Four Gifts To Enhance Wellbeing This Holiday Season
Want to soar through the holiday season with your health intact? What if I told you there are gifts that you can give that help enhance not only the receiver’s well-being but also your own?
Nope, I’m not talking about taking your friends and family out for a Turkey Trot or eating more whole foods (though I do recommend these — ask my family)
When I think about what makes for ideal holiday time and what most people want — connection and a sense of belonging — it makes sense to think about well-being more broadly. Consider giving these research-backed strategies a try.
1. Imperfection. Shame and vulnerability researcher and advocate for wholehearted living Brene Brown encourages us to engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness. When we can present ourselves as complete humans (imperfect and likely of making mistakes), we give others permission to do the same. If worrying about creating the perfect meal or event makes you a nutty b**ch, or if stressing about someone else’s expectations of who or how you ought to be shows up — let it go! Focus instead on enjoying being yourself and the shared experience of the gathering, that in turn, will allow them to do the same.
2. Compassion. You likely already have a way of giving back during the holiday season. Great. Keep it up! But adding a self-compassion practice to your routine can make a big impact. Research by Kristin Neff and others shows that people who practice self-compassion make better health choices. They exercise more for intrinsic reasons, make healthier food choices, go to the doctor more often, and practice safer sex. Self-compassion practice not only makes you and those around you feel good; it makes you act in healthier ways. HERE is a compassion practice that you can do for yourself, your family, your friends, your not-really friends — everyone (Hint: Don’t leave anyone out!)
3. Creative Communication. If you’re like most people, you have routine ways of communicating with people you’ve known for a long time, especially family members. Instead of falling into old roles and patterns that no longer fit or serve you, try conscious communication. A great practice to learn about is nonviolent communication (NVC). Pioneer Marshall B. Rosenburg, Ph.D. describes NVC as "…a way of being very honest, without any criticism, insults, or put-downs, and without any intellectual diagnosis implying wrongness.”
4. Gratitude. Research shows numerous advantages to being grateful. Grateful people take better care of themselves, exercise more, eat healthier diets, and have less stress. Luckily, an attitude of gratitude be learned. The key is to practice gratitude not so much an intellectual exercise but a feeling. Training yourself to slow down to notice, remember, and replay positive experiences that you’re grateful for helps condition yourself to look for and appreciate the good things in life on a daily basis. Newer research links optimism to better immune function, according to Lisa Aspinwall, a psychology professor at the University of Utah. Need help with gratitude? Here’s a quick technique to help you start with a gratitude practice.
I hope you enjoy, in joy, the holiday season with all you encounter.
Much love,
Colleen
Interested in giving or receiving gifts that elevate well-being?
Here are a few ideas:
2. Women’s Cross Country Ski & Yoga Retreat
3. Evolving Towards Harmony Yoga Retreat in Greece
4. Design Your Life – From Vision to Action Workshop Dec. 7
5. Mindful Yoga & Wellbeing 8 Week Series
6. Get a Snapshot of Your Wellbeing with The Wellness Inventory