Self-Care During the Holidays
Holidays can be fun and exhilarating, but can also be exhausting if we don’t take effective care of ourselves during this busy time of the year. Here are some tips to help you honor yourself and your needs as you maneuver through the upcoming days. These are merely suggestions to keep things healthy and low-stress, but it’s also fun to indulge during the holidays. Your self-care is yours, so you get to choose what you do and how you live. There is no right or wrong to this, so I encourage you to be mindful and decide what works best for you.
· Gift others and yourself – while out buying gifts for your loved ones, it’s a great time to gift yourself. While out shopping you are sure to find things you’d love to have or need.
· Give gifts of self-care services and positive experiences to your dearest. These are gifts that keep giving, with benefits that affect how your loved ones feel through pampering and fond memories created through the experience.
· Set boundaries that honor your needs. Say “no” if you don’t have time or prefer not to attend. If you must make an appearance, make it quick with an intended time limit. You can always change your mind if you are feeling good and having fun.
· Set healthy boundaries around activities and people that drain your energy. Examples include shopping during slower hours; limiting news, tv, social media to focus on you and your life; limit or eliminate time spent with negative people that are exhausting or you don’t enjoy being around.
· Eat and drink in moderation. Consider how you feel in the long-term when you overindulge on alcohol, high sugar and foods don’t agree with you. The short-term gratification is not always worth it.
· Use half the sugar called for in recipes… you may not even notice!
· Drink tea, juice, smoothies, superfood blends or sparkling or lemon water as a substitute for alcohol at gatherings. Bring your own beverage!
· Bring your favorite healthy dishes, salads and desserts to gatherings, so you know there will be something to eat that you enjoy and is nutritious. Other are sure to love it too!
· Walk or gently move your body after heavy meals.
· Take time to be alone, even while enjoying time with family and friends. Excusing yourself for a few minutes or a longer duration go outside for fresh air, meditation, a nap, or whatever you need to rejuvenate yourself.
· Clear your energy field when you get home from shopping or gatherings to release negative energy and revitalize. Chapter 9 of Mastering Self-Care is dedicated to energy management and clearing with a variety of effective techniques.
· Schedule services to ensure that you feel your best. Examples include a massage, pedicure, therapy session, energy healing session, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture session, or whatever works well for you.
· Do your inner-work. Holidays and spending time with family can be triggering, but don’t have to be. Doing deep inner-work as these arise is like gently pulling roots from your core. When we do the work on the inside, it affects how we treat ourselves, how others treat us and how we respond in stressful situations.
· Cultivate gratitude for the gifts of family and friends, health, your home, food, and the people who help your life run more smoothly (teachers, mail carrier, staff, clients, store clerks, and more). Abundance is all around us, and the more we appreciate and tune into the frequency of abundance the more it seems to appear.
Many blessings!