Wishing You a Perfectly Imperfect Holiday

The holidays always seem to bring along a certain degree of feelings of stress and overwhelm. Even in a year when many of us are scaling back our usual celebrations, there are new stressors to worry about. And it’s often so easy to get caught up in these stressors that we lose sight of what this season is really all about. So our wish for you this holiday season is to lean into compassion for yourself and others by letting go of the notion that everything has to be perfect and accepting that things are going to look different this year, and that’s okay. If you need a little help along the way, we asked a few of our Inseus Team Members to share their go-to practice during the holidays:

Amanda Ryzner | Inseus Mindfulness Teacher

I often find myself feeling like there's not enough time, especially at the holidays. I find using the phrase "Breathing in, I do my best; Breathing out, I let go of the rest" whenever I have this feeling to be of great service.

Anuka Gazara-Anothy | Inseus Mindfulness Teacher

During pre-covid holidays, we would normally either have many family members staying with us or we would be staying with other family members. And the days can be very busy with lots of cooking and getting everything ready for the holiday with our young children. So to cultivate a calmer, more present mindset, I take a couple of moments in the morning, before the rest of the family is awake, to journal on the following prompts: What am I thankful for? What am I looking forward to? How am I feeling right now?

Ashley Nelson | Inseus Founder & CEO

Virtual Yoga at Yogaview! The practice of yoga connects me with my body and breath, and unlocks a sense of both equanimity and empowerment that is like no other. My second go-to practice is to just breathe—turning my attention to the breath as a way to pause, notice what's happening, and connect with what's important. I take a few extra moments to breathe using my belly, out and in fully, which creates an instant connection with calm and peace.

Stefanie Harris | Inseus Mindfulness Teacher

I love the breath practice of inhaling what I need and exhaling what I need to release. By doing this throughout the day, I am able to bring my awareness to what I need and to release what I am carrying that is not helpful. "I breathe in patience, I breathe out stress." "I breathe in kindness, I breathe out anger." "I breathe in love, I breathe out frustration."

Victoria Vaz | Inseus Marketing Intern

Oddly enough, doing my makeup! The holiday season can be particularly stressful for me due to family conflict among other things, so it is important to remind myself what is in my control. Doing my makeup makes me sit, pause, and concentrate on something other than what is stressing me out because no one can do a winged eyeliner with a shaky hand! Makeup, to me, is an art form, a medium for self expression, and a form of self care all in one.

Don’t forget to be kind to yourself throughout this holiday season. And whatever your celebrations may look like, we hope they’re joyous and peaceful.

Warmly,
The Inseus Team