How to keep calm during the holidays -Week 1

The holidays are about to begin and I wanted to share with you some of the ways I have been able to keep calm during a very busy and (potentially) stressful season.

Full disclosure, I had wanted to create this as a free 5 day training. I got all excited and was thinking of how it would all work and then I realized I'm about to have a big art show right after Thanksgiving and there is absolutely no way I'd be able to give you everything I want to and also be ready for the show. So my solution is to give you a tip a week from now until at least mid-December. (this is actually a bonus tip - don't overbook yourself because you are not going to be able to stay sane, calm and collected while stressed out about a million things).

Tip No 1: Just Breathe

It sounds so simple but it's easy to forget when you are getting triggered or overwhelmed and of course those are the times when you need to do this the most. There is a breathing technique that I've used that calms me down when I'm stressed and need a moment. There are two ways of doing this and, since I'm a visual person, I see them as shapes (they might have another name). The first one is square breathing - you breathe in for four (slowly), hold for four, exhale for four (slowly) and hold for four. Then you repeat it at least 3-4 times for it to work. The second one is triangle breathing - you inhale for four (slowly), hold for four, exhale for four (slowly) - and repeat. I personally like the triangle one - holding for four twice just feels weird to me but try them both out and see which you like better. If you don't like either, you could always just inhale (slowly) for four and exhale (slowly) for four and see how that goes for you. The point is to calm your nervous system and focusing on your breathing will help you do that.

You can practice this when you are in line at the store, waiting at a red light, or going about your day so you are ready to use it when something actually stressful happens.

Let me know if this was helpful to you and if you've tried it out by commenting below.