Christmas – we all love it (but we also dread it a lot of the time).  Dread may be too strong a word but although its lovely seeing the faces of your little ones light up on Christmas morning – its a long haul to get you there so how do we deal with Christmas stress?

Aside from the usual ever increasing present list – I used to dread when the Argos catalogue came into the store, or when the Christmas adverts start on the TV,  it can feel like a mountain to climb to get everything done – and keep your sanity too!

So what do we do?  We are racing around to find that “Elf on a Shelf’ still in the store, and how do we keep that little elf busy for 24 days!!???  For some ideas on that check out this great page HERE by the way – some very funny ideas!

Elf on the shelf

We would all like to get more family time to enjoy the run up to the big day – maybe Christmas shopping at the Christmas markets, or some ice skating – which I have just done – a fun time was had and I didn’t fall over once! or a pantomime.  All this on top of the usual ‘so how am I going to pay for all this?’ question too.

Although a little day to day stress can be good for you too much can cause anxiety, sleeplessness, headaches or even stomach pains.  Longer term this can affect our immune system, blood pressure or cause tension pain in various parts of the body so no wonder we are always exhausted and ill after Christmas.

So although we love Christmas what can we do to cut down on the stress and make it enjoyable for everyone (including you)!?  Well taking a little time out for yourself is always a cracking idea.  Sometimes you just need to treat yourself to keep you on track.  Sometimes you just need to reset your energy levels.

Meditation may seem like an unlikely antidote to this stress but it is definitely a worthy contender. Meditation – simply concentrating on the breath can turn that fight and flight feeling into the relax and repair mode as the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in.

Below is an amazing meditation to help you restore that inner glow. Taking just 8 minutes out of your day can make a huge difference so why not try it – it will help you through the Christmas period.

So enjoy your Christmas and remember when its all getting on top of you just slip an alarm onto your phone to remind you to take timeout and have that 8 minute breathing space it will really help – I promise.

My name is Julie Elder and I am a complementary therapist/yoga teacher at Totally Holistic Health.  I am passionate about helping your body stay healthy in a natural and holistic way.

To find out more information on how I can help you please feel free to check out my website at www.totallyholistichealth.co.uk.

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