24. 5 Ways to Stay Mindful Through the Holidays

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Show Notes

On today’s podcast, I’m talking about ways to stay mindful despite the chaos that often comes with the holiday season. I want to end this year on a calm note, and I bet you do, too. Let’s work toward more mindfulness together!

You're listening to the Resource Doula Podcast, a place where we provide information to help you make informed healthcare decisions for yourself and your family.

Five ways to stay more mindful:

1. Keep some parts of your routine consistent
2. Slow down and take in the moment - chaotic or not, be present!
3. Take some time for yourself and breathe
4. Take a nap if at all possible, and if not possible, an intentional rest
5. Work on something with your hands without screens or additional input

Please remember that that what you hear on this podcast is not medical advice. but remember to always do your own research and talk to your healthcare team before making important decisions about your wellness. If you found this podcast helpful, the best compliment is sharing it with a friend. Thanks so much for listening. I’ll catch you next time!

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Episode Transcript

Natalie (00:00):
On today's podcast, I'm talking about ways to stay
mindful despite the chaos thatoften comes with the holiday
season.
I want to end this year on acalm note, and I bet you do too.
I'm Natalie and you're listeningto the Resource Doula Podcast, a
place where we provideinformation to help you make
informed healthcare decisionsfor yourself and your.

(00:33):
We all know that holidays can besome of the most fun days of the
year, but they can also be someof the most stressful.
We're off our normal routines.
Maybe we're traveling orspending more time at other
people's houses with a lot morepeople than we typically do.
And this can put us into a stateof.
Dysregulation, more stress, morefight or flight, which can also

(00:55):
send us into a downward spiralif we're not careful.
I have five ways that I like tokeep in a more regulated state
while I'm traveling or just inthe midst of busier seasons of
life.
Like right now, the holidayseason let's get into them.
Number one is keep some parts ofyour routine.
So I know that this isn'tentirely possible, especially if

(01:17):
you're not at your house or youhave a lot of events to attend,
but pick a couple pieces of yournormal routine.
Maybe it's having a cup of teain the evenings or waking up at
the same time that you normallydo.
Or if you're like me, bring asquatty potty with you so you
have it wherever you go.
Every single morning, I start myday with a packet of element in

(01:41):
my water, and I drink thisbefore I eat, before I drink
coffee, and just as a way towake up.
And so I bring element with mewhen I'm traveling, when I'm
other places, because it tasteslike home.
It feels like home, and it keepsmy routine.
The same.
So no matter where I am, I canhave that familiarity for my

(02:01):
nervous system because when youhave familiar things, your
nervous system feels safe, andthat helps you to stay in a
calmer state.
Number two, slow down and takein the moment.
So whether it's an insanelychaotic moment or it's kind of a
mundane.
Calm moment.
My challenge to you is to bepresent.

(02:23):
This is mindfulness being whereyour feet are in that moment for
the entire moment.
So maybe that means that youturn off your notifications or
you leave your phone in anentirely different room, but
however that works for you, orhowever you achieve.
Presence, then do that and makeit a point to be present for as

(02:45):
many moments as you can duringthis holiday season or when you
are out of your normal routine.
I mean, it's good to be presentwhen you're in your normal
routine too.
It's good practice for everyoneall the time.
number three, take some time foryourself and breathe.
Now, I know a lot of you havelittle kids, right?

(03:06):
And alone time seems impossible,but I want you to go to the
bathroom or step outside andstand there for 10 seconds and
take a deep breath in and out,or just go into a different
room.
But find a moment where you canjust be by yourself as best as
you can.
Maybe you have a baby strap toyou, but as alone as you can be.

(03:30):
Breathe and just notice howyou're feeling and take
inventory of what's going oninside your brain.
You maybe need to clear out somethoughts and figure out how
you're feeling, how you'rereacting, and notice that maybe
your needs aren't being met,like you're responding to people
in your life in a.

(03:51):
More reactive way than you wouldlike to be.
Maybe you just need a snackMaybe you need, uh, a moment to
yourself.
Maybe you need to go walk aroundthe block and you can say, I'm
headed out for a walk and ifanybody wants to join me, they
can, but I will be back in 10minutes and that's what you do.
Number four is take a nap if atall possible.

(04:13):
And if you can't take a nap,take an intentional rest,
whatever that looks like foryou.
Maybe you read a book, maybe youscroll TikTok or Instagram for a
little bit.
Maybe you just sit in a room insilence by yourself, and you
think about how you're going tocome back to the room with

(04:33):
everybody else or the partythat's happening, um, but make
sure that you take someintentional time to rest your
brain and your body, becauseboth of those are extremely
important.
Number five, make something ordo something with your hands
without screens.

(04:54):
Now, I know a lot of us tend todo projects with maybe the TV
playing in the background or apodcast going, or music.
Or we're texting people inbetween, you know, when we have
breaks.
But my challenge to you is to dosomething fully engaged without
screens present.

(05:14):
So whether you're cookingsomething for a meal or like the
other day I was working onconditioning my leather boots
and I took time to do thatwithout pausing for a screen
break.
Um, or maybe you knit somethingor you work on cleaning your

(05:35):
house, but you're not using anadditional input to help you do
the thing.
This can really help calm yourmind down and bring you back
into a state of regulation whereyou are mindful about what
you're doing and you're not onautopilot and you're really
thinking about what you'redoing.
And oftentimes I notice that Iactually do things faster when I

(05:57):
don't have the constant input ofmy phone or a, a TV show or
something like that going on inthe background.
So those are my top fiverecommendations to maintain a
little bit more mindful state orfeeling more regulated during
times of chaos, which theholidays definitely can be

(06:19):
because.
Our mental health and ourphysical health and how we feel
in our bodies is reallyimportant, and we can't just
neglect it for this season andthen say that we're going to
pick it back up again comeJanuary.
Um, because it's always with us,and if we continually work on it
in small ways every single day,then we're going to make more

(06:42):
progress and more sustainableprogress with that.
So think about how you can staya little bit more mindful this
holiday season, maybe employsome of these recommendations
and get back to me.
Let me know how all of theseworked for you or what you tend
to do to stay mindful throughthe holiday.
With that.
Happy Holidays.

(07:03):
Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year to all of you.
I am so excited to close thisyear out on a really great note,
and then to launch into 2023.
Goals and ambitions and reallybig things that are happening
and coming down the line fortrainer, Natalie and the
Resource Doula podcast.
So I hope you will stay tunedand make sure you're subscribed

(07:27):
so you know when every newepisode drops, and if you're
interested in watching theepisodes instead of just
listening, then I'm in theprocess of uploading them to
YouTube.
You can find me at ResourceDoula Podcast there.
Please remember that what youhear on this podcast is not
medical advice, but remember toalways do your own research and
talk to your healthcare teambefore making important

(07:49):
decisions about your health.
If you found this podcasthelpful, the best compliment is
sharing it with a friend.
Thanks so much for listening.
I'll catch you next time.