Top Tips for a peaceful Christmas
Christmas should be a time when we take time out to relax and enjoy ourselves with family and friends, but sometimes the weight of expectations and the commercial drive to get us to spend, spend, spend can really spoil our pleasure, leaving us tired and stressed.
The first person to write about yoga was Patanjali who set out an eight step path to help us achieve a balanced and blissful life. One of the values that he encourages us to adopt is santosha which means being content with things just as they are. And in my experience this really is the key to a stress free life; to enjoy what we have and to stop wanting more. It might be eaier said than done but a regular yoga and meditation practice can help and that means applying yogic values in every day life. Here are a few simple suggestions for applying Santosha in your life this Christmas:
Get back to nature
Turn off your computer and mobile phone and take a walk outside. Watch the changing colours of the sky, the trees swaying in the breeze, the squirrels and birds foraging for food, or walk at night and watch the clouds float across the surface of the moon and the stars twinkling in the night sky. Rejoice at being part of this wonderful universe. Reflect on how easily nature adapts to the changing seasons just as we can if we allow ourselves to truly relax.
Count your blessings
Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit. Light a candleand play some gentle background music if you would like to. Take a deep breath in and let it flow slowly out through your mouth then close your eyes and allow your breath to flow naturally through your nostrils, feeling it expand as it flows gently down towards your abdomen. Focus on your navel gently rising and falling with every breath until you are feeling calmer, then begin to count your blessings, however small; a warm bed, a robin in the garden, a Christmas card from an old friend. Sit quietly until you feel gratitude filling and overflowing from your heart.
Truly believe in yourself
Give up the need to be perfect and rejoice in your individuality, your strengths, your skills and your wonderful idiosyncrasies. Turn your attention outside sending love and compassion to everyone you meet, and feel your self esteem growing as those qualities are reflected back to you tenfold.
Let go of expectations
The most powerful way to experience peace is to stop wanting more. Let go of the need for all your expectations to be met and allow yourself to enjoy things just as they are; whether the dinner gets burnt, or your guests are late, or old family feuds erupt over Christmas dinner. Just fill every cell of your being with gratitude and loving kindness and remember these words from Caroline Myss;
“Remind yourself that this day will never come again. You will never sit at the same table twice with the same people and see them in the same way. You will never look into the faces of the people you love in exactly the same way tomorrow, for you might not even be here tomorrow.
I wishe you love, happiness and peace this Christmas time.
Patricia Cronin Yoga on the Green
