As the year leans toward its darkest night, the air hums with motion — lights, plans, obligations, and expectations. But beneath the shimmer, something quieter calls us home: slow down. breathe. be.
In the Netherlands, they’ve mastered this art. While much of the world glorifies the hustle, the Dutch celebrate something softer — balance, laughter, and presence.
They call it niksen — the art of doing nothing. And it might just be the medicine our overstimulated hearts need most this season.
☕ The Secret Language of Cozy Joy
When I travelled to the Netherlands to record Episode 3 of Contain Her Magic, I expected to learn about wellness trends. What I found was a way of being.
The Dutch don’t chase happiness — they create space for it.
They light candles even on ordinary days. They sip coffee slowly, wrapped in conversation and warmth.
They call it gezelligheid — a feeling of cozy connection, the comfort of belonging and being fully present.
It’s laughter with friends around a glowing table. It’s the hush of a winter evening, wrapped in a blanket with nothing left to prove. It’s knowing that rest isn’t laziness — it’s nourishment.
🌙 The Solstice Invitation
Every December, the Winter Solstice arrives as a cosmic whisper — a pause between endings and beginnings.
It’s the longest night of the year, when the Earth tilts toward stillness and the light begins its quiet return.
Nature rests.
The trees conserve their energy.
The world exhales.
And so can you.
The Solstice is an invitation to practice niksen in its purest form — to do nothing with deep intention. Not as avoidance, but as devotion.
A sacred pause between what has been and what’s becoming.
🕯️ A Solstice Practice in the Spirit of Niksen
Tonight, let yourself drift.
Light a single candle — not as ritual, but as permission.
Curl up somewhere warm.
Let the world blur around the edges.
There’s nothing to fix, nothing to force, nothing to achieve.
Watch the flame flicker.
Listen to your breath rise and fall.
Let your thoughts wander like clouds across a winter sky.
This is Solstice Niksen — the sacred stillness where renewal begins.
When we soften into nothing, everything finds its place again.
✨ What the Dutch Can Teach Us About Enough
The Dutch embody that joy doesn’t have to be earned. It’s in motion and in stillness, in laughter and in silence.
They dance at every age, complain honestly, rest without guilt, and find beauty in being themselves.
What if this season, you did the same? What if your self-care was simply presence — with yourself, your people, your breath, your life?
Maybe the real magic of the holidays isn’t in doing more, but in finally being here.
🎧 Listen & Begin Your Own Reset
If your soul is craving stillness and sweetness this season — I invite you to listen to:
🎧 Episode 3: The Magic of Doing Nothing — The Self-Care Secrets of the Dutch: A story about freedom, coziness, and the radical beauty of rest.
👉 Listen here
And if you’re ready to bring that energy into your own daily rhythm, join me for the 21-Day Starter Challenge for Embodied Joy — a gentle self-care journey of yoga, breathwork, and soulful restoration.
✨ Normally $97 — now only $21 for the holidays.
Because joy isn’t found in more — it’s found in enough.
👉 Join the Challenge
This Solstice, may you give yourself the most magical gift of all — the courage to do nothing.
Let stillness refill you and remember that sometimes, rest is the real revolution.
🌙 With warmth and wonder,
Sonia
Sonia is a yoga educator and mind-body coach who helps busy, creative women prioritize their self-care so they have more energy to pursue their passions and to truly embody joy. She is also the host of Contain Her Magic, a podcast for women ready to embody their creative fire without burning out.