We are all guilty of looking after everyone else over the festive period. Don't forget about you...
As a mum of three, the Christmas run-up can, if I’m not careful, become one long extended “to-do” list. As a yogi, my yoga practice has taught me to stay in the now, to have this great appreciation of the present and in doing so it helps me stop projecting too far forward into the future.
This is helpful to avoid the sense of overwhelm that can occur at the festive time. Yoga massively helps me look after myself, not just at Christmas, but at any time when
pressures mount. In addition to yoga, there are other ways you can look after yourself during the festive period. A few thoughts I share below:
#1 Sit back into your feminine energy
There is a general sense with modern feminism to be
constantly productive; to switch on our “go go go” mentality and essentially work from our male energy. Yes we can often feel excitement when we do more; there’s a buzz when we tick off our “to-dos”, but that excitement can bubble over, especially at Christmas. It can manifest into anxiety, stress, and overwhelm stopping us from really
enjoying and relaxing into this time.
Why not, therefore, sit back and be driven by our feminine energy at Christmas? Our caring, softer qualities? Our natural loving sides our sensitivities? Our ability to heal?
As soon as I shift from the masculine to these feminine
qualities I feel my shoulders relax. I get a perspective of what matters again. As women, we’re naturally good at these qualities. We are the planet’s caregivers after all and it’s what our kids value from us the most anyway, not to mention our other halves. Each time you feel fraught, sit back into your feminine. Soften and feel rather than do. Feel the enjoyment of this time, the gratitude, the love. More “be-ing” less doing. Christmas dinner will still reach the table, but with this energy flowing, it will reach there with you enjoying it too.
#2 Diary entry your self-care
Be it yoga, breath work, meditation, or a solitary walk away from the family, put it in your diary as a daily entry at the beginning of the week and make it a non-negotiable. Making this commitment to yourself keeps you from resenting that you’re doing all for everyone else; it sets a boundary around your self-care and keeps you in an energy where you can give more as a result.
Christmas is a busy time and self-care can be the first thing to slip off people’s agendas so making that non-negotiable at the beginning of the week can make all the difference.
#3 Feel-good podcasts
If you’re finding that you’re driving around a lot be it Christmas shopping or getting kids to and from events, I recommend accompanying your drive with a podcast that can shift you into good energy.
Some tried and tested ones that work for me are Dear Gabby – by Gabby Bernstein, The Elevator Podcast, and The Buddhist Bootcamp – by Timber Hawkeye. I really hope that some of these thoughts lift yours.
I think it’s also nice to remember the festive period is a holiday after all. What do you and those close to you need to fill yourselves back up this year? Use this time wisely for this. I heard a quote recently that made me giggle “Tradition is peer pressure from the dead.” If you’re feeling like you’ve got to clean the silver because Great Aunt Sally would have noticed it smudged at Christmas lunch let that sh1t go. Does that stuff fill you up? Exactly! So fill yourself up in other ways as your Christmas present to yourself and ramp up the enjoyment factor instead.
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