Conscious Holiday Self-Care
As much of a planner that I am, this holiday season has really snuck up on me. What about you?
As an entrepreneur this is my busiest time of year. And this fall I did not hold back when planning and scheduling work and family commitments. Unfortunately, as my days have gotten busier my self-care has slowly dwindled. Although I’ve maintained my meditation/ practice time on my asan—packing in the other 23 hours of the day was not the best idea. And, that’s basically what I learned this week :).
I had a little bit of a melt down this week and I know it was really just due to exhaustion. Self care has always been an important pillar in my life. I know that when I take care of myself, I can take care of those around me better. These are things I know— but I’m learning that every season brings new opportunities and challenges to test our wisdom :). So, I’m writing this post in hopes to inspire you all to fit in some self-care time this holiday season…even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of it all–I know I plan to!
TOP 5 SELF-CARE TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS (on top of a regular yoga/meditation practice):
1. Exercise—d
espite the cold, schedule in in 15-20 minutes walk to break up your day or to end the night with. It’s a magical time of the year…so take in the decorations, lights and a breathe of fresh air. I know movement and holiday lights do wonders for my body and mind.
2. Sleep—do not sacrifice your sleep, it’s not worth it. Sleep is such an AMAZING tool that we all have right in our back pockets….it helps keep stress levels down and keeps the grinch away :). I’m planning on making this one a HIGH priority.
3. Eat well—indulge in your favorite holiday goodies, but eat well the rest of the time. I try to stock the fridge with healthy and filling snacks for days when meals might have be rushed. Right now I’m loving rice crackers with hummus and sauerkraut, cranberry and mixed nut trail mix and fresh grapes. These snacks are filling, tasty and leave me energized.
4. Gratitude—counting my blessings has always been a helpful way of seeing how great things really are…more so after a long day. I just put a little notepad by my bed this morning, so I’ll plan on adding this to my nightly routine. For those of you that enjoy social media, my sister, Dimple Dhabalia created a FB group last year called
Grace & Gratitude, where people share their gratitude lists with the group. It’s such a simple but powerful way to end the day. I’m looking forward to adding this to my bedtime routine.
5. Opt-out —It’s okay to say NO. It’s easy to take on extra tasks and projects at work and even over schedule personal calendars this time of year…but be gentle, kind and considerate of yourself (just like you would a friend). I’ve already cancelled a few commitments off my calendar. Not just for my sanity, but to also make room for some holiday magic and joy to unfold :).
I’d love to hear what you do for self-care around the holidays…so please leave a comment below!
xo,
Kajal
