Cozymaxxing: How to Create a Restorative Hibernation Season for Your Nervous System

Welcome back to Bri Books! Today’s episode is all about “Cozymaxxing,” and how to create a hibernation season for yourself that feels restorative. I share with you a few practical ways to inject more cozy into your everyday. If you’re new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please tell me where you’re traveling to by using #bribooks on Instagram and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter.

What is Cozymaxxing?

Cozymaxxing, to me, is about intentional softness and what happens after the peak. We’re currently in the waning moon (January 15, 2026). As the moonlight gets less and less, right now, it’s almost like life is taking a big exhale. Use this time of the year to “cozymaxx” for yourself. 

Online, cozymaxxing often looks like candles, blankets, staying in, and yummy soups. It’s also a great time to ask ourselves, what can be softened? What can be released? What do we not need to hold so tightly to? Winter is the perfect time to nest within yourself. Nature shows us the way—bears hibernate and turn their heat inward, focusing their growing force inward to germinate the seeds. During January, take time to slow down, ado some nervous system repair, and work on your emotional and physical digestion.

Cozy as a form of release

Being comfortable and cozy doesn’t mean just dealing with what’s there—it means releasing what doesn’t add to comfortability. Cozymaxxing becomes powerful when I compare it with release, so it doesn’t feel like an accumulation of sensory experiences. I want my cozymaxxing to also have a release, so it’s about output. Remember, input without output leads to stagnation. So, think about what needs to go.

Cozymaxxing as nervous system care

You’re probably a little overstimulated—I know I am. When it comes to regulating my nervous system, to me, cozymaxxing involves trusting my body to know what it needs, so I don’t have to do a ‘system override’ of what I’m feeling, where, in my body. 

Practical cozymaxxing practices

1. Choose one small space in your home to soften (in your home or workplace). That means making the place very soft and comfy, somewhere you find yourself coming back to and wanting to come back to. I often soften my nightstand, display my teas proudly with a little tea making station, etc. soften your environment. To soften mine, I’ll often rearrange the crystal dish, cleaning the nightstand, and refreshing the artifacts in my home. Take specific blankets and throw pillows and designate a corner of your couch for them.
2. Remember: the power of cozymaxxing is preparation. f you’re thinking of cozymaxxing through the ens of the moon cycles the waning moon isn’t the end—it’s preparation for the new/ rest supports growth, it doesn’t delay it. We are all seeds!
3. Hibernation and cozymaxxing is about turning inward. Seeds don’t sprout in chaos! They sprout in stillness, warmth and darkness. And that’s what the winter offers—time for the seeds of your life to sprout. Cozymaxxing is how we tend to the soil of our routines. 

If you’re new to the show, leave a review of Bri Books on Apple Podcasts, and listen to Bri Books on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please tell me where you’re traveling to by using #bribooks on Instagram and subscribe to the Bri Books newsletter at bribookspod.com/newsletter.