The holiday season is a time to share with family, friends to laugh, love and cry. However, for some people all these emotions over a few short weeks can be overwhelming. No matter how strong you are and your ability to cope, you are still human and you need time and space for yourself amongst the chaos. It can be the most challenging time of the year when you are trying to make everyone else happy but sacrificing your own needs in the process. Your TO-DO list is growing longer by the minute in your mind as there is always more shopping, more food to buy, more this and more that! It can feel like your life’s a rollercoaster ride on the Santa express to the magical adventures in Lapland. There is only one problem with this dream; there are many characters in the play but the one important person, the main character that is not having fun on the adventures is YOU. The clock is ticking, you still have time for your own self-care adventures and activities along the way. NO matter how busy you are over the next few weeks, this is an invitation to STOP for a while and take care of your mind, body and spirit. You can schedule time for yourself during the day and make yourself a priority.
I hope that this blog post will inspire you to take care of yourself and nourish your mind, body and spirit with new habits over the holiday season. It’s time that you put yourself first not only during the holidays but that you make a commitment to make yourself a priority.
Here are my 9 ways to take care of yourself because you deserve it. This list is only a guide with some ideas to help you think about your own emotional and physical health over the holiday season.
1. Book a spa weekend
If you are constantly looking after everyone else and not making time for yourself, your energy can be depleted. If you don’t have time to recharge your energy, eventually you will have nothing else to give, you cannot pour from an empty cup. Give yourself attention first and fill your cup with love. Treat yourself to a spa weekend in the countryside and go on a date with yourself. Spend a weekend having relaxing massages, facials or whatever you enjoy and will make you feel comfortable and relaxed. Spend time walking around the countryside and enjoy the natural beauty and breathe the fresh air. Dress up in your best clothes for a dinner date with yourself and order a nice meal in a restaurant. Enjoy a long hot bath and then spend the night watching movies. Sleep in the following day and order room service breakfast if you just want to be lazy and spend time in your room. It’s okay to be lazy, you are giving yourself the time you deserve, self-love is the best love as it’s your time to recharge your mind and body to be able to function better and have the energy to continue giving to others. It’s no one’s responsibility to fill your cup so take action and love yourself more. You will be amazed how wonderful you will feel after spending a few days away nourishing your mind and body.
2. Get enough sleep
Listen to your body and when you feel tired, make sure you get enough sleep and renew your energy. It’s so easy to stay awake watching your favourite movies or just surfing the internet. Creating a relaxing bedroom and space for sleep is essential for quality sleep. Sleep has many advantages for the body, some of these are: it helps to renew the cells in the body and can help to lower the risk of heart disease ,depression and improve concentration. Sleep can help improve our skin, especially during the winter months when our skin can get dry with the indoor heating. Wear your favourite cozy pyjamas and wrap yourself in your blanket while you think of your favourite things before you fall asleep feeling totally relaxed and happy. Sleep can also help to improve our mood during the holiday stress and chaos of the next few weeks. Some people need between 7-9 hours of sleep, but listen to your body and if you can, try waking up without an alarm clock in the morning. The time you wake up naturally without an alarm clock is your body telling you how much sleep you need to recharge. Get into a regular sleep routine for your body to adjust to its natural rhythm.
3. Morning ritual
How you wake up and spend the first few hours of your morning can set the tone for your day. If you wake up thinking negatively about the same problems you had yesterday, you are following the same pattern of negative thinking and you can only experience more of the same negativity and stress in your life. What you think about, can manifest in your reality. If you reach for your phone as soon as you are awake and start checking social media or the negative news with horror stories around the world, do you think you will have a nice day? Learn to take your time and create your morning ritual.
This is an example of my own morning ritual but you can adapt it or create your own, it all depends on what you enjoy and what makes you happy:
I have allowed my body to find its own rhythm so I don’t use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning, nowadays I wake up naturally. I wake up slowly and stretch my body while I’m in bed, then reach for my journal. I write 3 things I’m grateful for in my life, read my goals and set my intention on what I need to achieve in my day. I also do a short meditation for about 10 minutes and I focus my thoughts on a positive outcome as already manifested in my life.
It is entirely your choice what morning ritual you create, but if you start your day with positive thoughts, your day, your future can get better.
4. Dry brushing your skin
Sometimes we forget to look after our skin in the winter as we are always covered with layers of clothes to keep warm. However, we need to remember that underneath all the layers is the largest organ of our body, our beautiful skin that might feel dry and neglected. Schedule time to pamper yourself and dry brush your skin to remove dead skin cells and give your skin a chance to breathe and renew itself. You can dry brush your skin before you shower and smooth your favourite moisturiser after your shower or bath. There are many benefits of dry brushing to help exfoliate the skin especially in the winter as it can get dry from the heating and layers of clothes. In Ayurveda dry brushing is traditionally used to stimulate the lymphatic system. Dry brushing helps to promote circulation and can be a fantastic way to wake up your mind, body and spirit with your morning shower. Always be gentle with your skin and take care that you don’t press the brush too hard on your skin. You only need 3-5 minutes of upward strokes. You can also include this routine in your morning ritual and you only need a few minutes. Your skin will feel smooth and the best feeling in the world early in the morning is feeling like a million dollars even before your first cup of tea or coffee!
5. Go for a massage
The holiday season is always busy and we are often taking care of everyone else except ourselves. We are always giving our time in many ways, whether it’s being there for someone as a shoulder to cry on while they are telling us about all their problems or running errands for older members of our family. It seems like we are constantly running a marathon but have no chance of receiving the medal for our hard work! You might be feeling exhausted and stressed. Treat yourself to a massage and allow your mind and body to recharge. My favourite is a full body therapy massage as there are so many physical and psychological benefits of having a massage.
Some of the benefits are:
It helps relax the muscle tension, removes toxins from the body and helps reduce stress.
A massage is one of my favourite self-care activities as it helps to rebalance the body. I have realised that the only negative of having a massage is that it relaxes me so much that all I want to do when I get home is fall into my bed and sleep as long as I can. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with feeling too relaxed if we can escape the chaos of our lives at least for a few hours!
6. Read a book
Sometimes all we need to do is put our feet up and read our favourite book curled up on the couch with our hot water bottle and cozy blanket. Reading can help engage your mind in a few minutes as you can focus on the story in the book instead of remembering what’s next on your long TO-DO list!
Find a quiet space in a coffee shop away from distractions, order your favourite beverage and read your book. Reading is a mindful activity as you are focusing on the present moment and not on distracting and annoying thoughts like who will help you decorate the tree this year! So many thoughts…Go to the next chapter and keep turning the pages, forget your worries for an hour, the tree and the list can wait!
7. Go for a run
It can get uncomfortably cold during the winter months, but running outside can be good for physical and mental health. Make sure you have the correct running gear and start slow to warm up when it’s cold.
Running can help with emotional and physical health and some of the benefits of running are:
- Help to strengthen muscles and bones
- Help lower the risk of high blood pressure
- Help burn calories and lose weight
- Help to improve memory
- Help to reduce stress
- Help to improve mood and immune system
Running is one of my favourite activities and I usually run outside even when it’s really cold. When I don’t feel like going outside in the cold weather, I always think of the benefits even when I can feel my body shaking from the cold and my mind shouting, “baby it’s cold outside!” Once you get out there and start running, your body will warm up and it’s totally worth it when you finish your run and feel amazing.
8. Laugh
They say ‘laughter is the best medicine.’ Laughing can help reduce stress and promote happiness. Winter is a time when our mood can fluctuate easily and we feel the affects due to the decrease in sunlight that can disrupt our body’s natural circadian rhythm. Find a comedy movie, or a funny video, cook your favourite meal, make the popcorn and spend a few hours watching a funny movie. If you have friends that like to tell jokes, invite them for dinner and laugh away the hours.
9. Dance
If you like dancing, you can spend an hour dancing to your favourite music at home and ‘Dance like nobody’s watching.” Yes you can! Just do whatever makes you feel good as dancing can be good for mental health and reduces stress. You don’t need to go to a club to dance as you can dance at home in your Pyjamas and have fun too. Dancing releases feel good chemicals in the brain called endorphins and increases happiness. Notice how you feel when you move your body and if there are any dance moves that feel good, remember to repeat them next time. It’s all about creating happiness, boosting your mood and taking care of your health.
Final thoughts
The holiday season can be a stressful time but making yourself a priority can help to deal with all the tasks that need to be completed. If the pressures of organizing everything become too much, don’t feel guilty about saying ‘no’ to anything that doesn’t feel right for you. Remember, you have the power to control your life and you have the right to walk away from anything that doesn’t feel comfortable or align with your values.
I hope this blog post has helped with some ideas how to take care of yourself over the holidays. However, it’s only a guide, as it’s ALWAYS YOUR choice what you decide to do in your life. Looking after your emotional and physical health is not selfish, take care of yourself first so you can have the energy to deal with the roller coaster ride of emotions during the holiday season.
“Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.”
Edna Ferber