Ten Ways to Get Your Groove Back After the Holidays

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful” – The Rev. Norman Vincent Peale

The joy - and stress of Christmas is over.  The office parties, family gatherings and gift giving will soon be a distant memory.   The holidays give us time to pause and remember the things that are important in life.  Keep the traditions with which we are familiar.  We love making merry and hate to see it end.

But the demands and expectations, the rushing to get things done have taken their toll.   You’re left feeling exhausted and burned out from all that magic and joy.    And perhaps a little regretful.

Maybe you ate too much and gained a few pounds.   Maybe you spent too much even though you had a strict budget.   Maybe it’s just the quiet of winter.   Some people experience serious mood changes when the season is over.   Tiredness, fatigue, depression and irritability. Or just the blues.

 It’s safe to say that after expending so much energy over the last few months, your body needs down time to recharge and rejuvenate.   You need outlets that help you reduce stress as well as stay positive and upbeat.

It’s easier to lift your spirits when you have something to look forward to.    The activities you choose to get involved in for stress relief should afford you a sense of overall well being.   Practicing deep breathing, affirmations, meditation, visualization and progressive relaxation (BAM VP) top the list for emotional balance.

Plan some low energy activities over the next few days that you enjoy doing.   For example:

       1.      Get out and enjoy nature – fresh air and sunshine are terrific mood boosters.
       2.    See the show you missed during the holidays.
       3.    Meet a good friend(s) for lunch and share holiday trials and triumphs.
       4.    Rent a funny movie and get a good laugh.  Laughter is another great mood booster.
       5.    Listen to music that makes you nostalgic.  Puts you in a good mood.
       6.    Replace negative thinking – the “why does everything happen to me” thoughts – with self- 
             affirming talk (I deserve to be happy and healthy)!

7.      Interact with a child, laugh and let your “inner child” come out to play.

       8.      Spend the day enjoying a favorite hobby.  Create something with your hands.
       9.      Take that Christmas gift certificate and buy something just for you.
       10.  Get a full body massage.   An excellent way to feel pampered, invigorate the body and  
             increase those feel good endorphins.

 

Taking time out to take care of you is a form of self-therapy that eases the tensions from the joy and stress of the season.  Pleasurable outlets that help you reduce stress are vital when you need to beat the holiday blues and get your groove back.  As for those few extra pounds.  Well that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for.

 

 

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Your Choice

BAM VP - Be A More Vibrant Person in 2012
A daily energizing routine of Breath work, Affirmations, Meditation, Visualization and Progressive Relaxation will help you be your best every day: Bold, Awesome, Motivated, Vibrant and Powerful.
______________________________________________________

           
Don't Worry, Be Happy - Your Choice

"Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don't want." - Hannah Whitall Smith


You can create a happier, healthier outlook by choosing to celebrate the joy in your life rather than despair.   Here's a tip or two:

• Replace negative thinking with self-affirming thoughts.  The next time you are beating yourself up over something you did or something done to you - STOP.  Instead think of a compliment, thoughtfulness or kind word someone gave you.  Remember the times you coped with a difficult situation and succeeded.  Overwhelm and collapse negative thinking by stacking and accentuating the positive moments in your life.

• Do something special each day just for you.   Buy yourself flowers.   Listen to music that lifts your mood and brings back fond memories.  Get out and walk, hike, bike and enjoy nature.  Interact with a child.  Lend a helping hand and feel great.  Be silly and share a laugh with family and friends (laughter is the ultimate mood lifter).  Pursue a goal or hobby.  Create something with your hands.  Buy something new.  Meet a friend for lunch.   Get a massage.  The list is limited only by your imagination.

Each day is a brand new opportunity to improve something in your life.   And at the end of the day, the ability to be happy is yours to choose.

A 5 Minute Morning Meditation to Lift Your Spirits and Put a Smile on Your Face

BAM VP - Be A More Vibrant Person in 2012
A daily energizing routine of Breath work, Affirmations, Meditation, Visualization and Progressive Relaxation will help you meet each day more Bold, Awesome, Motivated, Vibrant and Powerful.
_______________________________________________________

A 5 Minute Morning Meditation to Lift Your Spirits and Put a Smile on Your Face

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." - Mahatma Gandhi

Set your alarm five minutes earlier tomorrow.  When you get up, find a quiet place to sit and gaze out a window.  Look up at the sky.   Really notice the color and expanse.   Follow the shape and movement of the clouds.

Let your thoughts drift as you enjoy the morning stillness.  This is your time to focus on what is good in your life - not the worries of yesterday, today or tomorrow.

Begin your meditation by focusing on your breathing.   The rhythmic rise and fall of your breath.  Since breathing has a strong effect on emotional change, it is a natural bridge to begin to meditate.  Slow measured breathing has a calming effect.

Gently close your eyes and tune into your body.   A word will come to you that describes what you are feeling.  Calm, relaxed, peaceful, happy, confident.  That is your relaxation keyword.  Spread the word throughout your body.  From the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

Put your relaxation keyword in a phrase that inspires you to handle stress differently today.  For example, "I am calm and relaxed" when you are feeling tense and anxious.  Use this phrase whenever you need it throughout the day.

*Inhale slowly and  mentally repeat, "I live with a happy heart, a peaceful mind and a playful spirit".  Stay with it for a minute or two.  Inhale deeply and in the privacy of your own mind quietly shout, "I deserve health and happiness!"

Just before you are ready to open your eyes, begin to stimulate that positive energy that is a smile by recalling something you enjoy.  Something that makes you feel good.  Let the corners of your mouth turn up.  Smile.  Send this smiling energy into every bone and every organ and every nerve and every cell in your body.

Now take that smiling energy up into your heart.

Decide what you would like to take with you into your day.  Something of a positive, inspiring nature.  Open your eyes and start a day you look forward to!


*From Quantum Focusing - Finding the Zone by Michael Ellner and Alan Barsky.

Empowering Self-Talk: How to Make Affirmations That Inspire Change

BA MVP - Be A More Vibrant Person in 2012
A daily energizing routine of Breath work, Affirmations, Meditation, Visualization and Progressive Relaxation will help you meet each day Bold, Awesome, Motivated, Vibrant and Powerful.
____________________________________________________________

Empowering Self-Talk:  How to Make Affirmations That Inspire Change

"Change Your Thoughts and Change Your World" - Norman Vincent Peale

"Every day in every way I am getting better and better".  You probably heard this famous  affirmation popularized in the 1920's by Emil Coue, a French pharmacist and psychologist.  After observing his patients heal faster when they focused their mind on positive healing images, Coue developed this therapeutic method he called optimistic autosuggestion.  His belief that, "you are what you think" proved to have great success in rehabilitating the thousands of patients he treated each year.

You might ask what makes this deceptively simple affirmation so powerful.  And how can I duplicate it?

• Start with the area you want to work on.  Emil Coue addressed the health concerns of people who were ill and wanted to get well.  Your challenge may be with finances, career, family, relationships, physical or emotional health, etc.  Define your source of stress.
• Make your affirmation simple and specific.  Coue's autosuggestion is a simply stated imagery for healing.  Yours may contain specific relaxation instructions, or suggestions for improved self esteem or a mantra for success.  Make sure it describes exactly what you want to achieve.   For example you want to ask for a raise, "I am clear and direct asking my boss for a raise".
• Powerful affirmations are positive and carefully expressed.  Phrase them as if they are occurring now.  Notice Coue says, "I am getting better and better."   Avoid negative statements.  For example instead of "I will not be nervous asking for a raise".   Use a positive version such as "I am letting go of tension when I talk to my boss" or I am calm and assertive asking for a raise".
• An affirmation works best when combined with an image or mental picture.  So write it down, close your eyes and visualize the touch, taste and feel of the change you want to create.
• Repeat your affirmation throughout the day, every day.  The more you say it the more connected it becomes to your desired outcome.  Routine repetition was an important part of Coue's method.  He recommended his patients repeat "Every day in every way I am getting better and better" upon awakening, throughout the day and before going to sleep at night.  When he put the power of healing into the hands of his patients Coue had great success curing them of illness and disease.

Affirmations are good for your mental health.  Evidence proves that serotonin and endorphins, those feel good hormones, are released when we focus on positive thoughts.  This scientifically based evidence works even if you are a skeptic.

So take a cue from Emil Coue.  Practice positive thinking.  Make  affirmations that work to improve your life.  You have nothing to lose but time and everything to gain.  Like a happier outlook on life, less anxiety, and better health.  The power to change is in you.