Mindfully Managing the Chaos

Everyone knows that with the holidays fast approaching that along with all the seasonal joy comes a lot of stressors. The truth of the matter is you can’t have one without the other. We all have our own triggers that spark the stress to arise. I come from a large family and the holidays have always been a bit of a mixed bag for us. Grandma cooking and yelling at the uncles to set the table, kids running around playing and all by the end of the night ending in a food induced coma after helping with the dishes and the portioning out of leftovers. I always remember the look on both my Mother and Grandmother’s faces at the end of those hectic holidays, it was the thousand yard stare, and they had just run a marathon of sorts.

Today as an adult I’ve greatly enjoyed entertaining friends and family on those special holidays. It’s a time of joy, it’s heartwarming and exhausting all at once. This year the holidays are going to be very different in the family. To help manage any stress, anxiety or even sadness I’ve taken to writing in a journal. Entries in my journal have a wide range of variety, everything from long winded deep thoughts to a single sentence venting road rage. Through this practice I have discovered a newfound sense of peace and acceptance for the challenges I face through everyday life and the obstacles that also seem like Mount Everest that appear to be virtually impossible to overcome.

I’ll admit my physical yoga practice has been lacking drastically lately. Most who know me say that I can’t sit still for even one minute, I’m always on the go doing something or doing ten things at once. I feel it’s time to listen to those around me and slow down a bit and “live in the moment” rather than a mile ahead of everyone else worrying about the “what ifs” or the unknown. I don’t know about you but during this time of the year I always have a hard time sleeping restfully through the nights. To help combat this I’ve recently taken to night running. There’s just something magical about running through the moisture of the San Diego marine layer that softly wraps the city in a gentle hug every night. The almost deafening silence of the night being broken by my stride. This has become my seasonal lullaby.

So, to you my fellow Yogi’s if you find yourself in a dizzying moment of holiday stress, or just everyday shananagins and you feel you can’t take a deep enough breathe, I challenge you to find the closest thing to write on and spill the contents of your mind and heart onto the paper and declutter the mind. Once it’s all down on paper, you can always revisit it and don’t have to worry about forgetting how you felt in that moment. Allow yourself the opportunity to feel the way you do in the moment, give yourself that space, and honor it! If you feel the outdoors beckoning you heed the calling and step outside of your scheduled life and enjoy the spontaneity a bit and nourish yourself with something beautiful that isn’t in your control. Revel in the moments life offers us no matter how crazy, chaotic or unpredictably stressful they may seem, try and see the sparkle in it all. 

Feeling a little bogged down? Come in for a Reiki Energy Clearing or meet me on the mat Tues 6AM, Thur 7PM & 8:15PM, Sun 8:30AM, 9:45AM & 11AM