I don’t know about you but the energy around Christmas time can be CRAZY.
Fun? Sometimes! Exhausting? Usually! Emotional? Definitely!
So this year I am making a concerted effort to ensure I set aside some time each day to just sit and notice what’s going on, inside me. I’ll be doing my best to allow whatever I find to just be there – whether I perceive it as a positive or negative, happy or sad feeling – and then I’ll breathe gently through the experience… consciously connecting to the physical sensations of the breath moving through the body and seeing if I can let go of any tension in the body on each out breath.
Tara Brach’s RAIN acronym is very useful for this exercise. Try and give 3 minutes to each stage:
- Recognize what is happening;
- Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;
- Investigate with interest and care;
- Nurture with self-compassion (as I mention above – simply breathing and letting go of the tension you find in the body can be very healing)
It ain’t rocket science but 10-15 minutes of this once or twice a day during the festive period can reeeealllly help – why not try it and see?
Happy Christmas ya’ll! xx