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Holiday stress tip #1-

If you do not actually have a saber tooth tiger leaping towards you, and you are feeling that jittery feeling in your gut, then it is your thought about something (or several things) that is bringing the stress physiology into your body. To change the physiology, simply change the thought.

Holiday Tips

Sounds simple doesn’t it?

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7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

8. Silent Night! Holy Night!

9. A Barbie 12 Days of Christmas

10. I Love This Christmas

11. California Christmas

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There are some complicating factors that I do not see addressed in many stress management programs or trainings which I think are important for holiday stress management or any other time of the year stress management. If you are not actually in danger from an aggressor, then it is your thought that brings the stress response into your body.

For example, when I look at my social calendar for the month of December, I find myself scheduled to attend a number of social functions, which I would prefer not to attend.

So the thought about being in a crowd of people, none of whom will attack me by the way, several weeks ahead of time will bring an uncomfortable feeling into my body, which will be strong enough for me to notice. That is a stress response, and when I decide that I would prefer to feel something else besides stress, then I will need to deal with…

Holiday Stress Tip #2-

The physiology of stress, especially for men, if it has been strong, can take about 20 minutes to clear from the body. That is why a time out process can be important for stress reduction.

John Gottman, Ph.D., talks about what he calls Diffuse Physiological Arousal in his workshop The Art and Science of Love, describing the stress response to a tee. What Gottman does not mention is that my stress response is designed to come on line fast and strong, to motivate a leap away from the tiger.

Mihalyi Csikszentmihaly, Ph.D., in his book FLOW says the human central nervous system processes packages of data, sound waves, photons for vision, pressure for touch, tastes, smells, ect. at the rate of a package every 1/18th second.

Paul Ekman,Ph.D. says that we respond to facial expressions in perhaps 1/25th second, and Micheal Merzenich, Ph.D. says Senior Drivers need to process changing road conditions in 1/45th second.

It takes me about 1/10th second to blink my eyes. The point is that the stress response happens fast, and it takes some time to change your physiology back to calm if the diffuse physiological response was strong.

Stress management programs need to teach that information, so that folks who are using visualization or breathing or a combination of those stress management techniques do not give them up because they do not experience an immediate return to a Norman Rockwell vision of the holidays, which feels like calmness and contentment.

I do think that if I have practiced breathing and visualization techniques, for example, Open Focus, from Les Fehmi, then my body may return to a resting state faster than it would if I were just beginning my practice. What News is There From the Research? Are there holiday stress tips from recent research? Yes, there is and the most promising, in my experience, is based on technology from the new field of neurocardiology, which is the study of the heart’s own nervous system.

With some practice, I can teach my heart to change the coherence or time between heart beats from incoherent to coherent much faster than the 20 minutes that Dr. Gottman talks about in his DPA descriptions.

And this process, called heart rate variability biofeedback, works in the proverbial heart beat, using thinking and breathing tools, so as I contemplate my December social schedule, and bring a stress response, way ahead of time, I can do my heart rate variability biofeedback and return my feelings to quiet contentment now.

I have been using heart rate variability biofeedback with anger management and domestic violence clients for about 8 years, because it helps me show clients,using the computer’s feedback, how fast thoughts change physiology, either in a helpful or unhelpful direction, and how simple it is to sustain long periods of heart rate variability coherence by choosing to think cooperative and affiliate thoughts more often than not.

Heartmath does not require one to become a guru, and chant a mantra, it fits with our life style and busy schedules.

Once I train the brain in my heart to become coherent, I can think my cue thought and breath deeply and feel a very pleasant feeling in my body, a feeling so different than an unnecessary stress response. I can do this process every five minutes for 2 heart beats, and begin to steer my physiology towards the kind of physiology that encourages neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells, and neuroplasticity, which is the growth of new connections between neurons.

Increased brain fitness is a side effect of Heartmath? Sure is, and if you are an athlete or a student, the key to peak performance is relaxation, not stress.

Holiday Stress Tip #3- Learn and do heart rate variability biofeedback. It took me six 1/2 hour practices to make a serious improvement in my ability to cue the relaxation without a computer. You will feel it happening.

Holiday Stress Tips

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During the holidays we all can seem a little overwhelmed at times. Stress creeps into our lives and the holidays are not as happy as we had hoped. Here are 5 stress free holiday tips to get you through the season:

Don’t be a perfectionist. It is okay if your decorating, baking and wrapping aren’t up to Martha Stewart’s level. Plus it’s okay if you don’t try to do it all yourself or do it at all.

Create a schedule. Put on you calender all the things you need to accomplish. Schedule when to do shopping, mailing, parties, and all other holiday activities. (If you shop on line, allow for shipping time.)

Have a budget. Nothing can stress you out more than the thought of climbing bills during the holiday. Before hitting the stores, decide how much you will spend ahead of time. Leave credit cards at home and pay with cash or debit card to avoid over spending.

Cut traditions that are no longer meaningful. Drop annual activities that are only a habit and are no longer fun for you or your family.

Stick to healthy habits. Try to avoid overeating of deserts and drinks. It’s okay to have a cookie or two, just don;t go crazy. Also, keep up with exercise and don’t slack off just because you are off work.
Follow these tips and you may find yourself relaxing and actually having fun during the holidays. Remember they come only once a year and you want good memories not bad.

Holiday Tips

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5 Stress Free Holiday Tips

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Fun, though they are intended to be, The Holidays can be a time of stress for many. Vastu can help you experience a peaceful, prosperous, and harmonious holiday season.

How the science of Vastu affects the quality of your life can be compared to how an antenna affects the quality of your television reception. Vastu is like the antenna for the quality of your life. If you have poor reception due to ineffectual antennae, your picture will be distorted or come in unclear. Having good reception is like having good Vastu.

Holiday Tips

Your connection to the supportive, life-enhancing energy will be strong and benefit you if the five elements in your home are balanced.

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When you balance your home with the forces of nature (the five elements being earth, water, fire, air, and space) through Vastu, you receive the best possible quality of life for The Holidays and beyond.

The holidays are about 3 things:

The coming together of friends and family

Resolutions for the New Year

And giving to others

Make your family gatherings joyous, harmonious, stress-free celebrations through Vastu by balancing the 5 elements in your home.

For Example:

Earth element decorations such as, holly, wreaths, wood figurines, or ceramics (such as the Dove of Peace) work best in the southwest area of your gathering area to support family harmony.

A bowl of water with flowers floating in it (or a punch bowl) placed in the northeast area of the room you use for entertainment will encourage a prosperous New Year.

Place candles, lights, and red decorations in the southeast area, which is associated with the fire element, to stimulate a sense of well-being. Scented candles of pine, vanilla, cinnamon, and cranberry are festive scents for harmonious holiday gatherings

Hang bells and chimes in the northwest area, related to the air element, to enhance joyous relationships.

Keep the center space element area open and uncluttered to support stress-free communication and encourage the success of your holiday gatherings.

Resolutions for a prosperous New Year should start with clearing the clutter in your home!

Just as you clean your residence to welcome guests, you need to clear out all things from the past that are unessential or unnecessary to your future happiness and success. Your New Year should begin with enhancing the opportunities for prosperity to enter your life.

Clutter creates stress, drags your energy down, and limits your ability to be productive and make lucrative financial decisions. We suggest beginning this Holiday Season by clearing the clutter and see how new opportunities appear in your life in 2005.

Vastu Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress

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Are you ready to make a life changing resolution? What is a daily Yoga plan? How can a daily Yoga plan reduce stress and change your life?

You can make a change at any time of the year, but New Year’s resolutions are the most popular. Yet, we often see that New Year’s resolutions do not make it past Valentine’s Day. So, if you are ready to make a change and add Yoga to your life – let’s look at a way for you to be successful for the long-term.

Get a journal and prepare it for writing. I prefer to write things down, but you may prefer a lap top, personal digital assistant, or your computer. Either way, you should write your goals down – especially the amount of time you plan to practice Yoga in a studio, at home, or on the way to and from work.

You can practice Yoga all day long. When you consider the many aspects of Hatha Yoga, you can easily incorporate them into your life. Here are some examples, but remember to incorporate these habits gradually. Do not make Yoga into a task, but take the time to enjoy the aspects, which help you deal with stress and add quality to your daily life.

In the morning, upon waking, you can practice Pranayama in bed. There are many Pranayama techniques to choose from, but you may find Dirgha breath or natural breath to be easier at this time of the day. You could practice meditation upon rising, for ten to twenty minutes, if you have the time.

Once you are up and about, you could practice asana warm-ups or Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). If you do not have time, you could be mindful of what you eat by eating in moderation and making wise choices.

You can work on your posture as you sit, stand, walk or perform any physical task. Is your back straight when you eat? Do you take the time to enjoy your food? Are you breathing correctly or are you already short of breath? Does coffee make you short of breath? Which foods cause you adverse reactions?

This self-observation is just another exercise in mindfulness, but will cause you to open a form of consciousness, which will improve your daily life.

In order for us to make changes, we must first want, plan, observe, take action, and practice Yoga each day. Yoga is not a physical exercise to be counted by the minutes you practice on a Yoga mat. Physical exercise is just one aspect of Hatha Yoga.

To bring your life in balance, you must identify what you do that causes your stress. This will not eliminate all of your stress, but it will identify stressful situations, which you can prevent.

This is just one example of Yogic methods applied toward better health and a less stressful life. Writing down your Yoga plan is just the start of a good habit for positive change.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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Presents to buy, people to connect with, cleaning of the house/office, parties to attend, new recipes to try, dealing with family issues, and the big one – what do you buy for your mother? Here are some tips that I hope will help you enjoy your holidays, get some rest, enjoy your families and help you to start the new year with lots of energy and hope.

1. Holiday cards. Be unique. Do your cards in January when no one expects them. If you got cards in January, how would it feel? Different? Unique? Fun? In fact, try the end of January to be really unique.

2. Buy foods that are not fattening. Bring them with you wherever you go so you have them when you need them – try almonds, fruits – oranges, apples or bananas. Protein bars are good to take on the road or on errands so you don’t get tempted to eat at fast food places. Good nutrition goes a long way to keeping you full of energy and the extra pounds off.

3. Water, water, water. Take a water bottle with you wherever you go. The new research says that many times when we feel hungry, we are actually really thirsty or close to being dehydrated. Never, ever, go anywhere without a container of water. Not only will it help with hydrating you, but it is also wonderful for your skin and hair.

4. Money. In January you will receive all the bills for how you spent your money in November and December. Remember that the holiday giving represents a very short part of the year, but the bills can represent many months of paying them off. Buy what you can afford. How about opening a “holiday account” in January to start saving for the next years’ holiday season. Giving of yourself and your time is your most precious gift of all.

5. Don’t do it all yourself. If you have other people in your house, let them help with all the details of getting ready for the holidays. Make a list and hang it on the refrigerator. As the tasks get done, cross them off and congratulate the person doing the task. Even little ones can help with wrapping and dusting. In fact little ones wrapping presents makes for interesting gifts. Buy extra tape. They love tape.

6. Food preparation. Keep it simple and inexpensive. The divine cheese sauce you saw in Better Homes and Gardens that needs 6 cheeses, a Australian sherry and curry from India will add worry and expense, and will take away from the precious time you need for other things.

7. Gift buying. Four years ago I decided that I would give the same gift to everyone. I took pictures of a very pretty fall scene, put them in frames and gave them to my clients and family members. I saved hours and hours of shopping and straining my brain to try and think of unique gifts for each person.

8. Family members. Give the gift of your time next year. Put an IOU in a package or stocking which is a promise of your time. Wash their car. Clean their room. Give a coupon for a neck massage each Thursday in February. The idea of giving of yourself feels so good and is wonderful to receive.

9. As you cook and clean, take those cans of food and stuff you never use and give it away. As you wander around your home, look at your belongings see what it is that you can eliminate. If you have kids, let them contribute their stuff also. Once you have filled the box take it to your closest church, food pantry, freecycle.org or Goodwill store.

10. Take care of you. This one is the hardest sometimes. Sometimes we don’t even know what we need because we have been so busy taking care of others, our jobs, our families. This may sound incredibly simple, but it works. Take 3 deeps breaths, slowly and close your eyes. The deep breaths help to center you, relieve anxiety, make things feel easier and actually help your body know that things are going to be ok. Every book on stress starts with breathing. It’s the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to get happy and centered. Remember to breathe deeply and often.

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Stress is bound to get to you in any circumstances, especially when you are nervous or have minimum time in accomplishing some tasks. But if stress is eating you up even during this holiday season, it is time to let yourself act with a more balanced mind. Do not allow any tension to take over your life.

Here are some tips to ease holiday season stress:

Start early shopping:

Holidays and shopping go hand in hand. Your holidays can be more stressful if you do not start shopping in advance. Eliminate your last minute shopping hassles by keeping an eye on gifts throughout the year before holiday season starts. Make your shopping list early and save your precious time.

A balanced diet may help:

Most people pay less attention to their diet as they are too busy in the holiday season either decorating their homes or busy in some other tasks. In such cases stress is inevitable. A balanced diet consisting of vegetables, fruits and plenty of water will tune up your body and prepare it for all the running around that you have to do.

Create a holiday budget:

Holiday season means lots of gifts and presents. We all want to give the best gifts to our family and friends. But make sure the gifts do not break your budget. You need to create a budget for gifts and have some money saved for your gifts. It is advisable to purchase it at sale price. Go to shops which offer gifts on discounts or opt for online shopping as there are many e-shopping websites that offer great gifts at discounts. This will certainly reduce your holiday stress.

Go green by purchasing recycled items:

If you care for the environment, you should head to buy recycled gifts. You will find many recycled items online.

Be smart. Shop smart and you will certainly ease off holiday season stress.

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