Friday Wellness Tip Plan Holiday Stress Relief Rituals Now

PINIMAGEDear Wellness Seekers,

Friday Wellness Tip Plan Holiday Stress Relief Rituals Now before to prevent stress from getting the better of you later as the holidays get into full swing.

One important aspect of the Spanista mindset is Self Awareness coupled with Proactive Self Care. So may I suggest this Friday Wellness Tip – Take time out this weekend to do a bit of considered planning for your own wellbeing. It will provide a  healthy emotional and physical context for living out the holidays so enjoy everyday, every way. Your deserve to be happy during this time of year so keep calmness top of mind.

Here are some things to consider as you look forward to the next 5 weeks. The idea is to ward off the ugly dragons of stress especially during a time when we are over-scheduled, over-burdened – but now is the time to be conscious of NOT overextending yourself. Your goal is to take charge of yourself.

1. Take a Calendar in hand with days outlined from now until January 5th, 2015. Make sure you have the type that you can write on. Now find a quite spot at  home or at your favorite coffee spot to close your eyes and reflect on how you want to feel this holiday?  What the overarching theme – Joyful? Peaceful? Love? Once you make your choice – make some note about how you want to bring this to life. Now proactively establish the mod and mindset your want to prevail. Every night as you fall to sleep revisit the theme while being thankful for the ways it came to life that day and the role played to make it happen.

2. Next review what  plans you have coming up – list the ones you know and also consider allowing for spontaneity as great unexpected events may come your way. Prioritize which ones will bring your happiness while staying on your Holiday theme. Now edit out the ones that do not. Say ‘No Thank You’ to invitations that are not on your theme. Remember block out time once a week for your Self Care time.

3. Now set back to observe your stressful behavior patterns. Monitor your moods shifts that show signs of stress. Learn to recognize your stress as it starts. Here are some tips – Observe your muscles, and insides like your gut.  Observe your breath. Physical tension will take its toll before your mind catches up. The idea is to stop it early before it gets out of hand.

4. Be ready to bring your senses to the rescue just in case you miss steps 1 to 3 or in spite your best efforts stress gets the better of you. Find one of two ways to melt it away and get back to your  Happy Holiday Theme. Here are 3 suggestions. You will find that once you practice it – the positive results will come quickly as your body shifts to respond to the relief it seeks.

~ Sight: Pick a cherished iphoto you can look at that brings your joy. Print is out and it visible in strategic places – wallet, kitchen counter so it is there when you need to stress reduction.

~ Sound: Pick a stress reduction sound track on Pandora – three songs that you can turn to that shifts your mood to something calming and peaceful like water waves, birds singing or arias.

~ Smell: Select your favorite scent – mine is lavender for stress reduction rituals. Get it in couple of small purse size roller ball pens from Whole Foods. Take it out as soon as you feel your body take on tension

Lastly, perhaps putting a personal ritual in place every night – something you can look forward where you put your feet up late at night  and simply chill with one glass of beautiful wine and  apiece of dark chocolate. Indulge yourself in the treat – put the technology down and pick up a book or your journal and write observations of the holiday as it unfolds – your feelings, observations, events memorable moments. It will help your digest the business and stress in a productive way.

All these are easy affordable ways to keep your stress under control so you can stay calm. It just take a bit for mindset planning and Self Care Rituals you can turn to.

What ideas do you use to reduce stress during the holidays?

May Your Self Care Journey To Joy Be Merry & Bright,

Ginny