The holidays are an exciting and wonderful time for families across the plant, especially if you’re going to visit distant relatives to spend this special season together. Of course, as fun as the holdiays are, they’re also one of the most stress-inducing events of the year and the month between Thanksgiving and New Years is always more than a little hectic. After a hectic couple of days wrapping presents, packing up the family, and traveling to your destination, most people are more than a little frazzled, but that’s now how you want to meet your relatives. One of the best ways to get rid of that stress, get your head together, and be calm for the family gatherings is simply to meditate. The key is to find just the right moments.
1) In the Airport and On the Plane
If you’re flying in during the holiday season to visit relatives or even just to take a special winter vacation, one of the most stressful and boring parts of the trip is waiting in the airport and then sitting quietly on the plane for the length of your journey whether it’s one hour or twenty. These times tend to be full of a combination of hassle and long stretches of nothing and therefore become the perfect time to meditate.
Once you’re settled and your bags are safe, sit back and close your eyes. Let your mind wander over your holiday worries and sort them out, one by one. This is a great opportunity to settle any lingering feelings about family members you’re going to see and to make an action plan to handle anything you’re worried about.
2) On Long Car Trips
Not every family flies to see distant relatives in the winter. If road trips are a family tradition or if your relatives only live a few cities away, a family car ride may well be in your future. When this happens, everyone is likely to get restless and anxious about the trip ahead. While listening to the radio or a favorite podcast has some reprieve from the stressful boredom, meditation is a great way to make the time go by if you’re not the driver.
If you have children, one great method to keep them quiet and help them stay calm during the trip is to lead a guided meditation session with them, painting a word-picture of a quiet journey through a meadow or a mountain pass for your children to visualize. You can then use this later to calm the kids down before bed or when they get cranky during visiting time.
3) In Your Hotel Room
When everyone gets to the hotel or the guest rooms with family, it’s time to unpack and unwind. Once everyone else is settled, take moment to explore the hotel room, then settle down for a few minutes of quiet meditation. Focus on the task at hand, what you need to do next, and how to get creative with what’s available. Spend some time listening to the sounds of your lodgings, smelling the smells, and feeling the movment of air. This will help you familiarize yourself with the new living space which will make it easier to feel like it’s yours and relax when you need to.
4) Before Meeting Family
Meeting family for the holidays is exciting and wonderful but not every relative is perfect. If you’re worried about encountering someone who maybe you have not always gotten along with, the best way to avoid an unpleasant encounter is to prepare yourself. Meditate before gathering with family to help keep your mind calm. If there’s someone that always annoys you, resolve to be peaceful and unable to be annoyed. If someone always picks fun at you, meditate on their insecurity and prepare to remain like a stone, impervious to their picking. If you remain serene, you might even find that troublesome relatives really aren’t that much trouble after all.
5) When Things Get Stressful
Finally, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to schedule a meditation break. You can take one whenever you like. If things start to get stressful over the holidays and you feel like you need some time to yourself, feel free to take it. Find a quiet place in your room, on the back porch, or even just a few moments in the bathroom if the house is packed to close your eyes and let your stress flow away from you and into the air or earth where it will harmlessly dissipate. If your children start to get overwhelmed or cranky, consider taking them on another guided meditation which will either lead to a nice mood recovery or a relaxing nap.
With a little stress-relieving meditation, you can shake off the holiday worries, ignore problematic relatives, and keep everything nice and calm while you and your family enjoy each other over a series of meals, gatherings, card games, and cups of hot cocoa. When you bring meditation to your holiday routine, this could become your least stressful family celebration yet.