Feeling festive or are you feeling frazzled?

How are you feeling, festive or frazzled?

Have you still got loads to do before you can even think about winding down?

When there’s so much to do and it all feels like a rush it can be hard to concentrate and that’s when everything starts to feel a little bit much.

I worked in Fashion for 15 years and there is NO SUCH THING as a Christmas winddown! To be honest, the idea of a Christmas wind-down feels romantic and something only other people get to do. Everything becomes so much more urgent in the run-up to Christmas and taking time off can feel like you have to work twice as fast!

Does it feel more like Christmas chaos rather than Christmas wind-down to you?

I may not work full-time in the industry anymore but I still haven’t experienced any wind-down in the run-up to taking time off. I have things I want to do and have ready for the new year, and I have people who need me to get projects done. 

How do you feel when there’s so much to do and so little time? Panicked? Overwhelmed? Confused? Exhausted?

Imagine if you could do one or two things that meant you could rebalance when you felt overwhelmed and refocus on what you needed to get done.

What if I told you it would only take up 5 minutes of your time?

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your current state of being whilst not being particularly overwhelmed or distracted by everything else you’ve got going on… That sounds like another myth, right? 

Wrong, and here’s why.

Presence means to have an awareness of yourself in the moment you are in, right now. Not thinking about what happened 10 minutes ago or worrying about what you need to do in the next hour, as tempting and natural as that may be to do. 

If you can pull yourself back into the moment you’re in, you’ll notice whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, a bit stressed out, or that you’ve needed the loo for quite a while! 

Presence is like an anchor. It gives you time to reset and helps to shift your perspective. Presence might only last a couple of minutes but when it’s done with intention and awareness it can help you get back on track and feel a hell of a lot better than you did!

You in?

Here are three super simple ways you can give yourself some presence this week and over the festive period…

1. A simple rebalancing breath technique. (Time required: 3-5 minutes!)

Give this a go. Take a few moments to become aware of how you are breathing and intentionally slow down and deepen your inhale and exhale. Having a few sighs can feel really good too! You can follow this image to help you which I created for my journal, ‘The Empowerment Journal’ because it helps me to remember when I have something to look at…. 

The Chill-Out Technique

Slowly breathe in for 1,2,3,4 and pause at the top of your inhale for 1,2,3,4.
Now slowly release your exhale for 1,2,3,4 and pause gently again at the bottom of your exhale for 1,2,3,4.

Gradually as this feel more natural and once you feel calmer, you can stop the gentle breath holds and begin to lengthen your exhale. So, you’ll be breathing in as you were for 1,2,3,4 and then simply releasing your exhale to the count of 6,5,4,3,2,1.

2. Try my guided Self-Connection meditation. (Time required: 15 minutes!)

This is a personal favourite and one of my signature techniques. It’s great if you’re easily distracted or worried about whether you’re doing it right! If you want to give this a go all you’ll need is to be somewhere quiet; simply put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and use headphones if there are people around. Get comfortable in your chair, allow your feet to rest on the floor, and have your back supported. When you’re ready, hit play and I will guide you, enjoy!
Try my guided Self-connection meditation

3. Explore the benefits of a guided Yoga Nidra (Time required: 40-60 minutes, ideally!)

This is an ancient spiritual practice similar to the meditation you do lying down at the end of a yoga class only longer, and even more beneficial! Yoga Nidra is deeply restorative because it allows your physical body to rest while giving your busy mind something to focus on. Imagine releasing tension from your body and mind, helping yourself become more connected to your body, and being more mindful in your daily life…

I believe we could all do with some TLC and a chance to rest, reset and recharge, so I’ll be sharing a Yoga Nidra session this Sunday. This will be an hour of deep rest and a dreamy blend of mindful intention-setting, a restorative session of Yoga Nidra and guided visualisation for the New Year! You can book your slot for £11 here, my friend!

When you're rushing around it's hard to focus on one thing at a time, mindfulness techniques are super helpful and proven to reduce stress and help you recenter. 

When we are so busy it can be hard to wind down and de-stress so your body is constantly fired up and never fully able to rest and recover. We all need proper rest for our bodies to repair themselves, keep us from becoming unwell and help us to be the best version of ourselves we can be!

My friend, I promise you will come away from these practices feeling rebalanced and reconnected!

Which one will you try?

With gratitude,
Becki