Holiday Stress Support

Holiday Stress Support

It’s happening. The bubbling up of holiday excitement. You see the decor, the ads, hear the sounds- even Christmas music already. With that, you may be feeling the holiday stress. Here are a few tips to keep you present and stress-free.

Breathe away your stress. 

With these two breathing techniques, you can lower blood pressure, calm your central nervous system, and steady your mind.

Box breath: inhale for a count of four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. Repeat for at least 10 breaths and up to 2 minutes. 

Alternate nostril breath. Here is a great video on Youtube to guide you through this breath.

Yoga Poses for stress relief.

Supta Buddha Konasana, Childs Pose, Legs up the Wall. These three poses are so sweet and nurturing. Spend up to 3 minutes in each pose and then go about your day.

Practice gratitude.

Gratitude is a super practice for me to help reduce stress year-round, and I put these practices into hyperdrive during the holidays. 

You can do this 7-day gratitude challenge anytime, anywhere. Set the alarm on your phone to go off every day for the next 7 days. Give yourself three minutes to connect with your gratitude. Gratitude is such a simple practice to combat stress.

Before getting out of bed, write or say out loud THREE things you are grateful for. This sets the tone to bring more positivity to your day.

Call someone.

Pick up the phone and call someone you have not talked to in a long time, and tell them why you are grateful for them. It will make both your days.

Give thanks for the meals you eat. 

Before you start eating, take a pause. Acknowledge the work it took to grow the food, how many miles it traveled to get to you, and the steps to prepare the food. How many people do you think it took for the food on your plate? How many gallons of water, how many hours to grow? Take a moment to really see it. What does it look like? What does it smell like? Alright- Dig in! This sweet ritual can be shared at the table and be a part of the conversation too. And remember, this can be done every day and not only on Thanksgiving Day! 

What do you do when you can not find anything to be grateful for?!?

CHANGE things up.

Do something different, drive a different route, go to a new coffee shop, call someone you miss, practice self-care, turn off your phone when you can, and get outside. Really any one thing you change can shake things up and spark some joy and gratitude.

Get crafty.

Go online, find a craft you can complete, and get to it. Working with your hands and the creativity of your mind is a great way to reduce stress. You may even find it can double as a holiday gift. I think that is a win-win. Remember to map out how long it will take. Give yourself plenty of time as to not feel stressed at the end. 

Prepare yourself now

For many of us, gifts are a part of your holiday season. If that's true for you, I recommend starting shopping now. I used to love racing around just days before the holidays. It was fun, spontaneous, and mysterious. Now I find it stressful, the gifts do not feel as heartfelt, and I often spend way more than I wanted. That clearly does not work for me any longer. It now brings about so much stress that I have started making a gift list. Anytime I see a great gift for someone, I note it on my phone. Then, when the time comes to buy a gift, I have an arsenal of gifts to choose from. If you are just getting started- start with a short meditation. Set the intention to come up with heartfelt and loving things to buy or make that you know they will love. 

Plan your holiday menus.

Another way for me to reduce stress is to plan ahead. Waiting till the last minute makes me feel disconnected, aloof, and often unproductive. Start talking to your people and plan things out. Let them know you are making a serious effort to reduce everyone's stress over the holidays.

Whatever is bringing you stress this holiday season, I hope these tools help to reduce the stress and infuse your days with gratitude and joy.

Remember to be kind to others as everyone is fighting their own unseen battles. 

Happy Holidays!