So much to be thankful for!

Since we are coming into the holiday season and things will be crazy busy, it seems a good time to acknowledge all the natural beauty around us. The shops will be ramping up with the holiday music as well as the decorations. With errands to run and things on our list to check off we tend to forget that we live in a magnificent world that is beautiful just as it is without all the artificial tinsel and lights.

If we just stop for a few minutes in our day and gaze out the window, we can restore our equilibrium by soaking up the sights and sounds around us. It might be a patch of sunlight illuminating a single leaf or a tiny chipmunk scurrying across the road with his cheeks full of acorns, that causes us to catch our breath in wonder. When that first crystalline snowflake lands on the fir tree outside the window, stop what you are doing and admire it. The list of things to do will still be there but nature is transitory and its beauty changes every minute!

Do holidays stress you out? Read this then.

If you want to stay relaxed when the holiday craziness begins then try this breathing exercise. Find a quiet place to sit comfortably where you won't be interrupted for at least five minutes. If you want to set the mood light a candle or arrange the lighting so it is relaxing. Wear loose clothing, you are going to be breathing in and out and you don't want your diaphragm to be constricted. If it takes a few minutes to quiet your thoughts that's okay. Just take five minutes for yourself and try to block out everything else. You know it will all be waiting for you anyway. Take some deep breaths and just think about the breaths going in and out. The slower your breaths are the greater the benefits will be. Your heart beat will slow down and the stress hormone levels will drop. You might want to start out with just a minute or so of deep breathing and then increase by a few minutes each day. You might not have time to do this for twenty minutes but if you do it early morning and before bedtime you will feel more centered for your day and sleep better at night.

Deep breathing can also improve memory through increasing the capacity to focus, pay attention, and be more self aware. When all the bustle that is around us, taking care of ourselves is important.  Paying attention to our breathing is such a small thing but can go a long way to helping us cope with all the stress that the holidays can bring. Be merry!