Stress and anxiety can really take over during the holiday season. An end of year push at the office, juggling family expectations with professional expectations, and getting everything ready to celebrate or host can begin to take its toll quickly. Mindful meditation can be your opportunity to revive, and you don’t need a long period of alone time or complete silence to get the benefit. A common misconception is that mindful meditation is something that needs to reserve 30 minutes or an hour, it’s something that needs to be done alone in a quiet room, or that it’s something that needs to take a chunk out of your day. At Technalink we encourage mindful meditation at any time, in any safe space, and to take those few minutes you have when you get them during the day.
A few tips that can help you to better manage these holiday stresses with mindful meditation are:
• Check in with yourself – With stress and anxiety especially, it can be very easy to let your body get out of control. We often don’t notice when these emotions hit until they become overwhelming. Take a few moments to check in with yourself throughout the day. Monitor your thoughts as they come to your mind, monitor what your body is feeling, and take a break with a few deep breaths if you find yourself getting overwhelmed. These few moments can do wonders in bringing you back into balance.
• Have labels for your emotions – Giving your emotions labels can help you to be more authentic with yourself. Call anxiety by its name, call stress by its name, same with exhaustion, overwhelm, joy, ambition, inspiration, and anything else you could be feeling during this time. This makes checking in with yourself easier and keeps you honest with just how you’re feeling.
• Fill yourself with grateful affirmations – As you’re taking a few moments for mindful meditation, fill yourself with gratitude and focus your affirmations on what you’re thankful for. You might be feeling stretched thin, but it’s easier to manifest contentment and joy when you’re focusing on the things you’re doing it all for.
• Practice letting go – As you’re observing the mind during meditation, you might want to focus on the stressful emotions you’re feeling, and it can be difficult not to. Instead of focusing on these thoughts or feelings, practice letting them go. Allow them to come, but don’t feed them with “what ifs”, “how comes”, or “how do I’s”. Feeding these thoughts strengthens them, and when one practices letting go they will begin to simply pass.
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