Staying Grounded During the Holidays

The weather is blustery, you are closing out the calendar year at work, holiday parties abound, and the malls becken...followed by a pile of presents to wrap.

Did you remember to breath?  

The holidays can be a fun, exciting time, celebrating with family and friends.  But they can also be stressful for many reasons--if family relationships are strained or non-existent, if money is tight, if challening travel is required.  It's easy to feel frazzled.

While it's easy to let your yoga practice fall by the wayside, it's more important now then ever to connect to yourself, and to your source of faith or inspiration.  If you can't get to a class, there are plenty of ways to stay grounded and connected as the holidays whiz along.

• Schedule (yes, put it in your calendar!) at least 5 minutes a day to sit quietly.  You don't need to call it meditation if that label gets in the way.  Just give yourself some quite time.  Be resourceful.  You may not get this time at home, but what about at your desk?  On the train to or from work?  On the airplane to your parents house.  Work with your situation, don't fight it!
• Practice gratitude.  It's easy to get wrapped up in what we can't buy, what we don't have, where we're not going, and who's not with us during this season.  But being grateful for what we do have helps us put things into perspective, and is said to strengthen relationships, improve health, reduce stress, and just make us happier!  

• Focus on a few grounding asanas and practice them as time allows. Below are a few, with complementing benefits, you can do in just about any size space.

1. Simple cross legged pose-  Root down through your sit bones and legthen your spine.  Feel the support of the ground underneath you and breath!  This pose is said to relieve physical and mental exhaustion.
2. Warrior 2- Press both fee firmly into the ground and activate those legs.  Find your drishti and feel your strength.  This pose helps improve balance, concentration and core awareness. 

1. Tree pose- Grow standing leg into the earth, lengthen tailbone and engage through the core to find your balance.  Tree pose strengthens your posture and calms and relaxes your mind and central nervous system.
2. Pigeon-Seek balance in the hips and pelvis as you set up.  Use props as necessary to find comfortable connection with your support.  Let your lower body open.  This pose may help relieve sciatic nerve tension and ease chronic low back pain.
3. Half Lord of the Fish- Inhale for length and exhale to deepen this twist. This pose is said to relieve stress and restore balance to the body, mind and spirit.  Twists purify and help you release what does not serve you.
4. Child's pose-This pose of devotion connects your third eye to the earth.  It increases blood circulation to your head, which can help reduce headaches.

If you find yourself skipping classes over the next few weeks, for any reason, try finding a few minutes alone and take my advice.  It just might help you sail through the busiest time of year feeling a little more calm, thankful, and happy.

Namaste!

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