Aligning with the Changing Seasons: Daily Practice 01 — A Mini Reset
by Jessica Moriber
There are three palm trees in my garden in France.
They aren’t supposed to be there. And yet, like others scattered throughout the Pays Basque, you’ll find them—tall and slightly out of place, like they belong to a different time, a different story.
Neither is the Japanese honeysuckle supposed to be here. Or the jasmine, climbing over the stone wall and spilling across the blue shutters—the kind I close for a storm or when I’m not here for any great length of time.
Wherever you’re reading this from, whatever season your calendar says you’re in, the map of my life—by design—has landed me here.
Southwest France.
Late spring.
Pre-summer.
Still “off season.”
There’s a temperament, I’ve realised, that comes with living year-round in a place built for summer—when it’s not summer.
And no matter what the calendar says, there’s always a season unfolding inside you—one that doesn’t always match what the world expects.
My jasmine bloomed late this year. Each morning I stepped barefoot outside, looking. Waiting. Everything else on the neighboring streets had already flowered and fallen. Why not mine?
Then, the other day—without warning, with the rising sun and the sea salt air—the scent of jasmine woke me before I’d even opened the door.
Here, time isn’t tracked by the hour, but by the tide.
By the arc of the sun. By the stillness of the early morning air.
My living—off-season and mostly overseas—often means calculating time. Or trying to. I’m constantly bridging seasons, expectations, languages, and lives. The moment I think I’ve caught the rhythm, it changes.
“That’s when I started paying attention to a different kind of rhythm.”
The jasmine reminds me—growth doesn’t always follow the calendar. Some things take root in silence.
There are mornings when everything feels flat or stalled, like nothing is moving. But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
The sun and the moon are always present, but not always quite in sync with where I live and where I’m from. It’s not uncommon for a thought or feeling—or a message to a friend—to echo unanswered for hours. Sometimes days. Until it gently returns, just as I’m waking or about to sleep.
So I’ve stopped asking When? I’ve started asking:
In what ways can I move forward now?
What’s already unfolding—even if I can’t see it yet?
Something I often tell my clients—and need to tell myself, too. There are small ways back to yourself, even mid-spiral.
Join us for this four part mini-series to move into greater alignment in your daily life.
Daily Practice 01: Mini Reset
Interrupt the Spiral with Sensation
When your mind starts racing, bring your attention back to your body.
Notice your posture. Your breath.
Posture Reset
Wherever you are, lengthen your spine just a bit. Feel your feet flat, your back supported. Remind your body: you’re safe here.
Sensory Scan
Take note of 5 things you can see, 4 you can feel, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, 1 you can taste.
Soft Belly Breathing
Place both hands on your lower belly. Inhale gently through your nose. Exhale slowly through your mouth, letting the out-breath be longer than the in-breath. No need to count. In through your nose, out through your mouth—extending on the exhale. Sometimes I like to add words: “let” as you breathe in, and “go” as you breathe out.
Let your body lead—your mind will follow.
The morning the jasmine bloomed, a text came through from a friend in New York:
“Urgency is your red flag. Don’t forget.”
She didn’t try to talk me through the decision I was rushing. She simply reminded me who I am when I’m not reacting. When I’m not trying to fix, solve, respond, or do.
I coach other people on this—and sometimes, I need the reminder too.
Images via pinterest
This mini-series is by Jessica Moriber:
Jessica Moriber is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and Life Coach working at the intersection of stress, identity, and behavior change. She helps people who’ve outgrown the life they’re still living—guiding them to shift old habits, release survival patterns, and rebuild from emotional truth, not performance.
@jessicamoriber