The festive season can bring its own challenges as we’re forced to spend time with family, friends and colleagues that we might normally try to avoid. Christmas offers us the opportunity to put some healthy boundaries in place and to heal our more confronting relationships. I have a few tips to help you manage your energy as it is often our behaviour that gives others permission to treat us in a way we may not like and we can only control our own behaviour, acknowledging that we have no control as to how others choose to behave in any given moment.
1. Keep breathing. I know that sounds silly but often when family members begin to argue many of us hold our breath, which means we’re energetically stuck in the moment. Become aware of your breathing, allowing yourself to notice your ‘in’ breath and your ‘out’ breath. In regulating your breathing you calm your own energy field. It offers you a moment of pause from the dramas going on around you and enables you to stand firm and not be drawn in or feel the need to take sides.
2. Grounding and centring: you all know this is one of my mantras! It is absolutely vital to ground and centre yourself regularly. If you are staying with family or friends, try to make the time to ground and centre yourself before coming into contact with any member of the household each day, which may mean before you get up every morning. (I’m recording a short new grounding and centring visualisation so if you need any help, please let me know and I will send you a copy: this is my end-of-year present to each and every one of you who requests it.)
3. A wonderful calming technique is to close your eyes and place one hand on your heart centre. Gently breathe into your heart space and feel yourself begin to relax. It only takes a few moments and it helps to calm and soothe your energy.
4. Remember that it’s okay to say “no”, so give yourself permission during these holidays to say it to the things that you don’t want to do and to the things that make you feel uncomfortable, whilst also remembering that sometimes it is good to allow ourselves to step out of our comfort zones. Cultivate healthy boundaries around what you say yes to and what you say no to.
5. Be gentle with yourself and allow yourself time to rest and relax. Enjoy walks in nature, giving yourself time and space to read a good book or watch that movie you’ve been longing to see, or maybe catch up with friends for a Christmas drink and a wonderful chat.
6. Carve out time for some exercise: a walk in nature, yoga, swimming in the ocean, whatever it is that helps you to relax and forget all that is going on around you and allows you to be in the present moment.
7. Meditation is a wonderful way to let go of the stress and strain going on around you, to calm and soothe your energy and to allow solutions to difficult situations to come into your awareness. If you’re new to meditation, I’m here to help and if you’re an old hand but feeling rusty I have some recordings I can offer you to get you back into your regular practice.
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a magical 2025! I look forward to seeing you on the other side of the festivities.
I hope that you found my tips and tools helpful. If you need my support, do please get in touch if you would like to book a healing or meditation session. You can contact me on +61 4 2451 8884 or email hello@pippaneve.com.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
