Stress: Ease Holiday Pressure Tips

I hope you are all well and enjoying the beauty of the snow!!! I just wanted to send you some tips I received from my trainer Patricia Crane as they are very useful especially at this time.

In our already busy lives, the holidays are often a time of more stress rather than more joy and fun. Buying presents can stretch the family budget, demands on time increase, and family gatherings can be a challenge. This year simplify your life with these tips and enjoy the season more!

1. Begin with affirmations that this season is a fun and enjoyable time for you and your family. When you become aware of any negative thoughts about the holidays, tell yourself, 'stop!' Affirm that everything will get done easily.

2. Practice stress management! Remember to breathe deeply and easily, letting your shoulders, neck, and back relax and let go.

3. During the holidays the average person gains 5 pounds and then has to do a New Year's Resolution to lose them! Set an intention to maintain your weight. Plan lower calorie desserts- or don't even serve a dessert. Eat less the day before you are going to a party or big meal. Do simple things to move more, like dancing to your favorite songs or parking further away from the office so you walk more.

4. Simplify your gift giving by setting a theme. For example, make this a music year where you buy everyone a CD of their type of music. You can do all your shopping in one store! Or purchase gift certificates online. Now that's really easy!

5. Rather than buying gifts for friends, suggest that you spend time with each other instead. Go to a movie or share a meal. You'll save hours of trying to decide what they want, shopping, wrapping, etc.

6. One poll in an American study discovered that 83% of people (and I'm sure this is true of people in Ireland & other countries as well) wanted more time to spend with their families. Set a time to go to a fun holiday activity with your family and consider it as a present to each other.

7. Set a budget for not only gift giving but decorating and entertaining as well and stick with it. In January you'll be glad you did.

8. If family gatherings are something you look forward to, wonderful!! However, if they tend to be a challenge, prepare emotionally ahead of time. Visualize yourself staying calm. Remember Don't Take It Personally.

9. Contribute to a community agency that is helping others with food and presents during the holidays. Volunteer to help.

10. Plan ahead. Make a list of priorities and stay focused on them. Spend a few minutes at night deciding what's most important to get done the next day. Be reasonable in your expectations! Set boundaries for yourself. It's OK to say no to something you don't want
to do. Respect your own need for time.

11. Remember that letting someone know you care is the greatest gift of all. This season, say I love you as much as possible to family and friends. Let people know why they are special to you. And also remember to love and appreciate yourself.

Enjoy!

Loretta :)

An arm and hand massage

The basic plan. " An arm and hand massage". Learn and practice by yourself easily with 19 people on the basic arm and hand. Relieve muscle aches. Relieve sprains. Allows for better blood circulation. The skin keeps your skin radiant, bright and relieve stress. The basic Massage - massage arms and hands. Tha 1 " chopped arms". Reduce pain, muscle aches, arm. Relieve sprains and arm. • How to massage the massage was lying flat on the floor or couch. Head into the pillow. Turn palms up, arms stretched straight. A massage with both hands placed on the right shoulder. Set up for all hands. Thumb and little finger on his hand experience with the massage. Chopped by hand from the shoulder to the wrist muscles by blocking the hack. I switch back and forth from shoulder to wrist, then switch to the next position. The basic Massage - massage arms and hands. Port 2 " press arm". Reduce pain, muscle aches, arm. • How to massage the massage was lying flat on t

Laughter is the sound of play.

I loved this article sent to me so much I had to share it. It's from the "Inner Quality Tip" Newsletter from Heartmath.com . Wow... to be a kid again! THE LIGHTER SIDE Someone once told me while I was in the midst of a difficult situation, if there's the slightest chance you might look back on this some day and laugh about it, start laughing now. Granted, this doesn't always work, but it sure has helped me get through some tough times. In addition to facilitating a perceptual shift, laughter has a lot of other benefits. Studies 1 on humor and laughter from Duke University, Loma Linda University, UCLA and others have shown: Laughing helps relax tense muscles. It reduces the production of stress hormones. Laughter and a positive attitude strengthen the immune system. It allows a person to 'forget' about aches and pains and perceive pain as less intense. A good laugh is like an aerobic workout for the heart and lungs--increasing the body's ability to

Finding Peace with Unbearable People

I found a great article and exercise about How to Get Along with People You Don’t Like (And Make Your Life More Peaceful in the Process) . In a nutshell, Brian Vaszily explains the importance of identifying the people who we dislike or make us feel anything but fabulous (not usually hard to find). Then to dig for something, anything, that is of a positive nature in them. Something worth emulating. And then to focus on those qualities. Of course, this is not to say we should put ourselves in harms way by being in a hostile relationship, but to give us a chance to find peace in those relationships that seem to wrap themselves around us. As Wayne Dyer says, " Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world." Enjoy Brian Vaszily's article at IntenseExperiences.com This is another great time to mention Bryon Katie's Work, which is another incredibly powerful way to help deal with people you don't like or can't stand. Katie h

Natural Health and Wellness

Search This Blog