Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health Offers Tips for Staying Sane and Healthy This Winter Holiday Season
Experts from Kripalu Center, an established yoga and holistic health center, offer simple tips for managing holiday stress and boosting the immune system this holiday season.
Lenox, MA (PRWEB) October 11, 2005
Travel, shopping, cooking, socializing, and planning can be big stressors during the holiday season. Even fun family gatherings can take their toll on the nervous and immune systems. According to Aruni Nan Futuronsky, the Retreat & Renewal program director at Kripalu Center, it's never a bad idea to hone your holiday survival skills. "Learning to relax can be fun if youÂ’re realistic," says Futuronsky. "Just a little effort brings immediate and lasting results."
With more than 30 years of experience teaching thousands of people to relax, renew, and heal body, mind, and spirit, Kripalu Center has a few ideas about how to make the holiday time a little more manageable. Here are some simple tips for surviving holiday stress:
Notice how your body feels throughout the day and in different situations. Are you holding your breath or clenching your jaw? Noticing the physiological markers of stress is the first step to alleviating it.
Cultivate the habit of loosening up your body and shaking off tension. Whether you are in an airplane or shopping mall you can shrug your shoulders, give yourself a hug, tuck your chin to your chest or simply yawn to release tension in your upper body.
Can't resist holiday goodies? Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day to offset the effects of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and turkey with all the trimmings. A little lemon squeezed into warm water encourages the system to detox and is a flavorful way to ward off a winter chill.
A few deep, slow breaths go a long way to helping your body unwind and clearing your mind. Set a timer or post sticky notes on your computer monitor as a reminder to breathe deeply at least three times a day. Transcend tension in traffic or on your commute by taking a few deep breaths, making sure to exhale completely. Use natureÂ’s natural filter by inhaling through your nose. Breathing in from your mouth may subject you to airborne germs.
Never mind the errands, put yourself into "time out." Just five to 15 minutes of sitting quietly or stretching out on your bed will do wonders for your mood. Consider making at least one area of your home off limits to anyone but you.
Carry a small one-two ounce spritzer bottle filled with a mixture of bottled water (or rosewater, if available) and essential oils of lavender and/or eucalyptus, both of which are anti-bacterial. Mist your face and hands occasionally to ward off cold-season bugs, especially in public places.
Rubbing sesame oil on face, feet, hands, scalp, or joints -- overnight if possible will promote a sense of calm and balance. A drop of oil inside the nose will keep it lubricated and prevent it from drying out from exposure to indoor heat.
"Definitely try to spend some time outdoors everyday," Futuronsky adds. "As the weather gets colder and we spend so much time indoors, itÂ’s easy to get out of sync with natural rhythms."
Kripalu Center offers more than 700 experiential learning programs a year in yoga, holistic health and spirituality that present principles and practices from yogic and complimentary wisdom traditions in a contemporary and accessible, yet profound, way. These programs are designed to provide participants with tools they can use in their daily lives. Kripalu Center, a non-profit organization, has served people of all backgrounds for more than 30 years, and is located in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, less than three hours from Boston and New York City. More information is available at www. kripalu. org.
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