6 Ways to Find Stillness During the Holidays

Is it possible to actually feel peace and calm during one of the busiest times of the year... the holiday season?

I am going to challenge you to let go of the idea that it is impossible and go with me on just the possibility. The possibility to create stillness for a few minutes each day during the holiday season. Creating stillness is so beneficial to your overall well-being. While the holidays are often filled with joy, love and laughter, spending time with family and friends, there is also the feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious that can overtake the joy of the season. Often instead of enjoying the beauty of this time of year, we are racing around from here to there and checking off our list of things to do.

If you are thinking there is no way you can create stillness during this time of year, try not to rule it out completely. There are several ways I am going to share with you in an effort to help you find one that will work for you. When we create more stillness in our life whether it is during the holiday season or not, it has huge benefits for us.

Having quiet moments with ourselves can often:

Reduce our stress levels.
Help us feel calmer.
Actually be enjoyable.
Bring us to the present moment instead of thinking about the past and worrying about the future.
Create an overall feeling of gratitude.

It can be hard to get quiet and just be, even for just a couple of minutes. But a couple of minutes can and will do you wonders this holiday season or any time of the year if you give it a try.

A few ways to create stillness in your life:

Breathing. So many of us hold our breath or take short breaths and rarely take a second to inhale deeply and exhale fully. Simply breathing deeply in and out will help you create a few seconds of stillness. It calms the mind and brings more oxygen into your body. This can be done while you are driving or at a stop light. Create stillness through your breath. Allow yourself to stop and inhale and exhale deeply.

Focus. Stop and focus on one thing wherever you are. If you are in your house focus on a chair, and repeat "chair" over a few times in your mind. When you do this you instantly come into the present moment. Move from the chair to another object in the room and in your mind repeat what that object is in your mind. While you are focusing, you are creating stillness in the present moment. You are no longer thinking about anything else but the object you are focusing on and while you are doing that you are creating stillness.

Light a candle. The flame of a candle can be somewhat meditative on it's own. As you light the candle sit quietly and watch the flame. If you can breath deeply while you do this even better. Candles can help create peace and calmness the minute they are lit.

Observe. If you are at a holiday party or gathering allow yourself a moment to just observe your surroundings. Take it all in. Take in the people, the food or decorations. Look around and really see your surroundings. Notice all the colors, the laughter, the conversations, the food. As you take it all in and observe you are creating a moment of stillness.

Meditate. Many people are intimidated by meditation, and often aren't sure how to even get started. Meditation can be healing and it will help you create stillness not only during your meditation but throughout your day. There are many ways you can meditate. A popular way to meditate is through a guided mediation. There are many guided meditation apps that you download and use very easily. If you aren't interested in a guided mediation you can try counting your breaths with your eyes closed. As you inhale count 1, and then exhale 1 and continue until you reach 11 and start all over. Try sitting in silence and letting all the stuff in your mind float by as if they were clouds. Meditation does not have to be 45 minutes in length. Try 5 minutes and work your way up by adding 5 more minutes every now and then.

Walking outside. Although in many places the weather is getting colder and snow is just around the corner, walking outside can help you create stillness. Try walking outside at night after a snowfall. It is an amazing feeling of stillness.

Take seconds, minutes or even an hour and give yourself the opportunity to create more stillness in your life this holiday season. Watch how you become more present in the moment and feel calmer during this busy time of year. Enjoy the stillness.

Carrie Saba, Holistic Health Coach, helps others see their inner strength through a new light. She offers valuable insight & lifestyle tips in her free monthly ezine, Wellness Tips with Carrie, as well as on her blog. Carrie believes our spirit is fed on how we think, what we experience, and eat. She empowers her clients and believes everyone should know their brilliance and enjoy life! Learn more about Carrie by visiting her website.

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Hurry Up and Get Organized - The Family Is Visiting for the Holidays

Okay, I'm sure the panic is just starting to creep up! It is inevitable, the holidays are here! Hanukah and Christmas parties have already started. Cards are starting to show up in the mail. You're feeling pressured to shop, clean, organize, cook and get all the holiday gear out and up. I know because I am feeling it too.

I started preparing and getting things done earlier this year then ever before... maybe because I am 50 years old now, and I just can't afford to stroke out over Santa and burnt out bulbs. I also decided to downsize some of the hoopla. Instead of unpacking all the Christmas/Hanukah Holiday stuff, I kept it simple and put out about half the trinkets and decor. I also strung only half the lights around the house and garden then I normally would hang. I used the tiniest fake Christmas tree for our official tree this year. Normally I make a huge plate of Latkes (painstaking potato pancakes), and this year I bought them from a woman who makes them way better then I do. In our home we celebrate Hanukah and Christmas so it can get complicated. This year I did not let that happen. A Menorah here and a Santa there, not the gazillion items I usually put out, and the house still looks, smells, and feels like the holidays. And I feel more rested and at ease then I have ever felt during these hectic holiday happenings.

When I have discussed with friends, family and clients about easing it up a bit around the holidays I usually hear the heavy hearted whine about "doing it for the kids". Well, let me tell you, having your kids watch you spaz out about what tree to buy, where to put it, what to put on it, hunting down the dreidel from Aunt Ida, while drowning in butter cookie dough, is not what makes them feel warm and cuddly. Do you really think they are enjoying watching you have a Merry Melt Down? No, the kids would rather see you relaxed, communicative and well MERRY. Take a sip of that good ol' fashion... ol' fashion.

In the ol' days, we just did not have that much stuff. We had one nice dress or suit to wear. One dressy shoe choice to put on our feet. We had one tree, one Menorah, a few candles, one wreath, one Dreidel, and a very few presents around that tree, mostly consisting of what we actually needed like clothing, shoes, food items and necessities. The holiday celebration of today has become so large, fast and furious it is like a heart thumping marathon, ending with a meal that would give most people heart pains and indigestion. It just starts to feel so overwhelming and stressful it takes the "holi" and of holiday and that leaves "day", just another day of stress, strategies and desire for sleep!

This year take it easy, and don't use the kids, Martha Stewart's latest Christmas articles, or the neighbor's neon holiday front yard displays as a push to push you over. I always say if you push, you fall. And remember we are going into another seasonal change....Winter.

Winter will be on December 22nd this 2011 so enjoy the end of fall without falling down. Clown around more, talk to more friends on the phone instead of texting, have a potluck holiday dinner instead of putting in all on your shoulders and just sit with your kids and talk about the spiritual aspect of the holidays and why they started in the first place! Put things into perspective when it comes to spending and giving. Give to a charity, especially the homeless around the holidays. Know how fortunate you are and have gratitude for a new year to come!

Marla Stone is the owner of I-Deal-Lifestyle A Self and Space Organizing Company. Marla Stone is an actress, author, Lifestyle Expert and public speaker.

Original article