Christmas can be a pretty stressful time of year, so at this time of year, it’s important to take time out from the festive hustle and bustle to relax your body, calm your mind and balance your emotions.
According to a study, over half of us feel that we have no time for ourselves during December. Between present shopping, social events and food prepping, the Christmas season can be a time of stress as much as it is a time of joy.
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It’s absolutely fine for you to reclaim the busy season and find real relaxation and contentedness over Christmas.
Here are a few key ways in which
you can do this…
1. Find a minute to be creativeWhether it’s decorating, flower arranging or cooking – choosing to put your phone away and finding a creative task that makes you feel good is a proven way to wave goodbye to anxiety and say hello to a clear mind! 2. Find the lightDuring darker days, open the curtains wide, have breakfast by a window, and walk in the light where you can. This contributes to setting your circadian rhythm, which will help you sleep at night.
3. Up your B vitaminsB vitamins may have mood-boosting properties so aim for a diet rich in B12, B6 and folic acid during the Christmas rush. Find them in seafood, green leafy veg and whole grains. 4. Try a worry downloadGet your notebook out and write down everything on your mind. It all needs to go somewhere so best to get it out onto the page. Once you see it right in front of you, you can see how mindless some of those worries might be. 5. Try an anxiety-reducing exercise classExercise classes can encourage you to leave all thoughts of shopping and present-wrapping at the door and focus on yourself. A Pilates class often includes breathing techniques to slow your busy mind, positive affirmations and relaxing yoga poses.
Image Source: https://i0.wp.com/ 6. Avoid the perfection pitfallStress is the gap between expectations and reality – If you’re trying to create the perfect Christmas, you could be setting yourself up for stress rather than satisfaction. While it’s fine to have a vision driving your Christmas plans, hold that vision lightly. Sometimes just letting things happen is the key. 7. Keep your options openOver the last couple of years, we have had to get used to the possibility that things might not go as planned. So if we are prepared with the mindset of having fluid plans which may change, this means we can see the options and possibilities rather than only seeing the options which aren’t possible. This can help our stress levels and mental health as we can reschedule and do it another time.
8. Take time to escapeRemember to take little moments to chill and recharge. How can you enjoy yourself properly if you’re always exhausted? Scheduling can be a useful tool; if it’s not scheduled in, it often doesn’t end up happening. So with that in mind, schedule in some quiet time for yourself; a run, mindful walk by the sea or a hot bath are great ideas, to make sure and resting.
9. Pause to rememberThe Christmas season can be especially difficult for those who have lost loved ones. Make space for your grief, take all the time you need, and let people know how you feel – they will understand. 10. PerspectiveThis may seem a pessimistic thought, but Christmas is just one day. A day we put a lot of pressure and hype on and often it might not quite deliver! So what if we rephrase Christmas Day as a time for sending loving thoughts and sitting down for a lovely meal together? Leading up to Christmas people often tend to say to me “I must do…., I need to find time to….., I need to keep everyone else happy….” That sounds like a lot of pressure and taking responsibility for other peoples happiness. Instead, share the load and ask for help, or just remember that the meal is what you want to make it, not what others or Christmas adverts dictate. 11. MusicThe power of music to change our mood is often under rated. So if you are feeling stressed, anxious, under pressure why not create a playlist of tunes which help to lift your mood and have you smiling or even dancing around the kitchen. 12. Breathe DeeplyPeople who are feeling stressed, anxious or under pressure often breathe very shallowly and from the chest. So whilst you’re stuck in traffic or checking your emails, just take 3 deep breaths in and out. Allowing your tummy and chest to expand as you breath in and fall as you breathe out. Just 3 breaths can help us feel calmer, more relaxed and able to continue with what we need to get done.
13. Christmas MantraA mantra is a phrase or word you can use to help you focus particularly within meditation. This can be applied outside of our meditation practice to. If you are someone who often finds themselves focusing on the negative try finding a positive saying that you can silently repeat to yourself to help you feel less stressed and anxious. Some people find just saying breathing in calm and breathing out calm helps. I often say to myself – no matter what I currently see before me the universe is rearranging itself in my favour right now. Even when it feels difficult to say or you don’t quite believe it the more you say it the easier it is. Give it a go – you can make up your own just keep it positive and open to possibilities. |
References: https://magazine.
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