🫠 Melting is messy

In this newsletter:

📡 Living out my childhood dream of reporting the weather
⏰ Why DST is a menace to society
🌞 How many hours of daylight we’re gaining this month
🫠 The slow, soggy transition into spring
💆🏻‍♀️ March 23 Soul Care Sunday: Loving you through the in-between season

Hello friend 👋

With snow piled high, slush at every sidewalk corner, and more in the forecast, it’s hard to believe that in just 22 days, we’ll be saying goodbye to winter and welcoming spring.

This morning, the sun rose at 6:53 AM and will set at 6:06 PM, giving us 11 hours and 13 minutes of daylight.

And soon, Daylight Saving Time (DST) will hit on March 9—springing the clocks forward an hour, throwing everyone off. Disrupting sleep, health, safety, and productivity, it brings:

• Grumpy, sleep-deprived humans adjusting to lost time.

• A 24% spike in heart attacks the Monday after the change.

• 6% more fatal car crashes as groggy drivers hit the road.

• More workplace errors, fatigue, and stress.

• Stock markets get jumpy, tempers get short, and household patience runs thin.

Why is DST still a thing?! (Are you for or against it?)

But by March 21, the sun will rise at 7:22 AM and set at 7:33 PM, bringing us over 12 hours of daylight. That’s one more hour of light to pull us out of winter’s fog! That’s the good news.

And yet, the transition to spring is never that simple.

Even though the vernal equinox marks the official start of the season, the shift is anything but crisp. It’s a soggy mess, much like change itself.

Some days feel fresh and full of possibility, while others, we slog through the weight of winter, unsure if we’re ready to emerge. Northern hemisphere problems.

That’s why Soul Care Sunday on March 23 is designed to love you through this mucky, in-between space.

A morning to shed, soften, and awaken 🫠

You don’t wake up magically brushed, dressed, and caffeinated (though wouldn’t that be nice?). You have a process and a rhythm to easing from sleep into the day.

Shifting seasons is no different, and Balm is here to honour that.

Through movement, rest, and reflection, we’ll release winter’s heaviness and ease into the lightness of spring—gently, naturally, without forcing it.

What to expect:

• Somatic movement to shake off stiffness and ease into flow

• Restful meditation to meet yourself where you are

• Guided reflection to set intentions that inspire you for the new season

• Poetry & Piano - I’ll read, Michelle will play, you’ll simply be

You’ll leave feeling warmer and brighter, having melted away some stress, and most importantly—okay with where you are at the start of the season.

🫠 Soul Care Sunday: Shed Winter, Ease Into Spring
🗓️ Sunday March 23, 10:30am-12pm
🎶 Solo piano music performed by Michelle Lau
📍 Society Clubhouse at 967 College St, Toronto
🎟️ Save your spot through Eventbrite

You’re the balm.

xo
Karen Choi, Founder of Balm