Dr. Kathy Yep

Our remaining practices for 2025: 12/16, 12/18, 12/21

We will resume Sunday, January 4, 2026

Winter Solstice: 12/21/25

By: Dawn Scott, devon hase, Yong Oh, and Kimi Mojica
“The Winter Solstice marks the turning point of the year — the longest night, followed by the gradual return of the light. Across cultures and traditions, this sacred moment invites reflection, renewal, and reconnection with the rhythms of nature and the cycles within us. Each winter, the world offers its oldest teaching: the turning of the light. The Solstice is both an outer and inner threshold — when darkness reaches its culmination and light begins its gradual return.

We learn that darkness is not the absence of light, but its fertile ground. Through this journey, we remember that awakening is never solitary — it unfolds in community, in nature, and in relationship. Together, we become lights in the dark for one another.

What Is the Winter Solstice?

The Winter Solstice is the turning point of the year — the moment when the sun pauses in its descent, and the longest night gives way to the slow return of light. In the Northern Hemisphere, it usually falls around December 21, marking the beginning of winter and symbolizing a time of stillness, reflection, and renewal. Across cultures and centuries, people have honored the Solstice as a sacred threshold: a moment to release the old, plant intentions for the new, and remember our deep connection to the cycles of nature.

It reminds us that darkness and light are not opposites, but partners in the rhythm of life — that rest and renewal, loss and growth, are all part of one living continuum. In the language of the Dharma, the Solstice mirrors the inner path of awakening: descending into stillness, meeting what is difficult with compassion, and emerging renewed in clarity and light.

The Solstice teaches that even in the darkest night, the light is already returning.

Each year, the Winter Solstice calls us to pause — to honor the dark, to rest deeply, and to listen for the light returning.

Amid the noise and urgency of modern life, it invites you to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with what’s timeless.In stillness, movement, and ritual, you’ll discover that darkness is not something to escape, but a teacher — a place of wisdom, creativity, and rebirth.

Why it matters now

(T)he world needs light-bearers — people who can hold presence amid change, who can listen deeply, and who remember our shared belonging with one another and the Earth. When we sit together on the longest night, we remember that the light has never truly left — it has only been waiting for us to turn toward it.

We live in a time of immense change, noise, and uncertainty. The solstice reminds us that stillness, not speed, brings renewal.

(R)emember what’s always been true:
● Wisdom arises from the dark. The very places we resist — loss, rest, grief, uncertainty — hold the seeds of transformation.
● We awaken together. The warmth of spiritual friendship lights our way through the unknown.
● Ritual restores meaning. In community, we reconnect with the larger cycles of life
● Nature is our mirror. Just as the light returns after the longest night, so too can clarity, joy, and compassion return to the heart.”

WINTER SOLSTICE AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)

As winter comes closer, the days get shorter and the air gets colder. The earth invites us to slow down, rest, and reflect. In TCM, winter is a season of stillness and nourishment—a time to replenish your body and mind. TCM offers valuable insights to help us align with the rhythms of the season, maintain balance, and reflect.

In TCM, winter is a calm and quiet season. It teaches us to save our energy and reflect. In TCM, winter is connected to water and to the kidneys and bladder.

These organs are considered the body’s energetic reservoirs, storing vital energy (Qi) to support health and longevity. Just as animals hibernate and trees conserve energy in the winter, humans are encouraged to follow suit by focusing on rest, warmth, and nourishment.

We practice for the benefit of ourselves and all beings so all beings may be free. Sending loving kindness.

For those who are able to join — see you tomorrow, Thursday 11/27. Practicing with you has continued to help with my recovery from the mild traumatic brain injury. It is so joyful to move and breathe together.

I recently practiced the Haudenosaunee Greetings to the Natural World with the Tranquil Lotus Sangha in the Plum Village tradition and wanted to share the resources with you. As I read and listened to these greetings and expressions of gratitude to our relatives in the natural world, I was reminded of qì gōng—how we move qì in relationship with the abundant qì of water, earth, trees, and so much more.

Resource:
https://www.btpm.org/local/2024-11-28/the-haudenosaunee-and-the-power-of-thanksgiving

Gratitude and Genuine Security

Giving thanks is not complete without genuine security and action

• such as supporting landback movements in the U.S.

– feminist landback movements in Okinawa (trigger warning: sexual violence)

youth-led movements for sovereignty and demilitarization—such as those in Palau.

End of the Month Reflection: $15 Comic Book – Okinawa and Genuine Security

As we approach the end of November, thank you for practicing together. I invite you to reflect on how our community of practice has nourished you and your commitment to genuine security.

If you have the capacity, please consider offering dāna to a community working toward genuine security—or to me, if that feels right.
People have sent poetry, drawings, checks, cards, seeds, puzzles, tea…

Dāna for me can be sent to:
PO Box 1313, Monterey Park, CA 91754

Another option is purchasing a $15 comic on Okinawan feminists fight for genuine security by artist @samnakahira, commissioned by Women for Genuine Security.

Artist @samnakahira writes:

“Thank you Women for Genuine Security for this commission, a comic about Okinawa’s decades long struggle for demilitarization and protest against the U.S. military occupation. Print copies are available through @genuine_security at bit.ly/wgscomic & I’ll have copies available at @comicartsla 🫶

In my bio, I attached a report with U.S. military crimes and sexual assault against women in Okinawa between 1945-2016 (selection of reported cases, not all encompassing). Truly, U.S. imperialism is built on the oppression of women.

While this comic focuses on Okinawan women, the violence they live under is shared by all non-white women and non men who live along the fence lines of the 800+ U.S. military bases. The U.S. needs to gtfo of Okinawa and everywhere!

Cw for sexual assault, violence towards women and girls, US military, war. Please take care while reading ❤️‍🩹”

bit.ly/wgscomic”

Sending loving kindness.

Hello qì gōng community!  

On Sunday, 11/16, Simone guided us so beautifully—offering a song and inviting storytelling that opened up new connections, doorways, and entrances into the qì field. We’re grateful for the roots, resonance, and sense of togetherness that Simone helped nurture.

I’d love to continue weaving music and movement into our qì gōng sessions, and I want to invite you to be part of that.

Go here to share: https://bit.ly/qigongsongs

And you might take a peak at other people’s songs… including my first song by Duke Ellington offered… or these three original compositions by Penny

Baby Fantasia

Long Time Waltz

Winter Dances

With a deep bow, Kathy

I look forward to practicing qì gōng with those who are able to make it tomorrow (Tue) 8 a.m. PT/ 11 a.m. ET online. As Liz says “come as you are.” As Debbie says, “Be playful.” https://pitzer.zoom.us/j/513664738