Self Care: FREE Holiday Stress Reduction Tips

While the holiday theme is joy, love, and gift-giving, the stress that can go with the hustle, bustle, and pressure of putting it all together can overcome these feelings. Stress can build up over time or show up when internal needs and feelings are ignored.

Multi-tasking to plan holiday gatherings, shopping, or communications for the end of the year can make basic needs take the back burner to get everything done well or well enough. The potential for stress build-up during this time of year can be an important signal for your personal need for balance and stress reduction in the midst of all this activity.

Holiday Self Care

Self-Care allows you to move from feeling stressed to feeling blessed during the holidays.

A good place to begin is with an easy check-in acronym from 12 Step Programs for stress with HALT. Ask yourself,  “Am I Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired?”

If your answer is “Yes” to any of these, it’s important to take a pause to give yourself the gift of self-care.

The following list offers simple, cost-effective and natural solutions from the Chinese Five Elements System to nourish and balance your needs while harmonizing the giving and receiving cycle.

Hungry

Earth Element is about feeling at home and supported within yourself as you go through the day. When Earth Element becomes imbalanced, it is difficult to experience support in the world, and this leads to feeling ungrounded and disconnected from yourself.

Suggestions for Holiday Self-Care

1) Get in touch with your own needs. 2) Ask for help when you need it. 3) Re-energize your body-mind system by eating root vegetables with organic foods in your holiday meals and snacks. 4) Wear orange or yellow to support your life energy. 5) Find a way to nurture yourself with a warm bath, a funny movie, massage, stretching, or dancing to nourish your life energy. 6) Sing your favorite songs of the season. 7) Place flowers in your environment. 8) Get in touch with all of your senses to enjoy the present moment.

Angry

Wood Element helps with organizing, planning, and moving into action. When you feel blocked with this element, you are much more likely to feel frustrated and angry, and it becomes difficult to see clearly in all situations.

Suggestions for Holiday Self-Care

1) Simplify lists of what you need to do. 2) Set loving and healthy boundaries on your lists and obligations. 3) Make time for your priorities on your calendar during the holidays. 4)  Wear blue or green for calming energy. 5) Listen to calming music. 6) Take a walk next to the water or listen to music with water sounds in it. 7) Get clear on your options.  8) Take a nap, and get a good night’s sleep.

Lonely

Fire Element taps into your connection and need to love, joy, and belong. When this element is out of sync, you are much more likely to feel disconnected from love or heart connections with others.

Suggestions for Holiday Self-Care

1) Ask yourself what brings you the most joy during the holidays. Take inventory of activities, food, people, and blessings that have helped you over the years. 2) Make time to talk with someone you feel comfortable communicating your feelings and needs over the holidays if even for a few moments each time. 3) Take a walk with a two-legged or four-legged friend. As you walk, list things you see around you that are nourishing to your senses or beautiful.          4) Communicate with a shut-in or offer some volunteer time. 5) Schedule daily time to meditate to get in touch with your heart and breath.

Tired

Coherent Water Element connects you to the natural flow of life. When you feel stuck, frozen, or exhausted, your life energy is depleted. This can happen when there has been a build-up of stress over time or you have overextended your life energy through overwork or taking care of others. When you do not pace yourself or take your own needs into account this leads to resentment and the feeling of being a victim.

Suggestions for Holiday Self-Care

1) Take a moment to close your eyes. Get in touch with your breath. Listen to what your body is telling you. Allow the energy in your body to move in whatever direction it needs to move. You can do this with or without music. Your body knows what it needs to release and to move energy. 2) Schedule downtime during the holidays to regenerate your energy. 3) Create loving and healthy boundaries for yourself. 3) Be prepared before gatherings with how much time and energy you spend before, during, and after an event. 4) Express what you are feeling in a loving way and then take care of yourself.

When imbalance and depletion happen between the Five Elements it is easy to lose the connection to your spirit (core essence of yourself). The connection to Metal Element is where you see the value of what you are doing and connect to the blessings of your spirit.

Additional Suggestions for Mindfulness During the Holidays

1) Make a list of what inspires you during this season. Is it finding a ways to celebrate your spiritual path to make the holidays meaningful to you? Is it a sacred meal? Is it seeing the lights? Is it a yearning for peace and spiritual values during this time? 2) What do feel you need to let go of at this time of year? Are there one or two things you could cross off your list to make it easier for you? 3) Are there any feelings of hurt, grief, or loss that need tending or need to move on to help you experience more joy, harmony, and love? 4) Give yourself permission to cry, laugh, and remember those you have loved over the years who have expanded your experience of giving and receiving love. Express gratitude within and with others.

  You can get two more eBooks that include easy and natural ways to calm your body-mind system. These resources include natural modalities like aromatherapy, breath, foods, and acupressure points. Get them here:  FREE Holiday Stress Reduction Tips

---

Kimberly Rex, MS is a certified Advanced Resonance Repatterning® Practitioner, Person-Centered Expressive Therapist, and Wellness and Well-being Life Coach who works with clients all over the world by phone, Skype, and proxy at https://www.windowstotheheart.net

Re-pattern your life to experience greater integrity in your wellness and well-being!