How To Overcome The Holiday Stress Cycle With Quick Meditation – Forbes
Susan Chen teaches busy professionals how to use quick meditation to feel restored and happy.
© 2021 Divya Pande, courtesy of Susan Chen
Between all of the social obligations, family duties, and end-of-year work responsibilities, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the perceived lack of time for wellness practices during the holiday season. However, neglecting self-care is part of what perpetuates the holiday stress cycle and can negatively impact overall wellbeing. Fortunately, even quick wellness practices can make a huge difference in turning the holidays into a time of year to embrace instead of dread.
Vedic Meditation Teacher Susan Chen teaches people how to experience deep rest and harness a deeper sense of peace through meditation. As a former Wall Street research analyst, she underwent her own transformation from being over-stressed to guiding others to center themselves and enjoy the same sense of presence she has since discovered through meditation. She especially loves helping people with “big lives” figure out how to turn feelings of stress and busyness into excitement and fulfillment—without compromising ambition. Here’s what Chen had to share about taking on the holidays with mindfulness instead of overwhelm.
Olivia O’Bryon: Time feels extra short during the holidays—how can people sneak in meditation and other wellness practices during the holiday season?
Susan Chen: The last six weeks of the calendar year can feel like being on a hamster wheel of never-ending activity and busyness. Between work events, social gatherings, school functions, and family obligations, our calendars are booked from morning to evening. Time not only feels extra short during the holidays… our days feel like they belong to everyone else but us.
With limited time to rest and recharge, the holiday season causes many of us to feel overwhelmed, fatigued and easily triggered. By prioritizing self-care through rest and meditation, we can avoid holiday burnout and keep our energy levels high, our emotional state bright, and our resilience strong.
Here are a few tips 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.
There is no better time to meditate than first thing in the morning. Upon waking, keep your phone in airplane mode and enjoy some time for yourself in your practice. I always recommend early mornings as the ideal time to meditate, as the risk of being interrupted or having a scheduling conflict is less during this time. You’ll be able to take the calm and groundedness from your practice into your high-demand day.
2. Sneak out to meditate (literally).
One of the best ways to fit in a meditation or self-care practice when visiting family over the holiday season is to tack on your meditation while out running an errand or going to the store. …….
