What's Your Body Telling You?

I’d say the holiday season is upon us...Halloween just passed, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and the Winter Holiday season after that.

A time of stress for many and joy for others.  Or, maybe a combination of stress and joy?  (because yes, both can exist at the same time)

As you move into this season, I invite you to pay attention to your body’s signals.  

When you think about the holidays, does your jaw clench, neck and shoulders tense up, heart race, and stomach get jumbled up in knots?  

Or, do your shoulders relax as holiday songs drift through your mind, heart lightens up, breathing gets easier, and you’re overcome with a sense of peace and joy?

There’s no right or wrong of how you “should” be feeling and how your body “should” be responding right now.  I just want you to start to tune in…

You see, your body is always sending you signals.  It can be easy, especially during the holiday season, to drown those signals by overworking, overeating, and overdrinking.  But, I invite you to try something different this time.

Notice your body’s signals and get curious.  What’s your body trying to tell you?  That you’re stressed, worried, nervous, happy, or excited?

And then, empowered with this awareness and information, you can make a conscious choice to continue the same pattern of drowning it out with overindulgence, or choose differently this time…

Here are a few ways to manage those hard, uncomfortable signals:

• Breathe into it.  Expand your exhale longer than your inhale.  Here’s an example...breathe in for a count of 2 and out for a count of 4.  When you extend your exhale slightly longer than your inhale, you promote your parasympathetic “rest & digest” nervous system response.  In other words, you’re signaling to your body that it’s ok to relax.
• Write it out.  Grab a pen and paper and just start writing.  Get all those thoughts, ideas, and feelings out of your head and onto the paper.  You don’t have to show this to anyone.  You don’t even have to keep it afterwards.
• Move through it.  Go for a walk, do some yoga, or dance in your living room.  Give your emotions (which is really just energy) a medium to move through and out of you.

This process of tuning into your body’s signals and choosing to respond differently can be hard.  That’s why, in addition to the tips I’ve already shared here, I’ve set aside time in my schedule to chat with you 1-1.  
If you want to approach this holiday season differently than you’ve done in the past, armed with tools to flow through the season with grace and ease, then let’s chat.

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