A Holistic Approach to Holiday Stress
Confession: There are less than three weeks left until Christmas and I’ve only bought one gift. I can’t find cards that are sentimental but not saccharin. I haven’t decided when to close the office. I’m swamped with other commitments in my community. Even my big dreams of decking the halls of my house have downsized into setting out a bowl of scented pine cones—and that’s as good as it’s going to get.
Who besides me is watching their holiday cheer snowball into a “there’s-so-much-to-do-and-so-little-time” panic? The Twelve Days of Christmas are less likely to bring me a partridge in a pear tree than they are a full-on anxiety attack.
And if it comes, there is an easy solution: just breathe. Producer Gretchen Cuda explained the science behind the calming properties of this simple practice on an episode of Distillations. (She also discussed the topic on NPR’s Morning Edition). Breathing exercises, she says, can “train the body’s reaction to stressful situations and dampen the production of harmful stress hormones.”
In and out. In and out. Next time my brain starts feeling like a freshly shaken snowglobe, I’ll know what to do.
Aside from what you can do anytime, anywhere (hint.. it’;s breathing, remember? Oh, that short attention span), you can also do yoga and acupuncture. Both acupuncture and yoga are proven to lower stress hormones, relax muscles, move the blood, and help with sleep.
So, if you are stressed out this holiday, try the Holiday 1,2,3 ….
1. BREATHE – In deep, and out to release
2. STRETCH – Yoga is great for this!
3. POKE – Acupuncture – come relax!
Also, please check us out on AcuTake.com. Dave was featured as a contributor to an article on overcoming Holiday stress. Click Here
Have a wonderful holiday season!
Yours,
Dave and the enitire staff at RCA
P.S. don’t forget our gift certificates for your friends!