Hustle Bustle Stress Busters: Stress Therapy During the Holiday Season
Sometimes it seems more like the most stressful time of year, so how can we make it more wonderful? Here are two super simple, but truly effective stress tips to get you back on track to enjoy the holiday season rather than dread it. Then, we do a quick meditation to get you back in the Now where all the magic happens.
In this episode we will learn:
~How to reel ourselves back in when we feel overwhelm
~A new way of shopping for a gift for someone
~What the best holiday gift is of all time! 😉
~Om Meditation
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Quotes:
“Everything happens…right…NOW. So don’t miss it!” -Cheri Augustine Flake, LCSW
Interesting Mentions:
Soundproof Hexagon Tiles: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RedesignYourWall?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=829190039
Fun gift ideas: https://www.naturallife.com/
The Host for this podcast:
Cheri Augustine Flake, LCSW
The Stress Therapist and Author
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A word from your host, Cheri Flake, LCSW:
Feeling good after our Stress Therapy session? Awesome. Check out the show notes to connect with me, The Stress Therapist on social media or go to www.iLoveTherapy.com to find out about meditation retreats & yoga retreats.
Here’s your first stress tip buster. When you start to feel overwhelmed, think about what you’re thinking about. What am I thinking? Oftentimes you are thinking way in the future. It starts off with, I got to get up, I got to take a shower, I got to do this, I got to do that, I got to finish this, I have to call this person, I have to send this email, and then I have to do this. And then all of a sudden, you find yourself thinking about the next weekend and then Christmas or New Year’s or whatever. And those things are weeks away. So here’s what you do. In order to get yourself back grounded, feeling calm, you reel yourself in as if your thoughts are fish and you are sitting on your little teensy beautiful fishing boat. Maybe it’s pink, who knows? And you throw out your line, okay? You throw it out there all the way out to Christmas all the way out to New Year, all the way out to Hanukkah, all the way out to Valentine’s Day. I don’t care where it is, okay? But it’s always in the future, right? And you just reel yourself back in. You stop.You take a quick breath.You remember what moment you are in. The only thing that’s real is this very moment. I don’t even know how I’m going to end this sentence. Kind of this kind of now, right? Nothing’s going to happen in the future. It’s all going to happen now. Nothing has ever happened in the past. It all happened now. So you don’t want to miss it and be stuck in the future. And then that way you’re not even enjoying the holidays that you’re freaking out about.
Okay, second little stress tip buster. When you are out shopping and you’re wondering if you should buy something for someone, go ahead and buy it. Everybody has great return policies. It is no big whoop to return things, but it is a big whoop to get something last minute that’s not thoughtful or lament over the gift card or whatever. Okay? Go ahead and buy whatever it is. In fact, buy too. Okay? And I know my motherinlaw doesn’t listen to this podcast, so I can say yesterday I found this robe. I don’t know if she’s going to like it. It looks really beautiful. I got it at Natural LIFE.com, which is like this new website that I’m totally loving. If you want to go there, that they have great stuff for teens. Side note, I am getting together my gift guide for my newsletter. If you want to jump on that at my website. I lovetherapy.com I’m going to be sending that out within a day or two. I don’t know if she’s going to love this robe. So what did I do? I bought two two different colors. Bought them, bring them home, see how they look, see how they feel. Show them to my kids. Show them to my husband. All these people that love her and know her, get their opinion and return the other one. No big whoop. What ends up happening usually is that you have a robe for some other beautiful person in your life and then you have two gifts instead of one. So let’s quickly meditate. This is going to be a quick one. Here we go. One, two, three. Meditate with me
[05:11] OM Meditation: Take a moment to find your beautiful sitting position. Allow your body to be as comfortable as it can be. As you arrange yourself comfortably, remember that comfort is clean. That’s what my teacher David G always says to me. So allow your head and face to saddle into your position. Allowed all the muscles around your eyes and jaw and neck. Allow your shoulders to settle, your arms and wrists and hands. Find a place to put your hands comfortably. Allow your heart center to settle in your belly, your spine is straight and your chin is level to the ground. Come into the pelvics, finding this beautiful space of sitting alert but being calm. Allow your legs to settle, your thighs and calves and shins and ankles and feet. Just do a quick scan. And now bring your awareness to between your eyebrows, this place of knowing and wisdom, this third eye. And we’re going to start with the sound that the universe makes. It’s a nice little reminder of what’s happening right now. It’s the sound of all creation. Say it a few times to yourself out loud. Then allow yourself to whisper this sacred word. Now go ahead and just bring it into your internal awareness, focusing on the mantra. Ohm, remember that when you start to go to the future or the past or anywhere else but ohm, anywhere else but. Now, gently bring yourself back. You’re going to meditate on your own with this mantra for just a few minutes, and I’ll be back to guide you back out. [12:10] Music. [12:11] Allow the sound of om. This beautiful vibration, this excellent energy that om brings to you. Allow it to fall away from your awareness. Come back into your beautiful body. Take a long, slow, deep breath in your nose. Let it all go out of your mouth. Allow that cleansing breath one more time. A big deep breath in your nose. Let it all go out of your mouth. And when you’re ready, you can open your beautiful eyes. So I kept my word. It was short and sweet, just like me. [13:02] Speaker A: I hope you have an amazing holiday season and please consider giving yourself or someone that you love the very best gift ever. A yoga and meditation retreat. I have two coming up in january. It’s a new year, a new mindset so it is over The New Year holiday. [13:19] It’s going to be amazing. At the beach at Jekyll Island. It starts on December 29. And then we have one coming up January 19 in the beautiful Hartwood Retreat Center. I actually just got back from a five day retreat there. It was amazing. It’s so beautiful there. The food alone. Oh, my goodness. Go to I Love Therapy.com to get more information and sign up. I can’t wait to see you there. I love you to pieces. Have a lovely, lovely day. How y’all feeling after that stress therapy session? Good? Awesome. Check out the show notes to connect with me, the stress therapist on social media, at Distress Therapist on Instagram, and at Stress Therapy on Twitter. You can always go to I Love Therapy.com to find out about meditation and yoga retreats and other offerings that I have there. If you live in Georgia and you’re ready to be one of my clients, go to my website to find out how you can sign up for a free face to face consultation with me. At the very least, jump on my mailers so you don’t stress or miss one thing until next time. Have a lovely, lovely day.