A New Mindfulness Tool for Stress and Anxiety

This is the season for getting it all done, and women everywhere are feeling stressed and anxious as the holiday clock ticks down.  I love the holiday traditions, but the truth is women have been doing most of the work for a long time.  We are the organizers, managers, and doers for the big family events.  We do the shopping, the cooking, the planning, the decorating, the gift wrapping, the card sending,  and then somehow make ourselves look fabulous for the family meals and holiday parties.  At the same time, many of us are raising a family and working for a living.  Often our holidays are complicated with visiting family members who’s mere presence raise conflicts rather than warm memories.

This year I am using mindfulness strategies as the holidays approach so I enjoy the present with my family and friends.  Mindfulness is an anti anxiety, anti depression, stress manager that has been used in medical settings since the mid 70s.  Mindfulness centers exist in over 200 medical centers worldwide.  Mindfulness includes the practice of meditation where one meditates on the breath and focuses on being the present.  Meditation is powerful and can be life changing but asking a busy woman to start meditating 40 minutes daily this time of year may result in her moving from being present to a deep sleep.  No joke.

I have developed a little but powerful tool called Blue Skies that is a visual reminder for a mindfulness break.  The seven mindfulness  attitudes can be brought to any situation that is stressful or provokes anxiety.  It is fun to try them out and discover how much they can improve your situation.

The real challenge is to give yourself permission to take daily five minute breaks through the holidays.  During those breaks, just breath and focus on the attitudes of mindfulness.   The foundational attitudes of mindfulness bring us into the present and allow us to experience the present without other agendas.  The first few times you do this, your brain will be uncomfortable and attempt to distract you with other thoughts.  Just gently bring your brain back to the attitudes of patience, acceptance, trust, beginner’s mind, non striving, acceptance, letting go and non judging.

So much of our holiday time is often spent dwelling on the past and choices we made.  For others, it is the uncertainty and anxiety about the future that grabs cerebral airtime creating stress and panic.  When we are in the present, the volume and baggage of the past and future soften. With less cerebral noise, we can choose how we react to events and see with more clarity.

If you want a copy of my Blue Skies tool, send me an email with your mailing address.  I will mail you a copy FREE.   I recommend placing Blue Skies next to your computer screen, your car center console or somewhere where it will be seen often. It may be the one card you get this year, you won’t throw away.   On my website under Resources I have other key mindfulness resources to explore including free download meditations from UCLA, CDs and books.  I hope to hear from you soon.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.