5 Tips for Staying Mindful Through the Holidays

The holidays can be a time of tradition, happiness, and joy. But it can also be a serious season of indulgence, anxiety, and getting thrown off of our normal routines.

Embrace these mindfulness practices to help keep you grounded, healthy, and happy this upcoming holidays season.

Practice Self Compassion

First things first, if you get a little off track with your diet, fitness routine, sleep schedule, budget or anything else (which inevitably you will), know that it's okay and you can still achieve all of your goals.

Beating yourself up when you take a step off the path isn't going to get you there any faster so be kind to yourself and accept it as a part of the journey.

Allow yourself to feel whatever disappointments or judgements may come up during this time, but there's absolutely no need to hold on to any of it. And this is also relevant for anything that may be coming up for other's in your life as well.

Acknowledge it and move on.

Practice Mindful Eating

It's easy to get carried away with indulging in all the specialty foods during the holidays.

Allow yourself to enjoy some holiday foods and traditions but try approaching them with the following intentions:

Chew slowly
Savor every bite
Sit down
Be engaged in conversations with your friends and family

You'd be so surprised at how slowing down to truly savor every bite and chewing slowly can be an incredibly satisfying experience lessening the urge to overindulge and deal with the guilt hangover afterwards.

Meditate

If you're not already in meditation habit, this is a great time to start.

Meditation can help you:

focus on the present moment
increase patience
increase self-awareness
decrease negative emotions
reduce stress and anxiety

If you're a total meditation beginner, doing a quick YouTube search for "Quick Meditation For Beginners" is sure to get you started off in a good direction.

Get In The Attitude of Gratitude

2020 has been a hard year for everyone and we can easily get sucked into grief, disappointment, and feeling of uncertainty if we let our thoughts go wild.

Taking time to take inventory of all the great things that we do have in our lives is essential for keeping a positive outlook.

If you have no idea where to start, you can try thinking of 3 things that you're grateful for every morning when you open your eyes before you ever get out of bed.

If you're feeling real grateful, try writing a gratitude list everyday.

Unplug and Recharge

Everything has its seasons, including you. So give yourself time to rest, to play, to connect, to take a break from all the apps.

Try taking some walks without your phone or journaling in the evening to reflect on your day. These simple practices can help you stay grounded within yourself.

Even though the holidays can be a stressful time, just remember that you are in the drivers seat.

I hope you find these tips helpful during this holiday season.

If you're looking for accountability through this holiday season and really determined to stay on track with a fitness routine, check this out!

For more awesome fitness tips and real talk, come hang out with me on Instagram! I'd love to connect with you over there! 🤗

Lindsay