holidays

I’m a sucker for love letters and chocolate, so it should come as no surprise that I look forward to Valentine’s Day. Show a little love for the planet and your partner by having an eco-friendly evening.

A friend of mine received a Christmas card from her niece that contained this recount. I share it with you…

A family, traveling to visit relatives for the holidays, stopped at a restaurant for a bite. The parents were tired, their two kids cranky. Food and warmth and a break from the winter roads beckoned. They were shown to a table and given a booster seat for the toddler and a high chair for the baby. Mom and Dad ordered coffee and food and they settled in to wait.

‘Tis the giving season, and just in time for the holidays, we have 25 great gifts for you, and they’re free! However, they’re not just any ordinary gifts — we’re presenting the opportunity to do something special this year by offering the gift of giving to you.

This is probably the absolute worst time of year to do so, but two weeks ago I started a diet. The good news is, it’s working. And the plan I’m on couldn’t be easier.

When we’re stressed we overeat. We have a hard time sleeping. These reactionary ways of dealing with stress are usually automatic — and they put even more stress on your body in the long run. But you can take a proactive approach to stress management this holiday. Try one or more of these five steps I’ve seen help my clients the most:

For many people, this is a time wrought with pain and suffering from failed relationships, financial challenges, job dissatisfaction and self-worth issues. Today I want to share a tool to help you or someone you love transform feelings of depression by looking at circumstances as gifts.

“I feel out of sync with my family of origin around the holidays, when I spend more time with them than usual,” wrote one reader recently. “They aren’t interested in honest communication, working on relationships, or other things that are important to me … How can I deal with this in a positive way?

Right-click to download a free sample podcast from the Gaiam Yoga Club with Colleen Saidman and Rodney Yee

Holidays! Uggghhh. How do we navigate this season of so many mixed emotions? What is the key to our sanity when all is so chaotic?

Has Christmas become an annual nightmare? Has gift giving become nauseatingly decadent? Are family gatherings, or the lack of, a source of endless anxieties? Has the mind recorded all these unpleasant memories and does it seem to play them loudly at about this time of year?

Time to stop the madness … Time to record a different tune by digesting the old and opening up to what is happening right now.

When the holidays approach, we receive a lot of requests from people who are experiencing more conflict and stress in their relationships.

If you’re feeling increased pressures around this time of the year, you’re definitely not alone. Along with the possibilities of great joy in this season come other feelings as well. It’s important to remember that all feelings come through the same “faucet” of your awareness, and that the holidays are an ideal time to open yourself to learning from every relationship moment.