A December to Remember
It’s the season of giving, and I’m writing today with the gentle reminder to give to yourself. In between list-writing, end of year projects and event planning, I invite you to be intentional about gifting yourself. For some of us, this is a special, joyful time of year, for some, it’s an intensely busy season, and for others, it’s painful and draining. For many, maybe it’s a bit of it all. Which is why it’s important to take a minute before the month sweeps you up to set some boundaries around what will be good for YOU in the weeks to come.
What can this look like?
First thing in the morning is a helpful time to reclaim your day back from habitual future thinking, stress and worry. This can mean receiving and offering 6 deep breaths before reaching for the phone, stretching a little and placing the mind on the gifts of your life. Then, before tending to anyone else, ask yourself:
What can I give to ME today?
Take a moment to listen to the answers within and notice what is really needed. Make this gift a top priority; schedule when you can receive it in the coming hours.
Here are some simple and (mostly) free(!) ideas for the gifts you can bestow on yourself this month:
Movement: Even if you don’t have large chunks of time to devote to the gym or the yoga studio, we can typically find 20 minute slices of the day to walk, stretch, dance, love, lift weights or do an online exercise program we enjoy.
Warmth: Try the ayurvedic (sister science of yoga) practice of beginning each day by sipping on hot water to calm frayed nerves, aid the body in detoxification and digestion and to stay warm in colder temperatures. Continue to benefit from the enhanced absorption of hot water by sipping on it through the day between meals.
Nourishment: Bring the idea of warmth into the kitchen by infusing cooked food and hot drinks with warming spices. When hungry, start your day with easy baked apples or pears (place whole fruit in a pan with a bottom of boiled water, dust with pumpkin pie spice and liberal cinnamon and bake until soft) for a delicious, calming and strengthening nourishment. Or slice bananas in a pan with a tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil and liberal cinnamon as a delicious snack or cinnamon oatmeal topper. For easy and healing seasonal one pot dishes, I’ve been enjoying the ayurveda website “The Joyful Belly”
Joy: Turn on music, watch your favorite holiday movie, snuggle up with loved ones, laugh, say yes to the invitations that bring you joy, invite the people over who “see” you and bring you ease, play a game, play with a pet and play outside.
Get Support: Call the friend to talk, make a walking date, a yoga date, a cookie baking date, a movie date. Ask for help.
Find Ease: What can you cross of the “should” list this year” If it doesn’t add to your joy and well being this month, maybe you can let it go.
Rest: The winter solstice is just a few weeks away, meaning every day we are experiencing a little more darkness and less light. This is nature’s cue for us to do less and sleep more. It’s hard to listen. Give yourself permission to close your eyes for a few minutes if you’re tired and go to bed earlier.
Pleasure: How do you feel about allowing yourself to receive pleasure for pleasure’s sake? Enjoy a favorite taste, scent, texture or activity with all your heart. Let yourself soak up the sweetness.
Self-Exploration: In the busy days of December, it can be challenging to ask ourselves the most powerful questions of all; How am I feeling? What am I thinking? How do I want to feel? What do I want to think about? Remember that while we are not our thoughts, we create our lives in our minds. It’s essential to take moments of reflection to take stock and remember to honour our intentions and spend our time in ways that serve us.
Presence: It doesn’t take a detailed practice, a yoga mat or a teacher to do the most powerful thing we can do all day, be present. All the planning in the world is for nothing if once we arrive at the destination, we’re looking ahead to what’s next. Engage with your senses, be still with your loved ones, listen intently, stop and take in the view and the small moments that we miss when we’re trying to do all the things and get it all right.
The greatest gift we can give ourselves is not a present. It’s presence. In the words of the wise Ram Dass, be here now. Notice if the gift of “presence” can turn impatience and irritation at the grocery store into curiosity and kindness, if it can turn an errand in the car into a song sung and breaths breathed, if it can turn cooking a meal into a service of love.
Skills to help you be present and centred while honoring your boundaries, creating a kinder inner dialogue and feeling inspired and radiant are the centrepiece of the beautiful online program I co-created- A Radiant Winter. This 12-week video course led by me and my colleague and podcast co-host Aimee Pruitt will support your vitality and mood through the darker months with countless therapeutic yoga techniques and ayurvedic inspirations. If you join us, you’ll receive your first online practice on the solstice (Dec 22nd) followed by weekly video classes and content to support your wellness goals for your body, mind and heart all season long. We explore movement, philosophy, meditations, breath techniques, imagery, inquiry and so much more to help you create your most radiant winter yet. Invest in the program for the season or take the leap and join us every week for a year! Get on the waitlist here
I thank you for taking some of your time to read this note. Let me know if you need any help giving to yourself this season, it’s my honour to provide the tools to help you reconnect with the part of you that’s always ok.
With love,
Lisa