Finish Strong: Take Care of Yourself This Holiday Season
This post was originally written for Inner Spring Yoga.
The holiday season is officially upon us. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Yule, or just get caught up in the excitement of the season, it’s not unusual for folks to feel more run down, exhausted, and overwhelmed around the holidays. So much of the overwhelm, stress, exhaustion and anxiety that we feel this time of year could be avoided simply by remembering what’s really important - hint, it’s not the perfect gifts, the perfect meal, or the best decorations.
Precisely when we should be slowing down and focusing on deep restoration we instead speed up, frantically shopping for the perfect gifts, creating the perfect meal, and making sure our homes look perfect. Haven’t you ever noticed that every other animal on the planet takes nature’s cue and preserves their energy during the winter months? Isn’t it interesting that humans are so bent on defying nature? Frankly, it’s not working out too well for us, is it? We are sick, stressed, overweight, and experiencing high rates of autoimmune disease (our bodies are literally attacking themselves!). Perhaps a pandemic holiday might look different, maybe there aren’t visits to the crowded shopping mall, or scores of family gatherings to attend, but I’m guessing that the desire to fill those voids will just lead to a different kind of fatigue, exhaustion, and overwhelm.
The wisdom of yoga and ayurveda reminds us to attune to the rhythms of nature, to follow her cues, to observe and listen to what we need, to what Mother Nature is asking of us. Winter is the kapha season and kapha is all about building. It’s the time to rejuvenate our tissues, build our immunity and defenses, and develop our mental and emotional resiliency.
Ayuvedically speaking, tissue rejuvenation, immunity, and resiliency, are all related to our ojas (oh-jus). We can think of ojas as a vital sap, a reservoir of abundant energy, and for most of us living in a modern, Western culture the reservoir is running a little dry. Ojas is a subtle essence that we can not measure with instruments, blood work, or other tools of diagnosis. Ojas is an energetic quality of health - we can feel it. Ojas is drained when we are effortful, stressed, and overwhelmed. In Western culture we place value on the activities that drain this vital sap, we think it’s good to be a workaholic, to be busy, to push a little harder - we have a “no pain, no gain” mentality. In valuing what decreases our ojas, we devalue what builds it up - REST!
One of the most beautiful gifts we can give ourselves, and in turn to all of the people we love and that love us, is the gift of nourishing rest. This isn’t the same as vegging out on the couch with a bag of chips binge watching Netflix. What I’m talking about is deep, restorative nourishment — an opportunity to fill up the reservoir, build defenses and immunity, and take care of yourself mentally and emotionally. So, how do you do it? How do you build and preserve your ojas?
Yoga - While hot yoga might sound fabulous on a cold day, it can be very stressful on the system. Aim for slow and restorative practices that don’t present a challenge. Slow flowing, gentle stretching, and plenty of time resting with your props is the best way to build ojas in your yoga practice. This does’t mean you have to give up your favorite vinyasa class, or cancel your hot yoga membership, in fact, to counterbalance the kaphic qualities of the season you want to keep those practices as part of your regular routine, just schedule in time to balance those practices with more restorative days
Meditation - We expend so much of our energy surfing the web, scrolling the ‘gram, and other mindless consumption. These things leave us feeling depleted, and even more anxious and depressed. Scheduling time to log off and sit in quiet contemplation everyday is a game changer.
Pranayama - Simple, deep, yogic breathing is all that’s required. Just pause, pay attention to your breath, take a few deep breaths and then observe as the breath settles. Try to feel your breath all the way down to your pelvic floor and fill the container of your torso from bottom to top, then release each breath completely.
Healthy Foods - Think fresh, organic, and seasonally available if you want to build ojas. Dates and sweet potatoes are two popular ojas boosters. If you can get your hands on some amlaki fruit, that’s even better. Or try chyavanprash for a healthy dose of amalaki.
Abhyana - Abhyanga, or self massage, nourishes the tissues, calms the nervous system, and supports immunity by moving lymph. Add this luxurious self care ritual to your daily or weekly routine.
Get Outside - One of the best ways to build ojas is to spend time outside in nature. It’s no wonder we get so depleted in winter — most of us stay tucked inside our houses for months on end. Get a warm coat, cover your neck with a scarf, your ears and head with a cozy hat, put on some gloves and a pair of boots and take yourself outside to breathe in the fresh air. Mt. St. Francis offers beautiful hiking year round with varying degree of dificulty.
This year, slow down a little, put aside the hustle and bustle and focus on what’s really important, YOU!!
(If you want to learn more about how to care for yourself this winter using the wisdom of Ayurveda join Carrie for her virtual Ayurvedic Yoga for Winter workshop)
