Tips on Keeping Your Spirits Up During the Holidays

What technique for lifting your spirits would you like to know more about?

Meditation

Meditation is a way to relax and renew the mind and the spirit. Try one of these techniques for refreshing your spirit.

The Basics

Meditation is not necessarily about having no thoughts; it’s about having no reactions to your thoughts, so allow the thoughts to come and go. Be gentle and patient with the process.

First Steps

When beginning to meditate, bring yourself to a relaxed and comfortable posture, either sitting on the floor, in a chair, or lying on your back. Be aware of the spine being effortlessly extended up. Exhale completely, leaving a slight pause before your next breath.

Follow the breath

Exhale completely leaving a slight pause.
Allow the body to naturally inhale allowing for a slight pause before exhaling.
Continue the cycle in a slow relaxed fashion, mentally counting one for the inhale and using the mental recitation of “and” or some other single syllable word with neutral or positive connotations for the exhale (words like “love,” “joy,” “fresh,” etc.)

Focus on Something of Beauty

Choose an image or object that has positive connotations for you, a picture of something that inspires you: a flower, the palm of your hand, or something in a natural setting, like a beautiful rock.
Concentrate on the image or object as you breathe deeply and rhythmically.
If distracting thoughts come up, allow them to float away and return to your point of focus.

Finish the Meditation

Take your time coming back from the meditation experience to your regular day. When you finish, enjoy the serenity. Begin to allow the body to breathe in and out naturally. (You’re observing the breath, not controlling it.) Start with about five minutes and build up your time as you become more comfortable with the process.

The celebrations, shopping and traveling associated with the holiday season can become a real grind if you don’t make time to relax.

How to Relax and Renew

Being relaxed and refreshed can make all the difference when it comes to having a healthy and happy holiday season. Try these techniques for recharging and renewing your spirit.

Deep breathing or breathing exercises

To relax using this method, you must consciously slow your breathing. Focus on taking deep, regular breaths. As you do this, you’ll find that your breathing will naturally slow down. Do this for five or ten minutes, initially, and then gradually increase your time.

Guided imagery

For this technique, you focus on pleasant images to replace negative or stressful feelings and to relax. Guided imagery may be directed by you or a practitioner through storytelling or descriptions designed to suggest mental images (also called visualization). You may take a mental vacation to your favorite getaway: by the ocean, a river, the beach, a rainforest, etc.

Progressive relaxation

For this relaxation method, you focus on tightening and relaxing each muscle group. Tightening the muscle allows the blood to rush in when the muscle is in its relaxed state. Progressive relaxation is often combined with guided imagery and breathing exercises.

Positive affirmations

Positive affirmations are statements that reprogram negative thinking and inner chatter into positive. For example, if you feel you’re always giving your time taking care of other people and their problems, you might say an affirmation like: “I make time for myself.” or “I take care of myself, too.” If you’re feeling run down, you may want to affirm “I am healthy and strong.” If you’re worried about the hectic holiday to come a good general affirmation is “I can handle anything that comes my way.”