's why you have to reduce the stress factors. I'm talking about helping the cortisol do it's job, heal your nervous system. For this it requires a lot of good nutrition, and with the best will in the world you won't get this from food these days therefore supplements are key!
The Power of Supplements for Energy & Immunity
Alongside good food and rest, plant-based, bioavailable supplements can give your body the best building blocks it needs. Stress saps your nutrients quickly and in doing so causes symptoms such as brain fog and joint pains. Stress and a lack of nutrition reduces your immunity. A good multi-vitamin with additional Magnesium and vitamin C plus Omega oils (if you don't have oily fish) will help defend you from bugs. When clients are in times of additional stress or have caught a bug I recommend doubling up on multivitamin and vitamin C (and Magnesium if muscles ache) and they recover far more quickly.
Why you need more vitamin D in the winter
Even in summer we rarely get enough exposure to maintain healthy levels, and if you have darker skin, your needs are even higher. Low vitamin D affects:
immunity
bone health
mood
lung health
Seasonal mood drops? Frequent colds? It’s often vitamin D deficiency.
Warm Your Kidneys & Watch Your Energy Improve
I mentioned earlier on the key areas to trap warmth is your lower back - where your kidneys and adrenals sit; under your lower rib cage. Thi is where Kidney Qi the root of vitality, warmth and resilience. If you feel the cold easily, are perimenopausal, fatigued, recovering from longterm illness or stressed on a regular basis your Kidney Qi may be suffering.
Simple kidney-warming techniques:
Wear a haramaki (a Japanese belly warmer).
Use a gentle heat pad (on the lowest setting).
Wrap a scarf/jumper/hoody around your kidneys when sat down
Whether you're sat at a desk, dog walking or gardening (anything where you bend over regularly), wear an extra specific layer around your kidneys. These tiny changes create huge improvements in warmth, circulation and energy; even reducing hot flushes.
Keeping your ankles, wrists and neck warm can regulate your temperature as these are points of weakness, where the Qi is 'thin'. You may feel the ill effects of this as clicky and stiff joints. Don't assume these symptoms are permanent they can be eased within moments with gentle exercises and warmth. Shaking these exposed joints releases blockages allowing your Qi to flow freely. Your feel hands and feet will be warmer (if you do this regularly) and you'll have less clicks and stiffness.
A lot of people will say: I'm always too hot - however! Even if you're a hot person, check your kidneys, you may not have registered that they are actually cold; as you tend to only register the heat in your chest face and head. To check if your kidneys want warmth, warm your hands and place them over your kidneys, if they feel warm (and you like the warmth), your kidneys are cold and need help. Here are a few things I suggest:
Eat for the Season: Nourish Your Qi With Winter Foods
Eating cold foods in winter weakens your digestion and drains Qi. Salads, fridge-cold foods and iced drinks create internal “damp” and slow your system down. Your body then has to work harder to warm you up from within; further draining your Qi.
Thick soups, and stews, are nourishing and warming and fill you up; packed full of autumnal goodness. It makes you feel like you've lit a fire in your belly, and it's a good feeling; nourishing both physically and emotionally. Reduce the obvious carbohydrates (pasta rice potatos) by swopping in beans/pulses (high protein) to give you that filling feeling, which lasts for longer.
How you cook alters the energetics of what you eat, for example steaming is cooling (useful in summer) and roasting is warming (perfect), and frying is very hot (occassional).
Add gentle spicing daily , these are energetically warming; it's why we all love a curry!
Warming Spices warm you up to!
You may not realise it but spices and herbs can warm you or cool you down; the obvious ones being peppermint which is cooling and ginger heating. You can use this to your advantage throughout the year, warming your food energetically if you feel the cold or damp. If you feel heat you're probably naturally eating cooler foods, and in this case most herbs are good for balancing like rosemary, thyme, oregano.
Don't go for sweaty curries though, warming flavoursome spices are good perfect but if too hot and you're dispersing your heat; can be helpful to sweat out a bug. Add spices to drinks, like a chai, and the other day I tried a Turmeric latte, it warmed me up whilst Leela was chasing squirrels in the park. It was the right drink for the right job at that time.
There's a reason why spices come into play at this time of year, from mulled wine to chutneys, and one of my regular go to's is chilli olive oil for roasting my veg with, a gentle warmth that makes them feel more nourishing in the colder months.
Replenish Your Qi: Rest, Warmth & Recovery
Chinese medicine teaches:
Good Food + Good Air + Good Rest = Strong Qi
Winter is a natural season of hibernation, yet modern living makes us push through exhaustion. This leads to burnout, low motivation and weakened immunity.
Signs you need restorative time:
everything feels like an uphill battle
low enthusiasm
emotional heaviness
frequent colds
feeling drained even after sleep
Winter is the time to recharge—not to push harder.
It's always good to be reminded that it's ok for you to say no to things, to give yourself space to relax, especially come January when the festivities are wrapped up, and to be reminded it's ok to have self-care, and that it is not selfish.
Recharge yourself like you would recharge your phone
Nature Bathing (Not Just Forest Bathing!)
Forest bathing has come out of Japan in recent years, but I prefer nature as you maybe a person that re-energises from going to the beach instead. The point is to get back to purely nature, and it's healing effects. We live in a world surrounded by toxins, chemicals and electro magnetic frequencies, even sat at a laptop with your phone next to you and everything attached to wifi means that radio frequencies that human beings weren't designed to be bombarded by are around us and through us 24/7. Some people are incredibly sensitive to this, and others may not realise that this is the cause of impaired immunity and continued health issues.
Ditch all electronics and spend a half day with nature. I took mum one day to a friends farm for the afternoon, she stroked everything from sheep to geese and by the time we got home we felt we'd had a whole mini break, that was just 4 hours purely immersed in nature :)
Qi Gong: The Gentle Exercise That Boosts Energy
Qi Gong is one of the most powerful ways to move stagnation, release tension and cultivate calm—not exhaust yourself.
Ideally you'd be doing this on a mountain top or by a lagoon, but as long as you're doing it in a peaceful environment that's the best we can do in surburbia! Light a beautiful scented candle, ensure a warm room, and good energy (tidy and pleasing) to fully immerse yourself in your Qi Gong session.
Qi Gong roughly translates as 'Breathe of life' and is the forerunner to Tai Chi, Sessions can be 5 minute sessions to destress or 20/ 60 minute sessions for a good work; replenishing your energy and calming your mind. I recommend Qi Gong to nerly all my clients, to either help them warm and loosen up, or to calm down, but always to get the body working in a way that is beneficial. Most of today's modern exercise regimes are quite punishing to your body, done to the point of exhaustion.
Check out Lee Holden Qi Gong on You Tube as a way to get started.
Early Nights: Your Winter Superpower
Dark evenings produce more melatonin, you should feel sleepier earlier because of it. However if you choose to keep a lot of bright lights on, or you choose daylight/ cold white bulbs over warming you're bypassing your body's natural ability to induce sleep. Computer/phone screens do this too, also known as blue light which we should only receive in the morning with the early sunlight. Most devices now have a yellow or night light setting; I even have a reading light with a night light setting.
Create an atmosphere that induces an earlier nights sleep, even if by 30 mins, your body will thank you for the downtime at a time of year when it wants to hibernate to rejuvenate!
Restorative Relaxation: Not Just “Collapsing on the Sofa”
Watching adrenaline-fuelled TV doesn’t restore Qi—it drains it. You may not already be able to watch things anymore because they make you too jumpy. This is your body telling you it's stressed enough and it really doesn't need this type of entertainment; I even had to stop watching Masterchef years ago as I realised it made me worse. Later in the day choose programmes (or books) that calm you down and stop scrolling on social media!
This is the difference between thinking your relaxing and having beneficial restorative relaxation.
Restorative time is when you specifically do something to nourish your mind, body and soul. This can be anything from having a hot soak, whilst listening to sounds of nature, running a guided meditation for 20 minutes, or listening to healing sounds, search 432hz meditation on you tube. This is a healing frequency of the body and I often have it running whilst I'm writing a blog as it takes me into 'the zone'. You can also look up more specific sound healing, and find a type that resonates with you.
You could go for a sauna and just calm your mind, it's about finding that right thing for you that quietens you down, so that tension releases as your body switches into the parasympatheic state, this is the the state your body needs to be in to heal. We're supposed to be in this state around 99% of the day, but the average human is 95% in a heightened state, i.e. fight or flight and this weakens immunity and is the path to ill health.
The hypnotic dance of flames whether a fire or a candle is now known to have a healing effect on the body. Natural flame has a frequency of 10Hz the same as alpha waves - calming restlessness and the body. Gazing at candle fire for 10 minutes before bedtime can induce deeper sleep.
Hygge: The Art of Winter Nourishment
I love the word Hygge and what it stands for as it has allowed me to embrace a time of year I really didn't like. Hygge is the Danish philosophy of how finding comfort in the simplicity of life. One of the aspects (which also ties in with Chinese medicine) is eating for Autumn as mentioned above - creating a nourishment within, but what Hygge gave me was a way to nourish my soul at a dark time of year and how to replenish my energy. The western way of living of 24/7 light and activity has removed us from living the natural cycle of the year and slowing down and wintering. Winter is a gift—a season of slowing down, nourishing yourself and rebuilding energy ready for spring.
hygge
To feel a sense of warmth, cosiness, comfort, snug; a sense of wellbeing, belonging, contentment, togetherness, happiness
You shouldn't feel guilty about taking 'downtime' or 'me' time. I know leading up to the holidays is difficult; so once that is out of the way plan in some restorative time, relaxation under a duvet or by the fire time, nature bathing, nourishing slow cooked, and slowly eaten dinners, time with friends that doesn't need alcohol, rushing around or deadlines. Just be, and enjoy the being.
Say no to things (and you can back out of things you'd said yes to), listen to what your body truly wants. That may mean staying in , having a restorative bath and going to bed with a good book; there is nothing wrong with doing this for the entire length of January evenings ....
Simple questions to ask yourself ....
Before saying yes - you can question yourself and wait for your body/energy/feeling to give your the answer:
"Is this going to be good for me? Does it nourish me or does it leech from me?
Do I feel more energised and postive after I've done this?
It doesn't matter whether it's going to physical , emotional it should benefit you.
Why Shiatsu Is the Ultimate Winter Treatment
If you want to support your immunity, ease aches and pains, improve your energy and feel grounded, shiatsu is one of the most effective therapies you can choose.
Shiatsu:
releases blockages (cause of pain)
warms and moves Qi (flexibility)
boosts Wei Qi (your immune defence)
reduces stress
improves circulation
eases stiff joints and muscular tension
helps you feel clearer, lighter and more resilient
Warmth improves circulation and Qi flow—that’s why your body loves it. Shiatsu uses gentle pressure, stretching and movement to create that warmth from within.
Many clients space treatments closer in winter and less often in summer. Your energy will tell you what you need.
Shiatsu isn’t a luxury—it’s a form of health maintenance.
Book a Shiatsu Winter Wellness Treatment in Cheltenham
If you’re unsure where to start, or you want personalised winter-wellness advice, you can book:
a free health and vitality call
a consultation
a full shiatsu session
Ready for a treatment? Book in here!
Explore all options here.If peri-menopause or menopause is part of your experience, visit my sister site cotswoldmenopause.co.uk for tailored support.
Shiatsu is lifestyle medicine at its very best
About Andrea at Shiatsu Bodyworks Cheltenham
Andrea is a qualified zen shiatsu and chinese medicine practitioner with over 20 years immersed in holistic therapies and the energetics of mind and body. Based in Cheltenham, UK she offers in house clinic and online shiatsu sessions to help people with midlife health issues and also offers online consultations as she is a menopause specialist too.
Ready for a treatment? Book in here!
Shiatsu Bodyworks ~ Gentle bodywork to help your body work better
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