How to Keep Your Sanity Through the Holidays

I'm obsessed with Christmas. LOVE IT.

• I hijack our Netflix queue during the month of December and we watch only Christmas movies. 
• I know EXACTLY what my girls are wearing for every Christmas-themed activity (and yes, it's adorable). 
• We have the new Amazon Echo (highly recommend) and she absolutely knows to play "holiday music" during this time or else she gets a stern, "Alexa STOP!" even from my daughter (when my daughter isn't yelling "Alexa play Frozen" at her).
• I know all the words (multiple verses) to every Christmas carol. Thank you, high school ensemble! This baffles my husband who can't even remember the lyrics to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Nope, not kidding. 
• As I've stated before, I redecorate my tree on a regular basis. 

There are countless other ways in which my obsession for Christmas comes through but I have to preserve some mystery here (and keep you from judging me for the crazy Christmas elf that I am).

Yet, as much as I LOVE Christmas, there are aspects of it that are really hard. 

  The surplus of unhealthy food.

    The endless travel.

      The crazy hubbub of family and friends.

        The heartache of missing loved ones far and lost.

Just to name a few. So while I would never want to just "get through" the holidays, I do think it's important to arm ourselves with a few tricks to make this time of year the most enjoyable and as light on stress as possible. 

Here are a few tricks I use to make the holidays successful:

1. When I can, I eat clean. That means avoiding processed food and sugar (that isn't from fruit or good sources like honey or real syrup). Yeah this is SOOOO easy, right? I try to stick with the 90/10 rule (which sometimes turns into the 80/20 rule). Eat clean and wonderfully 90% of the time and go bananas for the other 10%. If you allow yourself that 10%, you'll be more discerning about how you use that portion. Christmas cookie? Oh yeah. Grandma's sketchy holiday eggnog? Um, I'll pass...
2. MOVE. As in, take a break from your A Christmas Story marathon and do something. Anything. Walk around the block. Shake your booty to Mariah Carey's Christmas album. Pretend you're Rudolph and pull every kid present (which may or may not include your emotionally stunted cousin, Victor) around in a "sleigh". 
3. Get outside. We head to San Diego every other Christmas so this part is a piece of cake for me. Go outside in Sunny CA when back home it's frigid and dark? SURE. But seriously, put on your parka and smell some fresh air. Whether you're dealing with jet lag or depression, the sun's rays and a little fresh air can work wonders for the bod.
4. Take time for yourself. So key, especially when you are not in your comfort zone (A.K.A. at your in-laws). Go take a yoga class or check out that boutique downtown. Go to Starbucks and "get lost" for an hour. I am always the very first to volunteer for a grocery store run just so I can ride solo.
5. Talk to your people. This is one of those "do as I say, not as I do" ones. I can totally suck at this (as Mr. Fix It, my husband). Make sure you take time to connect with your people (or person) over the holidays. It is beyond easy to isolate yourself and miss opportunities to bond with the people who really matter to you. In my opinion, this all happens much better over a glass (um, bottle?) of wine. I make it a policy to drink frequently over the holidays. 
6. Celebrate and remember. Who are you missing this year? We lost my grandfather (my Bubba) earlier this year and this is our first Christmas in San Diego without him. I plan on telling as many stories about him as I can remember, imitating his guffaw with frequency and, best of all, doing this all with other people who were loved by him and loved him. 
7. Give.  Maybe money, maybe time, maybe hugs. Just be open to giving and look for opportunities to be generous. There is nothing like the spirit of generosity to chase away the Scrooge in all of us. And to disarm even the judgy-est of relatives. 

I hope this list (lists are my FAVORITE) is helpful to you. Trust me when I say that, when I don't do these things, there is drama. When I do, there is none. 

HAHAHAH just kidding there is always drama! Ain't nobody escaping Christmas without it BUT, you will be able to face the drama better so that, rather than be a participant, you can--at the very least--be a bystander who silently judges. 

Merry Christmas!!!

    

Yogini in Central Park

I have been traveling up the east coast for the last few days having many adventures. I am no longer at my parents' home so I am finally safe from snakes but I did travel through New York City which, as you may know, is a pigeon's paradise. Needless to say there was some awkward ducking happening on the streets of NY just yesterday. By the grace of God I escaped unscathed (unlike Fabio on the roller coaster circa seven years ago . . . I'll never forget, Fabio! you have not suffered in vain!).

Being in New York is always fun. I love shopping, sightseeing and, of course, visiting my roommate from college who now resides on the Upper East Side (how very Carrie Bradshaw of her. . . ).  She lives just three blocks from Central Park and five from Museum Mile-- what a great spot.

One of the things I was dying to do while I was there was go for a run in Central Park. I was so fixated on it for some reason that I literally could not sleep on Sunday night because I was too excited to explore the park in my running shoes the following morning. Yes, I really am that big of a loser. So, I got up at 8 the next morning after sleeping about three hours, and went for a run. I ran around the reservoir and then down through much of the park. Of course I had no idea where I was going which made it all the more fun. I had a great run.

I am completely overjoyed by my random display of enthusiasm for running because, you see, I have been in a major running slump. My knees were hurting, my routes seemed boring and running just seemed like such a chore. Instead of it being something I looked forward to, something that gave me energy, I dreaded it and went on strike.

You may have guessed this about me but it is not easy to get me to do something I don't want to do. Just ask my father about bringing me to Mass every Sunday growing up. I was not above hiding in my room or throwing temper tantrums to get out of going to hear some old guy bore me to death. Even though my plans never worked, I never gave up my quest for a Mass-free Sunday. Once my father wrestled me there, I would sneak off to the bathroom and practice my cartwheels. If there was one good thing about my church, it's that the bathrooms were HUGE. Perfect for my routines . . .

Thankfully, my desire to run has returned-- the strike is over. I am so grateful to have the will back because I do love running. Not all the time, but it really is a gratifying thing to do. It's hard not to be thankful for your body when you run. Raising my heart rate, getting in sync with my breathing and pushing myself are things that I really love to do. Perhaps all I needed was something new to explore to make me remember why I do it in the first place.

My fear of flying

I am afraid of flying. I hate it. But obviously, see above list of interests and notice "travel" as one of them, I must do it. It's a necessary evil, I suppose.

This phobia of mine far supersedes both my fear of spiders and of birds accidentally flying into my face. You think I'm crazy? Well, just look at what happened to poor Fabio. I have no problem displaying my crazy when it comes to these two phobias. I will scream dramatically and with great affect when encountering an eight-legged demon and I will unabashedly "hit the deck" when winged creatures  are flying just a little too close to my head (my husband LOVES when I do this on our walks in the park). Yes-- I am not embarrassed nor shy about waving these freak flags of mine but when it comes to flying, I feel I need to keep it together. I won't even medicate or drink too much on a flight because I don't want my reflexes impaired in case we go down. Emergency-ready-position needs to be easy to get into and Valium or alcohol may inhibit me and I just don't want to take that chance. So I must stick to faking that I am OK. That I don't think I'm actually going to die. I smile and nod at the flight attendants as if I am just on a leisurely cruise about town.

Perhaps I don't want to incite panic among the other passengers thereby jeopardizing my chances of survival in the event of an emergency. Or maybe, just maybe, I have a little bit of shame for once? I think the former is more likely. As for me, I will keep my sweaty palms and  thoughts of imminent death to myself. If everyone actually realized that we are only protected by a thin metal casing that could be ripped apart by turbulence or forced to the ground by a stray bird in the engine (again with the BIRDS!), everyone would be as freaked out as I am. It's their ignorance that protects them. I wouldn't take that away, I'm just not that kind of person.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

The above Sanskrit translates to "May all beings be happy and free."                                                

Last weekend, Labor day weekend, I went on a yoga retreat for three days. It was amazing! I had been dying to deepen my practice and looked into an opportunity at my studio, Yoga Tree (yogatreesf.com). I don't normally practice with her but I went with the lovely Chrisandra Fox on a "Heart of Renewal" retreat that she runs twice a year. It was basically a long weekend filled with lots of yoga, meditation, good food (from amazing organic, vegan food chef Meredith-- pranaful.com) and relaxation.

I was a little nervous to go. I'm not exactly a "typical" San Francisco yogi. I love meat. I am a somewhat practicing Catholic (albeit guilty and repressed-who isn't?). I'm sarcastic. I am not too experienced with chanting (unless you count "Yankees suck" as a yogic mantra . . . which well . . . maybe I do?).  I can't sit still long enough to do the horizontal portion of a crossword puzzle let alone meditate in some kind of pretzel position. I wasn't sure how it would all go but still, I was very excited. So I packed my bags and went, being careful to trade out my book Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea for something more "mature" and "yoga-ish."

I am so glad I went. The people were GREAT. Non-judgmental. Funny (sarcastic, even!) The food, though meatless, was excellent and fulfilling. I could totally be vegan if Meredith moved in with me and cooked for me. I felt very comfortable and very free to be who I am. I found out that I am NOT a "typical" yogi because there really isn't one. Again, yoga taught me to just accept myself and the people around me and let go of notions of "typical" or "normal." God knows I will never fit into any of them.

Oh, and that Sanskrit mantra above? Yeah, I chanted it. And I liked it.