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"A LOT with Audra" is the podcast for women juggling big dreams and full lives. Each episode, host, Audra Dinell, Midwestern wife, mom and neurodivergent multi-six figure entrepreneur encourages women to embrace their many roles holistically by living a values-based life with confidence and joy. Through candid discussions, practical strategies and inspiring stories, this podcast is your guide to designing and achieving success without losing yourself in the process.
Ep51
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Audra Dinell: [00:00:00] Welcome back everyone. It is a special week because.
Introduction to Seasonal Living
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Audra Dinell: We are entering the winter season and today we're gonna talk about a topic that I have struggled to put into practice, but one that has captured my interest several years back and I keep coming back to it. It is seasonal living. So what is seasonal living?
How can we learn from our ancestors? How do we make it modern, like actually do this within a full life that runs at a much faster pace?
Meet Jess Dunegan
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Audra Dinell: [00:01:00] So we have a special guest to talk about this with today. Jess Dunegan is the co-owner of Yoga State and the Wellness Kula as a certified Ayurvedic nutritionist and yoga teacher. Jess embraces a holistic and compassionate approach to wellness. Her practice combines therapeutic yoga, mindful movement, seasonal nutrition, daily rituals to help restore balance and reconnect you with yourself and more.
Jess also leads women's wellness retreats whether beginning your wellness journey or looking to deepen a practice, Jess guides and supports her clients creating space for them to explore, move, breathe, and truly be present. Jess, welcome.
Jess Dunegan: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Audra Dinell: Oh my gosh. I'm so excited because you know, as I. Think about all the things I have been and I am, and the things I want to be. Presence always comes up. And so you and [00:02:00] I started this conversation about a month ago and I was really excited to bring it to the podcast because I want to talk just all about how we use seasonal living to be present.
Jess Dunegan: Mm-hmm.
Ancestors and Seasonal Living
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Audra Dinell: Okay, so seasons and cycles. I'm thinking moons and actual weather, they shaped community rhythms in the past. I'm curious like how we can start this conversation by connecting how. Our ancestors long ago lived seasonally and how that contrasts with life today.
Jess Dunegan: Yeah. Yeah. This is such a great question and a great place to start. There's so much to say about that, right? Because our ancestors, instinctually lived by the natural cycles of the Sun of the moon, of the seasons themselves. [00:03:00] That was the only way of life that they knew.
So they had to really, pay attention to, weather, changes in the weather temperature during the equinoxes and the solstice and, those big seasonal shifts. They would be aware of that. They're, they just naturally were aware of those changes and, they didn't live. Lives with technology and distractions like we have now. So they were more in tune with living with the seasons that's just a natural way of life for them. So anywhere from their way of life, like how they would eat, they're going to survive, like when they go from fall to winter, I'm sure they weren't calling it fall and winter.
Maybe they were, I don't know. But you know, the shift from summer to fall is like getting cooler and we feel like the temperature change and there's this like, and you know, [00:04:00] all of a sudden the leaves are turning and things are changing, right. They would see that and they would say, oh, okay, well we need to start prepping for winter and harvest.
And it's a time for, just kind of coming inward and they would, have to stay in more. And of course, it was darker more often, so, they would probably retreat more, inside.
Modern Challenges of Seasonal Living
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Audra Dinell: I'm listening to some of the things you're saying and I feel like the things I, I'm pulling out that I feel like are different now. At least in my life is their, you talked about using their instincts and them being so in tune because they had to be because they don't live in these brick homes
Jess Dunegan: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: they don't have technology and they're just more in tune with like the natural rhythm of the world.
And it's funny to me how complicated that is in my [00:05:00] brain.
Jess Dunegan: Hmm.
Audra Dinell: I wonder how many people are like me and really want it to be simple, but it's just not.
Demystifying Seasonal Living
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Audra Dinell: So how can you sort of like demystify this concept of seasonal living? Living in case the listeners are struggling like I am with something that seems so foundational, but in 2025 it just feels so, so far from me.
Jess Dunegan: right. Yeah. I think a lot of people feel that way because we do have so many, much more like artificial things like
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Jess Dunegan: light and you know, a lot of technology things that take us away from actually like being in nature and being in tune with nature.
So I think, you know, some ways that I've been thinking about this is more about like. Actually, like seasonal [00:06:00] living to me is more kind of like rooted in listening, like listening to nature, listening to yourself, your body, you know, noticing how you feel like checking in with yourself,
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Jess Dunegan: an example, a couple of examples that I wanted to throw out there was just kind of like, for example, you know.
Seasonal Nutrition
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Jess Dunegan: The food that we eat, right? So don't eat the same food from season to season. So like in win in summer, you might eat, you know, raw vegetables and you might feel okay, but then in winter notice if you eat a raw vegetable, you might start to feel bloated or nauseous or something like that because our digestive system is slowing down in winter. So we're not gonna be eating, you know, cold foods. We're gonna be eating more warm foods that actually kind of like heat us up and warm us up. So it's more about kind of just noticing that, [00:07:00] right? Like how you feel and really getting down to, to really paying attention to that more. And it. This is naturally happening with the seasonal changes anyway, so it's not like, even if we're not noticing it or being aware, like it's happening, whether we know it or not, so like when you are shopping for food, like if, for me, I love to shop at local as possible, so food that's like grown. the same area where you live is really important for seasonal living. Um, so like, you know, going to farmer's market or becoming, you know, friends with local farms, you know, like going to their place, taking a tour food from them, meat, veggies, milk, dairy, like they
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: all. in like the best place for. Local eating because you can go to so many [00:08:00] farms, even throughout all of the seasons, they're offering things through the seasons. So that just really helps like our gut and you know, as ancestors, they did that naturally. They ate from what they grew in the land, right.
Audra Dinell: Yeah, they didn't have Dylan's pickup.
Jess Dunegan: yeah.
It's not, yeah, it's not like they're going, going to Dylan's
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Jess Dunegan: it delivered or whatever.
Energy and Mood in Different Seasons
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Jess Dunegan: The other thing I wanted to talk about too is just noticing like your energy or noticing your mood during certain seasons. You know, like example, as a society, especially for women we're made to feel like we need to always be doing something right.
Like we always need to be doing and rushing and going here, going there instead of more about just being and listening. right? So we're kind of like pushed to, to, to always be busy
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: like have a full plate, like you like to say sometimes, like just being [00:09:00] more like having so much to do. Like we're supposed to be doing that. That's kind of what we're made to believe. But really, and there are seasons where you're going to be doing more, right? Like summer, spring, summer, you might feel that a little
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: Like fall and winter we're retreating a little bit more.
Audra Dinell: Hmm
Jess Dunegan: more about like listening to that where you don't always have to be doing and doing and doing, you need to maybe pull back a little bit and be
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: So.
Audra Dinell: And you know, because we've talked about this before, I feel like I'm on this journey of trying to figure out what the heck that is. I just totally believe that I wasn't necessarily wired like this. I think there's definitely a individual wiring that comes into place, but I do think in 2025, this is just the way of the [00:10:00] world.
Unless we stop and say, oh, I'm not, I'm not doing that. That's not how as a human I was made to live. I really love those two examples that you shared are moods and the energy boost that we might get with the spring and the summer and that, you know, the, it's light longer and there's more daylight hours to do the things.
But then as the fall in the winter come to sort of like retreat inward a little bit, whether that actually means inside or with ourselves and just. Not do so much just be, I feel like I have a really hard time even knowing like how to just be to. To be candid, but I love the mood, I love the food. Example because you know, you're saying this, and this probably sounds really simple to you, but to me I'm like, oh, I wrote down raw veggies are for [00:11:00] summer.
I mean, like that is something that I don't think I have slowed down enough to make a connection with before. And so I guess my question to you is for someone who. Has had slow on my mood board for years and, and I crave this. I crave it, but my habits and rhythms and patterns keep me from the slowness that I think probably needs to exist in order to be.
Practices for Embracing Slowness
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Audra Dinell: What are some practices women could. Use if they are like me and craving slowness, craving the ability to be more aware of their body and nature, but it's just not in their daily life right now.
Jess Dunegan: Yes. I love this question so much because these are the things I'm gonna share with you are like my favorite things to do.
Audra Dinell: Okay.[00:12:00]
Introduction to Ayurveda
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Jess Dunegan: so in Ayurveda, so Ayurveda is. You know, something that I practice and something that I share with other women that I work with. and just to give a tiny little, you know, hint of what that is, if you don't know.
So Ayurveda is a sister science to yoga. It's been around for over 3000 years. It originated in India and it's very much rooted in seasonal living.
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: And one of the things that I love in this system is it's very much about connecting to yourself which will help us to connect, with the nature, with the seasons, with all those changes that we go through and actually be in the season that we're in.
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: So a few things that I love that this practice teaches us is called [00:13:00] aga, and it is basically like a self massage. So there's a short version, there's a long version. If you just had two minutes to do something in the morning or the evening, you could do that in a couple of minutes or you could do longer version that's more like 15 or 20 minutes.
But basically. It's a practice where about like reconnecting with yourself. So you'll get like warm oil. So if you had like a sesame oil or almond oil or coconut oil or just hobo oil or something like that. And if you wanted to warm it up, you could. Or if you just wanna rub it in your hands, you can do that.
And if you only had a couple of minutes, maybe focus on one specific area of your body and you can, and there's like different techniques to do it, but I think just starting, doesn't matter if you do the technique right,
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: I can I can definitely give you like a guide to [00:14:00] put,
Audra Dinell: we can put it in show notes. Yeah.
Jess Dunegan: A PDF or something
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Jess Dunegan: share. But if you wanted to just do like a shorter version, you could start with maybe your hands or your ankles or your wrist or your neck, your shoulders, whatever area you feel like you need a little extra love and you just kind of stroke the body.
Audra Dinell: Hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: So you're always going towards the heart. So stroking, like if you're on your hand up your arm, kind of. Stroking upwards and towards the heart. And this just kind of really helps us to reconnect with ourselves. It's a, it's an act of self-love, an
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: self-compassion. But in the same time, you are oiling your skin, so you're creating moisture, you're giving your skin some love.
And if you have like really dry skin. This would be really great. And it also helps regenerate the cells. It helps circulation flow. So there's a lot of benefits to this practice. But it's one of [00:15:00] my favorite
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Jess Dunegan: especially in winter.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: the other side of that is dry brushing. So you could do the same thing but with a dry brush. And same thing. You could do two minutes, you can do 15 minutes, whatever you need. But it's the same concept of like. Towards the heart. and the other thing is that I love to do, it's super simple. Do it in the morning before you have your coffee. You have warm lemon water
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep.
Jess Dunegan: I have my warm water with lemon here. So just drinking a cup of warm water with a little bit of lemon. Drinking warm beverages during winter is what you wanna do. No ice. I love like saying that 'cause people are like no ice. Like what? when I first met my husband, I was like, no ice and anything.
And he's like, are you European? I'm like, no, I
Audra Dinell: Oh.
Jess Dunegan: But it just helps to like keep the body warm. Keeps the [00:16:00] digestive system moving. and it's a great way to wake up the system in the morning.
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: those are my two like things that I love doing whether whatever season you're in
Winter Practices and Self-Care
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Audra Dinell: So we're entering winter and you shared two of those two practices are beautiful for winter, specifically how. Can we reframe winter as something to sort of like get through and survive? How can we frame it into just something more like restorative and beautiful? And I'm asking this question after a couple of years ago, I read Catherine May's book called Wintering
Jess Dunegan: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: and it was a tough season in my life and that book was just really bombed to my heart because I thought, oh my gosh,
this is perfect. I really just need these winter months to like cocoon me a little bit and reading her story in that book that's sort of what really helped me click into [00:17:00] like, oh, this could be for me every year. It doesn't have to be hard season. This could just be a beautiful restorative season.
So what's winter inviting us into?
Jess Dunegan: So I think winter it invites us into a couple of different things. Yes, for sure. Slowing down is a big one in winter. So I think inviting in this idea of that it's okay to slow down, it's okay to hibernate. It's okay to avoid rushing and embrace a slower, relaxed pace of living.
inviting in that sense of warmth into all areas of your life, have fun, laugh, you know, rest, reflect, recharge, like all those good things.
So, really winter is inviting us to, to do that. Now, there are some things that I. I did wanna talk about like as far [00:18:00] as like, you know, mentally, emotionally, physically, different, ways to kind of like embrace the season.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Mental and Emotional Benefits of Winter
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Jess Dunegan: and winter, I think as far as like mentally, I think winter is inviting us again to reflect, rest hibernate.
And then it's also a really great time to vision and you know, start to through maybe ideas that you've had or things that you want to bring forward, like come spring.
Plant those seeds in the spring and then start to, water them and watch them grow through summer, all that good stuff.
So like winter is a great time to start those visions. And kind of more direct your attention inward coming back inward to yourself. It's a great time to do that. And I think emotionally winter is kind of inviting us to have grace,
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: ourselves to slow down, right? Slowing down can look different for everyone too.
[00:19:00] So like you were saying, are not really sure. How to do that or what that looks like? I mean, I think it looks like something different for everyone. It could mean, you know, slowing down and enjoying like a cozy, relaxing evening with your family and not really doing anything. Watch a movie, whatever it could mean.
Slowing down and building, you know, your relationships. Deepening relationships with your loved ones or friends, you know, just taking that time.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: To do that and cultivate that during the winter.
Physical Activities for Winter
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Jess Dunegan: And I think physically it's a little interesting because in winter it's cold, right? And our bodies can start to feel a little bit lethargic.
Like the qualities of winter are cold, you know, kind of like lethargic. It could lead to maybe depression, you know, things like that. Because we are inside so much. for physical. I [00:20:00] like to do a little bit more of a warming practice. So like in the mornings doing more of an invigorating yoga practice or going for a brisk walk or if you like, if you're in an area where you can ski, you know, something that's gonna get your body temperature up for a little while and then balancing that out in the evening with maybe more of a meditative practice, maybe a slow flow restorative yoga practice that sort of thing.
So I think it's just kind of all of those things rolled into to winter.
Audra Dinell: Well, and I love how you broke those down. And it does help me to hear you define what slowing down could be. And it, like you mentioned, it's individual for everyone. But that, that's really helpful for me. We used to live in Fort Cols, Colorado and there was this coffee shop that I love going to, it's called Bendle Coffee.
And you know, it was always snowy. Not always, but often. It was snowy. And I just remember, you know, [00:21:00] escaping. My little nest warm home trudging through the snow in my car. I mean, like, I'm acting like I walked uphill 10 miles, but I just remember like, you know, it's like hard to get out of your house when it's snowy and wintry, but then getting to bendle coffee shop and just like ideating or reading or you know, you mentioned reflecting and visioning and so that to me is a really.
Exciting opportunity that winter gives mentally. So I really appreciate how you broke it down into those categories.
Signs Your Body Needs a Seasonal Shift
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Audra Dinell: I'm wondering if there are signs that our body is asking for a seasonal shift, like
Jess Dunegan: Hmm.
Audra Dinell: how does our body tell us it's time to winter?
Jess Dunegan: Yeah, so I think so specifically for winter I think if you notice, maybe you start to feel a little bit [00:22:00] more pulled to be nesting.
Audra Dinell: Hmm mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: being inside and maybe making your home like a really cozy place for you to be,
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Jess Dunegan: back to that sense of being right,
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: be in this space and feel present.
If you feel, you know, maybe just like, maybe some physical signs, like if your skin is starting to feel dry, if you're itchy, you know, that's kind of a sign of the weather and the. Temperature and the climate change. So the body can start to feel, you know, a sense of like itchiness and then maybe you combat that with keeping hydration, levels up eating a little bit more like, warming foods putting a little bit more oil into your diet.
Things like that. Healthy oils into your diet.
Audra Dinell: Okay. Tell us the healthy oils. Give us like your top list.
Jess Dunegan: so ghee, if
Audra Dinell: Okay. Yep.
Jess Dunegan: so ghee is [00:23:00] like number one in Ayurveda especially.
Audra Dinell: Okay.
Jess Dunegan: I use ghee or butter. I like to use butter a lot. Real butter. And then you can also get butter locally, by the way.
Audra Dinell: Okay.
Jess Dunegan: and olive oil. I like to use olive oil and coconut, or sometimes coconut oil and sometimes avocado oil.
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: Ghee butter and olive oil are like my top three that I use mostly.
Audra Dinell: Okay.
Jess Dunegan: So like adding that stuff into your diet can really help from the inside out can help to create moisture and help to kind of like, you know, heal the skin. So yeah, those are a couple of signs. And I think just overall, if you just notice like yourself, like again, noticing.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: you start to feel like, oh, you know, I really wanna slow down here, I wanna like take this in like the holidays, or, you know, not being so stressed out about everything during the holiday [00:24:00] season and you know, just really taking your time to really sit and be that moment or be with your family.
Like, if you really start to feel that pull, like it's okay to do that,
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: okay to slow down and do that. So I think if you start to notice those shifts, those are some things that, that I've noticed. And like digestion too. Like if you start to notice, like we said before, like maybe feel bloated or sluggish, digestion that could be a sign of an imbalance
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Jess Dunegan: into winter.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Jess Dunegan: warming foods, spices, things like that will help with balancing that out.
Conclusion and How to Work with Jess
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Audra Dinell: So i'm so excited to try Embrace, embrace this, this winter. And I want to get to a place where people can work with you on this, but before we do that, what is just one thing that you would want to leave listeners with?
Jess Dunegan: I think I would want them to know that it's a beautiful gift that [00:25:00] to give yourself, that will help you feel more connected to yourself and others around you. Slowing down, it's such a beautiful gift, right?
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Jess Dunegan: And just honor that, honor what you need in this season, and giving yourself grace.
Audra Dinell: You know, we talk a ton about, like as a mom, we talk about putting your oxygen mask on first. As a partner, just as a person in relationships as an entrepreneur, right? I mean, it's like, it can be hard to. Honor yourself, but I, I hear, I just love the way you phrased that as this is a beautiful gift that you can give yourself to honor yourself.
And I see this as being a way where you're saying, Hey, I'm gonna put myself first. I'm gonna love myself well here. So thank you
Jess Dunegan: Yeah.
Audra Dinell: for those [00:26:00] women who are like me, who are like, okay, this sounds like what I want, need. In this season of life where I am, I love the tips you've given me, but I want a little bit more.
I need some support. How can listeners work with you?
Jess Dunegan: Yeah. Thank you so much for asking. So I have a program that I'm starting this winter. It'll be my first iteration of the program. It's called Flow and Flourish, and we dive deeper into just whatever season we're in at the moment. And of course, winter is the one that I'm starting with. And so if you want more information on that, it's a seasonal program. It's. 10 weeks, and I kind of break it down for you. So on my website, the wellness kula.com there's a tab for Flow and Flourish. And you can go and get all the information there. So if you fill out the application you know, put in there your why what you're looking for for the [00:27:00] season, and then we can meet and talk it over and see if it's a good fit for us. So if you go to the wellness kula.com we also offer wellness retreats and workshops for women. So there you'll see, you know, upcoming events that we're going to be doing. And we usually do one every season, if not two, every season. So our next one will be in January. So we'll, we'll have some details on that on the website as well. And if you wanna take any yoga classes you can go to yoga State Ks Facebook and Instagram. That's where, that's my yoga studio. And that's where you can find out more information there. Yeah.
Audra Dinell: Okay. Oh my gosh. Thank you. Thank you so much. You have. You're just creating a beautiful space in the world for women and so many different opportunities to get involved and work with you. So thanks for coming on the podcast. Thanks for having this conversation with me. Thanks for your patience with me throughout the [00:28:00] years as I, you know, am trying to be a person who knows how to be.
I've just appreciated your thought partnership and guidance in the process.
Jess Dunegan: Aw. Well thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure to be here, and I really appreciate you.
Audra Dinell: we will see you all next time. Have a great winter and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast.