Christmas Day and you have all the various family gatherings – blended families, in-laws etc all adding to the chaos so what to you do. Too much food, too much drink, too many people. How do you remain calm? My gift to you – Learn to breath. It can really make all the difference.
Get a few minutes alone and probably the bathroom is the only place. Sit down, with shoulders over hips, knees over ankles and take a deep breath in (as though sucking the air up) for the mental count of 3, hold for the mental count of 3 and release through an open mouth (really push that air out) for the mental count of 6. Repeat x 2.
Notice where you feel the anxiety, give it a shape and note red arrows showing the direction of the anxiety. Push it outside of you, turn the arrows from red to blue, change their direction and allow back inside you – you are controlling and diminishing the anxiety/stress.
Now see yourself calm and relaxed, let these words run through your mind. See a knock-on effect your calmness has on others.
Now open your eyes and stretch. Remember the whole purpose of the gathering is supposed to be fun. Last year my turkey was rotten (which I didn’t discover until Christmas morning) and we ended up having chicken breasts (which were in the freezer and had to be thawed) with the vegetables and roast potatoes! Dinner was several hours late. Now, I could have let it ruin the day but with my calming deep breath (just after a few expletives!), calmness was restored and nobody minded.
Think calm and relaxed, calm and relaxed and have a Happy Christmas.
