We’ve got five tips to help you beat holiday stress, and enjoy the sparkle and shine this season, the way you should.
The holiday ‘creep’ is here. Halloween had barely passed before the stores began to fill with trees and trimmings. We love the holiday season, but the busy pace and can make even the season yogi tense. We’ve got five tips to help you beat holiday stress, and enjoy the sparkle and shine this season, the way you should.
They’re simple; the idea is to keep it simple rather than add more things to your to-do list.
1. Breathe. We know, you hear it a lot. But it’s really one of the simplest and effective ways to reset your body. It doesn’t need to be complicated or lengthy, either. We like a easy-to-remember method called “smell the roses, blow the hot cocoa.” Take a deep breath through the nose to smell the roses and blow out through your mouth as if cooling a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Just a few rounds like this and you’ll find yourself calmer and more focused. Practice finding your breath in one of our relaxing Nidra, Restorative or Yin classes. (See our full class schedule here).
2. It’s ok to relax. The holiday season will fill your calendar to the minute if you let it. You don’t have to attend every choir performance, every party, every holiday light show. Instead, take time for yourself to attend a favorite yoga class, window shop at your favorite stores, or just take an afternoon off for you. We know it can be hard—ask for help if you need to. Have a spouse or family take the kids, ask a friend to run an errand, so ‘no thanks’ to an invitation out. If you try to cram it all in until the end of the year, you won’t have time to stop and appreciate the joys of the season. You can kick off your holiday season relaxation with one of our special classes offered over Thanksgiving weekend including an All Levels Gratitude Flow with Jenny Brown on Thanksgiving morning, Restorative w/Singing Bowls with Lisa Bozeman on Black Friday, and a Beginner’s Yoga class with Gina McElroy on Saturday. Register for the class of your choice early to reserve your spot!
3. Get outdoors! Here in Arizona, it’s the most wonderful time of the year to be outside. The mornings are chilly enough to bundle up, and the days are bright and sunny. You don’t need to schedule it as exercise—just get outside and take a stroll. Walk the dog, stop by your neighbor’s house to say hello. Nature and fresh air are wonderful healers, and good for firing up the brain, too. A recent study found that 95% of people reported being in a better mood after being in nature, even for a short period.
4. Light a candle, turn on some music, take a bath. If you can do all three, great! If not, try to set aside some time either daily or weekly to take a few moments just for you. Plan a day and time you can look forward to and just unwind. Try to avoid electronics and especially social media when you do, and just focus on the sound around you. Be sure to check out our wonderful Black Friday sales—(stay tuned for details coming soon!!) we’ll have tons of great LOCAL artisans with their unique products, including holiday scented Enlighten Candles and Edna Valley essential oils that will make your ‘spa’ time special.
5. Create a gratitude list. You could just do it because Oprah swears by it. You could also listen to a recent Harvard Health article that found gratitude is consistently associated with greater happiness. There are no rules-- start simply with things like ‘I have food to eat,’ and go from there. When the ‘holi-daze’ get crazy; look over your list and reflect. We know one thing we are grateful for—our wonderful Ignite Family! Gobble gobble!
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