Published: 12/27/2013 - Updated: 02/12/2016
Author: Miriam Reyes5 Comments
During Christmas, stress is a constant factor although it is meant to be a holiday. From cooking the dinner, finding all the perfect gifts for the children, meetings and plans for New Year and in some cases, work for those who do not or cannot celebrate the holidays, all of these can contribute to stress levels during this time.
Contents
Relaxation is the key to having fun
However, the entire holiday does not have to be comprised of preparations and obligations: The holiday season is surrounded by several opportunities to vary your daily routine, enjoying a relaxing time in company and devoting some time to yourself too. It is advisable to spend a few minutes of relaxation and/or practicing breathing exercises that can allow to you keep your cool amid the hustle. These exercises require no more than a few minutes.
Breathing
Breathing is an action that we perform unconsciously, but conscious breathing promotes relaxation and is an exercise that helps to release stress.
Find a quiet and well-lit room, close your eyes and breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling and calmly feeling the air fill your lungs.
Enjoying music
Classical music is a good way to relax, so put some music on in your room or while doing work in the kitchen, study or home. Try to listen carefully to each note and observe the emotion that the melody evokes in you. If you do not enjoy this kind of music, pick a genre that you DO enjoy.
Being comfortable
An effective way to relax is to tense every muscle in your body and slowly let go by relaxing each muscle until you feel comfortable. Pay attention to how each muscle relaxes to further increase your relaxation.
Travel with the power of your mind
Find a moment of peace, close your eyes and imagine yourself in your "happy place". It could be the beach, the mountains or anywhere you want, as long as it symbolises tranquility for you. Breathe deeply and visualise the place around you, give yourself as much time as you want there and you can even interact with your environment.
Stretch
Standing up, stretch your arms to the sky as far as you can. You can even slightly bow your back, then slowly begin to drop your arms, exhaling as you relax and breathe deeply, letting your arms fall to either side.
-
MORE IN BIOMANANTIALYerba Mate: Preparation, Properties and more
For shoulder tension
Tension regularly tends to accumulate in the shoulders, neck and back. An exercise to release tension in this area is to raise and lower the shoulders to a smooth, continuous rhythm. Then write circles with your shoulders, and finally relax. You will begin to feel the weight lifted.
Refresh your home
Scents like lavender and apple not only give us a sense of wellness and make the home more inviting, but they also help us to relax. You can use candles, incense or fragrances.
Recommendations
Christmas is a time to enjoy yourself. There is always stress surrounding you with each task you need to do, but you can adjust your workspace to suit you. Give yourself a chance to relax, listen to music, focus on your breathing, try to clear your mind and have fun.
Some other useful recommendations are:
-
MORE IN BIOMANANTIALTofu Recipes
Practice yoga or tai -chi. You may have low opinions of these disciplines, but they have been proven to help us find emotional balance and in turn provide relaxation.
Invite as many family members as possible to take part in Christmas activities: A healthy and happy co-existence favors a more relaxed state of mind.
Do not dismiss the idea of treating yourself to a massage or a full day at the spa during the holidays. Anti-stress massages are truly effective to combat it and it gives you a chance to spoil yourself a little.
About the author
Jessica
Wow, having to do the family dinner and buying the presents sounds like an easy thing but cause a lot of stress in almost all people, during those days I see my friends very stressed, they cannot even live in a good way or enjoy what they do, because they are just worried about everything, I am not exactly like that but I get stressed too!
Gary
I have found a very good guide in this webpage to help you achieve a very good breathing and in this way relax you whole body, this technique has been used from ancient times, and as the breathing is the feeding of the lungs and blood, it has to be done in the proper way and always wanting to achieve a relaxing moemnt
Pen
These tips should be followed not only during this season but during all year long, to have a good mind and stability in the daily lifestyle, which can be so annoying sometimes but we have to find the best of anything, and in this way enjoy the life in a most joyful way, so these tips are a good way to reach that
Stacy
I’ve always thought it’s ridiculous for people to get stressed out over having fun! the holidays are supposed to be fun, a time to get together and celebrate the love you have for one another. Haha, it’s just so crazy to think of getting stressed out about it. Same goes for weddings…beyond any potential “doubts”, planning a wedding is exciting and fun. How does that stress people out?
Emily
I never fully understood why some people get SO worked up about Christmas. I suppose marketing and the commercialisation of the celebration of Christmas have had a big part to play in piling on the pressure “to find the perfect gift” and all other related nonsense, but many people would do well to try and look past all of that and remember what the true essence of Christmas is all about: Family and giving what you can.