Embracing Mindful Moments: A Joyful and Connected Holiday Break with Your Family

The holiday season is a magical time, filled with warmth, joy, and the spirit of togetherness. Amidst the hustle and bustle, it's crucial to pause and savor the moments with your family mindfully.

This guide explores practical ways to cultivate mindfulness during your holiday break, fostering deeper connections and creating lasting memories.

Set Intentions:

Begin your holiday break by setting positive intentions. Reflect on the values you want to emphasize during this time, such as gratitude, compassion, and presence. Share these intentions with your family to create a shared sense of purpose and mindfulness.

Unplug and Be Present:

In our fast-paced digital age, it's easy to get caught up in screens and devices. Designate specific times to unplug from technology and be fully present with your family. Whether it's during meals, holiday activities, or quiet moments, prioritize face-to-face interactions to deepen your connections.

Mindful Mealtime:

Transform your family meals into mindful experiences. Encourage everyone to savor each bite, appreciating the flavors and textures. Create a relaxed atmosphere by dimming lights, playing soft music, and engaging in meaningful conversations. This mindful approach to meals fosters gratitude and strengthens family bonds.

Nature Walks and Outdoor Activities:

Take advantage of the holiday break to connect with nature. Plan family walks, hikes, or outdoor activities that allow everyone to unwind and appreciate the beauty of the season. Encourage mindfulness by paying attention to the sights, sounds, and sensations of the natural world around you.

Gratitude Rituals:

Incorporate gratitude practices into your holiday routine. Set aside time each day for family members to express what they are grateful for. Create a gratitude jar where everyone can drop notes of appreciation, fostering a positive and thankful atmosphere.

Mindful Crafts and Activities:

Engage in creative and mindful activities as a family. Whether it's decorating cookies, crafting holiday ornaments, or creating a vision board for the upcoming year, these activities provide an opportunity to focus on the present moment and collaborate on shared projects.

Mindful Breathing and Relaxation:

Introduce simple mindfulness exercises, such as deep breathing or guided relaxation, to promote a sense of calm and tranquility. Gather as a family for short sessions, helping everyone recharge and find moments of peace amid the holiday excitement.

Volunteer Together:

Embrace the true spirit of the season by giving back as a family. Volunteer at local charities or participate in community service projects. This shared experience not only instills a sense of gratitude but also strengthens the bonds within your family.

Mindful Reflection:

Allocate time for reflective practices individually and as a family. Encourage everyone to share their thoughts and experiences from the holiday break, fostering open communication and understanding. Reflecting on the positive moments can create a sense of fulfillment and connection.

By infusing mindfulness into your holiday break, you can create a meaningful and joyful experience for your family. These practices not only enhance your connection with each other but also contribute to a sense of well-being that extends beyond the holiday season. Embrace the present moment, cherish your loved ones, and savor the richness of this special time together.

Mindful Nutritional Habits for Your Mental Health

What if I told you that consuming fewer processed foods could lead to the betterment of your emotional and mental health? Would you consider making small changes to your diet? We definitely would!

Did you know that a lot of the processed food we eat on a day to day basis stimulate the dopamine centers in our brain? This area of our brain is associated with pleasure and reward.

Meaning that it becomes highly addictive to the point where we need these foods to feel good, but lets be honest, we only ever feel good for a quick moment. It never truly helps us in the longterm neither emotionally, mentally or even physically.

Here are a few healthy eating tips that can help you make small changes:

1. Create a healthy shopping list and stick to it.

2. Do not go shopping while hungry! When we are hungry we are more likely to grab everything that looks appetizing at the time. Typically causing us to make unhealthy choices and a lot of impulse purchases. Try to have a small meal or snack before your next trip to the grocery store.

3. Incorporate healthy fats such as avocado oil, olive oil, and coconut oil into your diet to help support brain function.

4. Do your best to limit processed snacks such as potato chips and soda. These can impair your ability to concentrate and tend to cause your energy levels to fluctuate. (It is perfectly okay to still enjoy these foods in moderation! Simply do your best to have them in moderation.)

5. When you’re hungry do your best to opt for a healthier option instead of the donuts or the chips sitting on your kitchen counter. Hard boiled eggs, fruits, or even nuts are all great options and will give you more energy than processed foods.

6. Try to be aware of when and where you eat. Do you usually eat in front of the television? Doing so can distract you and before you know it you’ve overeaten. Do your best to find a place where you can sit, relax and really acknowledge the food that you’re putting into your body. This will allow you to stop eating when you’re full because you will actually be aware of the food you’re intaking and listening to your body’s signals!

Although it may seem difficult to start changing your nutritional habits for the better, we promise you that taking small steps will ultimately help you jumpstart your journey to better nutrition and overall better emotional, mental and physical health.

Goals to Help You Mentally Succeed

This month, we are still talking about the pressure of change. How is it that when January rolls around, the whole world seems to fall onto us at once? Change your eating habits. Get out of that relationship. Get into that relationship. Exercise more. Get more sleep. Write in your calendar…. And the list could go on.

Most of these changes are pressures we place on ourselves, visions of a better future or a better version of ourselves.

Though we can remove these pressures with positive self talk and practicing self-care,  some of these changes may be unavoidable.

Maybe it really is time to change those eating habits or increase your exercise routine and it took the “new year, new me” phenomenon to decide now is your turning point?

If these goals are necessary and they do simply contribute to making you a better you, we can talk about how to set the right goals and how to achieve them with ease. 

We can learn, at home, how to stare that daunting new task in the eyes and overcome the obstacle without breaking a sweat (unless your goal is exercise, then maybe we achieve your goal with lots of sweat!). 

We can do this by creating SMART goals (because everyone loves a good acronym)! 

S in SMART stands for SPECIFIC: These goals should be simple in nature to allow for an easy transition. This goal is ultimately created to help us achieve something, it is also important that this goal is sensible. We do not want to put effort into a goal that is not benefiting us. Lastly, this goal should be significant. Even though I said this goal should be simple, it should also be important. For example, if your goal is to get more exercise, for S, our goal should be something specific, simple, sensible, and significant: Going on a walk. The exercise at hand is specific, walking, and it is not difficult to squeeze into your schedule, but still has purpose and aids you in getting closer to a healthy lifestyle.

M in SMART stands for MEASURABLE: We want to be able to track our progress, so “going on a walk” may be too vague to meet our M goal. This should also be meaningful and motivating. A good example of an M goal, for our same example, would be: Going on a one walk a day for at least one mile. 

A in SMART is ACHIEVABLE: Our goal of going on one walk a day for one mile, is a specific and measurable goal, but is it motivating? Does it seem too difficult too quickly? We want this goal to be meaningful and if it is not motivating enough, you probably aren’t going to do it. We can adjust our goal to be more motivating: Going on a walk every day starting with one lap around the block and increasing by one lap, each week. 

R in SMART is RELEVANT: Can we go on a walk every day? In Florida, yes probably. In Buffalo, NY, there are blizzards and snow and truly no, we probably could not take a walk every day. But, if we live in Florida, and we are okay occasionally getting drizzled on, then our goal can remain the same because it is reasonable. 

T is SMART is TIME BOUND: Making goals that work within your schedule may be the most important because if our goal fits in all of our SMAR reasons but we can not manage to take that time out of our day, we will never get around to reaching it. If we work a 9-5, maybe take the time right after dinner to take this walk with your family. Have a back-up option for days that time may be limited. For example, if we can track our steps during our walk around the block, we may be able to walk around our house days that we can not make it outside to receive a similar step-count to get close to your goal. 

Setting and carrying out goals can be difficult, believe in yourself and make sure your goals are realistic… and smart… we can make reaching those goals possible. You have got this!