Happy Holidays! I feel like with every passing year I see Christmas Trees going up and holiday commercials airing earlier and earlier! Thanksgiving is often tainted by thoughts of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday and anxious family members scoot from tables to brave the hustle and bustle of stressful outlet malls and electronic boutiques. This holiday season I am really trying to stay centered and focused on what truly matters in my life: family, friends, health and obviously all of you! What makes me happiest is to try and eliminate stress as much as I can. After three years of constantly being on-the-go I took time this fall to travel abroad with my mother and hubby! I used this time to focus on my health and wellness and made as much room for self-care as I could.
Self-care is a term that is often thrown around on the inter webs and it is a practice that every daughter, son, sister, brother, mother, father and HUMAN should indulge in. Self-care means taking care of numero uno…Y-O-U. Taking a bit of time out of your week to check in with yourself and doing something exclusively for you. The stress of the holidays are the perfect time to implement a self care practice like meditation. This article from Baptist Health South Florida along with the American Heart Association suggest, incorporating a meditation practice into your daily routine can significantly can lower several risk factors of heart disease, including blood pressure, stress, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
(Video: The Baptist Health News Team hears from Beth Ruhmann, certified therapeutic recreation specialist, about the health benefits of meditation. Video by George Carvalho)
The positives of meditation is that it is something that everyone can do. You can use your tablet, computer or phone to practice. I suggest starting your day with a bit of meditation and see how building a healthy positive habit can enhance your day. This article also states that: meditation done while sitting – may also be associated with decreased levels of anxiety and depression, and improved sleep and overall well-being, the AHA guidelines note. During the holidays we can all get overwhelmed with stress and anxiety and let go of what it is truly all about. I encourage you to try this quick video every morning this week and see how you feel. Set the stress of the holidays aside and take some deep breaths and a few minutes of your day to clear your mind.
If you enjoy practicing you may consider download the headspace app and practice any time anywhere! Learn how to breathe deep. Inhale all of the good this holiday season and exhale the bad. For more on the health benefits of meditation from Baptist Health South Florida make sure to read the full article here.
