10 Tips for a Stress Free Holiday Season

1. Eat a Balanced Breakfast every day during the busy holiday season to manage your appetite and keep your energy up.
2. Sleep Enough each night so you'll be sure to make good decisions about what you're eating and how you're spending your time and money.
3. Put Your Well-being First by making self-care a priority. Make time daily to relax and rejuvenate so you look and feel your best.
4. Say No to commitments, events (and foods) that don't nourish you or enrich your life.
5. Go With The Flow when things don't turn out how you expect. Don't let hassles become roadblocks.
6. Cherish The Moment. Remember when you were a child and delighted in small and unexpected magical moments?
7. Smile Freely at everyone you encounter. Never underestimate the power you have to change a situation with warmth and friendliness.
8. Take A Break. There are only so many hours in the day, so put non-essentials on hold while you ramp up for the festivities.
9. Ask For Help when you need it, and return the favor when you can. That's what friends and family are for.
10. Indulge A Little. The holidays only come once a year, so give yourself permission to be joyful and have fun instead of bogged down with details and commitments.
    

Seasonal Blues

With the sudden plunge into darkness after the Daylight Savings Time changes, you might find yourself dealing with some winter blues. Do you find that you suffer from symptoms of fatigue, the blues, irritability or trouble focusing this time of year?

Well, according to the Mayo Clinic - you could be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. These symptoms may be caused by changes to your circadian rhythm due to less sunlight hours this time of year. If you feel down for days at a time and can't seem to get motivated to do activities you normally enjoy, the Mayo Clinic recommends that you go see your doctor.

For the rest of us - simply adding more light to your day, exercising regularly, managing stress, keeping up social connections, or taking a trip to a warm sunny location can make a big difference. Read specific tips on preventing and managing seasonal blues here...

The Dangers of Chronic Emotional Stress

Did you know that chronic emotional stress is dangerous for your health over time?

Our bodies have two nervous systems. The one that gets you ready to fight or flight is called the sympathetic nervous system. The other one is the parasympathetic nervous system which regulates relaxation, body repairs, and digestion. When one of the systems is engaged, the other one is not active.

According to Dr. Ben Kim, anxiety, tension, frustration, and anger set off your body's fight or flight response in the same way that running into a mountain lion would kick in your survival instincts.

So, when emotional stressors keep your sympathetic nervous system in a state of chronic stimulation, your body does not get a chance to repair itself, relax, and digest your food well to nourish the body.

This means you end up with accelerated aging and breakdown of your body's tissues over time.

The good news is that practicing deep relaxation on a regular basis can tone your parasympathetic nervous system and improve your health. Take a look here for some ideas on how to incorporate deep relaxation into your lifestyle.

New location - Salem, MA

Hello!

I am pleased to announce that I have relocated to Salem, MA! I am still recovering from the pelvic pain injury that had me off my feet for a lot of the past year, but I am surely on my way to complete recovery. While I cannot offer Reiki bodywork sessions just yet, starting in November I'll be offering wellness coaching and Solutions for Stress out of Body & Soul Massage and Wellness Center in downtown Salem.

I am also accepting Reiki students for November and December 2008. I teach Reiki as a one-on-one training for private individuals or small groups of friends/family and customize the curriculum to help students reach their personal goals. For more information, take a look at my website here.

Also, for current or past students - there's a Reiki Refresher scheduled for November 30th. Has it been a while since your Reiki attunement? Would you like a Reiki recharge and an opportunity to practice with others? This 2 hour Reiki intensive is open to Reiki practitioners attuned to any level. There's more information about it on my website here.

As always, I can still be reached at 617-429-1793 or joannascaparotti@gmail.com.
Hope you're well!
Joanna

My daily checklist

I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well I just want to curl up on the couch and watch TV or sleep until the symptoms are gone. This is a decent way to handle an acute illness like a cold or the flu because the body does need to rest in order to for the immune system to do it's job. However, when you are dealing with a chronic health condition like I am - spending every day on the couch is not going to help me feel better. In fact, it often makes me feel worse because of all the things that fall by the wayside.

Learning how to cope and take care of yourself, your home, your family and maybe even your work responsibilities when you have a chronic condition is really tough. It's easy to get caught up in a mode of "I'll put it off until tomorrow or until I feel better" and months may go by before it happens. So I have devised a couple of tricks to help me be productive in harmony with my condition, rather than working against myself! One of my favorite ways is my daily checklist.

I have a little whiteboard up on the wall in my bedroom where I see it several times a day. At the top I wrote "Love Yourself Today", and along the left in bright colors I made a checklist of daily goals. Some days it's really a stretch to check off everything on the list, but I like the challenge and reminder to take care of myself and my obligations. My goals encompass self-care, daily household tasks, and projects.

My daily checklist looks something like this:

• Make the bed and open the blinds
• See or talk to someone who cares about me
  
• Cuddle with the cats
• Go for a 15 minute walk
  
• Do one - two chores around the house
  
• Yoga and PT exercises
• Take meds on time
• Eat healthy meals and snacks
• Spend time on X project
• Read and respond to email and voice mail
  
• Take stretch breaks
• Get some sunshine and leave the house
• Meditate
• Go to bed by 11pm
  

This list might seem silly if you're not dealing with a chronic health condition and have energy to get through a full day. Although, I recall that when I had a busy schedule it was especially hard to fit in "me" time before the day was over. So I think a daily self-care checklist can be a fun way to prioritize and take care of yourself no matter how you are feeling!