NOURISH YOUR SOUL
As we head into the holiday season, we all have a tendency to feel elated and excited, at the same time, internally we fight the feelings that come along with the holiday season. On one hand this joy is what we all love about the holiday season and on the other hand, we feel the need to create expectations for the season and set up to the challenge.
This season I invite you to slow down, have less expectations and allow ourselves to experience joy.
Here is my list of the practices that help me maintain a receptive space to navigate life. I rely on these more during the holidays to slow down my daily and weekly rhythms.
1. Spend Time In Nature
The most important tool is time outside. For those of you that know me, you might think I would say mediation. However, I find that time in nature can be the catalyst I need to reset my pace in life. Being outside in the elements heals us. It helps to open and clear our minds. When we look up at the sky we experience vastness and openness, no boundaries. The sky is a reminder that energy is vast. Breathe and take in the vastness and spaciousness within ourselves.
Onkar’s take:
Practice meditative awareness while walking in nature. Shift your mind into internal mantra and affirmation as you walk. A mantra I like to use is a Kundalini mantra and it’s simple, it’s what we call Kirtan Kriya:
Repeat ( silently) as you walk:
Sa – (Infinity)
Ta – (Life)
Na – (Death)
Ma – (Rebirth)
Touch pinky fingers to thumbs touch, your index fingers to thumbs touch, your middle fingers to thumbs touch, your ring fingers to thumb.
2. Less Screen Time
While spending time with friends and family this holiday season, put the phone away., Less screen time is an essential practice to slow down and be more present. When we receive notifications, we get flooded with dopamine which dysregulates our nervous systems. This season practice impulse control, we do not need to respond immediately. We can benefit from less stimulus by not reacting instantly or at all.
3. Find Stillness
Through meditation and breathwork comes the awareness to realize our tendencies. The key to slowing down is becoming aware of how we operate in life and then choosing how we want to operate our lives. This is the biggest challenge for most of us because this asks us to change how we do show up in our day-to-day lives. We are creatures of habit, so to truly slow down we have to have a great deal of patience, self love, and understanding. We must be willing to become aware of our reactionary cues and choose to act or be still until they pass. For most, this creates discomfort. Trust that can sit through moments of temporary discomfort.
Onkar’s take:
My favorite breathing exercise to slow down:
If you’re a beginner, try to hold your breath for 20 secs and work up to 45.. If you’re a seasoned yoga and meditation practitioner start with 30 seconds and work up to 45.
4. Mind Your Meal and Keep Your Meal in Mind
When we eat a balanced diet without overindulging, we can truly achieve the ability to slow down. Sugar and caffeine keep us overstimulated, peaking our highs and lows and making us wildly reactionary. To achieve the balance that so many of us desire, focus on a balanced diet through the holidays.
Balance means enjoying those extra sweets and fun you might not during the other times of our year, while being mindful of what your body needs to operate in a balanced way. If we can listen to our innate ability to know, it will help us navigate any instability that the holidays can bring to us at times.
5. Prioritize Rest
A good night’s rest prepares our mind/body to be able to perform at optimal levels. When we are rested, our physical body, emotional body and mental minds are able to recover faster from stress. Our ability to commit to our intention of slowing down and making healthy choices are going to be more balanced during the holiday is directly related to our ability to rest. Sleep goes hand in hand with our ability to heal and be the best versions of ourselves.
Use these 5 steps to help you keep a balance in your life over the next six weeks. As we slow down through the holidays, you’ll find that you yourself, have actually slowed down. You’ll feel your nervous system recalibrating back to a balanced state. Over time rebalancing will become easier to act on when our bodies are craving it.
Keep these tools in mind for how you want to enter into the New Year of 2023. You may find you feel more confident, and more accomplished in the life you’re hoping to create for yourself.
We become more efficient, calm, creative and intuitive humans and can realize our ability to be all and do all when we feel more connected to our intuitive selves. When we find moments to take a pause, we innately will feel like we are living as the best version of ourselves.
Love Always,
Onkar