A Consistent Meditation: Making the Holiday Season Even More Special

By Kat Palms

Meditation is a helpful practice any time of the year. Still, it can be especially challenging to pause and practice stillness during the busy holiday season, which is why mediation can be an even more vital practice during the Holidays.​

According to NYC-based psychotherapist Mark O'Connell, meditation can help us strengthen our patience and lengthen our fuse. This practice helps to build tolerance by making time for moments of self-care with a clear start and finish line—every day. "When we think of this practice as a way of life as opposed to just a tool to manage our stress, we can lengthen our fuse over time," O'Connell says.

Especially during this holiday season, when we spend increased time indoors among family, it's important to permit yourself to commit to a self-care moment. "When you can train yourself to be where you are now," he says, "you're training your brain to be calm and clear in the moment of stress.

Committing to being consistent with a meditation practice can help meditation become a natural part of life, even during the holidays. So how do we implement meditation as a consistent practice?


Well, here are a few ideas: 

• Stack the new habit -- Have meditation follow something you do every day. For example, practice right after you turn off your morning alarm or meditate while you wait for your coffee or oats to cook. 
• Have a daily checklist -- This will help ensure you check meditation off your list for the day. You can meditate for as short as 5 minutes or as long as 20. Choose what's best for you, but check it off the list before you go to bed. Meditation calms the nervous system. So even if you meditate in bed because you forgot to do it sooner in the day, it can help promote a night of deeper sleep. 
• Do it with a friend or family member -- Having friends or family meditating with you is an easy way to find an accountability buddy. Not only do you have someone helping you stay committed to your meditation practice, but you will also have someone to talk about the struggles and noticeable benefits of the practice. 

Give a consistent meditation practice a try. You might be surprised at how meditation helps you to feel calmer, cooler, and more collected this holiday season. 


<3 Kat


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Continued reading & practices: 
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Here are a few tips from Forbes Magazine to sneak in meditation and other wellness practices during the holiday season:
1. Meditate first thing in the morning before the rest of the day begins.
2. Sneak out to meditate (literally). (i.e., in your car after running to get groceries!)
3. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliviaobryon/2022/11/06/how-to-overcome-the-holiday-stress-cycle-with-quick-meditation/?sh=6484b0b5705c


Here are five short, sweet, and easy mediations for over the holidays https://healingbrave.com/blogs/all/easy-meditations-for-the-holidays 


A tip from mindful.org "Allow the holidays to happen. Take care to do whatever keeps you grounded, like sleep and exercise. Enjoy it, plan what needs planning, and let go of the rest. Focus instead on whatever you value and find most sustaining this time of year. Happy Holidays!"
Take 10 minutes: https://www.mindful.org/take-10-minutes-defuse-holiday-stress-mindfulness-practice/