Lift your spirits this christmas

Take care of you and lift your spirits in the lead up to Christmas.
The benefits of being gentle and kind to yourself will outweigh the need to bow down to the usual stresses of the Christmas season.

 Make sure each day you create some space to

Breathe
Stretch
Smile
Be Grateful

 
Breathe

Your breath is your constant.  It is always there for you. 
Allow yourself to breathe consciously.
You may notice to begin with you are shallow breathing up in the
top part of your chest.
Give yourself a few minutes in the day to place your hands on your ribs and as you breathe in, allow them to expand. Then let out your breath with a gasp through your mouth.
This is helping to you to fill your lungs fully, it is also helping you to regulate your nervous system.

Stretch

Stretching, cross crawling, yoga poses or shaking your body.  All these moves are allowing movement of the energy in your body.  If you are feeling, stuck, frustrated or uninspired then stretch your arms out to your side or up above your head for 5 - 10 seconds.  Shake your body around, lift your knees up to hip height, one at a time and touch your knee with the opposite hand.  How do you feel after that.

Smile 

If you are feeling a little 'down in the mouth' put a smile on your face!  This isn't to ignore any feelings you may be having.  There is scientific proof to show that when you turn the corners of your mouth up to your brain, they are sending a signal to your brain to produce happy hormones.   So in time you will be feeling more relaxed and happier!
Keep practising!  Give it a go!

Be Grateful

Writing out a gratitude list is a well known practice.  It helps to rewire our brains to focus on what is going well in our lives instead of dwelling on what we are not so happy with.  To enhance our gratitude, it is good to cultivate the feeling of how grateful we are and breathing that feeling into our body.  Also understanding why we are grateful for an experience, person etc will also help to enhance our gratitude experience even further.

For example;

"I am so grateful that I live by the sea.  I feel a sense of freedom and peace when I go for a sea front
walk and it helps to lift my spirits!"

These simple routines and practices can really help you to change your state when you are feeling low in energy or overwhelmed especially as we come into the winter months and Christmas.