Wholesome Resources for Mind-Body Mastery through Yoga, Meditation, Guided Imagery, Stress Relief, Wellness
Know what goodies will fill you. What kind of contact will be fulfilling for you? What kind of gift exchange will be meaningful to you? What do you need to help your heart and soul feel refreshed?
If you know clearly what you want, it’s easier to choose activities that are likely to satisfy your desires.
Please make a comment and let me know.
Holidays can be filled with lots of ups and downs, times of panic and peace, and full of potential for personal renewal for the body, mind and especially the spirit.
Each year, I go into the season with one foot on the break and the other on the gas. What a perfect way to get stuck, eh?
Luckily, Whole Person Associates, my awesome publisher, helps me find meaning from this time of the year and handle the stress of it. They have published a wonderful booklet called Kicking your Holiday Stress Habits. It’s excellent and you can get your copy here. You’ll benefit from it now and year after year.
Over the next 11 days, I will be sharing some things that have really helped me. My heartfelt thanks go out to the wonderful folks at Whole Person Associates for reminding me (and you) of the wellness way of enjoying the holidays.
Happy Holidays to One and All!
Solving Holiday Stress
Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Nicholas, Kwanza, Winter Solstice, Navidades, Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s, the holidays are inherently stressful.
Decide now whether this year will be full of the season’s stressful traps or fulfilling with plenty of treasures to be thankful for. Now is the time to set priorities and make the necessary changes so the holidays are inspiring and energizing instead of a drain. It’s especially important to pay attention to what your needs and wishes are for your body, mind, and heart while finding the balance with sharing with others.
Operating on automatic can add even more stress causing unhappiness, sickness, poor relationships and lack of energy. Why not improve your ability to handle stress by practicing the following effective ways to cope with stress. I DARE you to Relax! Please check out the CD’s down below too. Each provide helpful tools and techniques for renewal. They make excellent gifts too.
DARE to Relax includes: D = Diet; A = Attitude and Awareness; R = Rest, Relaxation and Relationships; E = Exercise.
DIET: Don’t deprive yourself of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals that can help you reduce the effects of daily stress. Stress uses up your supply of vitamins A, B and C which can lead to feeling irritable and tired. Calcium is essential for your central nervous system to function normally. Without enough, your nerves become frayed. If you consistently eat well-balanced meals, you can fortify your system giving you the nourishment to guard against the harmful effects of stress.
Eat a nutritious breakfast
Choose fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains
Choose baked or broiled food instead of fried
Cut down on too much fat, salt, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, additives and preservatives
Maintain a healthy weight
Choose holiday foods with care. Eat the special things that are delicious and bring you in touch with warm memories. You really don’t have to eat everything to get the taste of the holidays.
ATTITUDE AND AWARENESS: Research shows that as much as 75% of illnesses are the result of experiencing too much stress. Not being able to handle stress properly can decrease the effectiveness of your immune system. Become more aware of how you respond to tension and stress in your life and begin to make adjustments. Are you responding appropriately? Could you be over-reacting? Is it possible to avoid or change a situation that causes you anxiety? By improving your awareness and improving how you react to stress, it might be possible to avoid some of your headaches, stomachaches and other problems. Try laughing. Laughter is like internal jogging. It aids digestion and improves alertness and productivity by sending blood and oxygen to your brain and increases the production of the body’s catecholamines.
Learn to accept situations you can’t change; give in once in a while
Learn to communicate with others; talk your worries out
Take one thing at a time; don’t take on too many changes at once
Manage your time more effectively; don’t procrastinate
Be positive and realistic
Express your feelings in healthy ways
Create variety in your work; do old things new ways
REST AND RELAXATION: It is much easier to handle stress if you are rested and know how to remain calm. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night is essential. Although recreation and being diverted from stress is helpful (playing a sport, watching a movie) true relaxation is different. It involves giving yourself an honest break from activity and excess stimulation. Breathing deeply, smoothly, slowly and from the diaphragm is relaxing since it too sends a fresh supply of blood to the brain and throughout the body. It oxygenates your system and even slows down the heartbeat.
Plan leisure time; take breaks
Spend time on a hobby; seek new interests
Schedule some quiet time alone every day; meditate; pray
Have fun, play and laugh
Cut down on noise levels at home and work; turn the radio or TV off
Replenish yourself with therapeutic relaxation, guided imagery and affirmations. See the suggestions for CD’s below to feel rejuvenated improve your outlook and help your health.
EXERCISE: When under stress, there is an increase of adrenalin in the system as part of the flight or fight response, which can drain you of energy if not effectively released. Exercise regularly to work stresses off positively. This can improve your productivity and increase your energy. Be sure to choose physical activity that you enjoy.
This may be the year to tamper with holiday traditions so the spirit and meaning of the holidays are once again filled with tidings of comfort and joy.
Help for the holidays. These CD’s will replenish your energy and renew your outlook. They make great gifts too!
Its many benefits include:
Digital downloads are available.
CLICK the blue title link above to find out more...
I woke up in the middle of the night not long ago with a headache. Ouch! It was piercing me right between the eyes. This is unusual for me and I was hurting and unhappy about it.
Well, I was snuggled under the covers and didn’t want to get up. Luckily, I thought of the yoga mudra for headaches. In no time at all, my head quit hurting and I was back sleeping once again. Since I didn’t look at the clock (that’s too depressing in the middle of the night), I woke up once more with a headache so I repeated the yoga mudra and it worked just as fast. The next morning I woke up feeling rested and no more headache.
This mudra is particularly good for sinus headaches. It is also calming, centering and clears your head bringing clarity.
One of my favorite yoga hand positions, otherwise called yoga mudras, is the Pran Mudra.
It is simple to do and very powerful.
1. Put the tips of the thumb, ring and little fingers together. Instead of touching the tips, another way is to put the thumb on the fingernails of the ring and little fingers.
2. Extend the middle and pointer fingers
3. Use with both hands. It’s fine to have your hands down by your side, resting in your lap, or add it to a standing posture while practicing yoga
4. Use it as needed for 5 to 30 minutes. As a treatment, do it 3 times a day for 15 minutes. As with all mudras, practice slow, deep and mindful breathing to magnify the benefits.
Hi Julie!
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve been frequently using the Pran Mudra that you taught us. I really enjoyed how it was incorporated into our yoga postures and really felt that it significantly enhanced my practice, energy and mood that night. I’ve been using it while on my morning walks. I’m very excited!
