Holiday Stress: Finding Your Emotional Balance

Welcome friends.

As we navigate this busy time of year,

It starts to become too easy to feel like we are caught in a whirlwind of too many things.

Too many people,

Too many obligations,

Too much noise,

Too much activity,

Just too much of everything.

And this can throw our emotions and nervous system into chaos.

In this meditation,

We'll increase our emotional and mental balance to help you better navigate the holidays or any time you feel some extra stress and anxiety.

Let's begin by standing up and taking a few moments to shake off some tension and release some of our built-up energy.

Start by standing tall,

Feet hip-width apart.

Inhale deeply,

Reaching your arms up overhead.

And as you exhale,

Let your body respond naturally.

Let your arms and hands fall in a natural way.

Now shake out your hands,

Your arms,

Your shoulders.

Feel the energy vibrating through your body.

And it can help to visualize physically shaking stress and worries out of your body.

See it falling to the floor,

Turning into dust and gently fading away.

We want to make sure that we're shaking in a mindful way.

We're not shaking our limbs too hard.

We don't want to do any damage.

Just a gentle shake.

Now shift your focus down to your legs.

Allow your knees to bend slightly as you shake out any heaviness.

Shake your feet,

Shake your legs.

Feel the vibrations move down your calves and ankles all the way to the tips of your toes.

There's no right or wrong way to do this.

Just go with the flow and have some fun.

Just shaking out all the areas of our body.

Now just let your whole body join in this dance.

Arms,

Legs,

Hips.

Just shake out your body freely.

Just feel the freedom of letting go of anything that's not serving you in this moment.

Maybe something that has been bothering you.

We're just going to shake it out of our body.

Continuing to shake.

Take a few deep breaths now.

Inhaling fresh energy.

And we're going to exhale a few times with a ha sound.

So inhaling deep,

Exhaling,

Letting it go.

Inhaling,

Exhale.

And we'll do that two more times.

Inhaling deep.

And one more time.

Inhale.

Good.

Now just pause for a moment.

Letting the shaking come to a close.

And now that we've shaken off some of that stale energy,

Let's transition into our emotional balance practice.

For this grounding ritual,

Find a comfortable seat on the floor or on a chair.

Whatever you have available to you and whatever feels best for you.

We just want to sit in a relaxed position.

And we're going to cross our arms over our chest.

And we're going to lock our hands underneath our armpits.

Take a moment to situate yourself.

Crossing your arms over your chest.

Right hand under left armpit.

Left hand under right armpit.

And gently lift your shoulders up towards your ears.

Just creating a soft embrace around your upper body.

So raising your shoulders up towards your ears in a gentle way.

You don't want to have any tension or tightness.

Just a nice gentle upward movement.

And as you settle into this pose,

Let your breath find its own rhythm.

Inhaling and exhaling,

Feeling a gentle rise and fall of your chest.

This cross arm hug,

It acts as a physical and emotional reset.

It provides a sense of safety and self-compassion.

The breath is our guide in this practice.

Mirroring the natural ebb and flow of life.

Continuing in this space,

Keeping our shoulders raised up towards our ears.

Bringing awareness to our emotions.

And this can be a really powerful journey of self-discovery for us.

As emotions come up for you,

Recognize that whatever you feel is valid.

And there are no and there are no wrong emotions.

Each of our emotions is like a messenger offering us insights into what's going on underneath the surface,

What's going on in our inner world.

Understanding our emotions is the first step towards navigating them in healthy ways.

And it's important for us to remember,

Especially during heightened times of stress and anxiety,

That it's not about suppressing or denying our emotions and our feelings.

But we just want to acknowledge their presence.

And all of this begins with the simple process of breathing and observing our breath.

We'll hold this pose for a few minutes.

Just allowing yourself to be present and just embracing any emotions that come up for you.

And we just want to acknowledge them with love.

We're not trying to label them,

Justify them,

Tell stories about them.

We just want them to be acknowledged with compassion and love.

Gently lower your shoulders now and uncross your arms.

Just allow your hands to rest comfortably on your lap.

This is a wonderful practice that you can do anytime,

Anywhere.

Excuse yourself if you need to.

Find a quiet space,

Even if it's just a bathroom or a closet or stepping outside,

Maybe sitting in your car.

Just a few moments of this practice,

Hands across your chest,

Underneath your armpits,

Slow intentional breathing helps you to regain some of your emotional balance.

Now we'll move into the final portion of our practice,

Which is progressive relaxation.

We're going to move from the crown of our head to the tips of our toes.

Inhale deeply,

Inviting air to fill your lungs.

Feel your chest expand,

Your ribcage expanding,

Opening up,

Making more space for your heart,

For your emotions.

And as you exhale,

Release your breath slowly.

Now shift your focus to the crown of your head.

Picture or even feel a soft,

Warm,

Gentle light touching this space,

The crown of your head.

And as you continue to follow your breath,

Feel this light expanding,

Blanketing the crown of your head with warmth and softness.

And as you exhale,

Let out a big sigh.

Continue with this breath for a few more rounds,

Just allowing the soothing light to reach every corner of your mind.

Inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling with a sigh.

Moving our attention now down to our forehead and our eyes.

And now allowing our breath to guide us in whatever way feels most natural and comfortable.

Allow the muscles in your forehead to soften.

Notice if the space between your eyebrows is coming together.

You can soften there.

Soften your eyelids.

Allow your eyes to rest behind them.

Inhaling clarity and exhaling tension.

Moving down to our face,

Nose,

And cheeks.

You might even imagine a warm breeze as you breathe in.

Just invigorating all these areas of your face.

Exhaling,

Just soften.

Notice where you might be holding places in your face a little bit more tight.

And just allow your breath to carry away some of this tightness and tension.

Just allowing your face to soften.

Bring your awareness now to your jaw and your neck.

With each breath,

Give yourself permission to unclench your jaw.

Maybe move it from side to side a few times.

Relax your tongue inside your mouth.

And just let your neck become a gentle support for your head.

Just noticing the connection and the strength that we maybe sometimes take for granted of our neck.

How it holds our head up high for us every day.

On your next inhale,

Draw attention to your shoulders and slowly lift them up towards your ears.

Just pausing for a moment and exhale.

Let them softly drop.

Feeling the weight being released from your upper back.

Move your focus now to the heart and chest.

Inhaling,

Allowing your chest to expand.

Feel the warmth and energy that that breath brings to this space in your body.

Inhale kindness for yourself and exhale heaviness.

In this practice,

In this moment,

Your heart becomes a refuge.

A place where all of your worries can just rest temporarily.

Directing our breath now to our belly and our lower back.

Inhaling,

Allowing your belly to expand like a balloon.

Being filled with calm energy.

And just feel the warmth and fullness that your breath lends to this space.

And as you exhale,

Know that you are creating more space for relaxation to settle into the deepest parts of your belly.

Shift your awareness to your hips and your thighs now.

With each breath,

Allowing your muscles to soften.

Just releasing any holding.

We hold a lot of extra tension in our hips and our lower back.

This is a chance for us to give that area of our body just a little bit extra love and attention.

Feel a warm golden light just embracing your hips and thighs.

Filling it with soothing warmth and just bringing with that warmth a little bit more of relaxation and ease.

Now let your breath travel down to your knees and your calves.

Inhale,

Maybe envisioning and feeling a light breeze moving through your legs,

Bringing with it some refreshing energy.

And as you exhale,

Maybe you feel some tightness or strain start to dissipate,

Leaving your legs with more of a sense of lightness,

Giving them a little bit of gratitude for everything that they do for you every day,

The places they take you,

And the things that they allow you to do that sometimes we maybe take for granted.

Finally,

We're going to bring attention to our ankles and our toes.

Inhaling,

Just allowing your toes to wiggle with freedom,

Wiggling them back and forth,

Putting some energy into them.

And as you exhale,

Release some tightness,

Some tension that you might be holding in your toes that you didn't even realize you had until you started to move them in this fun,

Free way.

In our last few moments,

We're going to just simply take some time to notice our breath.

You've traveled now from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes,

Inviting relaxation and calmness into every part of your being.

When you're ready,

Gently open your eyes if they've been closed and just pause for a moment to reorient yourself to your surroundings.

Please take your time before getting up to move on to the next thing in your day.

This practice can become your sanctuary.

Return to it whenever you need.

As we navigate the whirlwind of the season,

Remember that we are all in this together and we're all facing different stresses and joys,

Unexpected gifts,

And a lot of struggles as well on our journey.

The most important thing is to be compassionate with yourself.

It's okay to stop.

Take moments for yourself to breathe and to find your center.

Wishing you a season filled with peace,

Love,

And many moments of joy.