Christmas Presence

What stops you from being present with your loved ones? Stressful situations will trigger us and we either pull back, withdraw and feel overwhelmed or we get irritable, defensive and exhausted. Before we know it we are even more stressed, even more miserable and just wishing for the time to be over.

There is still time to take another approach. Start paying attention to your feelings. Tune in to your stress levels and when you become aware of the inner tension just take three breath cycles - breathing in and out slowly and consciously acts as one cycle. As you do this give yourself another choice - decide how YOU want to feel, rather than always feeling at the mercy of your outside circumstances.

As you focus on your breath, you will increase the oxygen to the cells which will help to improve your body's sense of well-being. As your brain receives a signal that things are improving it will respond by delivering 'feel-good' chemicals to your cells, thus increasing your well-being even further. Its a win win situation!

Give yourself the best Christmas present this year - three breath cycles. It will allow you to remain present, feel more relaxed and open up to the true value of the relationships in your life.