Tending the Light

A Winter Sanctuary for Rest, Renewal, and Gentle Self-Care

REGISTER

Tell me, my friend: does this resonate?

Winter feels like a time to push through rather than slow down

You long for permission to rest, but the season's demands seem relentless

You crave quiet and stillness, but struggle to create space for it

You sense there's beauty in winter, but can't quite access it

Your body and spirit are asking for more depth, more nourishment, more ease

What if winter could become your season of rest and replenishment?

For most of my life, I struggled with despair and hopelessness as the days got shorter and the cold set in.

That changed when I decided to intentionally cultivate a more accepting relationship with wintertime.

In the dark season, we need more rest and nourishment, and our inner light needs special care and tending.

When we align ourselves with winter's natural rhythms, something profound happens: we remember how to truly care for ourselves.

Join me in Tending the Light:

A sanctuary for intentional rest, gentle self-care, and connection to the earth’s wisdom

This sanctuary will support you to:

Create genuine space for rest and reflection
Receive guidance in honoring your body's wisdom through the challenges of the season

Cultivate stillness and introspection
Discover practices that help you settle into your wisdom and access the peace that lives within

Receive nature's winter gifts
Attune to the subtle beauty, magic, and aliveness present even in the coldest, darkest days

Nourish yourself deeply
Tend to your body, mind, and spirit with practices designed for gentle care and restoration

Light-tending is hope-tending.

For all of us who are committed to creating a more just, inclusive, equitable, and peaceful world, it's never been more important to tend to our inner light: our creativity, our sense of connection, and our hope. As I've transformed my own relationship with the winter season, I've also realized that wintertime, with its long, dark nights, is an especially potent opportunity to build our resilience and learn how keep our inner light alive through dark and challenging times.

What you receive

A season of supported reflection, ritual, rest, and embodiment

From winter solstice through spring equinox, on each new moon, you receive access to a library of audio, video, and writing practices:

  • Journal prompts & affirmations: Seasonally-attuned invitations for introspection and self-compassion

  • Guided meditations: Practices for accessing insight, peace, and presence

  • Yoga nidra (deep rest practices): Experience profound restoration and healing rest

  • Embodiment practices: Easily accessible self-massage and movement techniques designed to support the body in loving and therapeutic ways

Everything is designed to support rest, nourishment, introspection, and connection to nature’s rhythms. There is no pressure, and no need for striving. You are invited to simply receive what your spirit needs.

  • Settling into rest, embracing the gifts of darkness

    • Reflection: Journal prompts & affirmations

    • Meditation: Winter solstice

    • Ritual: Winter solstice candlelight

    • Rest: Yoga Nidra: Dark night, inner light

    • Embodiment practice: lymphatic drainage for immune support

  • Guarding the thresholds, clarifying our vision, fortifying ourselves

    • Reflection: Journal prompts & affirmations

    • Meditation: Morning meditation 

    • Ritual: Honoring the seeds beneath (Imbolc)

    • Rest: Yoga Nidra: Evening meditation

    • Embodiment practice: Abhyanga self-love massage

  • Enlivening hope, connecting to flexibility and flow

    • Reflection: Journal prompts & affirmations

    • Meditation: Honoring the heart

    • Ritual: Tea ceremony

    • Rest: Trusting the flow of life

    • Embodiment practice: opening the neck and shoulders

  • Preparing for emergence, grounding, finding balance

    • Reflection: Journal prompts & affirmations

    • Meditation: Walking meditation

    • Ritual: Rebirth spiritual bathing

    • Rest: Quick recharge

    • Embodiment practice: self-massage for the sinuses

The curriculum

Q & A

  • The class runs from winter solstice to spring equinox. You’ll receive access to all the December practices when you sign up.

    Every month (January, February, and March), a library of new practices will be available, specifically curated for the seasonal energies and themes of that month: a set of journal prompts and affirmations, a video embodiment practice, a guided meditation, a rest practice, and a ritual practice. These are all pre-recorded and become available on the full moons:
    Jan. 3
    Feb. 1
    Mar. 3

    This course is self-guided; there is no live component this year.

  • This round of Tending the Light is self-guided. In past years, I have hosted live meetings with this course, but this time around there are no live meetups.

  • You have unlimited access to the course practices — they are there for you to work with as much or as little as you’d like, according to your own schedule and at your own pace. none of the guided meditations are longer than 20 minutes.

  • There is no falling behind in this journey! This is a collection of supportive practices, rather than a traditional “class” that requires keeping up with. The practices are offered in an intentional flow to match the rhythms of the season, but you may work with the practices in any order. Receive them as it feels supportive to you!

  • YES! The practices I share here are designed to fit into a busy schedule. It’s amazing how much difference just a little bit of time can make.

    I know what it’s like to parent solo, to juggle multiple jobs and school, to deal with chronic illness, and to live life on-call. I created this program to be accessible for people with all kinds of schedules and commitments. This space is for you.

Hi! I’m Monica Basile, PhD.

I love sharing gentle, compassionate practices for cultivating wellbeing.

As an artist, healer, and educator, I am passionate about helping people to experience beauty, enchantment, connection to the earth, and inner peace through honoring the seasonal and cyclical transformations of life.

The tools I offer within this course are informed by my work as a massage therapist, craniosacral therapist, Reiki practitioner, and midwife, as well as my own decades-long yoga and meditation practices.

Everyone is welcome here. I teach from an anti-oppressive, trauma-aware, body positive perspective.

  • A good investment in my well-being

    “Tending the Light made winter more peaceful, grounded, and purposeful for me. It was a good investment in my well-being. It exceeded any expectations I had, and made this time something special. The affirmations and journal prompts are so thoughtful and uplifting, and I really enjoyed the variety of recordings. It really has inspired me to approach wintering differently going forward.”

    - Amanda

  • Truly a growth experience

    “Tending the Light strengthened my practice and journey towards greater peace and self-awareness. Monica offers well-presented practices with good video and audio quality and everything about the class reinforced a sense of acceptance, ease, and support. It was truly a growth experience for me that I will continue to learn from and treasure for a long time.” 

    -Sharon L.

  • I felt held and supported

    “The meditation and yoga nidra practices have become integrated into my routines. I also enjoyed our moon circle time. I felt held and supported. I loved receiving the materials at the beginning of this experience, and I am now practicing more gentleness and ease through the winter, especially transitioning at the beginning and end of the day.”

    - Alison

  • Helped me feel resourced physically and spiritually

    “Because of this class, I’ve moved toward a more accepting, curious, and permissive relationship with winter. I have deepened my relationship with myself and gained clarity through exploration with the journal prompts. The variety of offerings helped me feel resourced physically and spiritually overall.”

    -Emily


Tending the Light 2025
$99.00
One time

A full season of gentle, guided support from winter solstice through spring equinox