Nourishing Ourselves During the Holidays - 5 Tips for Taking Care of You

During the holiday season, it's natural to have your focus on those you love.  Yet, we need to understand that, even during times of stress, nourishing ourselves first is the only way we can have the energy and patience to be present for those around us, and the joy of the holidays.

Here are a few ideas for ways to nourish yourself during the holiday season.

1) Take a bath with epsom salts or dead sea salt once a week - it's been proven that these types of salts not only relax the body, they also release toxins which will off you more energy and clear stuff from your system to boost your immune.  Taking care of yourself, relaxing, AND keeping healthy at the same time.

2) Get up by 7:30am and take catnaps instead - during the holidays, it has been estimated that people sleep in more due to higher stress levels.  While you may need more sleep, it is actually more helpful for your body to take 20 minute catnaps during the day as sleeping in can lower your energy during the day causing an ongoing state of fatigue and, for those sensitive to 'winter blues', sleeping in past 8am has been shown to cause depression.

3) Drink A LOT of water between meals - while many think that we need more water in the summer, truth is, we actually need just as much if not more in the winter.  Dry heat blowing at home, in the car and at work along with the winter chill can cause dehydration so don't forget the water!  Also, drinking water alone (ie. not with meals) means it can go directly where it needs to without being mixed with food so it's best to drink water between means instead to get full benefits.  Full benefits of hydrating yourself include - feeling less stressed, mood elevation, enhanced digestion and the energy to play 'chase' with those little ones (ok, maybe that is just me, I do have three adorable nephews with a lot of energy!).

4) Sit when you eat - during the holidays, it is common to 'peruse' the food tables by walking around and taking nibbles.  Try to take the time to sit to eat instead and you will find you will eat less and be able to spend nibbling time talking with loved ones.

5) Release what is not needed and get help when you need it -  many of us love to send the holiday cards, to bake cookies for our children's school, to host the perfect parties, and to get the perfect gifts for everyone.  Truth is, sometimes we need to find ways to get things done faster, get help when needed and let things go that aren't really important.  One thing I like to do is get a sheet of paper and list on one column all the things I need to do.  Then circle those that are making me feel stress and next to them write down what I could do differently to make it easier on myself.  Inevitably I end up releasing a few things from the list.

I hope this article offered you some new ideas of how to nourish yourself this holiday season! 

ENJOY!

Love,

Jenifer

Jenifer Shapiro is a proven intuitive and shamanic teacher/counselor professionally trained in coaching, hypnotherapy, NLP, yoga, shamanism and other mind, body, soul therapies.  She holds an M.B.A. in international business and is the founder of The Empowerment Centre (www.TheEmpowermentCentre.com) with offices in Pennsylvania, New York and the Midwest.  She is also the founder of Satya Business (www.SatyaBusiness.com) and HolisticHometown.com as well as the originator of Integrative Release Therapy^TM.  She teaches and works with individuals, teens and holistic entrepreneurs to assist them in manifesting empowering, fulfilling lives and businesses.  She can be reached at (610) 213-1010 or  www.TheEmpowermentCentre.com.