671: Creating calm in the darker months
This week we’re reflecting on what you can do to create more peace and calm during the winter time. In the northern hemisphere, December can be dark and busy and we often receive questions from our listeners about how to support their mind through the darker months.
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For most of you, the holiday season is a time for enjoying family and friends, gift giving and enjoying special treats. Whether or not your family gives gifts during the holidays, you get to choose what you give to yourself. Whether it’s by starting therapy or treating yourself to a day of complete rest– remember to give yourself some love this holiday season.
Therapy is helpful for how to set boundaries and look after yourself. It empowers you to be the best version of yourself. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.
In the season of giving, give yourself what YOU need – with BetterHelp.
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Points covered in this episode:
Protect yourself from expectations
Pay extra attention to setting boundaries.
Allow time to pause and think before committing to events.
Protect your energy.
No thank you is a complete sentence.
Releasing resistance is an important part of calming anxiety
What you resist persists. And with anxiety it doesn’t just persist, it gains energy. If you fight anxiety, or fight with our unsettled mind we just churn it up more.
You deserve to find a place of acceptance and self-compassion while leaning into good self-care, especially at this time of year for those of us going into the Winter season.
Taking effective mental breaks
Anxiety can be seen as a communication. The body and mind are communicating stress and fear, and we can respond by sending calming messages back to them. Breathing, yoga, QiGong and meditation let your nervous system know “It’s OK, I hear you and I’m going to help you.”
Meditating daily reminds our cardiovascular and nervous systems that they are safe to relax and unwind for a period in time. This trains our bodies to learn where the “off switch” for our agitated minds is located, and as a result, we are better able to manage our stress. In sum, there is no longer any doubt that the state of the mind and spirit affects the functioning of the body (and vice versa).
- The Art & Science of Vedic Counselling Dr. Frawley and Dr. Kshirsagar
Standing Practices
If you feel stirred up try QiGong shaking, bounce on the front of your feet letting your weight drop onto your heels while shaking out your arms and hands. Raise your hands over your head and get your whole body as loose as you can while taking deep breaths. Let your arms come back to your sides and with feet flat on the floor bounce from your legs and knees for a couple more minutes.
This is an ancient practice for shaking out stress and fear and high adrenaline states.
Watch this video on balancing emotions with QiGong by Chunyi Lynn
Seated Practices
Spend a few quiet minutes massaging the calming point, while taking calm, steady breaths.
Or curl up somewhere quiet and listen to a Guided Mediation. There are many different types of guided practices. It can be helpful to look around and see what you prefer. For example guided breathing, or a body scan to release tension, or a guided journey for deep relaxation and escape. We have 30 guided meditations on our Patreon, you can find them right at the top of our page next to our tapping Sessions Collection.
Guided Meditations
Guided relaxations and meditations ease the mind into a more peaceful state by gradual immersion on the practice, it’s the opposite of distraction, it will take you away from anxiety but leave you feeling better for it. Distraction can preoccupy the mind for a while, but it doesn’t feel good afterwards and we’re left to face our anxiety again feeling more tired and out of balance.
What else helps?
Herbs and spices that help lift your spirits:
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Ginger
Cloves
Cumin
Essential oils:
Lavender
Patchouli
Frankincense
Jasmine
Grapefruit
We love Eden’s Garden 100% pure Essential Oils Link to Eden’s Garden
Keep warm
Consider keeping your neck warm with a scarf, even indoors.
Sip hot water or ginger tea between meals.
Three Ginger Tea and Relax are two of our favorite teas from Pukka Tea.
Keep moving
It's easy to sit too much at this time of year.
Set reminders to move if you find you get stuck in a chair for too long.
Moving helps the mind as much as the body.
Get over 200 Guided Relaxations, Tapping Sessions, and Ayurvedic Teachings for calming anxiety on our Patreon at Patreon.com/anxietyslayer