Many of my clients, myself included, approach the holiday season with a bit of trepidation.
We all know that the parties and gatherings, replete with snacks, great food, treats and drinks (in alarmingly large proportions) are on their way and that often we feel like the odd one when we decline seconds or thirds. We also know that all the running around to visit family and friends and late night festivities will strap us for time in our endeavours to stay well. But as with everything we need to think about balance and look at the bigger picture. I noted in a previous blog that much of what we do counts in our efforts to stay well and over the holidays, we need to appreciate those 'other' things and not dwell on the things we don't do as well.
Max Strom, a world-renowned Yoga expert hopes that we can begin to think of ourselves in different terms, terms that might help us put a less obsessive perspective on health, especially over the holiday season. To paraphrase an interview on My Yoga Online, Strom hopes that we can begin to see ourselves not as the yolk within the whites and shell of our body but the other way around. Our bodies become the the yolk, essential for our survival and wellness yes, but surrounded and also nurtured by the whites of our mind, our spirit or soul.
In this light, the time we spend with our family and friends laughing, smiling and enjoying living only adds to our health. This is by no means reason to stop making efforts to indulge a little less, walk, exercise or stretch a little more over the holidays, but it is reason to enjoy the holidays with a more realistic perspective.
Think back and look forward to your holiday smiles and laughs and do the math as best you can. Take a walk after dinner, have a good stretch when you get out of the car or before you head to bed and keep laughing and smiling all the way!
Happy Holidays!